Start of video to 6:30, low temps 6:30 high temp/ degradation 8:30 cycling 9:30 longevity/ charge profile 11:30 balancing 12:50 floating 15:40 storage 17:40 cold cranking (which in reality doesn't really apply to lfp) terminology. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Does off-grid solar confuse you? Check out my DIY friendly website for solar system packages and product recommendations, and so much more! www.mobile-solarpower.com Join our DIY solar community! #1 largest solar forum on the internet for beginners and professionals alike: www.diysolarforum.com Check out my best-selling, beginner-friendly 12V off-grid solar book (affiliate link): amzn.to/2Aj4dX4 If DIY is not for you, but you love solar and need an offgrid system, check out Tesla Solar. Low prices and great warranty, and they can take your entire house offgrid with their new Powerwalls: ts.la/william57509 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My solar equipment recommendations (Constantly updated! Check here first): 12V/48V Lithium Batteries: www.mobile-solarpower.com/solar-batteries.html Solar System Component Directory: www.mobile-solarpower.com/solarcomponents.html Plug-N-Play Systems: www.mobile-solarpower.com/full-size-systems.html Complete 48V System Kits: www.mobile-solarpower.com/complete-48v-solar-kits.html DIY Friendly Air Conditioner/ Heat Pumps: www.mobile-solarpower.com/solar-friendly-air-conditioners.html Complete 48V System Blueprint: www.mobile-solarpower.com/48v-complete-system-blueprint.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My Favorite Online Stores for DIY Solar and Coupon Codes: -Current Connected: SOK, Victron and High Quality Components. Best prices and warranty around: currentconnected.com/?ref=wp -Signature Solar: Cheap Server Rack Batteries and Large Solar Panels: www.signaturesolar.com/?ref=h-cvbzfahsek -Ecoflow Delta Official Site: My favorite plug-n-play solar generator: us.ecoflow.com/?aff=7 -AmpereTime: Cheapest 12V batteries around: amperetime.com/products/ampere-time-12v-100ah-lithium-lifepo4-battery?ref=h-cvbzfahsek -Rich Solar: Mega site and cheaper prices than renogy! Check them out: richsolar.com/?ref=h-cvbzfahsek -Shop Solar Kits: Huge site with every solar kit you can imagine! Check it out: shopsolarkits.com/?ref=will-p -Battery Hookup: Cheap cell deals bit.ly/2mIxSqt 10% off code: diysolar -Watts 24/7: Best deals on all-in-one solar power systems, with customer support and distribution here in the USA: watts247.com/?wpam_id=3 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Contact Information: I am NOT available for personal solar system consult! If you wish to contact me, this is my direct email: williamprowsediysolar@gmail.com Join the forum at diysolarforum.com/ if you wish to hang out with myself and others and talk about solar FTC Disclosure Statement and Disclaimers: Every video includes some form of paid promotion or sponsorship. Some links on this youtube channel may be affiliate links. We may get paid if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of these. My videos are for educational purposes only. Information is subject to change/update at any time. Electricity is DANGEROUS and can kill. Be smart and use common sense :) DIY Solar Power with Will Prowse is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, An affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com
Yeaahh... this is by far one of your BEST and most interesting videos mate!! AWESOME AWESOMENESS!!! Congrats for 200k subs, you totally deserve it..... Will Prowse POWEEEER =]
Really awesome, but lithium chargers (in collaboration with the BMS) do all that correctly, right? Or do I need to check if my RENOGY charger is doing it right?
@@HelderNevesHelderNeves I talked to Dennis before ordering said they would take care of me, good warranty (Read fine print ) First year two out of four batteries went bad They won't give me a RMA to send them back B Born totally screwed me couldn't believe it. Blocked phone numbers and Email I'm out 2 GRAND unless they read this and decide to fix my batteries I just want them fixed, Who blocks phone numbers and Emails Let ya'll no if they fix them
Steve Snider I will be watching to see if your problem is resolved. I was about to order four Battle Born batteries but will wait and see what they say or do about your situation.
thats a sign of a CEO who built his company from the ground up..Not one that was hired to fill a vacancy. This guy probably ran the whole thing by himself for quite a while not only does he know his product but has probably done every job there from the lowest (sorting mail) to CEO they are the best to work for cause they usually have an appreciation for the entry level jobs that actually make the company wheels turn.
I like the candor of this guy. Didn't seem for a second like he was trying to pull something over. Speaks volumes about the caliber of Battle Born. Thanks for the interview Will!
When I ordered my battleborn, I received a personal phone call, stating that they received my order and how long I can expect to wait for it to be delivered. We need more companies like this! Then they started a whole conversation asking what I intend to use the battery for, answering questions for me as well. Extremely friendly and helpful on the phone. Support US manufacturing!
That’s the modern ceo though, they do know their stuff and are happy to be open about it, the days of game playing are nearly gone 🤞, social media and in-depth interviews make a mockery of the no actually experience business school to boardroom managers
You can tell the CEO is confident in his product based on his comfort level talking to Will. Most company bosses would be like " Ahh shit Prouse is coming, hide the cheap BMS, hide the cca, hide the weed and your wives 😂
Dennis is a good guy! When I went to Battleborn a couple years ago, I realize now, that it was Dennis who came out to my rig to test my Battleborns. (I have pics!) Nice company full of nice people! 💙
Such a good job Will! Your interview skills are admirable. You speak simply enough and ask clear questions. Denis was equally up to the task. Fortunately, with a PhD he should know what he is talking about, and mercifully he is also able to talk in a lucid, understandable way. This conversation, of course, is battery nerd heaven, I am not sure what the percentage of the population that is, we may be an endangered species!
There has been a massive increase in knowledge about lithium batteries over the last few years and increasing exponentially, so our 'species' is anything but endangered.
My experience with PhDs is the more a person knows, the harder it is for him/her to teach it. With a Bachelor's they teach one point, with a Master's they teach one point, but remind you of 2 other options, but a PhD. is thinking of 20 options, at the same time, and never gets 1 across to the student. This guy did well. Thank you, sir.
Retired after 24 years as a computer nerd, and I think battery technology is the most exciting to watch right now. On a practical note; I have 7 solar powered LiFePO4 lawn lamps here in the NE USA that are now going through their 6th winter never having been touched save for moving them to mow. But they've been through 6 years of continuous daily cycling and for the first time this week I tried a couple full charges on a charger and found them to be at about 60% capacity. Certainly still enough to brighten a summer evening after a sunny day. Very impressed! And great discovery finding you, Will. Love your attitude and the quality of your content.
Thank you Dennis and Will~!! My two BB batteries changed my traveling life. I NEVER have to worry about a lack of power anymore. When you boondock 99% of the time, that's a BIG DEAL!! I don't run my generator for months and months at a time.
These types of interviews that Battleborn consistently does is what leads me to be a big fan... I like everything about this interview and especially the internal heating for their batteries next quarter .... great job
I just invested in Dragonfly (battle born) and Dennis is the CEO. They got the patent to make solid state battery. The stock is gonna explode by year end when they are able to mass produce it for commercial use.
I just bought one. It arrived yesterday -- 21Apr2021. I haven't used it yet, but anxious too. I got a 12v 100a. Update: Today is 20Jun2021. I began using the battery about 4May. I wanted to do a test to see how many days it would run my mifi hotspot that I want it to run during the winter. It ran for 18 days before the battery was empty. Now I just have to set up my solar panels. I ordered the $50 used "pretty darn good" ones that Will tested. I got 16 of them, which I will split up with friends. I'm only getting 4. Thanks to Will...
Right?!? I never felt like I was watching a sponsored video. And I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't end with " hey guys, if you'd like a BB Battery, use this link to get x discount."
😁 If I was looking to buy a LiFeP04 or ten I'd certainly appreciate a discount code or two. I wish my wife's doctors could explain stuff as well as these two. 😉
YES, no sales pitch at all... Unlike all the youtubers that got sponsored and act like Battleborn is the only battery in existence that is worth buying, it is very annoying specially since rest of the world out side North America do not even have that brand at all for sale.
Founders & similar are awesome. He had founder mentality I think. But always watch out for the sell out. Almost always (not always) the buyers are crap.
Kelly Conaty right!? Messing with the external adhesive heating pad that BattleBorn sells is okay.. but I would rather it all be simple/automated. I like watching Wills battery build/tear down vids, but I prefer not to do that on my own.
I did like the video, then I saw "Battle born factory tour video is coming soon!" and I wish I could like it once more... Planning a 7+KW/h storage for an future RV bus and videos like this are gold!
Thanks for all the great information!!! Keep up the great work!!! Don't worry about the hater's, your honesty shows threw your excited storms of knowledge your throwing at us! Mind blown!!! My new favorite you tuber! Gerard Morin rocks too!
You Gentlemen are SPOT ON! I've researched this on my own and every word you two spoke is the truth! I have found, at least on my Home Solar Setup that Cold Panels outside and warm Batteries inside is the most efficient way to charge.
Awesome video! Got a Battle Born Black Friday and it is waiting for it's new home to be built. So glad to get confirmation on storing it. Great interview Will and Dennis!
Great info as usual, The wife and I are disabled so we are stuck with lead acid batteries due to cost. I know these would last longer for the money but we just can't ever save that much to buy these. So we are in the low rent crowd when it comes to solar. We have learned alot from this channel, Thanks William for all the great reviews of solar products, we built our solar off your designs
will I've been following you for almost 3 years and somehow I missed this interview thank you so much you have given me so much knowledge and the CEO is a superknowledgeable guy a big thank you to both of you
I just invested in Dragonfly (battle born) and Dennis is the CEO. They got the patent to make solid state battery. The stock is gonna explode by year end when they are able to mass produce it for commercial use.
Thank you for all your hard work, time and money spent to share and educate us! You are refreshingly concise. This interview was wonderfully done. Thanks also to the(brave) CEO of BB!
A huge thanks for this great interview. Now the only question I have is what is high and low STORAGE temperatures for the Battleborn batteries. Assume that the battery is completely disconnected.
I loved this interview. It’s good to see that that the CEO of Battle Born seems down to earth and pretty open about his batteries limitations. It’s kind of refreshing after watching videos about the Powerwall.
This was a FANTASTIC video! Not only about Battle Born Batteries, but about LiFePO4 batteries in general. These guys are right over the hill from me, and this makes me want to go visit them and throw down a bunch of questions about my solar / storage setups! I really like the fact that Dennis was upfront and honest about the pros and cons of these types of batteries in general, but also that his companies batteries can suffer the same fate if not treated properly. No BS, 'our batteries can handle so much more of X', just simple, plain answers to the questions posed. Thanks for the video!
This was so good, Thanks for making so informative video. Many clips on YT has battery related Q&A, but this was in the center! Keep making good content, respect for this video!
Will, i love you brother. You're like a kid at a candy store or at Disneyland while talking to this guy or when you talk about batteries in general. it always brings a smile to my face too.. Great job as usual!! Happy new year Will!!😃😃
So glad the reason for the "don't charge it below 32 degrees" warning was fully explained. Those darn slugghish ions... if you let it get too cold you have to hug it and warm it up first or charge it slowly.... good info as always Will.
Wouldn't it come from the charging source since that is when damage occurs is during the charge cycle when batteries are cold? BMS would restrict the charge until safe minimum temp is reached. Just my thoughts.
You make some of the most educational videos on batteries that can be found on TH-cam! Your excitement and enthusiasm is infectious. Keep making content. I learn something new, every time. Well done.
I am so completely sold on Battle Born batteries and once I have my solar setup "ready" I am definitely buying these (with the internal heating protection)... Thank you SOOOOOOOO MUCH for this information. It is far more valuable and informative than companies who throw paid advertising at potential customers.
Great content as usual, to think that most of your average humans could become energy independent from only watching your channel is an empowering idea to think about and must be really satisfying to you Will...I finally joined your forum and immediately found well informed help also.... :)
The information in this video was very helpful and useful. I haven’t seen many CEO’s with this level of understanding about their product. Great interview & info!
As an owner of three Battle Born batteries, this video was so informative especially when letting the RV site for a couple months in the winter. Thank you!
Interesting to see that they don't have different formula for CCA in this era. It did remind me how CCA was rated before though all the info was helpful.
Great job Will, and thank you to you guest.We DIY guys just want to be safe. I believe this is a first too, CEO of battery company sits down with DIY,er to talk shop. Absolutely love it.
An amazing interview Will!!! There's so much information here! I had to watch this several times, and keep this for a good reference... Thank you Will!!!!!!.
Awesome video as always. I had put together a 24V battery using 8 50AH LiFePO4 cells and BMS for a friend in my neighborhood for his wheelchair. Even thought I had told him not to charge if it might dip below freezing (rare occurrence here) I was worried would not follow that guidance. Now though, since we are in the Bay Area and the charge rate is very low (4A charger) I no longer need to worry as I see it given this information. FWIW , that battery fit into the place left by his 2 35AH SLAs and he has multiple times the range now. That was his big issue before, getting stranded on his long journeys to the mall as he was at times with even his new SLAs (when cold worse). Seems like a perfect application.
I met Dennis last year and was immediately impressed with his knowledge and personality. I felt being an engineer and not pushing his product but explaining why BB builds a great product sold me on the 4 that I bought for my RV. In my industry remote communications and great back power supplies are a must and after having the BB's for a year I feel I made a good choice for myself and my clients. Thanks for the videos!
This is really an informative video. It helps me understand lithium battery technology a lot more thoroughly and clarifies a lot of dos and don'ts. I need to replay it and take notes because I will never be able to remember everything. Thanks Will and thanks to Denis for taking the time.
I'm laughing so hard. Because its almost like Will asked the ceo the first question and he's waiting to catch him in a lie, LOL Will be having me rolling with his honest sarcasm at times. Love you brotha man.
Thank you both so much for educating the masses. Your expertise and enthusiasm for a spectacular product and technology is appreciated more than you can imagine. Again, thank you!
Really educational for us who have not yet experienced these types of batteries. Hoping to get into solar in the future and your videos are good for educating the consumer who eventually will likely deal with solar system salesmen .
Excellent, Excellent interview Will. I'm so happy that Battle Born is local to me here in Sparks NV. I was there a few weeks ago to discuss the systems for my expedition trailers. No need to look any further for a supplier for my builds. Keep up the great work Will. Take care and enjoy your time here in Northern Nevada.
Mr.. Ed would be proud! Incredible interview, really great questions Will. I learned a lot of practical information as well as insight on the technical side. More, more!
Seen several interviews with Battleborn lately. These guys are ligit. I would have every confidence buying from them. Great job interviewing. You asked several questions that no one else even touched on. Learned more on this than all the others put together.
The fact that he shared knowledge and experience, without actively selling their product, is a positive presentation of who they are. This relaxed conversation gives BattleBorn a lot of credibility and as a consumer it makes me have a greater confidence in their product. Is that worth several hundred more than an SOK? Not sure...guess everyone will just have to decide for themselves. SOK is a pretty significant competitor to the BattleBorn
Excellent interview!!!!! There's your calling Will. :) Please do a Project Farm series of videos cold testing/charging to see how far you can push them. That's been my biggest concern with lithium batteries traveling in my truck camper full time solar. Knowing that lithium can take a low charge below 25 F charge without killing the battery is a huge plus. I have 2 battery/BMS kits coming from China, so finally taking the plunge. Thank you for all that you've done.
What I found interesting is that he challenged much of what many manufacturers tell us particularly when it comes to the importance of terminating charge and not floating and the damage that can be done with low voltage overcharge. This is, I believe, what gave problems with the Mastervolt very expensive LiFePO4 batteries. He seems to acknowledge that there are problems but he minimises the importance of them almost to the point of irrelevance. This makes me think of common sales tactics and ‘accentuate the positive, eliminate (or reduce) the negative. The implication was rather that their batteries don’t have these problems to any significant extent and that others presumably do as their literature on how to treat them tells us so. I think a generic graph of percentage of max charge rate that is safe at certain temperatures would be useful as would some meaningful data on degradation at high voltages / float levels and times. Some benchmark to test against or to run with in mind.
I think you’re over-analyzing what he said. The message I got was they keep their batteries safe for their intended market RVs and vans. They also try to strike a balance between useability and longevity. So they protect their batteries yet encourage people to charge to 100% (they don’t use an active balancer like a Batrium as that would add too much cost) to get the most out of their resources. Yes their batteries could last longer if the limited max and min charge and limited high and low temps a little more but I think they’ve struck a reasonable balance where their batteries should do at least 3,500 cycles before degrading below 70%.
What I was wondering was what exactly is balancing supposed to do? Does it actually 'heal' the damage in the cell that was out of balance? Does it 'knock down' dendrites? Or other imperfections that were causing more impedance (or correct for low impedance, perhaps)? Because, it it doesn't, I don't really see the point in getting 1-2% more capacity for what? One cycle? And everything I've seen says charging at higher voltages can try to push too much and cause more damage over time. I dunno...
@@nlewis-vg3kc balancing doesn’t ‘cure’ anything but it does prevent things becoming sick. There will always be small differences in the internal resistance of cells even though the better manufacturers try to match a well as they can. This means that over time you get an imbalance as a cell with slightly higher resistance will dissipate a bit of its power as heat and not electricity that is used along with the rest of the cells. Balancing brings the cells all back into line again and this is generally done at the top end of the charge curve where voltage moves very fast for a small change in state of charge. I personally start balancing at 3.4v/cell which is at the bottom of the upper ‘knee’ on the charge curve and cut off charging at 14v for a 12v battery which avoids pushing the upper voltage limit and capacity limit which is the area LiFePO4 are happiest not being in for any length of time. I allow this balancing to continue once charging has stopped so long as cell voltages remain above the 3.4v per cell.
@@philbrooke-little7082 Ok, so say you have one cell that drifts higher on the high end and lower on the low end ( I've read that's often the case). If you bring all the other cells up to the same level with a top balance, and there is no actual physical change in any of the cells, how does this prevent the cells from going exactly back out of balance on the very next cycle? That's the short thought experiment now the long one. So I have a lithium titanate battery that I tested each cell charging and discharging fully. There's one cell that drifts lower than the other cells at the bottom and also slightly higher on the high end (although the difference wasn't as noticeable). Say you do a top balancing charge - I don't see how this helps- at the bottom, this bad cell will still drift lower maybe even lower than it did before compared to the others and then the next cycle what is to prevent it from going higher than the others again- maybe exactly the same amount? Alternatively, you could have one cell that stays lower than the other cells on the high end and higher on the low end presumably because that bad cell has higher resistance than the others so it doesn't take it as much charge (or give out as much). How does balancing help here? I've read tons of explanations, but none of them make physical sense to me. I don't know I just don't see the mechanism that is doing anything except for trying to force charge into a lattice structure that really doesn't want them and seems like you might damage battery cells both that are defective and non-defective. Now it may be that I'm not understanding how most BMS circuits work. I was under the impression that the BMS is monitoring each cell and not letting any particular cell go under a certain setpoint voltage (on the low end) or over on the high end. There probably is something I'm missing, since everyone seems to think balancing is important, but I'm not sure what it is.
@@nlewis-vg3kc You don’t / can’t top and bottom balance, you only do one or the other. If you have one cell with a slightly lower capacity and you top balance then that cell will reach empty before the rest. If you bottom balance then it will reach full before the rest. You have to do one or the other. If you tried to do both you would never get there as you would be shifting it up and down every cycle. If all cells had an identical internal resistance and were top balanced then they should never go out of balance on a full charge. If the internal resistance is a bit different then a degree of rebalancing will be needed which the BMS does with top balancing by shunting some of the current into any high cells. There are other methods as well that use active balancing to move charge around between cells. Balancing doesn’t happen during the normal part of the discharge / charge curve as the voltages are too close. You can actually have cells with quite different states of charge at the same voltage. I should say that I am talking LiFePO4 and I haven’t really studied the curves of lithium Titanate but the same principles will apply I would think.
Will, As usual, great Job!!! If you get a chance to talk to someone like this about cold temp storage I would love to hear it. As I look at specifications on storage temperature on different cells it is all over the map...and seemingly self-contradictory. What does it mean if you can discharge down to -20 but can only store at -10? Reading through the comments here and on your forum, it is clear that there are a subset of your followers that live in cold Climates and might leave the batteries sit for long periods of time.
Will that was excellent! And hats off to Dennis, there was so much info, this will have to get watched several time to get all of the info out of it. 👍
@Will, great job with this video! Do more interviews with other Battery Experts! (Also interviews with experts of other Solar System component manufacturers) That would be great!
Congratulations and thank you for this interview, every time you give us any information about Battle Born Batteries is really good news, now I know which battery is one of the best, Battle Born
This was SO informative and helpful!! Thank you se much! :) And good way for him to promote he's product! He really sounds like I knows what he's doing! Wish their products was more accessible in Europe! 😁
If I ever decide to switch to LiFePO4 it will def be these guys. Really interested to see what they come out with to help resolve some of the extreme cold temps challenging LiFePO4 charging.
great video !! like the info on the LiFePO4 battery. they are different and lot of people confuse MMC types of ION batteries. you can use them cold just have to limit the charging current. you can charge 100 % and keep cycle life.
That provided a lot of great info, both Battleborn specific and general lithium. I was looking specifically for the info on having the BB batteries fully charged for months at a time, but in my case it is the solar keeping them fully charged. Thanks
I am just getting into the world of LiFePO4 for my TT and have watched several of your videos. I have learned so much from you. This was a VERY informative interview. I also think I understand why WFCO implemented their Charge/Floats of there 8950L2-MBA the way they did (it is what I am replacing my old WF-8955 with)
Start of video to 6:30, low temps
6:30 high temp/ degradation
8:30 cycling
9:30 longevity/ charge profile
11:30 balancing
12:50 floating
15:40 storage
17:40 cold cranking (which in reality doesn't really apply to lfp) terminology.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Does off-grid solar confuse you? Check out my DIY friendly website for solar system packages and product recommendations, and so much more! www.mobile-solarpower.com
Join our DIY solar community! #1 largest solar forum on the internet for beginners and professionals alike: www.diysolarforum.com
Check out my best-selling, beginner-friendly 12V off-grid solar book (affiliate link):
amzn.to/2Aj4dX4
If DIY is not for you, but you love solar and need an offgrid system, check out Tesla Solar. Low prices and great warranty, and they can take your entire house offgrid with their new Powerwalls: ts.la/william57509
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My solar equipment recommendations (Constantly updated! Check here first):
12V/48V Lithium Batteries: www.mobile-solarpower.com/solar-batteries.html
Solar System Component Directory: www.mobile-solarpower.com/solarcomponents.html
Plug-N-Play Systems: www.mobile-solarpower.com/full-size-systems.html
Complete 48V System Kits: www.mobile-solarpower.com/complete-48v-solar-kits.html
DIY Friendly Air Conditioner/ Heat Pumps: www.mobile-solarpower.com/solar-friendly-air-conditioners.html
Complete 48V System Blueprint: www.mobile-solarpower.com/48v-complete-system-blueprint.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Favorite Online Stores for DIY Solar and Coupon Codes:
-Current Connected: SOK, Victron and High Quality Components. Best prices and warranty around: currentconnected.com/?ref=wp
-Signature Solar: Cheap Server Rack Batteries and Large Solar Panels:
www.signaturesolar.com/?ref=h-cvbzfahsek
-Ecoflow Delta Official Site: My favorite plug-n-play solar generator:
us.ecoflow.com/?aff=7
-AmpereTime: Cheapest 12V batteries around:
amperetime.com/products/ampere-time-12v-100ah-lithium-lifepo4-battery?ref=h-cvbzfahsek
-Rich Solar: Mega site and cheaper prices than renogy! Check them out:
richsolar.com/?ref=h-cvbzfahsek
-Shop Solar Kits: Huge site with every solar kit you can imagine! Check it out:
shopsolarkits.com/?ref=will-p
-Battery Hookup: Cheap cell deals
bit.ly/2mIxSqt
10% off code: diysolar
-Watts 24/7: Best deals on all-in-one solar power systems, with customer support and distribution here in the USA:
watts247.com/?wpam_id=3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Contact Information:
I am NOT available for personal solar system consult! If you wish to contact me, this is my direct email: williamprowsediysolar@gmail.com
Join the forum at diysolarforum.com/ if you wish to hang out with myself and others and talk about solar
FTC Disclosure Statement and Disclaimers:
Every video includes some form of paid promotion or sponsorship. Some links on this youtube channel may be affiliate links. We may get paid if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of these. My videos are for educational purposes only. Information is subject to change/update at any time. Electricity is DANGEROUS and can kill. Be smart and use common sense :)
DIY Solar Power with Will Prowse is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program,
An affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com
Yeaahh... this is by far one of your BEST and most interesting videos mate!! AWESOME AWESOMENESS!!!
Congrats for 200k subs, you totally deserve it..... Will Prowse POWEEEER =]
Really awesome, but lithium chargers (in collaboration with the BMS) do all that correctly, right?
Or do I need to check if my RENOGY charger is doing it right?
@@HelderNevesHelderNeves I talked to Dennis before ordering said they would take care of me, good warranty (Read fine print ) First year two out of four batteries went bad They won't give me a RMA to send them back B Born totally screwed me couldn't believe it. Blocked phone numbers and Email I'm out 2 GRAND unless they read this and decide to fix my batteries I just want them fixed, Who blocks phone numbers and Emails Let ya'll no if they fix them
Steve Snider I will be watching to see if your problem is resolved. I was about to order four Battle Born batteries but will wait and see what they say or do about your situation.
Steve Snider wow!
This is a CEO that actually knows his product, as it should be. Great interview!
Yeap CEO is a techie , a dam experienced one at that , wouldn't be surprised if he did the designs himself originally
thats a sign of a CEO who built his company from the ground up..Not one that was hired to fill a vacancy. This guy probably ran the whole thing by himself for quite a while not only does he know his product but has probably done every job there from the lowest (sorting mail) to CEO they are the best to work for cause they usually have an appreciation for the entry level jobs that actually make the company wheels turn.
@@iczer01 rather than hiring one off the web...
I like the candor of this guy. Didn't seem for a second like he was trying to pull something over. Speaks volumes about the caliber of Battle Born. Thanks for the interview Will!
True! I think that is the company that I want to deal with 👍
Ted McFadden absolutely made up my mind who’s batteries I will be purchasing this spring
He actually came to our solar class to explain the Battle Born process...down to earth. Great man.
When I ordered my battleborn, I received a personal phone call, stating that they received my order and how long I can expect to wait for it to be delivered. We need more companies like this! Then they started a whole conversation asking what I intend to use the battery for, answering questions for me as well. Extremely friendly and helpful on the phone. Support US manufacturing!
I wouldn't expect the CEO to know any of that stuff, but to feel comfortable enough to explain all this on camera is very impressive. Great interview!
That’s the modern ceo though, they do know their stuff and are happy to be open about it, the days of game playing are nearly gone 🤞, social media and in-depth interviews make a mockery of the no actually experience business school to boardroom managers
PHD, he probably did much of the engineering.
All CEO'S know the Tech side of the bussiness!
There is a reason they are CEO'S!!!!
Bet you his credentials have electrical engineering major
You can tell the CEO is confident in his product based on his comfort level talking to Will. Most company bosses would be like " Ahh shit Prouse is coming, hide the cheap BMS, hide the cca, hide the weed and your wives 😂
Considering that CEO has a PhD, I doubt he's worried about a diy'r
the CCA... all the CCA, where do we hide it, aaaahhhh xD
@@andreasmuller5693 😂😂😂
Lmaooooo. Hide the wives:)
😂😂😂 hide the weed hide your wives lol
Definitely going to save this and watch over and over.
That was an amazing interview. I've always had a difficult time finding that kind of information - and then from the CEO of a battery company. Wow!
Will I have watched you grow from gaffer taping solar panels on a van to writing a book and now this ! Congrats Mate!
REALLY !!! THIS is how the real leaders in a field get started . He's already the "GO-TO" guy on youtube !
Dennis is a good guy! When I went to Battleborn a couple years ago, I realize now, that it was Dennis who came out to my rig to test my Battleborns. (I have pics!) Nice company full of nice people! 💙
Such a good job Will! Your interview skills are admirable. You speak simply enough and ask clear questions. Denis was equally up to the task. Fortunately, with a PhD he should know what he is talking about, and mercifully he is also able to talk in a lucid, understandable way.
This conversation, of course, is battery nerd heaven, I am not sure what the percentage of the population that is, we may be an endangered species!
There has been a massive increase in knowledge about lithium batteries over the last few years and increasing exponentially, so our 'species' is anything but endangered.
My experience with PhDs is the more a person knows, the harder it is for him/her to teach it. With a Bachelor's they teach one point, with a Master's they teach one point, but remind you of 2 other options, but a PhD. is thinking of 20 options, at the same time, and never gets 1 across to the student. This guy did well. Thank you, sir.
Retired after 24 years as a computer nerd, and I think battery technology is the most exciting to watch right now.
On a practical note; I have 7 solar powered LiFePO4 lawn lamps here in the NE USA that are now going through their 6th winter never having been touched save for moving them to mow. But they've been through 6 years of continuous daily cycling and for the first time this week I tried a couple full charges on a charger and found them to be at about 60% capacity. Certainly still enough to brighten a summer evening after a sunny day. Very impressed!
And great discovery finding you, Will. Love your attitude and the quality of your content.
Thank you Dennis and Will~!! My two BB batteries changed my traveling life. I NEVER have to worry about a lack of power anymore. When you boondock 99% of the time, that's a BIG DEAL!! I don't run my generator for months and months at a time.
These types of interviews that Battleborn consistently does is what leads me to be a big fan... I like everything about this interview and especially the internal heating for their batteries next quarter .... great job
For a canadian wanting to live in an RV even in winter, which can get -30C some times but most often -20C, this is important to me!
I just invested in Dragonfly (battle born) and Dennis is the CEO. They got the patent to make solid state battery. The stock is gonna explode by year end when they are able to mass produce it for commercial use.
A Battleborn with an internal heating element! Nice!
That could make your van complete eh? :)
I just bought one. It arrived yesterday -- 21Apr2021. I haven't used it yet, but anxious too. I got a 12v 100a.
Update: Today is 20Jun2021. I began using the battery about 4May. I wanted to do a test to see how many days it would run my mifi hotspot that I want it to run during the winter. It ran for 18 days before the battery was empty. Now I just have to set up my solar panels. I ordered the $50 used "pretty darn good" ones that Will tested. I got 16 of them, which I will split up with friends. I'm only getting 4. Thanks to Will...
I love the fact that the CEO didn't try to sell me a battery. The conversation was all about lithium batteries, not Battleborn batteries.
Right?!? I never felt like I was watching a sponsored video. And I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't end with " hey guys, if you'd like a BB Battery, use this link to get x discount."
😁 If I was looking to buy a LiFeP04 or ten I'd certainly appreciate a discount code or two.
I wish my wife's doctors could explain stuff as well as these two. 😉
@@mikebarron5805 He talks like a technically-inclined person, not a used car salesman or a tax lawyer :)
YES, no sales pitch at all... Unlike all the youtubers that got sponsored and act like Battleborn is the only battery in existence that is worth buying, it is very annoying specially since rest of the world out side North America do not even have that brand at all for sale.
THANKS WILL !! WHAT A COOL GUY HE IS . I always wonder what the people at these companies are like to meet !!
Founders & similar are awesome. He had founder mentality I think. But always watch out for the sell out. Almost always (not always) the buyers are crap.
Great interview. One nugget that I picked up is that BB will be coming out with a battery with an internal heater. I'm waiting for those.
Kelly Conaty right!? Messing with the external adhesive heating pad that BattleBorn sells is okay.. but I would rather it all be simple/automated. I like watching Wills battery build/tear down vids, but I prefer not to do that on my own.
LiFeBlue has had this for over a year now.
On_The Road BB’s warranty is much much better. Was originally gonna go with LifeBlue but now am gonna wait for BB
I did like the video, then I saw "Battle born factory tour video is coming soon!" and I wish I could like it once more...
Planning a 7+KW/h storage for an future RV bus and videos like this are gold!
Great interview Will. I always love your enthusiasm on this subject.
Thanks for all the great information!!! Keep up the great work!!! Don't worry about the hater's, your honesty shows threw your excited storms of knowledge your throwing at us! Mind blown!!! My new favorite you tuber! Gerard Morin rocks too!
You Gentlemen are SPOT ON! I've researched this on my own and every word you two spoke is the truth! I have found, at least on my Home Solar Setup that Cold Panels outside and warm Batteries inside is the most efficient way to charge.
Awesome video! Got a Battle Born Black Friday and it is waiting for it's new home to be built. So glad to get confirmation on storing it. Great interview Will and Dennis!
Great info as usual, The wife and I are disabled so we are stuck with lead acid batteries due to cost. I know these would last longer for the money but we just can't ever save that much to buy these. So we are in the low rent crowd when it comes to solar. We have learned alot from this channel, Thanks William for all the great reviews of solar products, we built our solar off your designs
will I've been following you for almost 3 years and somehow I missed this interview thank you so much you have given me so much knowledge and the CEO is a superknowledgeable guy a big thank you to both of you
I just invested in Dragonfly (battle born) and Dennis is the CEO. They got the patent to make solid state battery. The stock is gonna explode by year end when they are able to mass produce it for commercial use.
Great interview and a great CEO not scared to just talk technology and not “hide” the info
Thank you for all your hard work, time and money spent to share and educate us! You are refreshingly concise. This interview was wonderfully done. Thanks also to the(brave) CEO of BB!
Good interview, putting a lot of the so called issues into perspective. Both came across very well.
A huge thanks for this great interview. Now the only question I have is what is high and low STORAGE temperatures for the Battleborn batteries. Assume that the battery is completely disconnected.
My take on that was, temps. are unimportant with a no load/charge condition. Steady state storage temps. probably have an extreme range. IMO
I loved this interview. It’s good to see that that the CEO of Battle Born seems down to earth and pretty open about his batteries limitations. It’s kind of refreshing after watching videos about the Powerwall.
you're a natural, Will!! great interview!!
Denis is awesome! I am a new customer and just purchased 3X - 100AH Battle Born batteries to replace the old AGM in my RV.
This was a FANTASTIC video!
Not only about Battle Born Batteries, but about LiFePO4 batteries in general.
These guys are right over the hill from me, and this makes me want to go visit them and throw down a bunch of questions about my solar / storage setups!
I really like the fact that Dennis was upfront and honest about the pros and cons of these types of batteries in general, but also that his companies batteries can suffer the same fate if not treated properly. No BS, 'our batteries can handle so much more of X', just simple, plain answers to the questions posed.
Thanks for the video!
This was so good, Thanks for making so informative video. Many clips on YT has battery related Q&A, but this was in the center! Keep making good content, respect for this video!
Will over here giving us real, quality content
Now, that's how an interview should go!! Spot on!
I loved hearing these answers! I was glued to these comments!
Wow a CEO that knows he’s product! Bravo Sir 👏🏻
That's great.
The Lithium plating graph is... pretty graphic!
Thanks for the inspiration and keep on trucking!
Total Awesomeness
Thanks William...
I have 6 BB batteries in my 5th wheel RV and absolutely love them. Great interview!
Wow, my esteem for Battle Born keeps on going up and up! How many other CEOs would be able to answer such technical questions? Not many.
Will, i love you brother. You're like a kid at a candy store or at Disneyland while talking to this guy or when you talk about batteries in general. it always brings a smile to my face too.. Great job as usual!! Happy new year Will!!😃😃
So glad the reason for the "don't charge it below 32 degrees" warning was fully explained. Those darn slugghish ions... if you let it get too cold you have to hug it and warm it up first or charge it slowly.... good info as always Will.
Will has so much passion for batteries its infectious. Also where would the energy come from to heat the batteries?
Wouldn't it come from the charging source since that is when damage occurs is during the charge cycle when batteries are cold? BMS would restrict the charge until safe minimum temp is reached. Just my thoughts.
You make some of the most educational videos on batteries that can be found on TH-cam! Your excitement and enthusiasm is infectious. Keep making content. I learn something new, every time. Well done.
I am so completely sold on Battle Born batteries and once I have my solar setup "ready" I am definitely buying these (with the internal heating protection)... Thank you SOOOOOOOO MUCH for this information. It is far more valuable and informative than companies who throw paid advertising at potential customers.
Great content as usual, to think that most of your average humans could become energy independent from only watching your channel is an empowering idea to think about and must be really satisfying to you Will...I finally joined your forum and immediately found well informed help also.... :)
Great company coming from two guys making batteries in their garage 5 yrs ago. No fluff and all business. Great vid too Will ;)
The information in this video was very helpful and useful. I haven’t seen many CEO’s with this level of understanding about their product. Great interview & info!
Will... you're amazing!! I hope you are doing well!!!
Great to see you meet up with Dennis and discuss theory and can't wait to see the tour and more details of the batteries....Thanks Will....
As an owner of three Battle Born batteries, this video was so informative especially when letting the RV site for a couple months in the winter. Thank you!
Interesting to see that they don't have different formula for CCA in this era. It did remind me how CCA was rated before though all the info was helpful.
we need a bms that slowly reduces the charge rate as temperature decreases
Great job Will, and thank you to you guest.We DIY guys just want to be safe. I believe this is a first too, CEO of battery company sits down with DIY,er to talk shop. Absolutely love it.
You can add a remote shut off option switch to turn progressive lithium charger off if your worried about constant hi volts damaging battery.
An amazing interview Will!!!
There's so much information here!
I had to watch this several times, and keep this for a good reference...
Thank you Will!!!!!!.
Awesome video as always. I had put together a 24V battery using 8 50AH LiFePO4 cells and BMS for a friend in my neighborhood for his wheelchair. Even thought I had told him not to charge if it might dip below freezing (rare occurrence here) I was worried would not follow that guidance. Now though, since we are in the Bay Area and the charge rate is very low (4A charger) I no longer need to worry as I see it given this information. FWIW , that battery fit into the place left by his 2 35AH SLAs and he has multiple times the range now. That was his big issue before, getting stranded on his long journeys to the mall as he was at times with even his new SLAs (when cold worse). Seems like a perfect application.
I met Dennis last year and was immediately impressed with his knowledge and personality. I felt being an engineer and not pushing his product but explaining why BB builds a great product sold me on the 4 that I bought for my RV. In my industry remote communications and great back power supplies are a must and after having the BB's for a year I feel I made a good choice for myself and my clients. Thanks for the videos!
Smart guy, great explanation
The CEO didn’t even bother trying to pitch a sale at the end of the video
Real classy
Cheers 🇹🇹
STRAP in kids!!!!
This is going to sell, thousands of....
Battle Born batteries!!!!
Great job, PARTNER!!!!
YOU KNOW !! when you have the best or you are the best , you'll beat the rest !!
I learned more about lithium iron phosphate batteries in this video than hundreds of others combined. Thanks!
Down Boy! Haha, j/k.
Will, your enthusiasm is infectious.
Another great video. 👍
I love my battle born battery in my little boat 1 1/2 yr old now running 2 trolling motors and no problems.
This is really an informative video. It helps me understand lithium battery technology a lot more thoroughly and clarifies a lot of dos and don'ts. I need to replay it and take notes because I will never be able to remember everything. Thanks Will and thanks to Denis for taking the time.
I'm laughing so hard. Because its almost like Will asked the ceo the first question and he's waiting to catch him in a lie, LOL Will be having me rolling with his honest sarcasm at times. Love you brotha man.
Thank you both so much for educating the masses.
Your expertise and enthusiasm for a spectacular product and technology is appreciated more than you can imagine.
Again, thank you!
Really educational for us who have not yet experienced these types of batteries. Hoping to get into solar in the future and your videos are good for educating the consumer who eventually will likely deal with solar system salesmen .
Learned some new stuff. Thanks Will, and Happy New Year!
Nice to see a CEO actually knowledgeable about the product he is selling.
Excellent, Excellent interview Will. I'm so happy that Battle Born is local to me here in Sparks NV. I was there a few weeks ago to discuss the systems for my expedition trailers. No need to look any further for a supplier for my builds. Keep up the great work Will. Take care and enjoy your time here in Northern Nevada.
So good to hear this directly from a manufacturer. Awesome video. Thanks.
Mr.. Ed would be proud! Incredible interview, really great questions Will. I learned a lot of practical information as well as insight on the technical side. More, more!
Seen several interviews with Battleborn lately. These guys are ligit. I would have every confidence buying from them. Great job interviewing. You asked several questions that no one else even touched on. Learned more on this than all the others put together.
Will, screw all the haters! This was an awesome video / interview. I learned quite a bit. Very insightful!
The fact that he shared knowledge and experience, without actively selling their product, is a positive presentation of who they are. This relaxed conversation gives BattleBorn a lot of credibility and as a consumer it makes me have a greater confidence in their product. Is that worth several hundred more than an SOK? Not sure...guess everyone will just have to decide for themselves. SOK is a pretty significant competitor to the BattleBorn
Excellent interview!!!!! There's your calling Will. :) Please do a Project Farm series of videos cold testing/charging to see how far you can push them. That's been my biggest concern with lithium batteries traveling in my truck camper full time solar. Knowing that lithium can take a low charge below 25 F charge without killing the battery is a huge plus. I have 2 battery/BMS kits coming from China, so finally taking the plunge. Thank you for all that you've done.
What I found interesting is that he challenged much of what many manufacturers tell us particularly when it comes to the importance of terminating charge and not floating and the damage that can be done with low voltage overcharge. This is, I believe, what gave problems with the Mastervolt very expensive LiFePO4 batteries. He seems to acknowledge that there are problems but he minimises the importance of them almost to the point of irrelevance. This makes me think of common sales tactics and ‘accentuate the positive, eliminate (or reduce) the negative. The implication was rather that their batteries don’t have these problems to any significant extent and that others presumably do as their literature on how to treat them tells us so. I think a generic graph of percentage of max charge rate that is safe at certain temperatures would be useful as would some meaningful data on degradation at high voltages / float levels and times. Some benchmark to test against or to run with in mind.
I think you’re over-analyzing what he said. The message I got was they keep their batteries safe for their intended market RVs and vans. They also try to strike a balance between useability and longevity. So they protect their batteries yet encourage people to charge to 100% (they don’t use an active balancer like a Batrium as that would add too much cost) to get the most out of their resources. Yes their batteries could last longer if the limited max and min charge and limited high and low temps a little more but I think they’ve struck a reasonable balance where their batteries should do at least 3,500 cycles before degrading below 70%.
What I was wondering was what exactly is balancing supposed to do? Does it actually 'heal' the damage in the cell that was out of balance? Does it 'knock down' dendrites? Or other imperfections that were causing more impedance (or correct for low impedance, perhaps)? Because, it it doesn't, I don't really see the point in getting 1-2% more capacity for what? One cycle? And everything I've seen says charging at higher voltages can try to push too much and cause more damage over time. I dunno...
@@nlewis-vg3kc balancing doesn’t ‘cure’ anything but it does prevent things becoming sick. There will always be small differences in the internal resistance of cells even though the better manufacturers try to match a well as they can. This means that over time you get an imbalance as a cell with slightly higher resistance will dissipate a bit of its power as heat and not electricity that is used along with the rest of the cells. Balancing brings the cells all back into line again and this is generally done at the top end of the charge curve where voltage moves very fast for a small change in state of charge. I personally start balancing at 3.4v/cell which is at the bottom of the upper ‘knee’ on the charge curve and cut off charging at 14v for a 12v battery which avoids pushing the upper voltage limit and capacity limit which is the area LiFePO4 are happiest not being in for any length of time. I allow this balancing to continue once charging has stopped so long as cell voltages remain above the 3.4v per cell.
@@philbrooke-little7082 Ok, so say you have one cell that drifts higher on the high end and lower on the low end ( I've read that's often the case). If you bring all the other cells up to the same level with a top balance, and there is no actual physical change in any of the cells, how does this prevent the cells from going exactly back out of balance on the very next cycle?
That's the short thought experiment now the long one. So I have a lithium titanate battery that I tested each cell charging and discharging fully. There's one cell that drifts lower than the other cells at the bottom and also slightly higher on the high end (although the difference wasn't as noticeable).
Say you do a top balancing charge - I don't see how this helps- at the bottom, this bad cell will still drift lower maybe even lower than it did before compared to the others and then the next cycle what is to prevent it from going higher than the others again- maybe exactly the same amount? Alternatively, you could have one cell that stays lower than the other cells on the high end and higher on the low end presumably because that bad cell has higher resistance than the others so it doesn't take it as much charge (or give out as much). How does balancing help here? I've read tons of explanations, but none of them make physical sense to me.
I don't know I just don't see the mechanism that is doing anything except for trying to force charge into a lattice structure that really doesn't want them and seems like you might damage battery cells both that are defective and non-defective.
Now it may be that I'm not understanding how most BMS circuits work. I was under the impression that the BMS is monitoring each cell and not letting any particular cell go under a certain setpoint voltage (on the low end) or over on the high end. There probably is something I'm missing, since everyone seems to think balancing is important, but I'm not sure what it is.
@@nlewis-vg3kc You don’t / can’t top and bottom balance, you only do one or the other. If you have one cell with a slightly lower capacity and you top balance then that cell will reach empty before the rest. If you bottom balance then it will reach full before the rest. You have to do one or the other. If you tried to do both you would never get there as you would be shifting it up and down every cycle. If all cells had an identical internal resistance and were top balanced then they should never go out of balance on a full charge. If the internal resistance is a bit different then a degree of rebalancing will be needed which the BMS does with top balancing by shunting some of the current into any high cells. There are other methods as well that use active balancing to move charge around between cells. Balancing doesn’t happen during the normal part of the discharge / charge curve as the voltages are too close. You can actually have cells with quite different states of charge at the same voltage. I should say that I am talking LiFePO4 and I haven’t really studied the curves of lithium Titanate but the same principles will apply I would think.
Will,
As usual, great Job!!!
If you get a chance to talk to someone like this about cold temp storage I would love to hear it. As I look at specifications on storage temperature on different cells it is all over the map...and seemingly self-contradictory. What does it mean if you can discharge down to -20 but can only store at -10?
Reading through the comments here and on your forum, it is clear that there are a subset of your followers that live in cold Climates and might leave the batteries sit for long periods of time.
WOW..... Awesome interview Will and Thank you very much Doctor Phares for making very clear, the answers to every question.
I don't have or need any batteries but this is interesting! Also that a CEO actually have deep knowledge of their products, great content!
Thanks for doing this. I just ordered my batteries for the RV project, this was very informative.
This dude asked ALL THE QUESTIONS. Subscribed
At last, a decent company that answers questions. Well done!
That was very good information.
Thank you all for doung this video.
Will that was excellent! And hats off to Dennis, there was so much info, this will have to get watched several time to get all of the info out of it. 👍
@Will, great job with this video! Do more interviews with other Battery Experts! (Also interviews with experts of other Solar System component manufacturers) That would be great!
Congratulations and thank you for this interview, every time you give us any information about Battle Born Batteries is really good news, now I know which battery is one of the best, Battle Born
Excellent knowledge for using their batteries and some of the differences from other chemistries.
This was SO informative and helpful!! Thank you se much! :) And good way for him to promote he's product! He really sounds like I knows what he's doing! Wish their products was more accessible in Europe! 😁
Excellent information thanks to you and BattleBorn.
Great job Will.
If I ever decide to switch to LiFePO4 it will def be these guys. Really interested to see what they come out with to help resolve some of the extreme cold temps challenging LiFePO4 charging.
Wow. I got a lot out of this video. Great questions! This has to be one of your best videos.
great video !! like the info on the LiFePO4 battery. they are different and lot of people confuse MMC types of ION batteries. you can use them cold just have to limit the charging current. you can charge 100 % and keep cycle life.
That provided a lot of great info, both Battleborn specific and general lithium. I was looking specifically for the info on having the BB batteries fully charged for months at a time, but in my case it is the solar keeping them fully charged. Thanks
I wasnt planning to watch the whole thing but daym, its nice to hear two people talk about things they are passionate about
Thanks Will and Dennis! Plenty to learn and put to use!
Very interesting. You did a great job. Not easy, bt you did it well. You do a great job. I like your honesty.
I am just getting into the world of LiFePO4 for my TT and have watched several of your videos. I have learned so much from you. This was a VERY informative interview. I also think I understand why WFCO implemented their Charge/Floats of there 8950L2-MBA the way they did (it is what I am replacing my old WF-8955 with)
And yet another useful video from the Will Prowse Educational Foundation! Loved it.