DIY Battery HEATER for Lifepo4 ( Super Cheap)

[@janolesen6045]

Awesome tip with the handbar heaters

[@chipmeister111]

I like and will use the ceramic tiles atop the heating pads. Thanks for the info.

[@renmen16]

This might be exactly what I’m looking for! How do you wire a bridge?

[@tyleragallant4352]

Where do you end up mounting the temp prop for the controller?

[@Dirt-Diggler]

Great stuff 😎 Nice and cheap way to protect your investment in a LiFeP04 battery 👍

[@DCGUY]

I like cheap, I'm Scottish 😂

That’s another great tip I will add to my setup thanks. My setup is 24v, how do you recommend connecting the 12v supply in this case. I also have the Renogy Rover 60A controller which has a load terminal, is it possible to use this as the supply?

[@DCGUY]

Thanks for watching and taking time to comment 🙏 I believe the load port is linked to the battery voltage. You can buy 24v heating pads but there are more 12v options so you could perhaps consider a buck converter 24v to 12v amzn.to/3taAeNt or see if there is something similar to the w1209 but will accept 24v. If you do find one let us know please. Thanks for the support 🙏

[@Dirt-Diggler]

The load terminal is basically just a switch that the controller monitors so anything run from it is low voltage protected to save the battery, AFAIK it's only monitored and switched by voltage settings to switch off 🤔 You may have more control via the app if you use a BT 1 or 2 TBH I've not really searched the app that well cos i found it buggy as hell and a bit clunky to use 😟

@@DCGUY Thanks for your help, yes I do have a couple of buck-converters I bought a couple of years back, I thought I’d give one of those a try. Would you use 1 heater for each battery or use both? Thanks for the helpful uploads.

@@Dirt-Diggleryes, I thought that might be the case, with the app you seem to be able to set the voltage and maybe the amps too but I’ve not looked to deep into that.

[@DCGUY]

Thanks for the support, if using what I show I'd use both pads but by all means experiment and see what works best. My friend uses silicone pads under an oven baking tray to dissipate heat which he says works well.

[@davebodger2]

Interesting how much heat your small pads produce. I use a mains-powered 20W plant heater pad run from a mains thermostatic switch plugged into the inverter output. It's around 350mm x 275mm so spreads the heat out a bit. I put a half inch of hard foam padding on the cold shed floor with the heater pad on top then put the batteries (4 x 12v) on top of that. It's in the middle so hopefully each battery will get about 5W. I've got the thermostat set to turn on at 6C and off at 8C. The temp probe is stuffed in the center gap between the batteries, about an inch down. I'm monitoring the battery temp seperately via another temp probe attached to a Victron Smartshunt. My shed is not connected to the house and the electrical systems (hybrid solar battery inverter and a seperate grid-tie inverter) waste heat are the only heating in it. It's an uninsulated steel shed and can easily get below freezing in the depths of winter. I put it all together this summer so eagerly await the snow to see how it will perform.

[@DCGUY]

Yes I was surprised as to the heat these things generated. It arrived with a two way switch, low and high but I found it was actually warming the wires more than the pads, so I just ditched that. Your set up sounds good, particularly like how your using the smart shunt, great tip thanks 🍻

[@alzxniner]

My heat pads have 2 red wires coming from them?

[@DCGUY]

They all have 2 wires and being a resistive element it makes no difference which one you use on positive connection.

[@wowyummyyy]

LIKE👍👍👍 👍 👍👍👍 💯💯💯 🤩🤩🤩 🤩🤩

[@petertomas3665]

I dont think an external heating element is great choice. The batteries usually have foam around the cells to protect battery from damaging. This foam or any soft material they put inside is a very good insulation. Its unlikely the external heat to reach the battery cells, so all the energy you use for that heater is actually a waste of energy. Its like trying to warm up and house at winter using a woodstove near the walls outside the house. Batteries should be perchuased with internal heaters at first place if there is issue with freezing cold temperatures.

[@jordlc3480]

Why does freezing temperatures damage a lifepo4?

[@DCGUY]

They can freeze, they can thaw without damage. Its only if you try and charge one when it's frozen that the damage occurs die to the chemical structure of lithium iron.

[@TheDaztheraz]

Was thinking of putting a battery innthe van, maybe just add a frost stat to stop the charger, but am guessing if you need to charge in cold weather may be helpful. I know on the manufactured batteries elements stucknto the sides of the battery, is there a risk of them damaging the batteries with too much heat

[@DCGUY]

@@TheDaztheraz If you are using a thermostat, just set it to an above zero degree setting e.g 5 to 18 degrees. As long as its above freezing it will be fine. Alternative, is a battery with internal heating e.g fogstar

[@BeeBeorn]

Its similar to sulfation in lead acid batteries. The chemichal reaction in cold temps stabilize some ions. They are stuck and will never react. Imo you loose capacity.