12v LifePo4 Battery for Trail Cameras-DIY Build
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 มิ.ย. 2022
- Amazon Link to all products in the 12vLifePo4 Build:
www.amazon.com/shop/thehandyh...
Check out these cool LifePo4 batteries if you don't want to build your own:
6ah-LifePo4 Battery: amzn.to/48ipPCp
10ah-LifePo4 Battery: amzn.to/3Sd5tVJ
12ah-LifePo4 Battery: amzn.to/3TMNC9c
12v LifePo4 battery packs are gaining in popularity to add extended life to trail cameras, security cameras, and other gadgets due to their long life and superior performance. LifePo4 batteries tend to have an edge over lithium ion both in terms of cycle life (it lasts 4-5x longer), and safety. This is a big advantage because lithium ion batteries are at a higher risk of overheating and can even catch fire, while LifePo4 batteries do not.
In the past, I would drop a SLA (sealed lead acid) battery in a plastic ammo box to provide backup power to my trail cameras. Although this is an easy and cost effective approach, it is not without problems. Two of my biggest issues with this setup was water and bug intrusion. Many times this led to premature death of the battery which ended up costing me more money to replace. After years of frustration, I started building my own 12v LifePo4 battery builds and I couldn't be happier.
A 12v LifePo4 battery build is easy with the right tools and supplies. In this video, I go step by step into building this 12v 6ah LifePo4 battery setup and show all the tools and materials required for the project. The project box I use is waterproof and bug proof while the cable is wrapped in stainless braid to prevent squirrel and rat damage.
This external battery for trail cameras is protected by a PCB board that protects the LifePo4 batteries from both over discharge and over charging! The PCB also has charging balance which equalizes each battery and extends the life of the entire pack. I would not be surprised if this DIY 12v LifePo4 battery pack last 10 years! We'll see!
Amazon Link: Complete 12vLifePo4 Build: a.co/1zCCSDQ
Contact:
HHSteve@protonmail.com - กีฬา
Hey guys, the DIY build is great in this video but I'm now using the prebuilt LifePo4 batteries because they've come down in price. I've been using these for a while now and they work great! The links are in the description of the video or here: 6ah-LifePo4 Battery: amzn.to/48ipPCp
10ah-LifePo4 Battery: amzn.to/3Sd5tVJ
12ah-LifePo4 Battery: amzn.to/3TMNC9c
can you sell them already build?
You can buy them from Amazon at the links above. They work great!
@@TheHandyHunter Ihave a question.if i buy a 12 volt lifepo4 battery and its written on the port of my trail camera DC12V/1A,can I use a 12 volt lifepo4 with any amount fo amps ?
Those 12volt LifePo4 batteries are perfect for trail/cell cameras. Trail cams don’t really pull any amps so you’ll be ok.
@@TheHandyHunter Thanks , I just bought 2 lifepo4 battery for 2 of my trail cam to try. If its working as expected, I will buy one for all my other cameras.
BRILLIANT!!!! You got my attention!!!
Thank you for sharing this. Im going to try this with my stealth cam
You are welcome! Good luck!
Well done!
Thank you!
I recognize those 32650 cells! I still haven’t put together my last 3 packs yet. Life got busy and I didn’t even get a chance to get cameras into the woods this year.
I hear ya…life gets busy quickly! I totally understand that!! You’ll like this setup though!
Love it brother. One small tip. Best not to solder to the tops of the cells if you can. Just weld a tab on that your wires are pre solder to or after. The #1 thing I see that kills cells is them being solder to. I hope this duse not upset you. Not trying to be that guy. I am fare from it. Those look grate. Them cells are grate! I used a case to make a park for a friends hunting camper. He loved it so much now he is using it to run his lights in his man cave lol. Keep up the grate work brother. God Bless.
Great suggestion brother! I actually hate soldering and love the spot welder anyway. I’ve done it the way you are suggesting on some of my solar packs with small batteries because it’s easier and I didn’t want to heat them up. Thanks for the suggestion!
Newbie question. What’s the difference between welding and soddering in this case? And why not sodder?
@@dr.sethbarr9351 The soldering process requires a lot of heat over time. The Spot Welding is a Lot of heat real fast. The cells don't like a lot of heat. So the welding is beater for the cells over all. But if you don't care about extreme longevity of the cells or just are using older cells. Solder is fine.
Where do you get the tin to solder to the batteries
@@prostreet4975 Mine came with the welding (not soddering) kit that was posted here. That thing is awesome. I highly recommend.
Great idea and amazing packs. Maybe this will be a helpful, if you use tape at the end of your stainless wire (where you cut) it will make a clean cut. Also try using heat shrink on the ends to hold it instead of wire.
Great suggestions! Thanks for sharing!
So after building 9 of these I can say these things are AWESOME. Big thanks to the Handy Hunter for putting this video together. Make sure to get the stuff via his link so he gets some credit for the work he put into make these.
Couple of things I've noticed while building.
1) You really need to make sure that the hole for the plug is as close to the top as possible. I like to keep the box together when drilling that hole as to not crack the lip of the box and ruin it.
2) As mentioned before in the comments, its best to not sodder wires to the batter but to sodder to a strip first then weld it to the battery.
3) There is absolutely no way you can make one of these in 10 minutes even if you have all the stuff laid out. There is 10 sodders per each of these. Its a lot. I'd realistically expect to spend a minimum of 30 minutes on each one, probably longer.
Great feedback! Thanks for sharing! Keep in touch and let us know how these work out for you over the coming months.
I just finished my first one and the charger works, as expected. However, the one BIG issue I'm having or seeing is the fact that the "DC Power Pigtail Cable,3FT DC 5.5MM x 2.1MM Male Plug to Bare Wire Open End Power Wire" that I purchased from the Amazon site, per the provided instructions from this channel, seems to not "seat-in firmly" into the external 12v DC input jack on both of my Browning Trail camera models, "BTC-PATRIOT-FHD" Patriot and my "BTC-5HDE" Strike Force Elite HD trail cameras here. ANYONE ELSE having this issue, as well, when connecting to the Browning Trail camera's external 12v DC input jack, by chance? It's looking to me that the power cable should include a "twist lock or keyed" plug on the end of the DC power cable which should connect "firmly" into the bottom of these Browning Trail Camera's external 12v DC Input jack, by design.
I run brownings too but are you having a problem with the size of the barrel fitting in the jack or is the plastic on the plug preventing the barrel from going in far enough? I usually take a sharp knife or razor blade and shear off a little plastic from the edge so the plug can go in further. I wish they made locking plugs but I’ve never seen them on a trail cam.
@@TheHandyHunter I finally got the DC power cable to fit much better and secure now. I simply "sliced off" about 1/32" or thereabouts of the end of the black, hard rubberized material that surrounds the metal barrel of this connector that goes straight into the external 12V power jack of the camera. There was just a tad too much of that black rubberized shielding on the barrel itself on original DC supply cable that was preventing me from getting it to slide in all the way and make that good, solid connection. Now, its working perfectly.
How do these hold up in sub freezing temperatures? Also, any idea on the life expectancy?
I have now built two of these and have the parts to build two more!!! Materials ordered for #"s 5 and 6!
Awesome! My 6ah packs are getting 7 months of use before needing recharging.
@@TheHandyHunter That is great! Thanks for the idea and guidance. I will soon test a solar charger on one of mine. All are within sunlights reach... even if I have to run a cord. I have a gate camera with close to 50' of cord connecting a battery/charger and a ground battery that works well.
I love this setup. I would be interested in seeing if solar panel would work and be able to test battery level in the field.
I haven’t tested with a solar panel but it might work. I don’t use solar on these because I use this box for deep cover where there’s low light. I have a better setup for solar which uses a much smaller battery. You can definitely test battery level in the field with a voltage tester testing at the plug…inside is positive and outside is negative. I’m going to be testing the battery level for the first time next week so we’ll see how it goes. It’s been out almost 3 months.
I do mine a little different. I use 4 LiFePo4 batteries hooked in parallel.
Between the solar panel and the batteries I use a Buck Converter with set output at 3.5 volts. The current goes to zero when the batteries get to 3.5v.
Between the batteries and cam I use a boost converter set to either 6 or 12v. The boost converter shuts off at 2 volts protecting the batteries from low voltage.
I have several that have been deployed (unattended) for 5 years. Using 3.5v instead of 3.62 is said to double their lifetime. I have some pics if interested. The converters are cheap on eBay. Being parallel the batteries are by definition always balanced.
Great suggestion and interesting setup! I’m always interested in new designs that last! Can you shoot me a pic to hhsteve@protonmail.com…thanks for sharing!!!
Hello could you send me pictures as well as I’ll be building some of these soon. Thanks
@@waynelaurabunnell2798 I need your email address.
Gonna build some of these for my trail cameras. Thanks for such a well done overview! I used your links for my purchase. One question, after building do I have to rig something like you did with fans to drain the batteries and test the pcb function? If I don’t have fans is there something else I can use?
You don’t need to drain it to test pcb. Just top it off and put it to work.
BTW Do you think I need to add some desiccant packs to mine? Here in the south it's hot at wet. 99% humidity and 86 F right now at 6:42 am..
If you have some it probably wouldn’t hurt!
I quit using the cylinder type LiFePo4 batteries. I’m now using the rectangular type with each rated at 24Ah, 3.62V. No need to put them in parallel as one battery is enough. Just put a Buck Converter between the battery and the solar panel and a Boost Converter between the battery and the camera.
Great and simple idea! Thanks for sharing!
Can you post a link to the battery you are using?
It’s called a Prismatic Lithium Iron Phosphate battery. 6” tall, 2-3/4” wide, and 1” thick. Rated at 24 Ah. Mine were blue. Uses screw terminals on top. Got mine on Amazon. Original price was 4 for $89. For some reason they gave me a $35 credit. I didn’t argue.
I picked up a couple of the lifepo4 batteries off amazon that you suggested lower in the comments. Curious how you're making the leads for the cameras, and are you putting anything over the terminals to help against the weather?
I just use spade terminals with no special protection. So far no problems. I’d be pretty easy to slide some wire protector over the terminals if needed. Good luck!
I love this system! Can the camera batteries still be used in the tray as backup while using this system? Will this work on a 6 volt 1.5 amp camera? Thanks for your great teachings!
I do run lithium batteries in the internal camera as a backup. My Brownings automatically switch over when the external battery dies. You can regulate this 12v battery down to 6 volts with a Buck converter easily. Good luck!
@@TheHandyHunterAs someone who knows nothing about batteries, I did not understand what you said. How do you switch over from a 12v to a 6v? Mind doing a video?
Nice Kit!! Where did you buy the PCB 4s l didn’t find your there is so many different one,
Click in the Amazon link in the description and it’s in our store. The whole build is in there for you to check out. Thx!
Our men's ministry runs Covert Cameras....I have some areas where cell service isn't great and we are going thru AA Energizer batteries every couple of weeks. What type of solar panel and set up do you recommend? Any links to where I can purchase?
I enjoy your videos!
Thank you! Cell cams can be power hogs. Do you have full sun in these areas? If not, I would look at the 12v LifePo4 batteries on Amazon. You can build them DIY but they are getting cheaper to the point I just buy them and they work great. There are a lot of prebuilt solar/battery packs on Amazon now but I haven’t tried them although I have heard good things so far. I have a couple cell cams with solar that can’t keep up so I switched to larger LifePo4 batteries and recharge them every few months. Hope that helps!
How long do these last compared to lithium aa batteries (before needing recharging)
I’ve never used AA rechargeable so I’m not sure. This 6ah battery last me 6 to 7 months in the field. Hope that helps.
Can you show how you paint your different camo patterns?
If you watch my recent Reolink video I show how I do the sponge effect camo. I hope that helps!
Would a after marker Milwaukee m12 battery be a safe and good option for this?
As long as you regulate the voltage down to 12v with a buck converter
would you build this battery kit &put in store for us not good at putting things together. love your videos. wayne
Man, I wish I had time! Thanks for the suggestion though!
I'm not sure I understand. In the introduction you highlighted a specific PCB board. Then a battery charger different from the others. My question is can I use a standard battery charger?
No, you need a battery charger specifically made to charge LifePo4 batteries. It will say on the battery charger if it charges LifePo4.
I opted for the 6aH batteries that you recently listed in the description because I can also use them for some of our feeders. How would you wire that battery into the box with the power cable and the charging port when the PCB isn’t involved? Can I just pull a jumper from the positive and negative cables connecting to the battery terminals and run it to the charging port?
Sorry, I don’t understand what you are asking. Are you trying to wire the battery into a feeder box?
nah, I’m trying to build the battery box for the trail cameras using the 6ah battery instead of the 4 individual batteries being connected together since I’m already using those batteries for feeders. But I’m not quite sure how to wire in the charging port. I’m thinking I can wire it similarly to how a solar panel connects to a battery.
You’ll connect the solar directly to the terminals using a piggyback spade connector. Then on your wire from the piggyback connector to the camera install a 12v buck converter or 7812 regulator to prevent high voltage passthrough from your solar. The pcb within the battery should regulate charging. Hope that helps!
Can the charging port be used with a solar panel? Assuming a charge controller would be needed
I haven’t tested it with solar but don’t know why it wouldn’t work. Don’t need a controller because the onboard bms will manage charge protection. Good luck!
Hmmmm...with the prices of lithium aa's this is becoming more intriguing to me! in theory, what are the 12 energizer lithium aa's equivalent to in a set up like this? should the 12v6ah hour last longer then the aa lithiums ???
According to their specs…3.5Ah..so half of the Ah in the video setup. Plus, they aren’t rechargeable unless you get rechargeable AA’s.
Can I use this 12v that you created for my 6v trail camera?
Yes, you install a buck converter and adjust it to max output of 6-7volts and you are good to go. They are cheap too. Good luck!
At "16:55" timestamp of your video, can you please tell me what "model, make, and type of cooling fans" you opted to go with as your "fan bank" load when recharging this "12v LifePo4 Battery Unit" to drain it persay and hit the "low-voltage" value (11.1 Volts) so that this rechargeable battery pack unit gets a complete or full charge? I see so many different sizes and types that I'm unsure of what to buy when making this "fan bank" similar to the one you've made for this video.
Heres the ones I use…Dorhea 4PCS 80x80x15mm Fan 12V... www.amazon.com/dp/B092QR7QM1?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Hope that helps!
@@TheHandyHunter Thank for your response and the "fan" info, as well.
Can you run tactacam reveal cameras on solar power only without batteries?
Not sure. You definitely need solar plus an external battery but some cams still require internal batteries to run. In this case just run lithium batteries inside the cam so they don’t leak.
What part do you use to reduce to 6 volts?
Use a simple buck converter and set it to 6 volts…works perfectly
Can you use this battery on 12V deer feeder? thank
You sure can but getting it to fit inside a spinner box might be a challenge. You could rig it on the outside.
Nice pack. How long did it last on a single charge with your camera?
Hi Nathan, I don’t know yet but will let you know. I put it out about a month ago and may not check it for another month from now. Hoping to get many months on one charge. Stay in touch!
@@TheHandyHunter well?
Still going…may check after Christmas and update
@@TheHandyHunter results?
I got 7 months on a full charge. A general way to look at it is for each 1ah in the battery you’ll get one month of use. So 6ah = 6/7 mos from my experience. All depends on camera and number of videos etc. Hope that helps.
Have you ever thought of using a dewalt 12 battery?
I haven’t but it would be a very easy solution to rig up and recharge! I hear about people doing it. Good luck!
4s pack of lipo4 is 14.6V, thats apparently not too high for the camera?
I wonder if 4s lion fully charged 16.8v is to high?
What made you decide to use Lifepo4 and not say 3s LION or LIPO? fully charged voltage of 12.6v depleted 10.5
The pcb board regulates the highest voltage at 13.5 volts and prevents overcharging. I wouldnt use LifePo4 or Lithium without a pcb. I dont like the 3-lithium packs because they take a much bigger solar panel to charge. A 1.5w panel will easily charge a LifePo4 pack. Hope that helps.
Lithium-ion self discharge rate is considerably lower than let us who it only self-discharge at 2% per month.
lithium ions voltage drop off was considerably less making it ideal for trail cameras.
Having a hard time finding those cells. Would you expect any 32650 LiFePO4 3.2v cell to be fine?
Yep, you can also substitute 32700 batteries as well. They are very similar. Everybody seems to be having trouble locating the 32650’s for some reason. Good luck!
AliExpress has 32700 batteries in 12.8Ah (Green in color). I bought 24 for $100 shipped, just received them the other day.
Good to know…thanks!!
Just got the materials today. Can I ask what 'gear' setting did you use for the weld to the battery?
I use gear 8 on the battery ends but use gear 2/3 on the pcb contacts, otherwise you will fry the pcb contacts with too much heat. Hope that helps!
You weld the 3 pcb leads? In the video it looks like you have sodder on them?
Yep, I use solder when I’m forced to use wire and can’t spot weld. Just be as quick as possible to not overheat. Some people will spot weld a little tab and then solder to that. Good luck!
@@TheHandyHunter Very helpful! So in theory soddering the wire to to a little tab then spot welding that tab to the pcd board at gear 2/3 would be better / safer for the pcb board
@@TheHandyHunter One more question! I see the 32650 battery you have listed is replaced by the 32700 serries. Same volts but higher mAH (6000 vs 5000). Will this batter work with the pcb board you have listed?
Can you please put complete build link again? This one dont work any more for me
The link still works from my end. Here's the link again and maybe this will help. Thanks,
www.amazon.com/shop/thehandyhunter/list/2VSHSP8MKEYS6?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_aipsflist_aipsfthehandyhunter_VJM6BG2YSSVNY0RYS71S
Have you ever seen where your "cutoff voltage" was "12 Volts", and no lower, from any of your previous builds, by chance? I've built three, thus far, and all three had a "cutoff voltage" at "11.1 - 11.3 Volts" and a charged output voltage of "13.5 - 13.57 Volts" thus far. Currently, this one I just finished building last evening is presently being "charged" right now. Anxious to see what the end result will be for the "output voltage" once fully charged. Just curious about this build, since the first three went without a "HITCH" thus far. I guess there's always going to be that ONE that stands out from the others as we say.
Never had one cut off at 12 volts. You may want to exchange that pcb just in case. Good luck!!
@@TheHandyHunter Thank you for the quick response and feedback, as well.
(Update) - The Output voltage reading, after a full charge, is currently showing "13.75 V" ..... a tad higher than the previous three where the voltage reading was showing "13.5 - 13.57 Volts" with my previous three builds.
How long does it take to charge this battery pack from completely dead to fully charged?
Hard to say because I haven’t times it but my best guess would be about 3 hours. Hope that helps.
@@TheHandyHunter Thanks
About how long did it take to drain the battery using the fans? I think my pcb board might be faulty and need a way to drain them
Depends on how many you use. When I hook up 4 it still takes several hours. What you may need to do is reset the pcb by touching the tabs with a 12v battery. Just a quick tap is all it takes. I’ve had to do that before as well.
@@TheHandyHunter that would be sweet. Mine pack clocked in at 7 volts. Can’t be good for the batteries. Surprised they still work. Can you explain what you mean by touch the tabs with a 12v
Is this new build or existing one you are trying to recharge? On a new build you may have to touch a 12v battery to the main pos and neg on the pcb to start up the pcb. If its an old build you may have to charge each battery to slightly bring the total pack back into pcb charging range. The pcb shouldnt let the charge go that low before shutting down but it happens…they are perfect. Hope that helps!
@@TheHandyHunter it’s an existing build. I’ve had 2 so far drop into the 5 and 7 volts respectively. The 7 charged back up. The 5 wou my my budge and I’m wondering if the batteries are shot?
You are saying to charge each individual battery? If so how would I go about that? Is there a way to see if the PCB board is faulty on the ones dropping into the single digit land?
Not really sure how to know if pcb is faulty other than it continually going below threshold. Your batteries are probably not bad. You can charge a couple diff ways. I use a benchtop power supply that you can select exact voltage. If you dont have one then i would use a 9v battery and put a buck converter on it and adjust it to about 3.7 or so for each battery. You just need to get the pack charge a little higher for the pcb to work. Lastly, if all else fails switch to using the 6ah LIFEPO4 brick batteries now on amazon. I’ve had great success so far and they are only $25 or so. They already have pcb built in so it’s a plug and play. Hope that helps
Can you connect a solar panel to the charger input?
I don’t see why not but I would test it first. I use these back in the woods where I don’t get good sun but it might be worth trying it with solar. I would test it in full sun to see how the PCB manages the higher input voltage and whether it keeps it in the 12v safe range before plugging into a cam. If it past the first test I would then drain the battery and then see how long solar takes to recharge it. I would probably start with a 5watt panel and see what happens. If it takes too long then go bigger. Let me know if you give it a shot! Good luck!
Did you test the solar and did it work?
I didn’t test the solar because I dont plan on using solar with this pack. I don’t see why a 5watt panel wouldn’t keep it charged though. I use this pack in dense cover where solar wouldn’t be productive but it should do fine with solar in good light!
I just built one of these. I checked the output and it read 13.09. I plugged it into one of my cameras and it did not turn on. I put the batteries back in after unplugging it from the box. It no longer works at all. Is it possible that it fried the camera??
13.09 volts is normal and won’t fry your camera. I would check the polarity on the plug. The inside should be positive and the outside of the barrel should be negative. It’s easy to get them switched. What type of cam is it?
@@TheHandyHunter, I used the black outside and the red inside to get the reading.
The camera is an apeman camera.
I plan on using the box for my Tactacam cell trail camera. It’s still in the field so I haven’t brought it in yet. I also want to camouflage the battery box first.
@@TheHandyHunter, So after further research, the Apeman wildgame cameras are 6volt cameras. I’m guessing that by plugging in the 13 volt box, it fried something in the camera?
Yep, most likely. If you get a replacement be sure to put a buck converter on your box and reduce down to 6 volt range.
Do you have suggestions for other batteries? The one's you are showing are no longer available. Excellent video too, very well explained!
Sometimes batteryhookup.com will have them but you may have to do some searching if Amazon is out. Hope that helps.
How many ah is the battery you build? Do you still build your own or buy the already made one now?
This one was 6ah. I no longer build my own due to the success of the LifePo4 batteries I’ve bought off Amazon. Can’t beat the price vs DIY. Good luck!
What enclosure do you put the battery into? Also is it possible to charge these with solar panels? I couldn’t see why not but I figured you would know
I don’t use an enclosure. I just lightly sand and paint then I epoxy a u-bolt to hang on the tree or post. Works great. You can use a solar panel but Im still trying to decide which watt panel is all around best. Testing 2w-5w. A lot depends on how much shade you have therefore needing more watts.
@@TheHandyHunter that makes sense could you possibly post a picture of how you have it set up? It’s weird to think of all the terminals and connections exposed
I dont have a pic since they are all in the woods. You can definitely put it in a box but I was trying to keep it a small as possible. The exposed terminals are covered once you slide on the connectors and i have not had a problem so far. You can still put some wire protector on your cable all the way down to the connectors. Depending which way you put the ubolt the terminals can be on the bottom or the top. I tend to hang them off the bottom and hang right next to the cam. Then it’s just a short cable over to the bottom of the cam jack.
Nice video but NO fuse from the battery, so any short would be very bad!!
I dont use any fuses on my trail cam setups. Just have to be careful not to touch while you are building. So far so good.
What is total cost per battery box without paint
I would say it cost around $40 but you can click on the link to our Amazon store for this build and add it all up.
@@TheHandyHunter thanks
Would you recommend this type of setup for cell cam? Also, the two Amazon battery packs pre-built that you linked…what is the process for using those? Solder a cable to pos/neg then into camera?
The battery links I shared seem to be the future. They already have a bms and they are LifePo4 for only $22+. The 10ah is $35. All you need is to epoxy a hanging hook and add a cam cable with spade connectors. This is what I’m testing now and it’s good so far!
I would definitely use for cell cam but would probably go with the 10ah. Good luck!
@@TheHandyHunter do you have a video on setting that up with one of those packs?
Not yet. Still testing but hopefully soon. It’s a good gamble I think for this type of battery. Don’t need to build it yourself or buy special tools. Cheapest way with the best kind of battery. Almost too good to be true…we’ll see!
Not yet but I will in the future
Links are dead.
Fixed! Thanks for the heads up!
How long does the battery’s last
Running a field test on it now. Just checked at 3 mos and it dropped from 13.5 down to 13.13volts so its still considered full. At this pace it looks like this battery could last over a year without recharging. Hope that helps.
@@TheHandyHunter how many pictures in that 3 mo time period
@@TheHandyHunter my Tactacam revel is eating brand new Duracell optimum in about 4-5 day
Hundreds of 10sec videos on both test cams over 3mos. Pretty busy cams
@@TheHandyHunter is that sending the videos via cellular too or only taking them? Awesome tutorial btw! Just trying to get a sense of how long to expect usage before recharging on cellular camera and also if a solar panel could be plugged into the charger port to be left out on the field indefinitely
You still running these setups?
Yep still running and works good but an easier route is to just buy a prebuilt LifePo4 on Amazon because they are much cheaper now and come in larger Ah sizes. Hope that helps.
@@TheHandyHunter What Ah do you target?
Would you be interested in making a few to sell?
I just dont have time but if I were you I’d buy a 6ah LifePo4 battery off Amazon. They are cheaper now and you dont have to build them. That’s what I’m switching too since they’re now reasonably priced.
Have a link on the ones you would use?
Or what box would you recommend for the 6ah lifePO4?
Feuruetc 6Ah 12V LiFePO4 Battery 2000 Cycles Maintenance-Free Rechargeable Battery Low Self-Discharge & Light Weight with Built-in BMS for Solar Power, Boat, RV Camper and More a.co/d/9BfvCmR
This is the one I’ve been using. You can buy the bigger 12ah if you want double the Ah. I dont put these in a box. I epoxy a U-bolt on the back and hang them directly on a tree. Works great and cheaper.