Dr. Prepare 100Ah 12V PowerMax LiFePO4 Battery / NOCO Genius10

AnOldUR

edit: Added NOCO Genius 10 to title to expand the conversation.

For longer trips, we carry a second 12V cooler in the back of our Jeep. It has a 11.3V cut-off and 12.5V cut-in that doesn't work well with the Wranglers battery. It doesn't take long for the fridge to shut down probably due to the battery type and voltage drop to the outlet being used.

I've been half looking at power stations to run the fridge, but the prices for anything with decent aH rating is too high to justify. I've also been looking at lithium batteries to replace my AGM's once they age out. Today I saw a Facebook post about the Dr. Prepare 100Ah 12V PowerMax LiFePO4 Battery so I took a second look. The cigarette lighter port makes it possible to plug our 12V cooler directly into it. It could be charged with our 100W solar suitcase or NOCO Genius10.

The $370 price that includes shipping and a $43 camp fan is attractive. Anyone here that has experience with this battery or opinions would be welcome.

Slackers

I'm not an expert on this topic, but the low temp cutoff discharge/charge temps are too high for my usage.  The cutoffs may be appropriate to power a cooler as you intend.  I didn't see if the internal battery cells were rated as high quality or not.

Edit:
Here's an older Will Prowse video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enSGfimmWxk

AnOldUR

@Slackers Will Prowse video's are great but I only found the same older one that you posted which is a different model. Just did some more searching and found one by Roll2 Videos that is for the same battery that I linked to above. It looks to be an improvement over the one that Will Prowse reviewed with better build quality and a functioning cold temp sensor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYrwiXMQGhs

pthomas745

A year in the lithium battery world is a long time for these companies.  The lithium space changes quickly.  Ampere Time battery model I bought in Sept 2021 still does not have low temp charging protection ( I knew that when I bought it) but other models from Ampere Time do have it.  So, these companies are catching up to what customers want. You can see this in the comparisons of the two videos spaced a year apart. 

If you don't need low temp protection, or have it as part of your solar controller setup...or you just know to turn off your charger when the temps go low...the Ampere Time battery is now selling for 329 bucks...which is about 80 dollars less than I paid 18 months ago...and is a steal.

bubbazanetti

Here is another review and testing I recently saw. Looks like a great set of battery features. And a 10 year warranty. 

https://youtu.be/40Jqb38qPcM

AnOldUR

The Ampere Time is a steal. Amazon now has it for $309!

I started this search after reading about forum members using their old batteries to build power stations. It sounded like a good solution , but my 80aH deep cycle battery weighs nearly 40lbs. That and the limited available power put and end to that idea and had me looking at new 100aH lithium's for the project.

The Ampere Time would be good for this, but the Dr Prepare having a built in solar controller and output ports takes the project out of the project. I love DIY, but it's tempting.

edit to add:
@bubbazanetti an interesting takeaway from that video is that the Dr Prepare is made by Renogy. Thanks for posting.

bubbazanetti

👌

He is different, but Hobotech does much more than most in terms of testing the products for watt draw, charging etc and he has some nice discounts. He is very consistent in his testing. I bought a BougeRV compressor 12 volt fridge based on his review. 
https://www.youtube.com/@HOBOTECH/videos

Slackers

I found a 6 day old review from Hobotech (thanks @bubbazanetti) on the Dr Prepare.  The battery is built differently using cylindrical cells vs popular pouch cells.  Bottomline is Hobotech likes it and offers a discount.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40Jqb38qPcM

bubbazanetti

Just an FYI on solar panels. I bought a 

Elecaenta 120w Waterproof Portable Solar Panel

based on the HoboTech review. I received it yesterday. Really nice product and very well built. I think it would be a great addition to the Dr. prepare battery. And give you a virtual portable solar charger at a great price and huge savings over an equivalent Jackery for example. 

AnOldUR

That is a good deal, but I'm not sure if it will pair with the Dr Prepare battery. The spec sheet says the solar controller will support a 100W solar panel. I don't know enough about it to know if it will handle the 120W Elecaenta. We have a Renogy 100W suitcase that should work.

Curious if anyone knows if the extra 20W would damage the controller?

edit to add:
Dr Prepare controller says DC IN  11V~25V (Support 100W Solar Panel Charging)
Elecaenta panel says Open Circuit Voltage 23-25V

bubbazanetti

AnOldUR said:

That is a good deal, but I'm not sure if it will pair with the Dr Prepare battery. The spec sheet says the solar controller will support a 100W solar panel. I don't know enough about it to know if it will handle the 120W Elecaenta. We have a Renogy 100W suitcase that should work.

Curious if anyone knows if the extra 20W would damage the controller?

In the video review above. Note it can handle the 120 watts as he actually tested it. The real issue is not more than 28 to 30 volts. Which you would need a fair bit of Solar to produce. 

Kevin_K

I just purchased one of these last week and still waiting for it to come. I’m going to use it on a five day kayak trip for a battery powered cooler. My setup last year barely made it (with a 266wh battery) and 120 watt foldable solar panel (Paxcess 18v). I was going to simply use a 100ah battery with a MPPT charge controller, but this seems to fit the bill nicely and keep everything contained in one unit. I hope to enjoy the trip more this time instead of fretting about getting the solar panel hooked up all the time.

AnOldUR

@Kevin_K We also decided to give it a try. Tracking says on the way (Thursday delivery). Did you buy direct from Dr Prepare or some other merchant? It will be interesting to compare notes with you or anyone else who puts these batteries through real life testing. Please let us know how it works out for you.

I have a NOCO Genius10 that I can use to charge our T@B's onboard batteries through a cigarette light port. I'd like to know if this battery can be charged through the hub's cigarette lighter or 5521 barrel port.  The HOBOTECH video says they're both unregulated output. If they're pass through, I'd think it would work. I have a couple of messages to Dr Prepared asking, but no reply yet.

Kevin_K

I received the battery, but for some strange reason, the module is shipped separately. I have not received it yet. I think it is due to the rains in California as it was shipped later than the battery. However, I did receive another solar generator that has only 999 wh of capacity. I’ve had it plugged into a GoSun chillest cooler and currently at 44% capacity while I start my fourth day on the unit. It is a Grecell that I first purchased. Given this info, I feel very confident that my next kayak adventure will be less stressful. I’d rather take the Dr. Prepare because of its water/dirt resistance capabilities. At least I will have a backup in case I ever have power issues (at home or on the road).

AnOldUR

Jealous of your five day kayak trip @Kevin_K.

I was also surprised to get the battery without the hub since the original shipping information didn't indicate this. The hub should be here sometime today. I've topped off the battery with my NOCO. Once the hub gets here I'll plug my 12V cooler into the cigarette lighter port to see how long it will power it.

The fan that came with it isn't bad. I wouldn't pay the $43 price tag that it's listed for, but it was a nice free addition to the package. Should come in handy for moving air around in our T@B.

AnOldUR

@Kevin_K any chance that you got your hub yet? My tracking information went from saying it would be delivered two days ago to now saying, "No scheduled delivery date available at this time."

Kevin_K

I just received mine today. Managed to get the battery up to 50% today using a portable solar panel. Looks like it was only receiving 47 wh due to the sun being low. Supposed to be rated to 120, so I wonder if I have something wrong, or if it is just due to winter time and sun not being up higher.

pthomas745

@Kevin_K I think you are on the right track with the low sun angle.  I live in Southern Ca, and today was the first time we have seen even a decent shot of sun in a few days.  It is really hard, even on a sunny day, to keep my panel up around 40-50 wh this time of year in my back yard.  This involves moving the panel into sunnier spots several times. 

Sharon_is_SAM

@Kevin_K - at this time of year, you will be better off if you can use a battery charger to charge the battery and then use the solar panel to maintain the charge.  As pthomas745 noted, the sun angle is not favorable for charging right now.

bubbazanetti

A 120 W panel is unlikely to ever deliver a full 120. Maybe further south at altitude… your best days will be 80 to high 90’s and only during the highest angle sun. This is true of all panels and you have to calculate your panel needs accordingly. I live near the 49th parallel and have calculated I need 240w of panel for my 100ah LiFoPo to be viable for my typical power usage. 

AnOldUR

@Kevin_K, My hub still isn't here, but I have a NOCO Genius10 and bought the accessories below to charge through the Andersen port that the hub plugs into. The battery came with about 1/4 charge. The NOCO charge it, but I didn't keep track of the time it took.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2NSND8F?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005DUMADC?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

pthomas745

Played with this "Solar Calculator" for a bit this morning.  You can adjust it easily for the Time and Date and see the difference in "good sun" for your panels.

Today, 1/17/2023, at at 12:15 PM the sun here near Los Angeles is directly south (AZ 183 degrees).  It is at the highest elevation in the sky it will reach all day, "only" 35 degrees "up".  It will drop about 10 degrees per hour until sunset. To get a solar input of about 35 watts today, I have to move my panel practically every hour, and the panel is practically vertical, pointing to the sun.

Compare this to June 17: at noon, the sun is still SE in the sky (140 degrees or so) and 76 degrees elevation. All I have to do in the summer is literally just lay the panel flat on the ground during the middle of the day to get twice as many watts for several hours.

A fun toy.

https://gml.noaa.gov/grad/solcalc/

AnOldUR

The hub for our Dr Prepare 100aH battery got here yesterday. So far I'm impressed. I plugged our 21qt fridge/freezer into the batteries cigarette lighter port and set it to zero degrees since we'd like to use this second unit as a freezer. The temperature dropped quickly and is holding between -1 and 5 degrees. I don't have a shunt, but the voltage has gone from 13.30 to 13.05 over 24 hours and the batteries bar readout is showing 3/4's full with the compressor not running.

In the past, when I plugged this fridge into our Jeeps cigarette lighter port it would do a low voltage shut down if left on overnight. One considerations is that the fridge may cycle on more when set at the low (zero degrees) temperature, but it's in my garage at 62 degrees, so that may balance out.

AnOldUR

First time LiFePO4 owner with questions. I'm charging with a NOCO Genius10 through the Anderson port on the battery (not the Anderson port on the hub). With the NOCO on the lithium setting and charging overnight, the voltage did not go much above 13.3V. Charts suggest that a full charge would be closer to 13.6V.

This morning I connected the Dr Prepare to our 100W Renogy solar panel through the hubs solar controller. Even with limited sun this time of year, it is taking additional charge. In about an hour, it's gone to 13.43V (after disconnected and allowed a 15 minute rest). I'm assuming it will get to a full charge with solar.

Any insight? Could my NOCO not be working properly?

side note: I cheaped out and bought a "Used - Like New" Genius10 from Amazon. It worked well on reviving some old lead acid batteries, but this is my first attempt at Lithium.

dsfdogs

@AnOldUR I had a similar problem with my Noco Genius 10. I have a new Battle Born battery (that will be installed in the 400 along with the existing BB). When I received it in November, I tested it then hooked up the Noco w/the clamps to charge. I was able to test the volts while charging and it never reached 14.6 (which their manual indicates it should). I don't think it was even in the 14's; the battery was at 13.4 (99%) overnight which is not right and the Noco lights indicated it was full.

Mind you, when I first received the Noco a year ago, I tested it w/my then current 320/BB battery and it worked as expected. 

Before sending it back for warranty, I plugged it in again and tried charging and it worked!! It still never reached 14.6, but 14.3 or 14.4 and would hover. Lithium needs to charge between 14.2-14.6 for balancing and full charge. The next morning, I unplugged. The battery indicated 14.3 then over the next day or so, it dropped to 13.6 which is 100%, and this is normal. Then will drop further to 13.3 (70%), which mine did over two months. It will now sit here a long time.

So, it seems Noco is a bit flakey, but if you want to run your battery down, maybe try again and see if it works?

AnOldUR

Thanks for the reply @dsfdogs. Your comment on the NOCO being flaky had me re-test the battery and this time it did settle at 13.6V after resting. Still I was nervous about the "used" NOCO that I purchased so returned it and replaced it with a new one. For the $20 difference, it is worth the peace of mind.

Seriously considering buying two of the Dr. Prepare 100Ah LiFePO4 batteries without the hubs to replace my AGM's. Cost of $612 for the two (free shipping) sounds pretty good to me. From what I've read, these batteries are made by Renogy. Anyone know of better deals out there?

AnOldUR

I was going to wait to see what else becomes available, but patience may not be my strong point. I ordered two of the Dr Prepare (without the hub). Shipping looks to be better this time. They should be here on Monday. At $576 for the two with free shipping I don't think it will get much better.

Along with the additional off-grid power available, I'm looking forward to almost 100lbs off my tongue weight. When we traveled without anything loaded on our trailers rear rack the tongue weight would get uncomfortably close to 15% of the trailer weight and also closer to my Jeep's 350lb tongue limit. With the lighter lithium's, on paper we'll still be over 10% even fully loaded, but I will measure to be safe.

AnOldUR

Finished topping off the charge of both Dr. Prepare LiFePO4's yesterday and installed them this morning.

The weight change was interesting. My AGM's were ~75lbs each. The lithium's are ~25lbs each. It obvious that the further back from the ball you add weight, the less impact it has. I had never quantified that until now. Although the battery weight difference was 100lbs, the actual tongue weight at the ball was only reduced by 65lbs. Even so, very happy with the reduction.

I tried to do a power test buy using the air conditioner, but it was limited because the temperature in my garage was too low. It only ran for about a half hour before reaching 60 degree and shutting down. I don't have a shunt to measure the actual power used, but the rested voltage went from 13.56V to 13.25V.

It's too early to give a meaningful review, but I have no reason to regret the purchase. I'll update if anything negative develops.

Slackers

Thanks @AnOldUR -- We just purchased a Dr. Prepare LiFePO4. We plan to charge it with our Genuis10 and/or 200 w portable solar suitcase. We are not yet adding DC-DC, figuring with our (single multi-day destination) style of camping it's not necessary.  Although welcome, weight savings wasn't a priority in our case.

AnOldUR

I was looking for a box for the Dr Prepare to travel in. I wanted something small enough to not be bulky and take up a lot of space yet still carry all the accessories and cables. None of the many hard plastic boxes I found worked out, but then I saw this tote by Husky at Home Depot. Plenty of pockets and space for everything including the Genius10 and a 350W inverter. I think this will make a great portable power supply.

Running one last battery test before our first trip of the year next week ...

Slackers

That looks like a perfect fit!