1st time 12v LiFePo4 battery build - continuous discharge advice please (EVE LF304 cells)

I'm building a simple 12v battery for a DIY toolbox power station. I've ordered 4 x EVE LF304 cells and I've also ordered a 300A BMS JK-B2A8S30P

The planned configuration is a simple 4S1P which will give me 12.8v and 304A however I've only just realised by reading the specs (attached below) that these cells are only rated at 0.5 C continuous charge/discharge rate.

Does that mean I will be limited to drawing only 152A continuously from this configuration if I want to stay within the manufacturers specs?

And if I want to double the discharge rate to utilise the 300A BMS, will I have to add another four cells and use 2P4S configuration?

The penalty for charging/discharging beyond the cells rating is a reduction in lifecycles, so maybe 6000 becomes 4000?

152A continuous is a good bit of power... What exactly are you trying to power continuously with that load?

iClick said:

Does that mean I will be limited to drawing only 152A continuously from this configuration if I want to stay within the manufacturers specs?

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Unfortunately it's actually a bit more complicated than that, what you have posted. That's the standard charge and discharge continual rate. It's is the rate at which they spec the cycle life. Since this is a more informative spec sheet than others, there is a useful chart much later on in the spec sheet



This is the maximum continual discharge rate of the cell based on state of charge and temperature. As you can see it does go up higher than 0.5c a lot of time. In general lower current draw is better for a number of reasons but you could push the lf304 to 1c discharge if needed

JeromeS13 said:

152A continuous is a good bit of power... What exactly are you trying to power continuously with that load?

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3000W inverter

zcskywire2 said:

Unfortunately it's actually a bit more complicated than that, what you have posted. That's the standard charge and discharge continual rate. It's is the rate at which they spec the cycle life. Since this is a more informative spec sheet than others, there is a useful chart much later on in the spec sheet

This is the maximum continual discharge rate of the cell based on state of charge and temperature. As you can see it does go up higher than 0.5c a lot of time. In general lower current draw is better for a number of reasons but you could push the lf304 to 1c discharge if needed

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Well spotted. That gives me a bit more confidence in this setup for now.

iClick said:

3000W inverter

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So you plan on running the inverter at maximum capacity continuously? You're going to get less than 1.5 hours of run time...

JeromeS13 said:

So you plan on running the inverter at maximum capacity continuously? You're going to get less than 1.5 hours of run time...

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No, not necessarily. But perhaps I would have purchased less powerful BMS had I been aware.
I’ll be using the inverter and battery to operate cinematography Lighting equipment. The runtimes would not exceed 10 minutes in one session generally without powering them down

iClick said:

No, not necessarily. But perhaps I would have purchased less powerful BMS had I been aware.
I’ll be using the inverter and battery to operate cinematography Lighting equipment. The runtimes would not exceed 10 minutes in one session generally without powering them down

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There's nothing to say you have to use a BMS at its max capacity, it's considered best practice to be below max design limits. But it can provide a surge if you happen to have a difficult starting load etc and the inverter is capable enough.

iClick said:

No, not necessarily. But perhaps I would have purchased less powerful BMS had I been aware.
I’ll be using the inverter and battery to operate cinematography Lighting equipment. The runtimes would not exceed 10 minutes in one session generally without powering them down

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Then it sounds like you'll be just fine.