Bioenno Power LiFePO4 cell pack question

[Dr. Mario]

Now that I have recently decided to buy a whole pack rather than rolling it up (even though I have done Li-ion battery packs before), since the load the 12.8 Volts 6 Amps / hour battery pack (BLF-1206W) will be used in is one of my DIY spotlight with the Kensun automotive HID kit (Kensun is a bit expensive option but still a good option as you CAN choose the color temperature of the Xenon metal Halide bulbs and get them as-is, exactly as you have wanted), so I am curious, if anyone have known about it and / or have given the LiFePO4 battery pack a try.

At least this battery pack supposedly has software-defined BMS in it (I will check it out once it gets here, as well as do some interval runtime test as I don't want to leave it on too long in one run as the 35 Watts Xenon metal halide HID bulb gets quite hot).

Just curious if anyone know of this brand and have used the battery pack from them.

 

[Dr. Mario]

Oh well, since no one responded, it looks like I will have to see for myself. *shrugs*

 

[Dr. Mario]

Got the battery. Nicely done, and has the built-in charger port which will be useful with the battery charger I also got.

Also, welp... Too big for a Peak Halogen spotlight, so I may have to wait a bit before I spend $40 - 50 on a Cyclops Thor X Colossus or get lucky enough to get used one for free so I can have something for a HID spotlight mod that I can fit the battery in (I didn't expect it to have eight 26650 cells in there).

(As for free used Cyclops Thor X, I wouldn't care if the battery is beyond hope as Lead-acid battery is obviously useless for my application as I may need a bit longer runtime - ie. camping, thus this battery pack I bought.)

 

[Dr. Mario]

Alright, I think I am all good with Bioenno battery pack I bought back in late June ( https://www.bioennopower.com/collec...products/12v-6ah-lfp-battery-black-w-pvc-pack ) - it do its job well, at least. (I will remove the link to the battery when and if requested to do so.)

Also, the HID spotlight lasts two hours maximum (without turning off and back on repeatedly while the bulb cooled off, the ballast consume most current during warmup while bulb is cold).

 

[mightysparrow]

I just found your thread - didn't see it earlier - and I can report that Bioenno Power cells seem to be popular with the amateur radio enthusiasts who take their equipment outdoors. I have bookmarked their website since I upgraded my license early this year, as I've been looking at equipment I can use in portable operations outdoors, and they seem to have a good reputation. I'll be looking at purchasing a battery or two for this purpose in the next year or so. Good luck with your purchase.

 

[RobertMM]

For a 6Ah pack that is small!
Looks well built too.

 

[Dr. Mario]

I'd agree it's a well-built battery, although price do kind of hurt ($100 for battery and a charger). At least it's worth the price paid for, as it took some electrical abuse relatively well despite not rated for initial higher peak current upon switch-on like motorcycle starting. HID ballast draw up to 15 Amps maximum, depending on switchmode inverter type (Analog current feedback mode or software-defined digital closed-loop feedback mode - Kensun ballast used in my modded Thor Colossus spotlight is the latter type), which may drop off to 3 - 4 Amps after warmup which is ok by Lithium-ion batteries used, in my book.

As for battery pack size, if you don't have ruler but have a few 26650 cells, you can make a guess how big it is - there are eight 26650 LiFePO4 cells in the pack, with up to 8mm in height added for the built-in BMS (battery management system).

Also, why are there two illuminated switches? It's kind of like a Dead-Man's switch, just so I have a chance to turn on the organic LED digital multimeter on the other side of spotlight so I can figure out how much juice is left so I can decide if I shall flick the second switch to turn on the HID kit - to turn it on, I must flick on the digital voltmeter switch before I turn on HID ballast, kind of like the two-way house light switch setup.

Lastly, if anyone ask me if Cyclops Thor Colossus is a good host for HID kit and won't really care about the weird-looking hotspot, by all mean, hell yeah. Its deep bowl reflector favors the high-beam zoning of the single-beam HID bulb (the area where the old-school H4 Halogen bulb's high-beam filament would be at) which I got away with while using the modified H3 bulb I had on hand (rebased onto the H4 halogen shim which I carefully pulled off the H4 halogen bulb), the bulb is expensive; making for a further-throwing portable searchlight if that's what you're looking for. I can see the land on the mountain about 3 miles away at night with it pointed at where I am looking at (I'd have to use binocular to see that far, LOL).

 

[Dr. Mario]

Here to report after six years of owning the same Bioenno Power battery pack, it is definitely 100% worth the money. I still have good runtime with it, although knocked down to 1 1/2 hours instead of the original 2 hours because of the metal halide bulb and ballast change; I am currently using the 39 Watts Ceramic Metal Halide bulb on the Hylux 35 Watts A2088 software-defined inverter ballast, so it kinda counts a bit (it has aggressive warmup procedure compared to cheap crappy ballasts that falls into the same type of ballast as A2088 and obviously yes, I knew it has to put out squarewave AC power output otherwise the bulb blows - that also means it CANNOT be used on DC HID ballast either).

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Interesting. More and more people are using the Lithium Ferrous Phosphate chemistry for solar energy storage applications. They last for years. Bioenno is still a player today.

Search results for query: Bioenno

diysolarforum.com

 

[Dr. Mario]

Yep, I went with the Lithium Iron Phosphate battery pack as I knew I would be keeping the same modified Cyclops Thor Colossus Halogen spotlight for a long time, so it made sense to spend a bit more on a decent 12 Volts DC battery pack that would outlast the original Lead-acid batteries that I ditched for Lithium-ion battery pack for obvious reasons.

It lasts quite long time, probably several CMH bulb changes before it truly goes bad with use. And better yet, voltage sag isn't as bad as Lead-acid batteries during warmup at 6 - 7 Amps (until the ceramic metal halide bulb is at pressure, it then drops off at 3.2 - 3.6 Amps of power depending on input voltage, thus much more efficient than Halogen bulb that was originally in it).

A bonus with LiFePO4 cells is that thermal runaway is far less likely with those batteries compared to the most common Lithium : Cobalt Dioxide or Lithium : Magnesium Nickel Oxide cells, thus LiFePO4 cells' popularity - too bad the capacity is still a bit meh, so I had to find one that fits and do the job (in this case, 4s2p battery pack setup to give me respectable runtime).