LiFEPO4 batteries for Backup Power

[BasicHumanUnit]

Anyone else using Lithium Phosphate batteries for backup or solar power?
I have a few. One is used for my RV.

I started a top balance last night (it will take about 5 days)

I like to set up my LiFEPO4 battery packs in Parallel when not in use to keep them better balanced. What do you think of that strategy?
Also, when top balancing I don't like to go all the way to 3.65. I usually stop at 3.5v so as not to stress the cells.
Then I let them sit in parallel a few days then reduce the capacity to around 50% SOC.

They have amazing capacity and low weight compared to Lead Acid.

 

[TroglocratsRdumb]

how many batteries and do you use an inverter?

 

[excalibur]

All the tons of earth moved just for those batteries alone.

 

[BasicHumanUnit]

how many batteries and do you use an inverter?

10 or so. Not that many. But different packs for different uses.
Mainly talking about a 4 cell pack I use in one RV
Yes. Last count I have 8 inverters or so. But some are smaller.
Small setup.
Some guys have 60 batteries or more for home and 8-16 for their RV's

What do you think of putting them in Parallel between uses instead of leaving them in Serial ?

 

[TroglocratsRdumb]

10 or so. Not that many. But different packs for different uses.
Mainly talking about a 4 cell pack I use in one RV
Yes. Last count I have 8 inverters or so. But some are smaller.
Small setup.
Some guys have 60 batteries or more for home and 8-16 for their RV's

What do you think of putting them in Parallel between uses instead of leaving them in Serial ?

is this for an emergency back-up power?

 

[BasicHumanUnit]

is this for an emergency back-up power?

This one in particular is for power in the RV. It consists of 4 cells.
It's in use maybe 3 months out of the year and at rest 9 months give or take.

I use capacitive balancers on them but I still notice over time they tend to drift from being balanced.
I expect this as cells age. No two cells are going to be perfectly the same.

Which is why I like to put them in Parallel if they are not in use for some time.
It forces them to stay balanced. But I was seeking opinions from other LIFEPO4 users.

But again, as the cells age, it becomes harder and harder to keep them balanced.
You end up with a battery pack (of 4 cells) that will only charge to say 13.5v before one cell triggers BMS protection due to
it being out of balance with the other cells.

The BMS usually doesn't do enough to keep them fully balanced.
The add on capacitive balancers don't seem to do a whole lot either unless they are WAY out of balance.

 

[BasicHumanUnit]

All the tons of earth moved just for those batteries alone.

Same for our cars, appliances and computers not to mention deforestation.
We're all guilty.
Hey, at least I haven't bought an EV ...doing my part to save the planet !