Volthium 12.8-014

Also see our Finding Happiness with Lithium-Ion article, explaining the care and feeding of these batteries.

Quebec-based Volthium is not just making large lithium batteries, they now also have a tiny 12 Volt 14Ah one!

With just 3 lbs this battery is ideal for mobile use; Kayaking, camping, or other outdoor activities. With its light weight and diminutive dimensions it easily fits in your backpack!

The Volthium 12.8-014 battery has cold charge protection in its BMS to avoid damage when the temperatures get too cold. Discharge is no problem even if the battery temperature is well below freezing.

All Volthium batteries have UL1642 certified cells, and the best BMS on the market (powered by Texas Instruments), designed and programmed by Volthium in Quebec. This battery is designed to last!

Volthium lithium-ion batteries are true deep-cycle batteries, they can repeatedly be discharged a full 100% without damage. The battery has a build-in battery management system (BMS). The BMS allows them to be charged with regular solar PV charge controllers, with the same settings as for any other sealed battery (such as AGM batteries). The BMS also takes care of protecting the batteries from over- and under-charge, low Voltage disconnect, over-current, and automatic balancing of the cells.

Charge settings for Volthium batteries:

• Bulk/absorb = 14.0 – 14.4 Volt, with 14.2 Volt ideal
• Absorb time = not critical, 0.5 hour is fine
• Float = not needed, set to 13.6 Volt or less
• No equalize, or set to 14.2 Volt if it can’t be disabled
• No temperature compensation, set to 0
• Charge rate of 3 Amp or less is preferred for longevity, though up to 10 Amp is possible
• Charging works from 0C (32F), discharge works fine up to -20C (-4F)

The recommended discharge rate is 3 Amp continuous, up to 30 Amp is possible.

The Volthium 12.8-014 can be connected in parallel parallel to increase the bank Ah rating. Up to 4 batteries can be connected in parallel, making for a 12 Volt 56 Ah system. Ask us if you have any questions about properly sizing a battery bank.

Volthium batteries use LiFePO4 chemistry (Lithium-Iron-Phosphate) in prismatic cells. This is very stable and is not sensitive to spontaneous combustion, unlike laptop and cell-phone lithium-ion batteries. The cells have build-in protection for over-pressure, over-temperature, and contain a fire-retardant in the electrolyte and casing. These are very safe batteries!

Because lithium-ion batteries can be discharged to 100% DOD, and this can be done for more cycles, a smaller battery bank can suffice vs. lead-acid. Since there is no off-gassing these batteries can be mounted indoors, in any orientation.

Features

• Only 3 lbs!
• Zero maintenance!
• Quebec engineering
• Compatible with standard charge controllers
• No memory effect, can be left at any State-Of-Charge
• Can be discharged 100% repeatedly without damage!
• Very low self-discharge, can hold charge for at least 1 year
• Can be mounted in any orientation, zero off-gassing, no dangerous acid
• 12 Volt, 14 Ah (180 Wh of stored energy)
• Active cell management through included battery management system (BMS)
• Long lifespan, true deep-cycle: Over 3000 cycles at 100% DOD, over 6000 cycles at 80% DOD
• 4 years full warranty, plus 6 years pro-rated, for 10 years total