Yeti Link & Lithium Battery - Why Not?
I have extra GZ EC8 to ring cables, so physically, I could easily connect a lithium battery to the link that's installed in my 1500X. Something I often do with extra AGM & other deep cycle batteries I have sitting around. So, what is it about the Yeti Link design or circuitry that prohibits the use of a lithium battery in the same fashion as the tank?
Answers
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With LFP(LiFePO4) 100Ah packs the main difference I saw compared to AGM was the Link does not have a way to "wake up" a locked out BMS on a smart LFP pack.
The second difference is the link is expecting an AGM based chemistry's voltage profile and limits so you may not get the full voltage & capacity range of the LFP pack (but you will get killer cycle counts!)
Other than those two issues, it is "theoretically possible" to be able to drop in replace an LFP battery into a Yeti X AGM Tank enclosure, remove the fuse because the LFP's BMS will handle the over current and move the foam to the side that was padding the top of the AGM. You would need to assume all risks and verify functionality on your own and as always, pre-balance any batteries to the same voltage(+/-0.2VDC) BEFORE you connect them in parallel 🧯
Let me know how it goes if you test this out!
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Thanks for the reply. If I move forward (and that's the direction I'm leaning), my test would not involve using the tank enclosure at all. I would use my spare GZ EC8 to ring cable to connect directly to the lithium battery at one end & plug into the Yeti link at the other end.
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Ran the test today. I have a BattleBorn 100ah Lithium house battery in my VW van. Typically it's charged by a Progressive Dynamics PD9245C 45 Amp RV Converter/Charger (non-lithium) connected to shorepower. I use the Wizard Penant to periodically boost the charge. The SoC on the BattleBorn at the time of the test was around 84% according to my Victron connect app. I have a GZ EC8 to ring connected to the BB battery. I disconnected the shorepower & then plugged the other end of the EC8 into the link installed in my 1500X. Within moments the tank battery level lights lit up (4 bars) and my GZ started charging. The charging profile was set to 85%.
My van is having starting issues, but once fixed I will test again while running the van, which will charge the BB lithium which in turn will charge/augment the 1500x. I already know I can directly from the van's alternator to the link.
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@GZLFS Awesome! Thanks for the follow up post!
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One last update. I decided to order the PD9145ALV Progressive Dynamics Inteli-Power RV Converter and Battery Charger - Lithium - 12V - 45 Amps to ensure my lithium battery is properly maintained.
