TimTim wrote:

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Hi Tony,

My understanding is that Renogy do not make anything and they will simply be a rebadged product.  Reviews show they do not provide good customer support but in this instance any warranty returns will be to Super Cheap Auto as they are the responsible seller.

The specifications are good and like many of these cheaper batteries it may have pouch cells but there is nothing specified in the specifications..  In saying that, there are images on the Renogy website that give the impression that they are prismatic cells and include compression to reduce expansion.  The issue with that image is 100Ah prismatic cells are much larger than those depicted so the image is a false representation.  Take a look at some tear downs of Renogy batteries and you will understand what I mean.  I havent been able to find a tear down of the Pro Lite though.

To be honest I would consider these a better buy than any of the cheap Ebay batteries because you have a physical store if there are any warranty problems.  I notice that Kings also have quite a few specials on for their LiFePO4 batteries and both these brands would probably suffice for the majority of people.

 

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 Hi Tim

Thanks for that, after having another look at these batteries, I can also  not find on either the Renogy or Supercheap website, if the Pro Lite battery is Prismatic, Pouch, or Cylindrical cells in construction. Only that they are advertised (on both websites) as EV grade LIFeP04 lithium battery cells.

Hopefully anyone who wishes to purchase this battery, will ask the people selling them, exactly what type of cells are inside the case

TimTim wrote:

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I went on line and asked and apparently they havent updated the specifications for it yet.

 

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 Thanks for that Tim, I appreciate you finding out for me, that they are Prismatic cells

It is a pity that I do not require any new deep cycle batteries, as my current ones are only about 3 years old

BUT...

At the special price mentioned in the Supercheap catalogue, (I think Supercheap is a reputable seller), I have not seen a better price

Brodie Allen wrote:

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I have a 100ah Enerdrive smart control battery in the old van.

Would anyone like to venture the advisability or otherwise of
paralleling one of these Renalology batteries with the Enerdrive.

B

-- Edited by Brodie Allen on Saturday 28th of December 2024 09:12:41 AM

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There are plenty of web sites that say you shouldnt do it and yet there are plenty of people who actually do it without issue but there are provisions.  

As batteries age the resistance and capacity changes so one battery can reach full charge and the low cut off level before the other.  People avoid this by setting their batteries so that they only charge to 90% and discharge down to say 10%.   Interestingly I remember reading that a certain company was selling batteries with a certain Ah capacity yet because of the BMS settings it could only be discharged to 70% of the advertised capacity.  You might like to test yours     .

Anyway, the new battery in the photo that I have posted has just been connected up in parallel to a 3 year old battery.  So far there has been no issue in fully charging and luck has it im in the middle of doing a discharge test to check that there are no issues.

You could always connect them and see how they run but make sure you fully charge them to a similar voltage before connecting them together.  Of course the other alternative is to put a switch between the batteries and then just switch from one to the other when needed.

Good luck

Tim

Thank you Dorian.

Unfortunately some companies sell good and bad products and obviously this is their bad product.  Whether it will remain so in the future who knows.  To be honest, something about their solar panels turned me off them some time ago but their batteries, which were probably questionable at first seem to have jumped in quality.  The price has too.  Even the author of that review acknowledges that their batteries are better against competing brands.

Conclusion

While the VoltX brand typically has better sentiment around it than competing brands when it comes to LiFePO4 batteries, my experience with VoltX solar panels leaves much to be desired.

As I said, the battery prices have jumped so it is a case of looking out for the next product that gives value for money.  As you are probably aware with the court case being initiated by DCS on an Australian reviewer, the price is not an indication of quality.

For various reason I generally advise people to keep away from the cheap Ebay batteries for numerous reasons but just by chance I came across these batteries on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com.au/WattCycle-LiFePO4-Lithium-Battery-Built/dp/B0CPL8MVN8/ref=sr_1_5?

Whilst I have no plans on purchasing one, there are plenty of video tear down reviews of the battery if people care to look and this is just one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDkJ7Sq21Qw

Brodie it is about what you feel comfortable with but if you really want more power then the alternative is to put switches in your system.  It just depends on the complexity of your system yet it may be relatively simple.

Off topic a little I know, but I have just finished testing my new battery connected to the older one by running the aircon for the last 4 hours.  At times pulling 47A from each battery and it was nice to see the voltages track down within 10mV of each other.  Nothing better than a field test .  So yes it can be done.

Good luck