I happened this headline today "New battery technology could slash the cost of electric vehicles". I have to admit, I had a ho hum moment, thinking yet another grand claim from the media. Seems like we get a steady stream of headlines like this, yet we haven't really seen anything too concrete.

However, I took a few moments to actually read the article and it has now piqued my interest. Seems like this one is at a stage that will see a product. And what a product - US $10 per kWh compared to US $48 per kWh for lead acid and a staggering US $300 for Li ion.
+ high energy density
+ non toxic
+ incombustible

theleadsouthaustralia.com.au/industries/technology/new-battery-technology-could-slash-the-cost-of-electric-vehicles/

If we do see a product that's anything like these claims, I'll be looking at a house battery bank upgrade for sure.

Post any other interesting battery technologies or products here if you like, it could be a good shared resource for us.

Also interesting is the "Firefly" battery.
Generating a lot of interest in some boating circles.
Think it's a lead-acid variant but last I looked t was not yet for sale in Aus. Nonetheless, some boats here may actually have some installed if they have been cruising the world, or owners may have imported batteries privately.
Anyone with experience or inside knowledge - please speak up.

bit of a drift from the OP, it seems my conservative approach to battery size may have been tested, and likewise the quality of giant AGM batteries. A C20 test ran for a just 2 minutes on a 2 year old battery, I've been conscious not to run the unit down to less than the given parameters, but have cycled it deeper rather than shallower. Anyway the folk at Aussie batteries are happy to honour the 5 year warranty. Now the heads up, it's a pro rata job ie 50% through the warranty period you give 50% of the price of a new unit and you get a replacement, sounds good so far, but that's on the recommended retail price not the advertised price. I'm sure you can see where this is leading. And of course the warranty period stays with the initial purchase. So if the replacement fails in a year,the say 70% pro rata of RRP in all probability will be more than the advertised price. Morale of the story is if you go down this path, have the battery tested at the 2year mark otherwise your pissing in the wind !

All good Woko, exactly the kind of thing for this thread. So can you tell me what a C20 test is pls?

Just pulled this beauty out of a motor boat, made a bit of a mess!

Second boat
this year , I have know idea. Scary as I have 8 under my V berth!

Yara said..

southace said..
Second boat
this year , I have know idea. Scary as I have 8 under my V berth!

Looks like pretty cheap construction, with thin material for the top. Maybe overcharge plus blocked vent? There is a lot of cheap stuff coming in from overseas these days which would not pass local standards, sold by pop-up dealers.
Back to the original post. Lead acid at US$48/kW hr sounds a lot cheaper than market price. Unless they are talking wholesale price for large orders.

We got 60cents per kilogram x 40 kgrams =$25

woko said..
bit of a drift from the OP, it seems my conservative approach to battery size may have been tested, and likewise the quality of giant AGM batteries. A C20 test ran for a just 2 minutes on a 2 year old battery, I've been conscious not to run the unit down to less than the given parameters, but have cycled it deeper rather than shallower. Anyway the folk at Aussie batteries are happy to honour the 5 year warranty. Now the heads up, it's a pro rata job ie 50% through the warranty period you give 50% of the price of a new unit and you get a replacement, sounds good so far, but that's on the recommended retail price not the advertised price. I'm sure you can see where this is leading. And of course the warranty period stays with the initial purchase. So if the replacement fails in a year,the say 70% pro rata of RRP in all probability will be more than the advertised price. Morale of the story is if you go down this path, have the battery tested at the 2year mark otherwise your pissing in the wind !

I'd be having a chat to fair trading on that one.

saltiest1 said..

woko said..
bit of a drift from the OP, it seems my conservative approach to battery size may have been tested, and likewise the quality of giant AGM batteries. A C20 test ran for a just 2 minutes on a 2 year old battery, I've been conscious not to run the unit down to less than the given parameters, but have cycled it deeper rather than shallower. Anyway the folk at Aussie batteries are happy to honour the 5 year warranty. Now the heads up, it's a pro rata job ie 50% through the warranty period you give 50% of the price of a new unit and you get a replacement, sounds good so far, but that's on the recommended retail price not the advertised price. I'm sure you can see where this is leading. And of course the warranty period stays with the initial purchase. So if the replacement fails in a year,the say 70% pro rata of RRP in all probability will be more than the advertised price. Morale of the story is if you go down this path, have the battery tested at the 2year mark otherwise your pissing in the wind !

I'd be having a chat to fair trading on that one.

It's clever marketing for sure. Will cost $175 for the replacement, if it was say a century battery with 2yr warranty I would have to buy a new battery at full price, as the giant battery is 30 months old it sorta works for me. Swings & roundabouts.

You could try these guys

www.korrlighting.com.au/

A 'real' business providing proper service.

I got my AGM house batteries from them.
Better quality, better prices and delivered free to your door. Bargain.

I have two house batteries on the Swanson 28, I bought in August.
They work perfectly and are dated 2005.
My Marine Electrician had never seen any older than 2009.
Apart from everything else, I have now started to run a BandG Chartplotter off them.
Lets see how they go.

Charriot said..
I have 4 of those on the yacht, now , one more for camper.
I use solar charger only, for all of them , just perfect.

N1094519, from assiebatteries.com.au
delivered to the door.

Seeing this post makes me feel better; I just bought one of these exact batteries for some camping coming up. I also got a 250W solar panel to charge it. Always hard the first time out with something like this, to know if you've made the right purchase :)

I run a couple of 100ah Bosch AGMs. 2014 installed and still going strong. Wind gen provides most of the power needs for us so the batteries rarely drop below 85 %. I would never go back to using batteries that are unsealed and require maintenance .

Hi, I have had good service and advice from Online Batteries Sydney, located at Picnic Point. PH 02 97852444. If I remember correctly the guys name is Matt. They do pick up or delivery.