A123 battery

[abhi555]

Hi,
A123 (LiFePo4) claims to have 10X cycle life than conventional Li batteries. Does these batteries also have "2 year" life as other Li batteries?

 

[tino_ale]

Hi,

I use A123 (M1 type) batteries in a couple of RC models and these are surprisingly tough and powerfull.

I don't keep track of all charge/discharge cycles of my packs, but some RC people do. I don't have the datas but you should be able to find them easily on rc-groups.

And I do believe they have a much longer life than 2 years.

 

[SemiMan]

Not sure what you mean by "2 year life". Standard Li-Ion lose about 10-20% capacity per year at room temperature if kept fully charged. If you are looking at a 70% capacity model, then yes, 2 years is about right, though most of us keep them longer. (For flashlights, mine are in the freezer.).

The A123battery is a lower voltage technology. To that end, it loses almost no capacity simply from being charged. A service life of 10+ years would be reasonable for A123.

Semiman