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12V 100Ah & 200Ah LiFePO4 Batteries: 100Ah $254.36 ($248.38 eBay Plus), 200Ah $509.36 ($497.38 eBay Plus) Delivered @Outbax eBay

250
APR15APR17

Back Again! - this deal is back but APR17 code now with eBay plus

12V 100Ah Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery LiFePO4 Rechargeable Camping RV
These have pouch cells and are usually sold as 'Gentrax' brand.
Members who bought the 200Ah from the same brand are currently testing this with promising results https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/15146180/redir
The final price is $248.38 with code + free shipping

200Ah version also avail available $509.36 with APR15 ($497.38 with APR17 and eBay Plus) https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/126056610992

NOTE - discount is automatically applied in checkout.

Dont forget to use your favourite Cashback company and please share your thoughts if you bought this last time.

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Comments

  • +8

    Good deal. Just to answer the FAQ.

    1. Not prismatic. It is pouches. Benefit is, it's a few kgs lighter than prismatic.
    2. 50A BMS.
    3. Tested to be charged to 105AH with a victron charger for initial charge for my unit. Would be close to the mark factoring in losses.
    4. No can't be used for a car battery
    5. If you need a cheap and usable solution, best bang for buck. Beggers can't be choosers. Buy more expensive if you need better.

    I'll be happy if it lasts me 4 years.

    • +1

      How about discharge, and advertised at 100A BMS

      • +1

        Sorry just read specs again. 100A bms. 200A short bursts.

    • +1

      can not be run parallel

      • +2

        In the ad it says they can be but they don't recommend connecting any LifePO4s together, which is ridiculous of course. If done correctly, I don't see any reason why you couldn't.

        • +3

          yeah, totally agree, wire the same amp hour rating batteries together shouldn't have any issues, so not sure why it is not recommended. Might reach out to the seller to check

          EDIT: Outbax has confirmed "The Gentrax 100Ah LIFEPO4 battery's BMS is not setup to conform with a series/parallel connection. It is a standalone battery.", it presume it is BMS balancing issue.

          I'm used to deal with "dumb" batteries, does the right setup with same everything, including wire length and right terminals being used for the connection to charging and discharging can overcome this, so effectively balancing the load via wiring instead?

          • +6

            @yannyrjl: From my understanding connecting LiFePo4 (and other lithium) batteries in series/parallel is definitely different to AGM and lead-acid batteries due to the BMS needing to balance in the individual cells within the battery.

            The general advice is that if the batteries are the same batch then connecting them in series/parallel is less of an issue (I think this is related to the manufacturing process resulting in the individual cells of the batteries having the same chemistry and therefore voltage profile).

            The risk is that if individual cells in different batteries have different voltage profiles the two (or more) BMS units in each battery may work against each other when trying to balance cells, causing over-charging that can lead to damage/fires.

            Edit: I think the restrictions are more prevalent in cheaper brands, probably due to poorer manufacturing processes and quality assurance. I think the better quality brands are often support multiple batteries.

          • +4

            @yannyrjl: The problem is each battery has a different internal resistance, cell quality etc, and they won't drain exactly equally. Which is not inherently a problem, because the batteries will equalise between themselves.

            However, with cheap cells, a cheap BMS and cheap wiring, the variations in state of charge under heavy load can be large. If the parallel bank of batteries is under sustained heavy load, and then that load stops, then there can be brief but high currents from the batteries equalising their state of charge. It's effectively the higher state of charge batteries trying to charge up the lower state of charge batteries at the maximum current they can output. If the state of charge difference is large enough, the high current can trip BMS protections or cause other issues, such as increased battery wear.

            The more expensive batteries use better quality cells, BMS and wiring to minimise state of charge differences in parallel operation, and test the batteries to make sure they can handle the maximum likely equalisation currents without harm. The cheap batteries just say, don't use in parallel or series. If only used at low loads, they will likely be just fine.

            This same underlying issue exists with cheap AGMs, but with no BMS they can generally handle high equalisation currents just fine.

            • @Prong: thanks this makes sense, I was purely thinking of charging / discharging and not at heavy load, but the equalisation between batteries when a long term heavy load stops I can imagine will cause issues, I imagine if the difference was big enough, it'll effectively try to pull huge Amps between the batteries

    • Bought this last week for $230 and was wondering what difference this would be to the Kings one.
      I will only be using for when I go camping or out and about needing a fridge, so this should well do the work I guess?
      Also, which Battery Charger you would recommend for this casual use as well?

      • IMHO the Victron Blue Smart IP65 Charger 12/5 is the way to go.

        • +1

          I chose the IP22 instead - slightly cheaper, and you can vary the max current to a custom value (instead of just high/low option) which is handy if you plan to charge various batteries with it that have different capabilities.

          • +1

            @ratman: I don't think the IP22 is cheaper. The IP65 is around the $100 mark. It's a great charger. Slow, but great quality.

            • +1

              @HappyPants: Ah yeah sorry the IP22 I think didn't come in 5A. Marginally cheaper, roughly the same price I guess, for the same current output

      • +1

        Yes, these should work pretty well to power a fridge.

    • Is it at all possible to get a lithium battery that is suitable for bother starting engines (cars/boats) and providing power as if it were a "deep cycle" AGM battery?

      • +4

        Not really, starters draw many hundreds of amps to turn a car over, would need a beast of a BMS and a lot of cells to provide that much current.

        Cost/Benefit would be way off.

        • awesome to get an awesome answer, thank you!

      • Your typical lithium battery alone wouldn't be sufficient, but you could have a super capacitor in parallel with a lithium battery to handle the cranking.

      • There are some offerings for lithium dual battery systems that are both cranking and power, but they are more expensive and more complex installation.

        I came across this a while back with DCS, which uses 2x 90AH batteries that are capable of up to 900A cranking amps and reserve 20% for cranking so you don't end up with a flat battery.

        https://www.deepcyclesystems.com.au/product/ultimate-dcs-12v…

      • Yes.
        There is a caveat though, batteries don't last as long in hot environments and they don't last as long if you run very high currents. If you combine both, there is a rapid decrease in capacity.
        There is a company that's selling under bonnet starter batteries and recently, there have been customers complaining that they lost up to 70% of their usable capacity in two years.

        If you only do high currents or (to a lesser extent) high temperatures, your lithium battery will last you for a reasonable length of time.
        So if you had a Sprinter or Crafter van, you could use a lithium battery without a problem as the starter battery is not in the engine bay.

      • Starts my 75hp outboard no issues. Even my 50A max prismatic starts it without any issues.

    • For 1, not just lighter, but much smaller too. Prismatic 200ah are nearly twice the size!

      I just bought the bits to make up my own pack and it cost a fair bit bit more, but it will be 304Ah matched EVE cells with a 200A continuous BMS in about the same size package, which is overkill for me. I would've bought this instead had I seen it

  • I think it is supposed to be 100A BMS?

    • 50A sustained discharge. I think 100A is short burst for a few seconds.

      • +1

        If you scroll past all the strange colorful slides in the ad, they have:
        Max.Charge Current: 100A
        Continuous Discharge Current: 100A

        But I haven't tested this in any way myself

        • +3

          Sorry, made a mistake. I just went to re-verify, 100A Continuous, 200A few seconds.

          • +3

            @zeomega: A lot of these cheapies definitely used to have 50A BMS but this Gentrax seems to be different: 100A.
            I am still waiting for the problems to reveal themselves but so far under testing it is looking OK within limitations.
            Capacities seem to be true. No excessive heat or strange behavior so far.

            • +2

              @King Tightarse: 100A charge rate’s pretty great

              • @0jay: 100A is the discharge rate.
                I would NOT pump 100A into these (not that most peole would have a charger capable of doing that anyway). Normal rate for high quality cells is 0.3-1C max (30-100A for this battery).

                • +1

                  @Igaf: Tigharse states above chargerate is 100A which’d be (of course) the max rate

                  I had a prismatic that took 50A max rate which enabled me to use it with a 30A dc to dc charger which was great given my use-case and most batteries at the time wouldn’t take that kind of current

            • +4

              @King Tightarse: So far I've had a few discharge cycles and it held up fine. My max draw load is 50A and verified with a shunt, no issues so far.

              Very happy with the price considering you'll be paying the same for a deep cycle battery that is twice the weight!

              • @zeomega: Ooi, what DoD did you reach before recharghing? Did you notice the voltage cutout at all (ie "100%" DoD)?

                • +2

                  @Igaf: Sorry don't have those figures. My shunt for this battery is only an elcheapo without memory as i use it for rough portable use only.

                  Better to look at the 200A thread posted above for more information as they are making the effort to test.

                  • @zeomega: Possibly/probably different internals but it will be some guide.

          • @zeomega: Nice

    • Has anyone actually tested continuous and max?

  • Struggling to find an answer on YouTube, can this be used in some way with a Bluetti AC200Max? Wanting to achieve more energy storage and use via the AC200max

    • +1

      You could probably connect it via the charging port

    • +2

      Not to be connected in parallel or series. So no. It's a stand alone battery as the BMS can't deal with balancing. Unless the bluetti internal circuitry is complex enough to isolate the battery, which i suspect not.

  • Item price:
    AU $399.00
    -AU $67.83Discount amount:
    Your price:
    AU $331.17

    The price for the 100Ah battery is $331.17 after applying the code. Am I missing something?

    EDIT: It seems I am: "Internal+official promotion, final price is only $254" Weird way to put it.

  • What's the output from one of these? Like, how do you use it to usefully power stuff?

    • Volts * Amps = Watts, so this 200Ah battery has about 2kWh of usable power and can supply it at up to 1.2kW, which means it could run for about 1.5 hours at max load. If you connected a 12v to 240v inverter, it could run your house fridge for a day, maybe 2.

      • Sorry, question unclear, I meant what voltage etc is supported rather than what's the total usable power.

      • No way you would power a house fridge for a whole day. A big enough inverter to power the house fridge and put out enough current when the compressor starts would probably eat up a quarter of the capacity just having it switched on.

        • +1

          Been done for years, Inefficient but far from impossibe. Fridge compressors are very simple devices. They use low amps and watts.

          • +3

            @Igaf: Yep, a full-size fridge generally only draws a couple of amps which is no problem, but as with most things that have motors in them, the motor start-up current can be an issue, it's often significantly higher than the running current…

            If you were putting together a battery setup just to run a fridge it probably wouldn't be wise to just buy a cheapo 1000w inverter, if you wanted reliability it would probably be sensible to go for a 2000w so you have plenty of headroom…

            My fullsize 450L LG upside-down fridge draws 1.8amps, it only uses around 0.85kwh per day (measured with a smart plug), so a 100AH (1280Wh) battery 'should' be able to keep it going for 24 hours without an issue…

            • +1

              @FLICKIT: Obviously variable according to size/brand/age of compressor but about 8A startup according to a bloke who had the setup quite a few years ago. Point is it can and has been done on many occasions to meet different needs.

        • It should be able to. Below is a link to an affordable 420L fridge that has "only" 4 star energy efficiency and is rated to use 348kWh/annum, ie less than 1kWh/day.

          https://www.appliancesonline.com.au/product/lg-gb-455uple-45…

          • @neRok: You're likely looking at around 80% efficiency with an inverter, so you have to factor that in, as well as the extra power the inverter is drawing while the fridge compressor isn't running.

            I suppose it's possible to last a day given ideal conditions (fridge full, nobody opening it, cool ambient temperature), but the fridges I've owned have never lived up to the energy rating when compared to the readings on an energy monitor.

            I have a little 180ish litre fridge with a much lower estimated kwh/year running off a 12v inverter and it averages around 80amps a day at 12v.

    • It outputs ~12v DC. If you have DC appliances, connect and go. If you need AC, then you need an inverter.

    • +1

      100A continuous (supposedly) x 12V = 1200W output.

      For a basic (camping) kit you essentially need: Battery+Battery Box+Charger
      (1) a battery box with input (often anderson plug) and outputs (usually USB, cig and anderson plugs (possibly not rated for 200A discharge)
      (2) 12V gear (lights, fridge etc) or an inverter to run "small" 240V appliances
      (3) a charger (240V or a basic solar setup if off grid for days)

      • Thanks, that's helpful - it was the battery box bit that was missing in my understanding. So this battery (charged) + battery box with appropriate sockets is what you need to power things off grid, so long as the battery box is compatible with the battery type and the device power needs?

        • +2

          Pretty much, these 100Ah batteries will typically fit in most of the battery boxes you'll find at the big outdoor/camping stores.

        • +2

          Height is sometimes an issue. Boxes with numerous outlets and appropriately thick wiring occupy more room in the lid
          - usually under a cover plate.

  • Any deals on 24v 100Ah ones?

  • +2

    I believe these are the battery specs:
    100amp: https://gentrax.com.au/products/gentrax-12v-100ah-lithium-ir…
    200amp: https://gentrax.com.au/products/gentrax-12v-200ah-lifepo4-ba…

    Can someone confirm if this is right?

    • +3

      Yes that's correct

      • Possibly

  • I should be able to just swap my 100ah deep cycle battery with this one, correct? Its BMS will take care of the differences? (Yes I'm new to all this.)

    • +3

      Depends, but generally not if you want it to last. These lithium packs don't like being kept at float voltages of 13.7V like AGMs etc do. Floating these at anything over 13.4V will slowly permanently eat the capacity. Ideally they need to have no float. But if you have to float then do it as low as possible like 13.3V or below.

  • I'm not a battery guy, don't understand much outside of my everreadys. Don't get all the terminology. Curious though and just watched some YouTube videos. What do people even use these for? I just watched a guy on YouTube get excited for getting 3 hours out of one to power a portable AC on medium. That's the part I don't get. If I experienced a 24 hour power outage, and could run a small AC for 3 hours, and it cost me $510 for that privilege. Hmmm. I'm sure there must be something about the product I don't get, can someone please enlighten me?

    Purely what it offers for low power things at a campsite…is that it?

    • +1

      Camping, boating, RV usage coupled often with Solar. In the home case, I suppose you can power your fridge, your internet, some electrical equipment until the power comes back, have also hooked it up to instant gas water heater when the power is out to have hot water during those Sydney heavy rains a few years ago.

      I only have a small setup at home as backup power mainly for couple of water pumps when it rains heavy. If the power goes out and the rain doesn't stop my basement would be flooded. Learnt that the hard way, think bucketing water out to the street in the middle of the night. But during blackouts that latest a few hours it does come in handy (still can watch TV, have home internet etc).

      Used it a couple of times during scheduled outages to continue work from home uninterrupted.

      • +1

        This really helps me understand, thank you for your response..

        So if the power went out and I wanted say the average TV on and internet and a small.fridge. How long do you suspect I'd be able to use the big boy for? How about TV/internet only. Realise it's a guess but still curious.

        • +1

          check your TV, Fridge Spec and you can calculate using calculators online. However, you'll need an inverter to turn that 12V DC into 240V AC.

          Fridges don't actually use that much power as the power draw is on-off, Internet would be hardly anything. So without having a massive TV on constantly 24hours, I'd imagine like a day on the 100AH without really having to conserve possibly even longer given these are lithium batteries not AGM setup like I use.

          The biggest power draw are AC & Heating as they are continuous, even boiling water using your kettle uses a lot of power.

        • Taking into account inverter (in)efficiency (75-95%), a day if you're lucky.

          Rough figs
          TV ~100w/hr,
          Fridge 1000w/day

          • @Igaf: true, a cheapo inverter would make things significantly worse

  • Wasn't the 200Ah 350 bucks before?

    • +1

      Yep. And that was a very very good deal.

  • I wonder why these are unbranded? fakes?

    • +3

      Arrived gentrex branded for me.

  • How would this solar blanket go for charging this battery, has anyone used something similar?
    350w (claimed) https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/303473010826
    Quite a big one though.
    How long to charge in full sun and could you add additional solar panels with the use of a battery box for instance?

  • +1

    I always accepted that I’d buy a decent branded 100ah lithium for $1000. But seeing these deals makes me wonder how long I can hold out.

    How do the decent brands still sell a 100ah for 1k or 200ah for 1.7k???

    • +4

      Horses for courses… These cheapies are fine for casual weekend camping trips and such I think, but if you're doing remote overland trips or a big-lap where you're relying heavily on your battery for extended periods it's not hard to justify the price of a quality battery….

      i.e. If you're out somewhere super-remote and your battery fails you lose all the frozen goods in your freezer and such, and then you have to cut your trip short and detour out to civilization to source a new battery and restock your food and such… .

      • +2

        Agree. Use case is a huge factor. Personally wouldn't want to becaught at sea with a battery I cant be sure about for example.

        Expensive "brands" almost invariably will be able to tell you their cell type and quality (always A grade, not lower or recycled batteries/pouches), and their BMS quality and functionality. Build quality will be completely different.

      • +3

        Agree.

        However, at times, even the expensive stuff fails.
        And at these prices, you can afford to buy a couple and then you have spares! 😁😉

        • +1

          Additional weight and space becomes a consideration

          • +1

            @zeomega: Esp if you carry a spare for your spare

  • Curious for anyone that has received one of these, was the battery charged when received?

    • No. Dead empty.

    • +2

      If I read right, Prong and stumo's Gentrax branded 200Ahs both had around 70% charge when delivered: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/15145964/redir

      The 100Ah unbranded is likely a very different battery but so far it seems no-one has torn either down to see what's inside.

      • Pretty sure people received Gentax branded 100Ah batteries last time around - they seem to later the image when they discount them heavily

        • Either way you'd hope the 200Ah has better components if not cells. All guesswork at this point

          • +1

            @Igaf: Yes, its unknown but I have to say these batteries seem to be shaping up much better than their cheap prices suggest (so far).
            Capacity seems as advertised and no reports of odd behavior, excessive heat or anything as yet.
            Admittedly it's early days

            • +1

              @King Tightarse: As Prowse and other experts have regularly said - the weakest link in most cheapies is the BMS. So treat the battery well (use, maintenance and transport) and hope it lasts beyond the warranty. If it fails soon after, $10/month has been a pretty cheap price to pay.

        • +1

          Can confirm I received a Gentrax 100Ah battery.

          I've pulled 57ah & 54ah so far. (I haven't tried emptying it completely yet)

    • +1

      50% charged

    • +3

      Mine was around 50% too. I popped in around 102ah to get it fully topped up.

  • I feel this is a really ignoring question, but how do you practically use these style of batteries that only look like it has two terminals? I've been eyeing off the Bluettis and similar for camping etc. but the ones with all the range inputs and outputs to charge it up and power stuff.

    • +1

      A Bluetti is an all-in-one unit… This battery is like a component for a system, you need to add fuses or breakers, a box, usb outlets, inverter, solar and mains chargers, and such…

    • +1

      Stick it into a battery box with 1-2 inputs and multiple outlets, connect the provided wires to the terminals, and hey presto you have a "Holden Bluetti" (minus any inverter) - sort of.

      • Anyone know of any battery boxes the 200ah one will slot into?

  • What charger would people recommend?
    I see there are plenty of chinese options that charge at 20-25amp under $100 but if i check branded ones they go upwards of $300

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