When purchasing from our company, charging lithium batteries becomes an everyday part of the routine, and we understand that there’s a lot of information about our products. Whether it’s about how the technology accepts a charge or best charging practices, we’re here to outline the basics. Our team is here to guide you on optimal charging practices for lithium batteries. We can offer more information on how these batteries cycle and can be charged to ensure your battery system operates efficiently.
Our team gets this question daily, and we have a blog post on charging LiFePO4 batteries that helps address that topic. There are three main ways to charge a system: solar, alternator, and shore.
Battle Born Batteries only sells accessories from brands we know to produce quality products. One such company is Victron Energy. Battle Born is a master dealer of Victron components because they are reliable and well-built. They even offer the Victron Connect phone app, where you can view all the details of your Bluetooth-capable devices.
Our team also recommends components from Progressive Dynamics and Magnum. We have plenty to purchase, so check out our store if you want more power!
One component we often recommend is the Victron Energy SmartSolar MPPT charge controllers for systems equipped with solar. With Solar Charge Controllers, we recommend the following settings:
We also frequently suggest Victron’s IP-65 Blue Smart Charger because it’s waterproof, Bluetooth compatible, and has a charging profile for lithium batteries and other battery chemistries. Connect this device directly to the battery for single-battery charging. It is ideal for those with trolling motor applications or battery systems connected in series.
For alternator charging, we often recommend using a DC-to-DC charger or battery-to-battery charger. The Victron Orion-TR Smart DC-DC isolated charger is an adaptive, three-stage charger with algorithms for bulk, absorption, and float options.
You also can mix battery chemistries safely with this device, such as your AGM starting battery to your lithium house bank. Aim for a range between 14.2V and 14.6V with bulk and absorption stages; for the float stage, 13.6V is best.
While lithium batteries technically don’t need to be floated, a good majority of the devices out there still have a float charge mode. The batteries naturally float at 13.6V, but reaching 14.6V is ideal and needs to happen to engage its balancing mechanisms.
Addressing this question, we highlight how a retrofit kit from Progressive Dynamics with a converter system has lithium battery charging options. Another charger we recommend is a Progressive Dynamics Inteli-Power 9100 because of how easy they are to incorporate and install into your system, in addition to any Victron component.
Alternator charging is a common method to recharge lithium batteries. Charging from your alternator is a great option. However, you will need some extra equipment, like a battery isolation manager (BIM).
A well-known industry tool, this component is programmed specifically to run with our batteries. It helps with simultaneously monitoring the house and starter bank and has high internal resistance. It can certainly take more power from the alternator when compared to lead-acid batteries.
The BIM provides an extra layer of safety to make sure you don’t damage your system of three or more lithium batteries when charging from the alternator during a long drive. If you have less than three of our batteries in your system, a BIM isn’t exactly required, and instead, you can use a standard isolator. They can regulate the current up to 220 amps and prevent damaging the alternator during a long drive.
Sterling Alternator Protection devices (APD) are also available in our store to prevent damage from surges. These devices turn on with a small resistive load of milli-amp hours to reduce a possible increase in voltage due to cables breaking or any other issues. If the rise in power is too sudden and harsh, it could cause significant damage to the APD. You can trust that your alternator, batteries, and regulators are protected from any potential damage.
Our lithium batteries don’t need to be float-charged.
When it comes to the charging cycle and our batteries, they do not need to float. When you’re charging lithium batteries up fully, you can disconnect your charger and leave them in storage. Please note that batteries will lose a bit of charge over time, but they won’t damage the battery. They might need to be topped off when bringing them out of storage. There is no need to trickle charge your Battle Born Batteries.
However, if you have an RV with a battery bank plugged into shore power, you should avoid running your appliances off the battery bank. Unless you are utilizing a cutoff switch in your system, you do not have a choice as to where the 12v comes from. Our team recommends that if you have a fixed voltage output converter, it’s best to use a disconnect switch to remove the batteries from the circuit and allow them to rest.
When charging a lead–acid battery, the three main stages are bulk, absorption, and float. Occasionally, there are equalization and maintenance stages for lead–acid batteries as well. This differs significantly from charging lithium batteries and their constant current stage and constant voltage stage. In the constant current stage, it will keep it steady while the battery takes the bulk of its charge. Once the maximum voltage is reached, then the charger will hold that voltage, and the current will begin to drop as the battery is topped off.
For a lead–acid battery, that constant voltage stage is typically called absorption, and because the lead acid has a higher resistance, the charger will hit the higher absorption stage halfway through the charging cycle. You could be bulk charging at the maximum current for a couple of hours, and then you’d have to wait another 2-3 hours in absorption while the battery is being topped off. By contrast, our batteries will stay in the constant current or bulk stage for almost the entire charge cycle.
Once it hits the maximum voltage, 14.4V, then the battery is basically charged. Now we request that you hold that voltage for 15-20 minutes per battery. It’s not necessarily for the battery to get topped off, but it helps the battery balance. Cell voltage starts to separate at maximum voltage. Once that voltage separation happens, we can tell which cell is more charged than the others.
Once we know that, then the battery management system (BMS) can initiate a balancing cycle where the highest charged batteries are bled through a resistor, and then all of them can come back down to the same state of charge. Although there is no required absorption for our battery, we use the absorption stage in conventional chargers to balance the cells.
Multi-bank charging is a great way to balance series-connected battery systems. When connecting positive-to-negative to create a 24V system, it’s important to ensure the batteries are balanced. The first battery to deplete will enter low voltage disconnect mode, triggering the other battery as well. You’ll end up with a lower capacity system than you think.
This also applies when your system experiences high voltage disconnects, so taking these steps will protect your system in either of these extreme situations. If you keep them charged up frequently, they will be more likely to stay in balance because the BMS will internally balance the system. With this multi-bank charger, output leads are isolated electrically and are still able to connect each lead to each battery without disrupting the charge. They will both be ready for discharge and at a full state of charge.
If you want to purchase a multi-bank charger of your own, we suggest the Dual Pro Professional Series Battery charger for your system. It’s also a popular choice among the bass fishing community. It has a specific algorithm for our batteries and is offered in 2 or 4 output options.
Our Battle Born Battery charging parameters consist of the following:
For a 12V system, we really want to emphasize reaching 14.2V – 14.6V for bulk and absorption and float to be 13.6V or lower.
For a 24V system, we suggest a bulk and absorption rate of 28.4V– 29.2V and float to 27.2V or lower. No equalization is required, but if it’s possible, we suggest 28.8V. No temperature compensation is required either, and absorption time is approximately 20 minutes per battery if that is an option.
For a 48V system, we recommend a bulk and absorption rate of 57.4V and floating it at 56.5V to 57V. Sometimes, one of the batteries may trigger a high-voltage disconnect in your system. The battery’s internal BMS will help handle a high-voltage disconnect. Our team wants to emphasize that, overall, there’s no harm in playing around with charge rates to optimize your system.
One of our most frequently asked questions is, “How long does it take to charge lithium batteries?”
Our experts note charging time depends on the specific charger in your system. Lithium-ion batteries have low internal resistance, so that they will take all the current delivered from the current charge cycle. For example, if you have a 50-amp charger and a single 100-amp hour battery, divide the 100 amps by 50 amps to come up with a 2-hour charging time.
Another example is if you had five 100Ah (amp-hour) batteries for a total of 500Ah and a 100-amp charger. It would take about 5 hours to charge from empty to 100 percent while factoring in enough time to balance the charging cycle. We don’t recommend you exceed this charge rate as it can lead to a shortened battery cycle life. In an emergency, the battery can be charged at a quicker rate if needed, but we don’t recommend you make a habit of emergency charging your battery.
If you have any additional questions on charging lithium batteries, our YouTube channel and frequently asked questions section on our website offer a wealth of information. Need more help? Please direct your questions to our sales and tech team by giving them a call at 855-292-2831 or sending an email to [email protected].
We know that building or upgrading an electrical system can be overwhelming, so we’re here to help. Our Reno, Nevada-based sales and customer service team is standing by at (855) 292-2831 to take your questions!
Also, join us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to learn more about how lithium battery systems can power your lifestyle, see how others have built their systems, and gain the confidence to get out there and stay out there.
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35 thoughts on “Charging Lithium Batteries: The Basics”
I don’t understand the following statement that I copied from your Charging Lithium Batteries: The Basics, To Float or Not to Float section. “However, if you have an RV with a battery bank plugged into shore, you should avoid running your appliances off the battery bank. You will want to run your chargers to power your coach and be able to float because it helps keep batteries fully charged while running your appliances from shore power through the charger. Although the batteries themselves don’t need floating in terms of a charge cycle, the float is useful when plugged into shore and don’t want to drain your batteries while using your system.”
I just set up and tested my system including a shore power charger. I have all chargers (+) cables going to a busbar connected to my batteries through a switch. The load fuse box is also connected to the (+) busbar. Does this system satisfy the correct charging condition you describe in the statement above? If not, how would I correct it? Thanks.
Hi Michi, I will look into revising the verbiage in the blog post as I understand it is confusing. Our sales team recommends that unless you are utilizing a cutoff switch, you do not have a choice to where the 12v comes from. If you have a Fixed Voltage Output converter, it would be best to utilize a disconnect switch to remove the batteries from the circuit to allow them to rest. If you have a multistage charger or converter, you are able to keep the batteries in the circuit because they will be able to rest at an acceptable voltage in the final stage of the charge.
If you have any additional questions please give our sales and tech team a call at 855-292-2831 and they would be happy to assist with any troubleshooting. Thanks for reaching out!
I purchased two BattleBorn 12v 100ah lithium batteries to replace one 12v 100ah wet cell battery in my trailer. Can I charge the new batteries from the same system used to charge the original battery?
I plan to hook up the new batteries in parallel to get 12v.
Hi Jack, our batteries are drop in replacements for lead acid batteries. If you have any additional questions please give our sales and tech team a call at 855-292-2831.
Can you elaborate on this: “unless you are utilizing a cutoff switch, you do not have a choice to where the 12v comes from. If you have a Fixed Voltage Output converter, it would be best to utilize a disconnect switch to remove the batteries from the circuit to allow them to rest. If you have a multistage charger or converter, you are able to keep the batteries in the circuit because they will be able to rest at an acceptable voltage in the final stage of the charge.”
I’m sorry to beat a dead horse as this has already been asked, but I’m not clear what this statement means. Maybe a simple circuit diagram would be helpful. Thanks!!
Hi Russ, thanks for reaching out. We’ll look into creating a simple circuit diagram soon but in the meantime you can check our YouTube channel out here for any additional assistance: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu9mOYKj4r5-CVxP5evPGrA
I’m currently running 2 x 120 AH lithium batteries rigged in series for a 24 volt trolling motor, can I charge via a 40AMP 12 volt lithium charger if I rig the batteries in parallel via some Anderson plugs ?, will this put the batteries out of balance & if I stayed with this system can the batteries be re balanced or what charging system would you suggest ?
Thanks in advance
Good morning Simon! Thank you very much for reaching out. You could put the batteries in parallel to charge them with a 12v charger, but this requires a bit more effort that it may be worth. Our team recommends using an isolated 12v charger for each battery, or a multibank charger. These options will allow you to charge the batteries while they are still connected in series. If you need any more technical assistance, please give us a call at 855-292-2831. Thank you again and have a great rest of your morning!
i’m installing a renogy battery monitor. what value to set for the battleborn’s lowest state of discharge? 14.4 is 100%, but what is the lowest number?
Hi there! We’d love more information about your system, so please give our sales and tech team a call at 855-292-2831 for us to answer any additional questions. Thanks again for reaching out and have a great rest of your morning!
We set up our sailboat with a house bank of four battleborn 100Ah 12V batteries. We also have a typical AGM starter battery. We want to keep the house and starter charged via our Balmar alternator, solar MPPT charge controller, and 120V shore power. What’s the simplest way to keep the battleborn’s happy and keep the starter battery topped up and ready?
Hi Denise! We have recently published an article that could help with your system: https://battlebornbatteries.com/solar-battery-charger-for-boats/ and if you have any additional questions, please give our sales and tech team a call at 855-292-2831 and they can assist with further detail.
I have a lithium battery and like to know why it doesn’t charge up to its maximum. I started charging at 12:00pm and its almost 5:00pm and it’s on dot three and it has five dots. The indicator max’s out at five dots. Thank you for your time with my message
Hi Mark, thanks for reaching out. Our sales and tech team would love to learn a bit more about your system and its charging methods, so if you could please give them a call at 855-292-2831 they would be more than happy to assist.
Hello. I’ve added Battleborn batteries to my fishing boat. I run 2 for the trolling motor and 1 as a house battery. I charge them just fine with the Minnkota precision on board charger set on the AGM mode. My question is can all 3 of my Battleborn lithium batteries also be charged with the onboard Minnkota alternator charger MK3DC? The MK3DC redirects the charge from the starting battery and sends that extra amps to the 3 bank charger, but only when the starting battery reaches 13.6V. Minnkota’s spec sheet states it is not optimized for lifepo4, but am unsure if it is compatible or if it can damage these types of batteries?
Hey Cliff! The Minnkota Precision charger will work great for that setup. It will not hurt the batteries and you will get a nice trickle charge from it. It will not be able to top the batteries off but will work. As far as the MK-3-DC it is a 12,24, or 36 volt dc to dc charger. They don’t list the voltages but customers have reported that they work well. Each output is 12amps per bank and will charge from the starter battery.
Greetings BattleBorn,
I’ve been using your 100A lithium batteries (x4 connected to a 1350W Solar Array) in a 42′ fifth wheel for about 3 years now (we full-time). They work great! We bulk charge and absorb charge at your recommended settings.
Can you help with the following 2 questions.
1) Do you have charts (like the wet cell’s do) that show the percent drain of the batteries as the voltage drops? Are they the same as wet cells?
2) Should BattleBorn batteries be set to drop out at 10.5V like a regular wet cell or can they go lower without inflicting damage (to the batteries or any connected equipment)?
Hi there! Thanks for reaching out and we are so glad to hear that the batteries are working flawlessly in your fifth wheel. As for a state of charge chart, here is a link: https://battlebornbatteries.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/MicrosoftTeams-image-89.jpg
The Battle Born BMS will open at 10v to prevent further discharge. At 10v, you would have received 100ah out of the battery. We recommend an inverter Low Voltage Disconnect at 11.5v. If you have any questions about your system, you can always give our team a call at 855-292-2831. Thanks again!
I own a Mercedes Benz diesel sprinter, Airstream Interstate 19, which currently has two AGM house batteries. I have a handicapped son and I primarily used my vehicle for travel and not for camping or boon docking. I would like to replace the two AGM batteries with two Battle Born lithium batteries. Would two Battle Born lithium batteries drop in without having to purchase additional equipment to make the change over from AGM batteries to lithium batteries? My Airstream Interstate 19 comes with a 1,000 watt inverter. Will the system I have, 1) charge two lithium batteries; 2) will the lithium batteries harm my Mercedes Benz alternator; and 3) will my inverter and vehicle alternator “fully” charge two lithium batteries? In other words are lithium batteries merely a drop in swap of batteries from AGM to lithium or is it necessary to add other equipment to make the swap?
Thank you,
David Hudson
Hi David! Thank you for reaching out. What is the make and model of your converter? Do you also have anything between your alternator and battery bank? Our sales and tech team would be more than happy to assist and answer these questions if you give them a call at 855-292-2831 and have the answers to those questions ready.
I have the BB 12v 100Ah battery in my camper. I know that the WFCO shore power unit cannot charge lithium batteries fully, so I’ve used my Victron Blue Smart Charge (5 amp) and solar array to occasionally attempt do that. While the readout from the BSC may indicate that the battery is fully charge, the battery voltage at that point is never above 13.36v. Per the Li SOC table , that indicates that the battery is somewhere between 90 and 99% charged. This is also the case when using the solar array; the controller (Renogy PWM type) on its Li setting indicates fully charged, but the measured voltage is the same as with the BSC, 13.36v.
The battery is relatively new – May of this year. What could be the reason(s) that I can’t get the battery to 100% – 13.6v?
Hi Charlie, thanks for your patience. Depending on how many watts of solar you have, it is possible that there is not enough of a solar window to fully replenish the battery bank. The 5 amp charger is more of a trickle and would take 25 hours to charge the battery from 0 to 100%. Please give us a call at 855-292-2831 to discuss.
Hi.
I’ve had a couple of your 100ah batteries for over 10 months while I build out my van. I needed the batteries back then for dry-fitting, and have never hooked them up. I have a Battery Tender Junior – should I connect the batteries to the battery tender occasionally, until I’m ready to connect the batteries in my van? May be another year before I’m ready to connect them in the van.
Also, is the Arizona summer heat detrimental to the batteries if I leave them sitting in the incomplete van during the 130deg+ summer months, or do I need to remove them from the van?
Thanks!
Hi there, great question. The storage temperature range is -10°F to 140°F (-23°C to 60°C). We recommend bringing the Battle Born Batteries to a 100% charge and then disconnecting them completely for storage. After six months in storage, your batteries will remain 75 – 80% charged. On the high end of the temperature range, the batteries will shut down once 135°F is reached inside your van. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to reach out to our technical sales team at 855-292-2831.
I have a Bogart with no battery monitor..this are the charge parameters by jumpers below what would be best with a single 100 amp Lithium and can I top them off totally by my stand alone lithium charger to get them to 100% once in a while…currently JUST using the stand alone but have the extra controller and solar panels already on roof 🙂
Charger Parameters of Bogart SC 2030
Liquid electrolyte 12V 14.7V 13.2V
Gel or AGM 12V 14.2V 13.2V
Thanks for any help as to which is best
I have a new travel trailer with a WFCO 8955LIS converter. Also have a PD4655LIV converter I could use to swap out the WFCO converter.
Which converter would be best at maintaining my four new 100ah heated BB batteries, wired in parallel, over the long term?
If neither, which converter would you recommend for my WFCO power center?
Thank you.
Hi, I have a LifePo4 12v 100ah Lithium Battery can I use a Noma100W solar panel with 8.5amp controller to charge this battery? Your info says to charge with a 14.4 volt controller…the Noma controller says it is 14.2v Thank you!
Some sellers recommend that only 4-12v 100 amp hr lithium batteries be charged in parallel connection, why would 6 in parallel be a problem?
Hi Lee! Here are our recommendations for the amount of batteries that can be wired in parallel vs. the amount that can be wired in series. There is no limit to how many batteries you can wire in parallel. The more batteries you add in a parallel circuit, the more capacity and longer runtime you will have available. The limit on how many batteries you can wire in series typically depends on the battery and manufacturer. For example, Battle Born allows up to four of their lithium batteries to be wired in series to create a 48-volt system. Always check with your battery manufacturer to ensure you do not exceed their recommended limit of batteries in series.
I am confused by the shore charging paragraphs. In the first, you say a 100amphr battery can be charged in 2 hours by a 50 amp Charger. In the next, you describe a system of batteries which take 5 hours to charge.
You then state that batteries can be charged faster but shouldn’t. Faster than what? Example #1, or Example #2? I am planning on traveling for work and living out of my minivan, and need power for my 30L 12v fridge. My plan is to need to charge my 100amp battery every three days, which I could do in an hour w my generator. Running a generator for 5 hours every 3 days to make my fridge run seems a bit unappealing.
Hi Angela. If you have one 100Ah battery and a 100A charger, then it will take you one hour to charge your battery. If you have a 50A charger, then it will take you two hours to charge your 100Ah battery. Our recommended charge rate is 50 amps per 100 Ah battery in your system. We don’t recommend you exceed this charge rate as it can lead to a shortened battery cycle life.
Pardon my lack of knowledge, but what does it mean when you say “The batteries naturally float at 13.6V”?
What exactly is happening to the batteries when it’s “floating”?
The lithium battery charger can behave in several different ways during the charging process. First, the charger can steadily increase its voltage in order to keep the current flow constant. This is the first stage of the charging process – typically called the “bulk” charging stage. During this stage, the charger adjusts its applied voltage to deliver the maximum current to the battery.
Once the bulk voltage is reached, the charger enters a second stage, called the “absorption” charging stage. During absorption, the charger applies a constant voltage, called the “absorption voltage.” As the battery’s open-circuit voltage approaches the absorption voltage, the current flow steadily decreases down to zero.
At this point, the battery is fully charged. However, a lead-acid battery will rapidly lose charge when the charger is disconnected. So, instead of turning off, the battery charger enters a third stage called the “float” stage, in which the charger drops to a lower voltage and holds at that voltage. The point of this stage is to keep the battery topped off, and account for the fact that lead-acid batteries tend to drain, even when there is no load connected.
While lithium batteries technically don’t need to be floated, a good majority of the devices out there still have a float charge mode. The batteries naturally float at 13.6V but reaching 14.6V is ideal and needs to happen in order to engage its balancing mechanisms.
I have 2 BB 100ah batteries I purchased awhile ago for my tow behind trailer – they work great. Charging while traveling has not been something I have needed so I have not installed a dc to dc charger. I have solar on the trailer and the panels with the MPPT controller charge/maintain the charge when traveling. The batteries have been fully charged for almost all of our trips when we head out or back home so to date I have not experienced any issues with the alternator being stressed from charging the trailer batteries.
I believe that the standard 7 pin plug will not allow sufficient power from the alternator to really damage it due to the length of the wire run and the gauge used. I think I read on your site sometime ago that if you have 2 or fewer batteries, not to worry but I cannot find this now.
Can you confirm that I am ok as is or should put in an isolator or some other device? I have a 2019 RAM 1500 with the 5.7 hemi.
Hi Bob! When using your alternator to charge your BB house batteries, we recommend using a DC to DC charger in between to help protect your alternator.