On my boat I would like to add lifepo batteries to increase the battery bank capacity. I found the battery Bankmanager from Clark that seems to allow a combination of the two different battery chemistries. Is there somebody that has this system in place and what is the experience with it?
Bankmanager.pdf (1.1 MB)
From a quick look at the data sheet, what it will do is disconnect the lithium battery from the load when the voltage goes outside of the acceptable range for lithium, preventing it from over charging or over discharging. The lithium BMS should do this anyway. However, If I were to use this, I would only do so on a 12V system, where the voltages are reasonably compatible. For higher voltages (24,48) the nominal voltage of the lithium bank is higher than that of a lead acid bank.
What is likely to happen with this, particularly if adding to old lead batteries, is that the lithium’s will carry all of the load, and the lead batteries will have little effective capacity left when the contactor disconnects. I would wait until the lead batteries are truly dead (<50% nominal capacity), and then do a complete refit.
Thanks Mike, I think that is in a way what this Bankmanager is doing.
I would like to know if somebody has experience with this product.