Anyone------can I safely STORE Lifepo4 battery in cold weather

13 Mar.,2024

 

Supervstech said:

Storage of LFP needs to discharge to 3.2V per cell… storage when connected to charge can be an issue wearing out the cells rapidly.

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Thank you for the responses so far.
I have done a search both on the internet and here on the forum. There just doesn't seem to be a consensus. Most everyone agrees that 1) never charge or attempt to charge the LifePO4 battery below 32 degrees F. 2) if storing for more than a month the battery should be left at partial charge somewhere between 40-60%.
To clarify more on my situation: 1) The battery will be disconnected from all sources of load AND charge. Therefore, there will be absolutely no load on the battery and solar panels will be disconnected via circuit breaker from the SCC. 2) Temperatures in Northern PA in the winter will vary from a high of 35-40 to a low of normally 0-30 degrees F. with occasional days below zero. 3) the batteries will sit dormmate for at least 3-4 cold weather months.

There is a lengthy thread here on this site talking about cold weather and LifePO4. I have read all 28 pages of that thread and still can't see a consensus on my specific circumstance. Most just say to take your batteries out of the cold environment and indoors during the cold weather/winter. As stated, that is not realistic for my application. Since I am building this battery from raw cells there is no manufacturer to call about this issue and even then there is no consensus. For instance, I contacted Battleborn. They said it was ok to store THEIR battery long term in cold but to FULLY charge it first. Other manufactures (ReLion and Lion Energy) wouldn't say if it would harm their battery or not but recommended a heating element or their own battery with an internal heating element. This will not work because this is a resistive load that will discharge the battery down to nothing eventually because there is no charging going on at all. So, manufacturers of commercial LifePO4 batteries can't agree on this issue.

This would be a good experiment for Andy of the Off Grid Garage but it never gets cold enough in Australia. He'd have to use a freezer and it would take him months to complete. He is the only one I can find that continually does experiments on these batteries made from raw cells just for the sake of finding out how this chemistry reacts to different circumstances.

Hope someone can point me to scientific paper on this subject or an experiment as mentioned above.

Thank you for the responses so far.I have done a search both on the internet and here on the forum. There just doesn't seem to be a consensus. Most everyone agrees that 1) never charge or attempt to charge the LifePO4 battery below 32 degrees F. 2) if storing for more than a month the battery should be left at partial charge somewhere between 40-60%.To clarify more on my situation: 1) The battery will be disconnected from all sources of load AND charge. Therefore, there will be absolutely no load on the battery and solar panels will be disconnected via circuit breaker from the SCC. 2) Temperatures in Northern PA in the winter will vary from a high of 35-40 to a low of normally 0-30 degrees F. with occasional days below zero. 3) the batteries will sit dormmate for at least 3-4 cold weather months.There is a lengthy thread here on this site talking about cold weather and LifePO4. I have read all 28 pages of that thread and still can't see a consensus on my specific circumstance. Most just say to take your batteries out of the cold environment and indoors during the cold weather/winter. As stated, that is not realistic for my application. Since I am building this battery from raw cells there is no manufacturer to call about this issue and even then there is no consensus. For instance, I contacted Battleborn. They said it was ok to store THEIR battery long term in cold but to FULLY charge it first. Other manufactures (ReLion and Lion Energy) wouldn't say if it would harm their battery or not but recommended a heating element or their own battery with an internal heating element. This will not work because this is a resistive load that will discharge the battery down to nothing eventually because there is no charging going on at all. So, manufacturers of commercial LifePO4 batteries can't agree on this issue.This would be a good experiment for Andy of the Off Grid Garage but it never gets cold enough in Australia. He'd have to use a freezer and it would take him months to complete. He is the only one I can find that continually does experiments on these batteries made from raw cells just for the sake of finding out how this chemistry reacts to different circumstances.Hope someone can point me to scientific paper on this subject or an experiment as mentioned above.

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