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Anyone running Optima LiFePO4

Darkside

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It’s time to start thinking about replacing the battery on my 2021, I am debating between the Optima yellow top and the orange top (LiFePO4). I replaced the battery in my Honda Pioneer with the orange top and absolutely love it, huge difference in performance from the OEM, I was just wondering if anyone has put one in their truck, and how do you feel about it if you did.
 
If you are in cold climates I would not. Unless you are discharging batteries to less than 50% what are you looking to get from LiFePO4? Charging schedule of oem alt won’t get you more than 80% cap anyways.
 
If you are in cold climates I would not. Unless you are discharging batteries to less than 50% what are you looking to get from LiFePO4? Charging schedule of oem alt won’t get you more than 80% cap anyways.
The main thing I like about the LiFePO4 is that it only weighs 21 lbs, the truck sits for long periods of time…I have the Optima 400+ maintainer/ charger that the truck sits on most of the time.
 
The main thing I like about the LiFePO4 is that it only weighs 21 lbs, the truck sits for long periods of time…I have the Optima 400+ maintainer/ charger that the truck sits on most of the time.
Your HD truck won’t even notice the difference in a battery being a bit lighter.

They are pretty, though?
 
The main thing I like about the LiFePO4 is that it only weighs 21 lbs, the truck sits for long periods of time…I have the Optima 400+ maintainer/ charger that the truck sits on most of the time.

There is some value in a lighter battery on a sports car, but not worth it in an 8000lb truck.
 
There is some value in a lighter battery on a sports car, but not worth it in an 8000lb truck.
I was hoping for longer life from the battery also, but the fact that I’ve already got more than 5 years out of the factory one it doesn’t seem to make sense to spend over double what the yellow top is…
 
I was hoping for longer life from the battery also, but the fact that I’ve already got more than 5 years out of the factory one it doesn’t seem to make sense to spend over double what the yellow top is…
If all you care about is getting your moneys worth out of the battery, a Costco or Walmart battery will accomplish that for you a whole lot better than anything Optima has to offer. Once you close the hood, you won’t know the difference either.

That 5 year warranty is hard to beat, and the cost is impossible to beat.
 
Nearly all Li batteries have a BMS in them. This turns off the battery when it goes out of it's operating range for temperature ( high or low ), current flow, over charged, etc.

If that happens when the alternator is running, it will cause a large voltage spike and destroy the alternator.

An alternative approach is to use a normal / heavy duty starter battery and an auxiliary Li battery attached via a battery to battery charger, such as one of the red ones from Sterling. In a perfect world, with a small solar panel.

During normal operation, excess energy will be moved into the Li battery via the BTB charger.

The sterling BTB charger is bi - directional and will normally keep the Li battery charged. When parked, the solar will top off the Li battery, and then reverse charge power into the starter battery to keep it topped off.

You can also use a house to start trickle charger to keep the starter battery charged up.

 
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