Can we talk about the change I saw in my battery bank after switching to lithium?

I ran my shop on a lead-acid battery setup for about 4 years, and it was fine but heavy and slow. Last January I swapped to a lithium iron phosphate bank, same 48 volt system. After 8 months, my inverter logs show I get about 30 percent more usable power before the voltage drops off. Has anyone else seen that kind of gap between the two types, or did I just have crummy lead-acid batteries?

3 comments

3 Comments

price.ben1mo ago

Honestly, I think your "crummy lead-acid" theory sounds about right, but hey, maybe they were just as tired as I am on a Monday morning. Tbh, I switched to lithium too and felt like I finally upgraded from a tricycle to a bicycle.

adams.uma1mo ago

Did you go with a drop-in replacement or build your own battery pack?

caseythompson1mo ago

lol yeah 30% sounds about right honestly. I did the same swap last year on my off grid setup and it was like night and day. My old lead acid bank would start sagging hard under any real load after about 2 years, but the lithium holds steady till it's nearly dead. The voltage drop curve is completely different, you get way more usable juice before the inverter throws a fit. I run a welder and a plasma cutter off mine sometimes and it barely even notices. Plus not having to mess with watering those lead acid bricks every month is a huge win lmao.