AllSpark 24v 120ah Lithium Battery 175/320A

No, you cannot install  the 24V AllSpark lithium batteries on their side.

Generally speaking, lower priced batteries on the market use lower priced or very low duty materials.  To achieve lower prices they are most likely using low grade cylindrical cells. This is a mass block of 18650 cells. They are slightly larger than AA batteries, with hundreds of them strapped together to make up a cheap and very unreliable battery pack.   Many cheap batteries don't provide anywhere near the claimed capacity, have very low grade BMS and are sold my nameless online sellers with useless warranties.  We even seen some very cheap "100ah" batteries that when capacity tested, don't even provide 50ah.  Pictures of these when opened show battery cases that are 50% empty space with a BMS that can only handle about 30A max output.  Evidence shows the BMS can even catch on fire in these cheap batteries as they have no safety mechanisms and are made with very cheap components.

They cannot produce the higher current output of a good quality prismatic cell pack like used in our AllSpark range.  All it takes is for one 18650 cell to fail and it's a rapid decline of the rest of the pack.

You can ask retailers which cells they are using, but often they either do not know, or have bought an off the shelf product and put their sticker on it.  Either they or the manufacturer are providing misleading information as to what is inside their batteries.   Similar issues are seen across the industry with cheap solar panels too.

If you want a quality battery made with cells manufactured using the very best raw  materials and BMS components available on the global market, and you want reliability and longevity (think 10+ years), then it pays to buy quality which costs a little more.

Whilst you don't circuit protection for the battery itself, circuit protection is required for every connection to make to the positive terminal on the battery.  The size of this protection is determined by the current draw of each load and the cable size.  If your battery will be in storage for periods of time between use, then the addition of a battery master isolation switch or manual reset circuit breaker to disconnect all loads is recommended.  Contact us if you need assistance with midi fuses or circuit breakers.  We hold stock at all times in 30A to 250A sizes or Mega fuses up to 300A.

AllSpark Lithium Batteries are rated using a C5 rating.  This means the full rated capacity of battery will be supplied over a 5 hour period.  Using a 100ah battery as an example, this will provide 100ah if discharged at 20A for 5 hours.  Lower discharge rates will actually provide a slight increase in amp hour output.

The rated capacity of a battery is based on a pre-determined capacity at a set discharge rate and set temperature (usually 25 deg C) to provide the full capacity of the battery. With that same battery rating, if you discharge it faster, you will get a lower total amp hour output or if discharged slower you will get a slightly higher amp hour output. Batteries have losses during charging and discharging.  Discharge rates faster than the rated capacity creates additional heat internally and will see a lower total output.

Our batteries are often compared to another, cheaper lithium battery on the market, which is 120ah purely based on cost - there are many cheaper batteries hitting the market.  The method for rating a batteries capacity is not regulated in Australia, so while it may appear that you are getting an extra 20ah out of this battery, this isn't actually the case when comparing the same discharge rates.  It is certainly a case of properly comparing apples for apples (or in some cases, apples for lemons).

The capacity of a battery is measured using a C Rating.  Basically, a C5 rating means that the battery can discharge it's entire rated capacity evenly over a 5 hour period (5 hour rate), so a C5 rated 100ah battery is able to provide 100ah of power if drawn down at 20 amps per hour for 5 hours.

For a 100ah battery rated using a C10 rating, you can pull 10 amps of power out of the battery every hour for 10 hours, in order to get the full 100ah.

Likewise for a 100ah battery rated using a C20 rating, you can only pull 5 amps per hour for 20 hours to get 100ah.

Now if you draw less per hour than the specified C rate of the battery you will get less heat and hence increases in the total amp hours it can provide.  If you draw more than the specified rating, you will not get the full capacity of the battery.  Eg. If you pull more than 5 amps out per hour from a 100ah battery rated using a C20 rating, you will not get 100ah out of the battery and will likely get closer to 90-95ah in total. Conversely, if you pull less than 20 amps out per hour out of a battery rated using a C5, you will get more than the 100ah rated capacity.

So, again, is a 120ah battery larger than a 100ah battery if it using a different baseline measurement?  And is a 100ah battery the same capacity as another 100ah battery of a different brand?  Not necessarily.  Ask yourself this question, if a high grade 100ah AllSpark battery in a case of 328x175x215 is absolutely chockablock full inside, how can another manufacturer possibly fit another 20ah inside the exact same size case?  Simple answer is they can't and are using clever marketing to con consumers into thinking they are getting a mega bargin that must also be magic at the same time. 

Lithium Iron Phosphate Batteries (LiFePO4) like any batteries provide the rated capacity at the specified C rate.  A lower discharge rate will provide more amp hours and a higher discharge rate will provide less amp hours than the nameplate.  Always compare the capacities with the same C rate. If they don't advertise the C rate and they won't give you this information, then you can almost guarantee that they have chosen the rating at the higher capacity based very low discharge rates, when in reality they aren't actually rated as high as they claim.  When you compare a C5 100ah battery to a C20 120ah battery, you will actually get very similar capacities when discharged at the same rates.   Peukerts exponant is a formula that shouldn't really apply to high grade LiFePO4 batteries as it does with AGM batteries, but with cheap LiFePO4 batteries, they have substantial voltage sag and as a result, due to the lower voltage during discharge, the device will draw more amps to make up for the voltage shortfall to still provide the same power.  This results in a lower than rated amp hour capacity.

Cheaper batteries on the market invariably use C20 ratings, because it allows the capacity of the battery to be artificially inflated as high as possible.

AllSpark lithium batteries use a C5 rating, which is the industry benchmark and is outlined in international IEC testing standards for Lithium cells and batteries.   All AllSpark batteries will power a 2000w inverter.  Some claim to do so, but when tested, don't come close.  Not all LiFePO4 batteries are created equal. Most are cheap inferior batteries are sold at cheap prices to sway people to buy them.

We recommend the Enerdrive EN3DC30-24V, which we can do for $460, please contact us for invoicing. 

If you are still unsure, or are looking to run multiple batteries, please drop us a line and I will chat with you about the best option for your needs.  

Connecting different size/makes of batteries together is not recommended.

Larger batteries take longer to charge. The internal resistance builds up faster in the smaller batteries and as such get to full charge before the larger pack is charged. You will never be able to charge or discharge them at the same rate.

Even batteries of similar sizes, but different makes/models can have issues being connected together, as the specs between battery brands aren't always the same even in the same amp hour size.  Different C rates provide different capacities at different discharge rates and temps. They may also requires different charge currents and voltages for a full charge.

For lead acid batteries (AGM, Gel, Flooded, Lead Crystal), the simple answer is no.

Connecting multiple batteries in a battery bank should only ever be done so with batteries of the same make and model, capacity, age and chemistry.

With AllSpark lithium batteries, given their much longer life expectancy, there is some flexibility to this with regards to age only, in which you can add additional batteries to the bank within the first 12 months, but they must be of the same amp hour size and model of battery & BMS.

We recommend a charge rate of up to 40A for an AllSpark 24V 120ah battery for ultimate longevity.  However, a rapid charge current of up to 120A  can be applied when time is limited, for example when charging from a generator or mains power with limited access.   Please note however that rapid charging increases heat and heat reduces life expectancy of the battery.  Rapid charge rates are a trade off of faster charging performance vs longevity.