The QRPer Board

I'm new to QRP and will be getting a bioenno battery to use with my Venus SW-3B. I have questions for which I am unable to find clear answers. Any help would be appreciated. I am asking here about only the bioenno series 12v batteries.

1. Can the charger you buy with one bioenno battery be used with other bioenno batteries. Or do you need a separate charger for each battery?

2. Can any bioenno solar panel be used with any bioenno battery?

3. And, can any charge controller be used with any bioenno battery?

4. Can I use non bioenno solar panels with a bioenno battery and charge controller?

5. Is there a difference between Lithium ION and Lithium IRON batteries? What's the difference. What should I know.

These may seem to be obvious questions, but searching for answers has proved elusive and contradictory.

72,

Bob

K8RBV wrote: ↑Wed Aug 10, 2022 6:44 pm I'm new to QRP and will be getting a bioenno battery to use with my Venus SW-3B. I have questions for which I am unable to find clear answers. Any help would be appreciated. I am asking here about only the bioenno series 12v batteries.

1. Can the charger you buy with one bioenno battery be used with other bioenno batteries. Or do you need a separate charger for each battery?

2. Can any bioenno solar panel be used with any bioenno battery?

3. And, can any charge controller be used with any bioenno battery?

4. Can I use non bioenno solar panels with a bioenno battery and charge controller?

5. Is there a difference between Lithium ION and Lithium IRON batteries? What's the difference. What should I know.

These may seem to be obvious questions, but searching for answers has proved elusive and contradictory.

72,

Bob

Hi Bob,

I am a user of Bioenno batteries, but by no means an expert. I can answer a few of your questions:

1. The charger handles one battery at a time, but it can certainly charge a number of compatible batteries, one after another.
3. Chargers must be compatible with the voltage rating and the charging current of the battery. With that said, the 14V 2A charger works with nominal 12V battery packs sized from 3 Ah to 12 Ah.
5. There is a difference between Li-Ion and LiFePO4 batteries. Li-Ion batteries are lighter than the equivalent LiFePO4 batteries of the same capacity, but must be handled carefully to avoid failures resulting in fire. LiFePO4 batteries are more stable, and have longer life (2000+ discharge/recharge cycles).

73 de Brian - K3ES

Hi Bob,

As Brian mentions, LiFePO4 batteries can handle more cycles and are generally less prone to fire than their Li-Ion counterparts. This comes at the cost of being slightly heavier for a given capacity, but I think the trade-off is well worth it. My IC-705 can run all-day with my Bioenno 6AH pack -- I've never gotten close to running out of power on my longest activations and it disappears into my pack. Low power radios are great.

Also of note: the two chemistries have different nominal voltages (~3.3V for LiFePO4 and ~3.7V for Li-Ion). This means that you'll need a specific charger capable of handling LiFePO4 batteries as a Li-Ion charger could overcharge an unprotected LiFePO4. As long as the charger is rated for the voltage of your pack and the appropriate chemistry, it should be interchangeable. The Bioenno batteries (and most others) have a battery management system (BMS) that regulates charging on the different cells to make sure they remain safe and balanced, but they do expect a certain input voltage. You'll want to follow the instructions and leave the battery connected for a while after the charger indicator turns green to ensure it has time to balance the cells.

For solar panels, you'll want to check to make sure that the output of the panel does not exceed what your solar charge controller supports (and that the controller supports LiFePO4). Generally the more expensive ones will handle more input from more panels. They can also use different methods for interfacing with the panels to extract power (cheaper ones are often Pulse Width Modulation [PWM] while the more expensive ones use Maximum Power Point Tracking [MPPT] which can be more efficient). A controller will have specified voltage and amperage input ratings and the panels should report their max voltage and amperage. As long as you're in the range, the controller should do the work of providing power and keeping your cells topped-off. You will definitely need a controller though -- you don't want to directly connect the panel to the battery.

72 and good luck,
Ed - N2EC

Bob,

You got good answers here. The only thing I would add is that you could buy bigger or more batteries to power your SW-3B for a -very- long time, and still spend a lot less than going the solar route. Or course, that might not be as much fun.

72,

Don, K9DRP