Lithium Batteries & Cold Weather
Tips & Support
- Sponsor
- OPTIMA Batteries
- Location
- Glendale, WI
Winter may seem a year away as we write this in late-April, but it will be back at our doorstep before too long and when it returns, it will bring with it questions about the performance of lithium batteries in cold weather. OPTIMA now offers three different Group 31 battery options for marine and RV use, each with their own limitations in regard to cold weather use. We've also read some statements from other battery brands that are misleading at best, regarding lithium battery performance, that we want to clarify in this blog.
We'll start with our legendary standard, the Group D31M BLUETOP battery (pictured above on the right). This is a SPIRALCELL lead-acid AGM battery, that weighs in at just under 60 pounds and has a rated capacity of 75Ah. When fully charged, that battery is protected from freezing down to -30°F, although users can expect to see diminished performance in extremely cold temperatures, as would be the case for any battery, regardless of technology.
From there, we'll go to our dual-purpose ORANGETOP Q31M-DP120 lithium marine/RV battery, that battery weighs in at just over 42 pounds, offers up to 1200A of cranking power and has a rated capacity of 120Ah. That battery comes with integrated under-temperature protection, that stops charging at 32°F and shuts down the battery, preventing it from delivering current, once the cells reach a temperature of -°4F.
It's important to note that if the battery is operating and delivering/accepting current, the cells could be warmed above those minimum temperature thresholds, even if the ambient air temperature is below those thresholds. However, you should never attempt to charge any battery that you believe is frozen! You'll also notice the battery can continue operating at a lower temperature than the temperature at which it can accept a charge. What that means is, if you are ice fishing on a lake and it's 7°F outside, the battery will continue to work, but once you discharge it, you will be unable to charge it again until the cells in the battery reach a temperature of 32°F.
OPTIMA's ORANGETOP Q31M-DC150 lithium marine/RV battery (pictured above on the right) is a true deep-cycle lithium battery that should not be used in starting applications. That battery weighs in at just over 38 pounds and has a rated capacity of 150Ah. However, unlike the Q31M-DP120 ORANGETOP lithium battery, it has an integrated cell heater system, that expands the usable range of the battery.
When a charger is connected to this battery, powered delivered by the charger will first be diverted to the cell heaters. Once the cells have reached the right temperature for charging, power from the charger will be transferred from the cell heaters to begin actual charging of the battery. Wehn the cell heaters are in use, the Q31M-DC150 ORANGETOP lithium battery can allow the battery to be charged at temperatures down to -22°F. However, the same reminder remains regarding the useful operating range of the battery. To lay that out in an example, if you are on a frozen lake and the temperature is -10°F, you can use an external generator to charge up your Q31M-DC150. However, if you leave the battery on the lake overnight, where the temperature drops and the effect of the cell heater usage dissipates, you will not be able to operate that battery again, until the cell temperature reaches at least -4°F.
Now, we've read claims from other lithium battery brands, who suggest their batteries can operate in temperatures as low as -40°F. We'll again reference the cell temperature versus the ambient air temperature. If the air temperature is -40°F, but the cell temperature is 10°F, then yes, that battery could still continue to be used. However, when we go back to the frozen lake scenario, if you discharge that lithium battery and leave it sit overnight on the lake bed, the chemistry of a lithium battery will not allow it to be charged at -40°F (and hopefully, those other brands will have under-temperature protection in their batteries).
We'll wrap this up by reminding you that lithium batteries must be charged with battery chargers that are either designed to charge lithium batteries or have specific settings for lithium batteries. We offer three such chargers in the OPTIMA Digital 200+, the OPTIMA Digital 400+ and the OPTIMA Digital 1200+. We'd also remind you that math remains undefeated when it comes to charging any battery. If you have a 150Ah OPTIMA lithium battery, our Digital 200+ can charge it, but it will take far longer charging at a maximum rate of 2 amps (think 150/2= 75 hours), than our Digital 1200+ (think 150/15= 10 hours).
We'll start with our legendary standard, the Group D31M BLUETOP battery (pictured above on the right). This is a SPIRALCELL lead-acid AGM battery, that weighs in at just under 60 pounds and has a rated capacity of 75Ah. When fully charged, that battery is protected from freezing down to -30°F, although users can expect to see diminished performance in extremely cold temperatures, as would be the case for any battery, regardless of technology.
From there, we'll go to our dual-purpose ORANGETOP Q31M-DP120 lithium marine/RV battery, that battery weighs in at just over 42 pounds, offers up to 1200A of cranking power and has a rated capacity of 120Ah. That battery comes with integrated under-temperature protection, that stops charging at 32°F and shuts down the battery, preventing it from delivering current, once the cells reach a temperature of -°4F.
It's important to note that if the battery is operating and delivering/accepting current, the cells could be warmed above those minimum temperature thresholds, even if the ambient air temperature is below those thresholds. However, you should never attempt to charge any battery that you believe is frozen! You'll also notice the battery can continue operating at a lower temperature than the temperature at which it can accept a charge. What that means is, if you are ice fishing on a lake and it's 7°F outside, the battery will continue to work, but once you discharge it, you will be unable to charge it again until the cells in the battery reach a temperature of 32°F.
OPTIMA's ORANGETOP Q31M-DC150 lithium marine/RV battery (pictured above on the right) is a true deep-cycle lithium battery that should not be used in starting applications. That battery weighs in at just over 38 pounds and has a rated capacity of 150Ah. However, unlike the Q31M-DP120 ORANGETOP lithium battery, it has an integrated cell heater system, that expands the usable range of the battery.
When a charger is connected to this battery, powered delivered by the charger will first be diverted to the cell heaters. Once the cells have reached the right temperature for charging, power from the charger will be transferred from the cell heaters to begin actual charging of the battery. Wehn the cell heaters are in use, the Q31M-DC150 ORANGETOP lithium battery can allow the battery to be charged at temperatures down to -22°F. However, the same reminder remains regarding the useful operating range of the battery. To lay that out in an example, if you are on a frozen lake and the temperature is -10°F, you can use an external generator to charge up your Q31M-DC150. However, if you leave the battery on the lake overnight, where the temperature drops and the effect of the cell heater usage dissipates, you will not be able to operate that battery again, until the cell temperature reaches at least -4°F.
Now, we've read claims from other lithium battery brands, who suggest their batteries can operate in temperatures as low as -40°F. We'll again reference the cell temperature versus the ambient air temperature. If the air temperature is -40°F, but the cell temperature is 10°F, then yes, that battery could still continue to be used. However, when we go back to the frozen lake scenario, if you discharge that lithium battery and leave it sit overnight on the lake bed, the chemistry of a lithium battery will not allow it to be charged at -40°F (and hopefully, those other brands will have under-temperature protection in their batteries).
We'll wrap this up by reminding you that lithium batteries must be charged with battery chargers that are either designed to charge lithium batteries or have specific settings for lithium batteries. We offer three such chargers in the OPTIMA Digital 200+, the OPTIMA Digital 400+ and the OPTIMA Digital 1200+. We'd also remind you that math remains undefeated when it comes to charging any battery. If you have a 150Ah OPTIMA lithium battery, our Digital 200+ can charge it, but it will take far longer charging at a maximum rate of 2 amps (think 150/2= 75 hours), than our Digital 1200+ (think 150/15= 10 hours).