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How tough is this Perth based unit?
Everyone in the camping or caravanning industry right now knows about Lithium (LifePO4) batteries, but what are the benefits and should you buy one?
“If you want to take your camp power to the next level. This maybe the way to go.”
Before I get into the nitty gritty, we'll just touch on why we ran with iTechWorld for our lithium battery over some other models out there.
1. Aussie based company.
iTechWorld is an Aussie company based in Perth with a proven track record of having some really impressive gear.
These guys have been in and around the industry for over 10 years.
2. Prismatic Cells
For the price you pay for lithium, if the battery shakes apart and fails it's all for nothing and you'll probably never look at lithium again.
Prismatic cells are built using a metallic casing making them more stable and resistant to vibration damage.
3. A 3 Year Replacement Warranty
When a company stands behind they're product with a warranty of 3 years, it puts alot of confidence in the quality and performance you can expect to see over it's life.
Watch our discharge test video comparing FLA to Lithium
Firstly, there's nothing wrong with the old lead acid style of battery. However, if you want to take your camp power to the next level, lithium is definitely the way to go about it.
There's a seemingly endless list of benefits of upgrading your 12V system to Lithium, the biggest of which might have nothing to do with power at all...
WEIGHT
In comparison, the iTechWorld 120X Lithium battery comes in at 11kgs, a third of the weight of an AGM equivalent battery (around 28-33kg). This can save major headaches when it comes to the GVM or GCM of your setup. When you start having to parallel batteries to increase capacity, one 30kg 100Ahr AGM can quickly become 120kg for a 400Ahr battery bank!
DISCHARGE CAPACITY
The old rule of thumb when it comes to any Lead Acid style battery is never drain your battery bank below 50% of full charge.
Effectively, this means a 120Ahr battery is only really able to supply you with 60Ahr of useable power.
The iTechWorld 120X can be safely discharged all the way down to 12% of its capacity meaning you get a whopping 105Ahr of useable power with no risk to your battery!
NO GAS
Because LifePO4 batteries don’t use acid as an electrolytic solution they’re safe to use inside a camper trailer, caravan or vehicle. Standard Lead Acid batteries vent hydrogen gases when charging and discharging that are harmful and potentially explosive.
CONTINUOUS DISCHARGE
Because LifePO4 has such an increased efficiency, iTechWorld has been able to take the 120X to a rated continuous discharge current of 150A.
Hypothetically, an iTechWorld 120X battery could supply a 2000W Inverter at maximum power continuously until it went flat!
We run our 1500W inverter to power coffee machines, chargers, kettle and microwave with no dramas what so ever!
If your considering upgrading to Lithium, some key specs for the iTechWorld 120X are:
Nominal DC Voltage: 12.8v
Rated Amp Hours: 120Ah
Usable Amp Hours: 105Ah
Short Circuit Protection: Yes
Temperature Range: +5 to +60°C
BMS Temperature Range: -40°C to 80°C
Safety Isolator: 80°C
Recommended Charge Current: 20 - 50A
Continuous Discharge Current: 150A
Maximum Discharge Current: 175A 5 mins
Peak Discharge: 270A 5 sec
Life Cycles 80%: 4000
Life Cycles 40%: 8000 +
IP67 Rated: Yes
Dimensions mm (LxWxH): 330 x 173 x 215
Weight: 11kg
Terminal TySpe: M8
Case Material: ABS P
At the time of writing iTechWorld are selling these units for $975.00 here making them one of the cheaper Lithium Deep Cycle batteries on the Aussie market.
We also, at the time of writing, have no affiliation with iTechWorld.
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