261–264 of 264 posts
JOOC, what is the CCA rating? I don't recall seeing it in the comments. There aren't many of us who run winches, but thems of us that do want quite a few (650 CCA is not uncommon, and some winch manufacturers recommend deep cycle batteries like the Yellowtop Optima).
Their site says '550+'. From the sound of it, this battery would not be suited to running a winch for more than a quick pull.
JOOC, what is the CCA rating? I don't recall seeing it in the comments. There aren't many of us who run winches, but thems of us that do want quite a few (650 CCA is not uncommon, and some winch manufacturers recommend deep cycle batteries like the Yellowtop Optima).
I'd be very interested to see what the current use on a winch is! Do you happen to be located around the bay area?
A quick search shows that some lighter duty winches will draw 60-90A, while heavier duty winches can easily draw ~250A to ~350A.
The winch I'll be installing next month as a 10,000lb pull rating. That requires a lot of power.... (Why 5T? Because my Jeep weighs a hair over 2.25T, and if it's stuck in the mud, I'll need to overcome the mud....)
A winch is typically connected directly to the battery and is controlled via a relay: The control cable uses very low current to activate/deactivate a solenoid that switches the winch on/off.
(It's an interesting and ironic bit of jargon: When winch owners refer to a winch's solenoids, they are referring to the control relays... ...but any winch contains at least three solenoids, one low-draw solenoid in the relay, and two high-draw solenoids in the winch itself, that is, the electromagnets that are the heart of the motor....)
Great idea in a very stagnant market. How do the LiFePO4 cells perform at high temperatures? I've worked with this battery chemistry before, and found most off the shelf cells have internal safety circuitry that disconnects the battery at temperatures >70C. Typical engine running temperature is 60-80C (or as much as 90 on a hot day).
Hey Jason, good question. It turns out to be a non-issue. Lead-acid batteries have terrible lifetimes at high temperatures, so cars are already designed with enough distance between the engine and battery and enough circulation to ensure the battery is never more than a few degrees above ambient. The batteries in our design also aren't generally active while the engine is running. Let me know if that addresses your c…
I'm curious to see if you expect to get 7 years life on a LiFePO4 in hot states. I just measured the battery temp (at the terminal) on my truck, it was 163 ºF. Road surface temp is 155 ºF.
This is quite common, everyday summer stuff here in Texas.
It seems very unlikely that you can hold a LiFePO4 at 100% state of charge in a temperature environment like this and still get anywhere near 7 years of life.
Are you doing something like using a 20 A-H battery, charged to 70% SOC or something, to deal with high-heat/high SOC degradation?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'd be very interested to see what the current use on a winch is! Do you happen to be located around the bay area?
No, Ottawa. A quick search shows that some lighter duty winches will draw 60-90A, while heavier duty winches can easily draw ~250A to ~350A. The winch I'll be installing next month as a 10,000lb pull rating. That requires a lot of power.... (Why 5T? Because my Jeep weighs a hair over 2.25T, and if it's stuck in the mud, I'll need to overcome the mud....) A winch is typically connected directly to the battery and is c…