We Found the BEST Affordable Lithium Batteries! | Redodo Review

[@Lagoon380]

Good choice! Looks 100% identical to LiTime batteries, which really works well.

[@Driveby-Viktum]

I have 2 of the 200AH Zooms batteries (The old name for Redodo) , and 800 Watts of solar running into a Renogy rover 60 solar controller. These things are AWESOME, and I dont think you'll be disappointed.

[@Spoondrifters]

Awesome!!

[@Mafiakitty]

We've been using Redodo for over a year now - we have the 100 amp mini ones and are loving them.

[@Spoondrifters]

That’s awesome! 😍

[@George_Cline]

Redodo is the way to go. I installed two 410ah from them and they’ve been amazing. I actually gave away 3 Battleborns to get away from their high prices. Converted the boat to electric cooking.. no propane. I run my AC through the night.

[@Spoondrifters]

Awesome! We’re loving them too!

[@dtrguy2707]

We went with epoch 300ah Bluetooth heated. 1000 each plush shipping. Better BMS we will have 900ah for less than 3500!

[@DLBard-bv2nd]

Happy you found a good solution! 🤗💖

[@Spoondrifters]

Yes, thank you

[@jasongrinnell1986]

Will Prowse is a exalent KZbin channel that does review and test on cheap and expensive batteries.

[@Spoondrifters]

Yes, he helped us make our decision.

[@dangeroustoman]

Will Prouse is a good channel to watch for solar and battery stuff.

[@Spoondrifters]

Yes, his videos sold us on these!

[@worsy3440]

I bought the best cheap battery recommended my Will. I’m on the third season and they work like a charm. Since they were the same price as AGMs, I figure as long as they last another 2 years, I’ll be ahead of the game with $ and way ahead on performance

[@Spoondrifters]

He helped us decide on these. He shares good info.

[@mr.e7022]

You will like the LiFePO4 batteries. We had 400 Ahr on our last boat. We could run the A/C or the water maker via a 3000 watt inverter. Our batteries didn't have cold temp protection so I placed temp control pads under them. Windlass and start was still lead acid. When I setup our present boat I want the batteries to have bluetooth for capacity and temperature monitoring.

[@Spoondrifters]

Yes, they have those options on some of their batteries, just not this particular configuration. 😍 We are loving them! Considering adding more!

[@BulletproofPastor]

It should go without saying but you need to convert your charge controller for lithium. Lithium is great but very different from lead/acid. Glad you’re making the switch.

[@Spoondrifters]

Our controllers do both.

[@BulletproofPastor]

@@Spoondrifters I knew you would do your homework first. You didn't JUST fall off the turnip truck. (where did that phrase get it's start?) Looking forward to your progress.

[@daveamies5031]

@11:30, you have a sail boat with a mast and halyards and winches, you have 2 booms with blocks and tackle, why are you lifting heavy items from the dinghy to the deck, use the equipment you have and save your backs.

[@Spoondrifters]

It takes quite a bit to rig the halyards to lift. It’s not worth the effort for 60lbs.

[@montanadan2524]

Many make the jump to lithium but we stuck with AGM as most of the peripheral equipment (alternator, battery charger, automatic parallel, wiring gauge, fusing) was very operational but not forward compatible with lithium voltage/current requirements. We have had the same 400 Amp hour bank operating between six month live aboard/storage intervals for the last five years with out issue. I am a electronics engineer by trade and not saying the new technology is a bad thing just that AGM for us kept the cost and complexity low. Then again zero cost batteries may bend the economics so we will watch to see if other changes are required. I believe our AGM cost was $1,600 for the bank.

[@Spoondrifters]

It all depends on your system. Since our system is relatively new it was all compatible with Lithium. Otherwise that could have swayed our decision too. This bank costs about $1000 at current available prices.

[@aubreytycer8708]

I bought two Redodo's 100 amp/hour batteries. I wish you well.

[@Spoondrifters]

Great purchase!!

[@leeryon8951]

It's too late, but if you're willing to build batteries, the 18650 battery store has Eve 304 amp hour cells for $90, or $360 for 12v. So that would be $720 for 608 amp hours plus BMS and battery boxes. They are grade A quality LiFePo4 cells...

[@leeryon8951]

Shut me up, the price on those batteries are competitive!

[@Spoondrifters]

Yes we looked at that option as well. The price point was so close that not having to build them ourselves won out. 😍

[@Sailingengineer74]

I have a 560Ah eve cell 12v batterybank with a JK-bms , allowing full control over every parameter and connects to Victron system too 😊 I recommend this kind of setup as you are in full control of the batterybank !

[@markleyg]

No battery likes cold. I bought 48 1kwh (48 kwh) EVE LFP prismatic cells for $4,500 from Sun Fun Kits.

[@Sailingengineer74]

We are waiting for the charge parameter settings recommended by Redodo, as there are aLot of different opinions; Charge until 14.4 and current drops close to zero... then stop charging? OR continue on 14.4V for an hour allowing "absorbtion" in order to let the BMS balance the cells 🤔🤔 I prefer top balance, where currents are low and the balancer can work more efficiently, how is the Redodo bms balancer set ? Can you read the internal cell voltages via bluetooth ? Turn / off charging of the battery ?

[@Spoondrifters]

We don’t have the Bluetooth batteries but they do offer that option on other models. We used the parameters that came in the manual with our batteries and talked to the manufacturer of our charger to set up our system.

[@timevans8223]

The drawbwck of those batteries is​ you have no idea what is going on at cell level. If a cell goes bad, the bms will shut down the battery. You won't know why. I always recommend lithium batteries with a bms for sailboats.

[@kentmeredith2945]

We had newer LiFePO4 batteries on our houseboat on Lake Powell. The boat burned down while it was unoccupied during the off season. Fire Marshall investigation concluded the cause was undetermined. However, the bystander video showed it originated from part of the boat where the batteries resided. I will be very very cautious about battery installation and monitoring on any boat.

[@Spoondrifters]

We are careful, and there are a lot of reasons things can go wrong with any battery setup, not just Lithium.

[@SailingPauHana]

Did you need tonreplace your inverter/charger? Ive read that people need to change those out when switching to lithium

[@Spoondrifters]

We did not because everything is relatively new and is compatible. So it depends on your system.

[@jonathanwetherell3609]

I bought my boat just over a year ago, no house bank at all. I chose Lithium for my house bank, 100Ahr is all I need. Why? Lead would give me about 40Ahr usable for more weight (my boat is 2.7 tonnes dry). Lithium gives me about 80Ahr practical and a much longer life. Alright, the installed cost is more but I have never challenged my new house bank.

[@Spoondrifters]

Yep, they’re a good decision. 😍

[@Mechone11]

How are they with the windless?

[@Spoondrifters]

They work just fine. We did ask that question of the manufacture before we bought them. They had us send them our windlass specs to double check.

[@mrgearha7188]

Yikes! Batteries are expensive. I've been running off the same Sears DieHard auto batteries for about 5 years now, so sticker shock has my head spinning.

[@jonathanwetherell3609]

You have been managing your lead well. Five years is about the life of a well managed lead acid. Most users regularly drop their AGMs below 50% charge and that does not do them much good.

[@Spoondrifters]

Yep. We got 6 years out of our AGM batteries, keeping them charged well, etc. We talked to the manufacturer about the fact we’ve only used them regularly for 3 years. They said it didn’t matter. 5 years is the lifespan. It’s one of the differences between lead acid & lithium. Lead acid looses its lifespan based on time even when well cared for. So they said we got more than our predicted use out of them. .

[@mrhalfstep]

I think that you'll find that the 32 F temperature protection will just interrupt the charging of the battery if it gets that cold. I think you can DISCHARGE them all the way down to 0 F without harm. The beauty of LFP batteries is that they self-discharge at such a low rate that you can let them sit for 6-8 months before you need to think about a maintenance charge. BTW, neglecting to charge a LA battery over the winter or maintaining it with too aggressive of a charging profile will ruin a LA battery prematurely, and LGMs are the frailest of the LA batteries. Even when cared for to perfection, you only get 1200 recharge cycles after discharging to down to 20%. With LFP batteries, it can be as many as 8000 cycles from 100% down to 0% (depending on how fast you discharge and the heat that you create doing it), which is over 10 years, EVEN IF YOU DO IT EVERY SINGLE DAY, and you will still retain 80% of the battery's storage capacity on past that period. The guy that you eventually sell this boat to or your daughter will still be using these batteries after you have shuffled off this mortal coil, so to speak. I'm hoping you out live the batteries, but..... Seriously, you and a lot of other folks were/are reluctant to make a change that is really a no-brainer. If a trade war ensues with China under the new administration, these prices probably won't last long, so you did good pulling the trigger now.

[@Spoondrifters]

All true! We weren’t reluctant to switch to lithium, we didn’t have the money to spend on replacing batteries that were still working. Once the house bank failed, just as we’ve always said, we switched. 😍 Yes these are a good price right now and no one knows the future.

[@9o7Raiders-H20]

Was wondering, Do those batteries have any kind of warranty coverages on them ? I thought there suppose to last like 10 to 20 years and run somewhere near the 80 percent mark after 10 years or something like that..just wondering ...SORRY YOU AND OTHERS THAT HAVE INVESTED SO MUCH IN THEM HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS SORT OF THING AT ALL, THE MARKET NEEDS TO COME DOWN A LOT AND QUICKER IF THEY WANNA MAKE IT A FEASIBLE/SENSIBLE LASTING THING FOR PEOPLE TO CHOOSE INSTEAD OF THE CHEAPER PETROLEUM PRODUCTS THAT'S AVAIBLE PRETTY MUCH EVERYWHERE AT A MOMENTS NOTICE OR WHEN NEEDED ...TAKE CARE FRIENDS,STILL HAVE YOU ALL IN MY PRAYERS AS WELL ALL THOSE SAILING OUR BU TA FUL OCEANS AROUND THE WORLD ...

[@Spoondrifters]

Yes they have a 5yr warranty.

[@kenputt1750]

Look at eco worthy and dc house.

[@dangeroustoman]

If you keep your batteries in a heated area it doesn't matter how cold it is outside.

[@Spoondrifters]

We don’t have heat in our boat, hence why Todd wants to move south 😝

[@dangeroustoman]

@@Spoondrifters diesel heater you will thank me later.

[@gsp49]

$200 for 100 Ah Lifepo4 or less now. AGM is living in the dark ages now, unless for cold cranking battery.

[@blugrasssful]

Todd's cursing?? I wanna hear that!

[@Spoondrifters]

😂

[@jasonbroom7147]

They are pronounced "Red-Oh-Dee-Oh". Dakota and Battleborn are absurdly over-priced and they literally aren't built any better. I have a 51.2v 100ah bank of Li-Time batteries at our summer barndominium. Power Queen is a third brand that is well-built at a value price point. You'll be really happy with those batteries. To be clear, LiFePO4 batteries can be discharged while frozen, but if you attempt to charge them while the cells are frozen you will cause some permanent damage. The LTCP is basically a temperature sensor that will turn off the charging mosfets on the circuit board if it reads a temperature that is too low.

[@Spoondrifters]

Awesome, thanks!

[@dennisdickinson8337]

Oops should have checked the water You could have saved them Lithium seams to rule of the day but they're not rebuildable

[@Spoondrifters]

We did not have wet lead acid. They were glass mat (AGM) so no water to check. They have a life span of 5 years we got 6 out of them.