Be sure to consider your battery alternatives...
Before you jump in with both feet to buy LFPO4 technology I would
recommend you consider an old battery technology known as the Edison
Cell which never "wears' out like traditional lead-acid cells. To
renew Edison cells you change out the sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or
potassium hydroxide (KOH) electrolyte which contains a touch of
lithium salt for 20 dollars of reagents. Of course playing Mr.
Chemist is not for everyone but I really like the idea of batteries
which will last as long as my yacht with electrolyte servicing every
5-7 years depending on use.
Nickel Iron (NiFe) batteries are large and heavy so the physical
limitations means they are not for everyone - advanced planning and
placement is required but if I was to build a new displacement trawler
the trim ballast would likely be NiFe batteries with solar primary
chargers backed up with a genset charger.
Two USA manufacturers build NiFe Edison Cell batteries (of course
China and Europe does too).
1/ http://www.zappworks.com/ in Montana
2/ http://IronEdison.com/ in Colorado (also imports NiFe batteries from China)
When considering LFPO4 be sure to examine close the ampere rating of
relays/contacts in the Battery Management System (BMS) Remember how
many amps are in your battery bank and the components handling that
load. Many times the components are under rated in my opinion to
provide ABYC recommended safety.
Another alternative... best bang for the buck is:
AGM 12v 200AHr "8D" heavy duty sealed lead-acid glass-mat batteries
are available from China - if enough persons went in together on a 20
battery order the pricing could be .$200 each + estimated freight
$50-100 each = $250-300 each which is an attractive '8D' AGM battery
price. That is the current lead to battery pricing... which is at a
yearly low so expect an upward price movement..
As in all things - YMMV - do your homework!
Douglas Pohl
M/V GREY GOOSE
Astoria OR