SolarBox offers an extensive range of battery types and brands for off-grid dual battery systems and caravan and camping applications. We pride ourselves in stocking and selling quality batteries with a reputable name in the industry with Australia-wide warranties. In addition, we work closely with our suppliers to ensure we can offer you the best possible prices!
Our most common battery types are AGM (absorbent glass mat), gel, and lithium batteries. Brands we stock include:
- Discover AES, Lithium Blue LiFePO4, and Discover AGM
- Victron LiFePO4, AGM and Gel
- Invicta LiFePO4 Slim Line and Standard Cases
- Zeal LiFePO4
- PowerPlus Energy Lithium Ferrous Phosphate (LFP) Rack Mount and Automotive
Camp Easy With Solar Panels Using a Battery Storage System
Are you a caravan or motorhome enthusiast already equipped with solar panels to power your caravan? We recommend adding a quality deep-cycle battery. A deep cycle battery stores excess solar power for powering your caravan, off-grid shed, or four-wheel drive (4WD) electronics when your system fails to produce enough solar energy. This situation is most likely at night or on cloudy days.
SolarBox Australia offers the highest quality solar batteries online at competitive prices. Quality, deep-cycle batteries are perfect for any great Caravan, RV, 4WD, boat or Off-Grid installation...
What Is the Life Expectancy of Deep-Cycle Batteries?
Deep cycle batteries have an excellent life expectancy, just like solar panels. The life expectancy of batteries in solar applications highly depends on the brand, battery chemistry, operating temperature and depth of discharge (DOD). It’s also important not to discharge your lead-acid batteries at more than 50% of their capacity to maintain their life and capacity.
Well maintained, most AGM and gel batteries would have a two to seven-year life expectancy, while most lithium batteries have a life expectancy of ten years plus. Explore our selection of battery accessories to help extend battery longevity, such as chargers, switches, isolators, and circuit protection.
The Benefits of Lithium Batteries in Australia
As using lithium batteries in Australia has several advantages, the number of individuals who want to install them in their caravan, camping, 4WD, and marine is steadily rising. Below we have compiled some critical benefits to help evaluate whether Lithium solar batteries are worthwhile while travelling. The advantages include:
More Usable Capacity
With lead-acid batteries (AGM, Gel, calcium, flooded), the recommended maximum depth of discharge is 50% to prolong battery life. If you have a 100Ah lead-acid battery, the recommended usable capacity is only 50Ah. However, you can comfortably discharge up to 80% of a lithium battery, such as Invicta. This feature means a 100Ah lithium battery would have an 80Ah usable capacity.
More Efficient Charging
Most lead-acid batteries can only handle a maximum charge current of 30% of their rated capacity to recharge them. In other words, a 100Ah lead-acid battery should not receive more than 30 amps. Instead, the ideal charge rate of a lead-acid battery is 10 to 20% of its capacity. These batteries charge quickly during bulk charging, making up 80% of their capacity.
The last 20% of the charging phase is absorption, which takes the longest. The charger automatically applies a lower current and a variable voltage to gently finish the charging phase. Depending on the condition of your battery, this absorption phase can take up to six hours to complete.
In contrast, lithium batteries charge more efficiently than lead-acid batteries. Depending on the specifications and quality of your lithium battery, it can handle 50 to 100% of your battery’s rated capacity. So, you can charge a 100Ah lithium battery at 50 amps or more.
Like lead-acid batteries, these products also don’t slow down during the absorption phase. This advantage means that with the correct size battery charger, you can recharge a lithium battery from flat to fully charged within a few hours.
Increased Cycle Life
Several factors can influence how often you can cycle or discharge a battery. As a general rule of thumb, most AGM and gel batteries will last around 600 to 800 cycles at 50% depth of discharge.
Conversely, you can cycle lithium batteries down to 80% depth of discharge for around 2000 cycles. If you only take 50% of a lithium battery, this number will increase even further. It’s essential to know that, while lithium batteries are more expensive up front than AGM batteries, they will provide a much longer service life in the long run.
Up to 50% Less Weight
Lithium batteries weigh approximately half the weight of lead-acid batteries. This reduction can be essential to consider if you are an owner of a caravan and worried about your GVM. (Gross Vehicle Mass is the maximum total mass of a fully-loaded motor vehicle as specified by the vehicle manufacturer).
Alternatively, if you use a battery in a portable solution, you might find the lithium battery easier to move around than a heavy lead-acid battery. For example, imagine you have a caravan with three by 120Ah AGM batteries. In total, these would weigh approximately 90 to 100kg. At 50% DOD, your AGM batteries would provide 180Ah of usable capacity.
Instead, if you were to upgrade to a lithium battery system, you would find a 200Ah lithium battery that provides 160Ah of usable capacity and only weighs around 25kg. The weight saving of 60 to 70kg can allow you to carry extra supplies such as water and fuel.
Improved Safety
The most common lithium chemistry that we use in caravans and off-grid applications is “Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) or Lithium Ferrous Phosphate (LFP). These are the safest lithium chemistries that you can use.
Most lithium batteries will feature a built-in BMS (battery management system), protecting the lithium cells from over-discharge, overheating, and under or over-voltage warnings. The BMS’s sophisticated on-off switch will disconnect from the lithium cells as a safety precaution. If the BMS turns off, you must use a lithium-compatible battery charger on a very low current setting to “wake the battery up”. SolarBox recommends using a Victron battery charger.
The Battery Can Sit Unused
Due to sulfation, lead-acid batteries must ideally be kept at least 80% charged or higher than 12.6V when not used. Sulfation is the build-up of lead sulphate crystals that form on the active material of the battery’s plates.
If you leave a lead-acid battery in a discharged state (flat), crystals form on the plates. As a result, your battery will start to lose capacity or could fail prematurely. If the battery begins to sulphate, you will notice it gets hot while charging.
In contrast, lithium batteries are not prone to corrosion or sulfation as their chemistry is lead-based. This difference means that a lithium battery doesn’t have to sit fully charged at all times if left for weeks or months. At the same time, while unnecessary, lithium batteries are usually shipped at 50% charged to meet international shipping standards.
Why Choose Us for Lithium Batteries for Sale Online?
Solar batteries are a user-friendly installation. If you intend to rely on do-it-yourself methods, our lithium batteries for sale are for you. We only offer branded solar batteries that help you with long-term battery life and cost savings, and all our solar batteries are easily upgradable as per your energy requirements. In addition, solar batteries from SolarBox can last at least five years if sized correctly and looked after.
Rely on SolarBox for Solar and Batteries Online
SolarBox Australia is a trusted and reputable online distributor of genuine lithium batteries and solar solutions for your caravans, 4WDs, recreational vehicles, and marine. We only sell top-quality brands and systems warranted and supported in Australia. We have an excellent track record for our service and have also received positive reviews from customers over the years for the solar batteries that we have delivered. Please browse our range below.
