Do I Really Need Self Heating Batteries

[Cort]

I'm looking at the EPOCH 300 AH lithium batteries. The Eco series (w/out electrical heating) are on sale for a cool $499. The Essentials with self heating cost $1199 (no sales right now). Buying the Eco-series would save quite a bit of money on an already quite expensive upgrade...But would I miss those Essentials?

Essentials

https://www.epochbatteries.com/products/12v-300ah-heated-bluetooth-lifepo4-battery-epoch-essentials

Eco Series

https://www.epochbatteries.com/products/12v-314ah-eco-series-lifepo4-battery

I spend the winters in the Southwest and spring./summer/ and fall in the mountains. At times temps drop into the 20's or very, very rately teens.  I never stay in a spot where the daytime temps don't reach into the upper 40's at least. 

So do I really need to be able to charge when temps are below 32? And - if the Oliver is heated - as it would be - would it be able to keep the battery box warm enough in cooler temperatures. Perhaps not I didn't see vent holes...

Edited yesterday at 07:33 PM by Cort

[jd1923]

The Pro Series is a dual purpose Starter/Deep Cycle battery. Useful life of the battery might be short-term. Check warranty. Essentials have 4000 duty cycles.

Edited yesterday at 06:46 PM by jd1923

[Cort]

Whoops! Thanks for catching that - I meant Eco Series

[Rivernerd]

1 hour ago, Cort said:

So do I really need to be able to charge when temps are below 32?

I expect the challenge is ensuring your batteries and your charging system are turned off every time temps drop down to freezing.  The easier solution is what we have:  a switched external warming mat placed under the batteries and wired to our Oliver 12V system.

Ours was installed by Oliver with our 390 Ah Lithionics battery package.  One similar option now available is from Lion Energy:

https://shopsolarkits.com/products/lion-energy-battery-warmer?srsltid=AfmBOoo5_6ceyboAQUUVw1CNe_jCPeADkLbtop6B-CC3Z-THhq2OC5zhaDI

 

[Steph and Dud B]

FWIW, we have the self-heating Lithionics and they've been great. Don't have to worry about them much. Don't have to remember to turn a heating pad on. But we live, and mostly camp, in the Northeast.

[Patriot]

5 hours ago, Cort said:

I'm looking at the EPOCH 300 AH lithium batteries. The Eco series (w/out electrical heating) are on sale for a cool $499. The Essentials with self heating cost $1199 (no sales right now). Buying the Eco-series would save quite a bit of money on an already quite expensive upgrade...But would I miss those Essentials?

Essentials

https://www.epochbatteries.com/products/12v-300ah-heated-bluetooth-lifepo4-battery-epoch-essentials

Eco Series

https://www.epochbatteries.com/products/12v-314ah-eco-series-lifepo4-battery

I spend the winters in the Southwest and spring./summer/ and fall in the mountains. At times temps drop into the 20's or very, very rately teens.  I never stay in a spot where the daytime temps don't reach into the upper 40's at least. 

So do I really need to be able to charge when temps are below 32? And - if the Oliver is heated - as it would be - would it be able to keep the battery box warm enough in cooler temperatures. Perhaps not I didn't see vent holes...

Batteries with internal heaters are a nice option to have. I like options. 😊 This week it’s going to be in the 20’s and 30’s here in beautiful Western NC. 

XPLORs (2) Epoch 300AH batts will be just fine.

Edited 20 hours ago by Patriot