AGM vs Lithium Batteries

AGM vs LITHIUM BATTERIES

 

When it comes to batteries, there are lots of options. Whether you’re in the market for a Deep Cycle battery, you’ve probably already heard a lot about Lithium. What is the best solution for you? There are currently products on the market raging from $500 to well over $1000, in most cases you are not always comparing like for like.

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Fact: a 100Ah Lithium gives up to 30% longer run time than a 100Ah Lead-acid AGM Flooded) battery under the same condition.

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There’s a few things to consider.

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• How are you going to use it

• Are you planning on going off-grid a few times or a lot?

• How far do you plan on going for?

• What are the items you wish to power?

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At the end of the day it’s really up to you to work out what you want to use a system for and what you hope to get out of your battery setup. It’s important to see how that balances out against the cost and the desired setup.

 

Things to consider upgrading to Lithium.

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• Is your charging system compatible with lithium? (How is the battery to be recharged given the charging algorithm is different to that of a lead acid battery?)

• Things that need to be considered are the capacity of the battery

• The battery’s location (not suitable for under bonnet / cranking)

 

Differences between AGM and Lithium

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• Weight saving – Going Lithium saves anywhere from 7kg plus in weight

• Rule for AGM: 50% useable capacity – With Lithiums gain additional Amps of useable capacity

• More for your money – up to 80% useable capacity

• More capacity means you can go longer without charger for longer

• Regular cycles of 2000+ at 80% DOD they work out to cost less than AGM products as you would have to replace an AGM setup 4-5 times to achieve the same cycle life as a lithium pro.

• Consistent charger current

 

The cost of lithium can be 3-4 times higher than equivalent AGM batteries, you may need to upgrade and invest in new cabling, chargers or charging systems. Depending on how, when and what you want to run off your battery depends on what size battery you require and going this way, depending how often you’ll be utilising the system on whether you’ll get your moneys worth out of the investment.

If you’re a tourer, spending quite a lot of time away and off-grid, then you’ll definitely benefit from lithium.

 

The greater power density allows you to power more equipment with less batteries – taking advantage of deeper discharge that Lithium allows. Being able to spec solar panels which take advantage of the Lithium Pro’s 100A maximum recharge current as well as saving weight in the process.

 

Why choose Century Lithium Pro? | Century Batteries

 

Should you choose Lithium or AGM Deep Cycle batteries? | Century Batteries

 

Enerdrive B-TEC Lithium Batteries - Part 1 - Application (youtube.com)

 

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What is a Battery Management System

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BMS known as Battery Management System, is located inside the battery and is responsible for managing the cells and protecting them from a range of scenarios such as overcharging, over discharging and temperature protection. The BMS will shut off the battery (zero volts) to protect the cells from unsafe operating conditions that are outside the manufacture’s specifications.