Intro
Author By Jesse
WattCycle is a relatively new brand on the battery-market, but they offer several batteries priced competitively with features you usually have to pay more for.
One of those features is the low-temperature cut-off protection, that is in the battery I will be reviewing today.
The WattCycle 100Ah 12V LiFePO4 battery is currently on sale for $199.99, but usually sells for $229.99. That’s an excellent price point that is hard to beat, but of course I want to make sure it’s a good reliable battery before I recommend it to our readers.
We have also been testing the recommended WattCycle 20A battery charger that you can find here.
Let’s dive into the specifications of this battery before we test its performance.\
(Image Source: Camping Nerd)
Battery Specifications
It uses LiFePO4 battery cells which are known to be durable and safe. They’re better than the more commonly used Li-Ion.
The battery is rated at 100Ah at 12.8 volts, which equals 1280Wh (watt-hours).
100Ah is also the maximum charge and discharge currents supported by the BMS, but WattCycle recommends charging with a 20A charger. Remember that you must use a battery charger that supports lithium batteries to properly charge any lithium battery.
WattCycle makes its own 20A lithium battery charger that I have also been testing this past week. It has worked great, doesn’t get too hot, and has been a reliable charger.
(Image Source: Camping Nerd)
The charger doesn’t have any special features that make it stick out, but it has a light that shows charging status, and identifies any issues.
This battery has a low-temperature cut-off, which will prevent charging in below freezing temperatures, and discharging in temperatures below -4℉.
I like this a lot since charging lithium batteries in freezing temperatures can cause irreparable damage. This protection ensures that the battery will only charge when the ambient temperature isn’t too low or high for a safe charge.
I tested the low-temperature protection and it was very swift at cutting off the charge.
The battery weighs 23 pounds and measures 10.24 by 6.61 by 8.23 inches, which makes it compatible with Group 24 battery boxes.
Build Quality And Design
The casing is made out of flame retardant ABS plastic. That’s very typical for batteries like this. It has an IP65 rating.
A strap on top makes it easy to carry and transport the battery, and on the top is also where you will find the two battery terminals. One is red (positive), and one is black (negative).
(Image Source: Camping Nerd)
Four M8 terminal screws and two cap protectors are included.
As mentioned above, LiFePO4 offers excellent durability and this battery offers between 4,000 to 20,000+ cycles depending on the DOD (depth of discharge).
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Cycles
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DoD (Depth of Discharge)
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4,000
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100%
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15,000
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60%
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20,000
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40%
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If you plan on upgrading from lead-acid to lithium but is hesitant because of the difference in cost, consider how much longer a LiFePO4 battery is going to last.
Performance
The specifications look great, but how did it perform in my tests?
Great! It was able to both charge and discharge at 100A without any issues for an extended period of time.
In a battery capacity test, I was able to pull about 100.5Ah, which means it passes the test since it is rated at 100Ah.
The low-temperature cut-off worked and was one of the fastest cut-offs I have seen in a battery like this. As soon as the temperature hit the lower limit, it stopped charging, and resumed charging almost immediately after it sensed a safe temperature.
Compatibility and Integration
The battery is expandable, and can be wired in both series and parallel.
It supports up to a 4S4P configuration, meaning a total of 16 batteries. That would equal a 400Ah battery bank at 48V.
The manual has a great illustration of how this is done, if this is something you plan on doing.
(Image Source: Camping Nerd)
If you plan on replacing your RV batteries with lithium, you must make sure that the converter charger in your camper supports lithium. Otherwise the battery might not charge properly, which can damage it over time.
Price, Value & Conclusion
At the current price of $199.99 (regular price is $229.99), the WattCycle 100Ah 12V LiFePO4 battery is a great deal.
Its great build-quality and performance surprised us in a good way, and after testing it for a couple of weeks we definitely recommend it.
If you’re considering upgrading from lead-acid to lithium, this is the type of battery I recommend. With the low-temperature protection, there is really no reason to not go for lithium.
The price might seem steep at first, but the value and features you get compared to lead-acid makes it a no-brainer, in my opinion.
