[Elecraft] [OT] Note from a skeptic

[Al Lorona]

A couple of people have asked me for more detail.

The failure mode was interesting. The battery is, in fact, charged. The no-load terminal voltage is 13.5 V. However, as soon as you put a load on it -- even just 1 mA current draw... actually, even pressing your fingers onto the terminals to draw a few microamps-- the voltage starts dropping, eventually reaching zero at some current. Somewhere inside that pretty ABS case is a fully-charged LiFePO4 imprisoned by the very circuit that is supposed to keep it healthy and available. I think that's what makes this so tragic.

Al  W6LX/4


On Wednesday, June 29, 2022 at 04:22:38 PM EDT, Richard Hill <nu6t.rich at gmail.com> wrote: 





There is a good chance your battery came with, or should have, advice to
charge the battery every six months or less to keep it alive.

I know we hate to read instructions...but in this case it is an expensive
avoidance.

Had my education.

Nu6t

On Wed, Jun 29, 2022, 1:15 PM Drew AF2Z <pubx1 at af2z.net> wrote:

> Batteries have their place but in general I hate the things. Anyone who
> has had to maintain a battery systems does. Now I have them scattered
> all around the house in various states of charge or dying...
>
> Oh sure, they're great for one or two portable devices that you use
> frequently. But here I am again, back in the battery maintenance role
> and not even getting paid for it... Yeah, in general I hate batteries.
> Having a battery-based energy distribution system is just plain nuts.
>
> 73,
> Drew
> AF2Z
>
>
>
> On 06/29/22 14:57, Al Lorona wrote:
> > Late last week, I pulled my two-year-old LiFePO4 battery out for Field
> Day prep and found that it had failed. Efforts to reset the battery
> management system didn't succeed. I got to use this battery on exactly two
> Field Days, which means it cost me almost $200 per Field Day! Sad, very,
> very sad.
> >
> > The dealer is honoring the warranty and a new battery is on the way, but
> I've become a LiFePO4 skeptic. I don't care for battery management system
> electronics that can fail where I can't get to them: sealed up inside the
> battery case.
> >
> > If stuff like this starts happening to everybody's electric car... oh
> boy, look out!
> >
> >
> > Al  W6LX/4
> >
> >
> >
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