Lithium Battery Heating Project

[RoyB]

I just finished my Lithium Battery heating project and documented it all with words and pictures
. Hope it helps someone moving in this direction....

LITHIUM BATTERY HEATING PROJECT | RVB Precision

 

[OTH Overland]

I just finished my Lithium Battery heating project and documented it all with words and pictures
. Hope it helps someone moving in this direction....

LITHIUM BATTERY HEATING PROJECT | RVB Precision

I used a pair of small heat pads under the battery in the rear of my Jk, placed sound mat on the plywood base, and then the pads were installed on top of that with the battery sitting directly on them. RedARC redvision system monitors the battery temp and will switch the heating pads on if the temp drops below 35 and back off once it reaches 40. Then I have a master to switch the heaters off when i am not using the rig to avoid draining the battery. other than testing with the batter in the freezer I have not yet used in the field. heading off into the mountains for a 10 day trip friday will see how it works.

 

[reaver]

I basically did the same thing, only I just decided to use the built in thermostat. I went with a lower amperage pad, that switches on at about 35-37 and should shut off at about 50 F. I tested it in the freezer, and dit seemed to work well. I wired an inline switch with my pad, so that I can shut it off when not using it it.

 

[Overland True North]

I used a pair of small heat pads under the battery in the rear of my Jk, placed sound mat on the plywood base, and then the pads were installed on top of that with the battery sitting directly on them. RedARC redvision system monitors the battery temp and will switch the heating pads on if the temp drops below 35 and back off once it reaches 40. Then I have a master to switch the heaters off when i am not using the rig to avoid draining the battery. other than testing with the batter in the freezer I have not yet used in the field. heading off into the mountains for a 10 day trip friday will see how it works.

May I ask how this worked out for you? As I am buying the REDARC /Redvision setup, in the near future, so I feel I should make sure to address this potential issue as well.

 

[RoyB]

I just returned from a two month cross country trip. 7740 miles! Camping at over 5000 feet at times with temperatures as low as 18 degrees. Batteries never skipped a beat. Charged up perfectly. So far, it is working fantastic!

 

[OTH Overland]

May I ask how this worked out for you? As I am buying the REDARC /Redvision setup, in the near future, so I feel I should make sure to address this potential issue as well.

It has worked out well, I ordered some 25 Watt heating pads from Amazon, which I placed into recesses I made in the bottom of the battery box. Unfortunately RedARC does not allow their temperature probes to control any of the outputs as it would be nice to have it directly controlled, hoping they will updgrade the app one day. I installed a snap disk thermostat that closes at 35 degrees and opens at 45 inline from the programmed switch on the RedVision and before the heater pads, that way when we go on a cold trip, I turn on the switch on the RedVision and leave it on for the trip, when temp drops the t'stat closes and turns on the heater. When not using the rig, the switch is off so the battery does not drain when parked in cold weather unattended. I also have one of the temperature sensors taped to the battery and set to trigger an audible alarm if it gets below freezing in case I forgot to energize the system.

The new smaller Redvision system "Rouge" TVMS Rogue is supposed to be out this spring, pretty sure it will run the same software, but would be good in a Jeep and has 10 outputs, 8 inputs and two tank sensor inputs in a much smaller and lighter footprint. I am on their waiting list, but no updates on release date yet.