The Redodo mini deep cycle battery can hold up to 4 times your power supply

The folks at Redodo, a battery manufacturer, contacted us recently because they wanted us to test a 12V 100Ah Mini LiFePO4 battery. After testing it and seeing where it fits, I will not only recommend it to readers looking to replace a lead acid deep cycle battery, but also to anyone who needs to save some space and weight for their 12V energy storage needs.

The problem that this battery solves

Like most car and RV enthusiasts, I’ve been using 12V batteries for a long time. If your car battery has ever gone out, you probably know the struggle. If you’re the “pick up and put things down” type who spends a lot of time in the gym (especially if you’re a guy), it might not seem like much of a struggle to lift a battery out of the engine bay, but if you’re a not-so-strong woman, it’s hard to get this thing out and haul it to AutoBone (Beautiful – Ed.) or Sam’s Club for testing and/or replacement.

This issue is even more of an issue if you’re working with deep-cycle batteries, like the ones you use for your motor or RV. They have more storage space and you can deplete them to lower levels, but they’re bigger and heavier. Even worse are things like golf carts, telecom batteries, and other large lead lumps that help you get some juice.

Even worse, deep courses of lead acid often only last a few years at best. In cars, shallow batteries tend to last 2 to 5 years (sometimes a time less), while an RV battery may need to be replaced every year or two due to a lack of use between camping trips and vacations. In addition, all of these batteries need to be maintained and kept in a well-ventilated place to avoid explosions of hydrogen gas and acid all over the place if things go terribly wrong.

As fans of electric cars and clean technology should know by now, battery technology has improved a lot for any age adult. Heck, even since 2000, the size, weight, and cost of energy storage have dropped dramatically, while durability and ease of maintenance have increased. On top of what we’ve seen in electric vehicles over the past decade or so, slightly less dense but more durable LiFePO4 (aka “LFP”) batteries are now on the scene.

Most of the companies offering a deep cycle battery alternative are using the benefits of newer battery technology to give us more energy storage, longer life, and in the case of LiFePO batteries, better safety. But, until I got this review unit, I hadn’t seen a manufacturer try to give us more flexibility and smaller battery sizes.

Specifications and features

You can find full specs and features on the Redodo website, so I’ll just discuss some highlights of what you’ll get for $349 (as of this writing) if you order one.

The biggest thing is that this smaller battery from Redodo, a little smaller than a six-pack of energy drinks, gives you 100 amp-hours of storage (1.2 kilowatt-hours). This is the same energy storage that a typical deep cycle lead acid battery gives you, but it’s only about half the size of an RV battery. This is impressive, especially for the price.

This 12V 100Ah LiFePO4 Mini LiFePO4 battery pack is light in weight, has foldable and removable strap/handle, and has removable functions. This makes for not only flexibility, but portability, and greatly reduces the struggle for people who aren’t gym rats.

Another big thing is that he loves working with other people. You can connect up to four batteries in parallel and series, with a maximum of 48V, 400Ah (@48V), or a 20kWh battery system. Not all users will want to do this, but the option is there if you want to build something really cool, whether at home or on the road.

My test

I don’t currently have an RV handy for battery testing, so I decided to put the battery through a more rigorous test: hooking it up to a power inverter and drawing up to 1,000 watts out of it. I had no problem drawing close to 1,000 watts to run a window air conditioner with. So, it obviously works well and won’t let you down with your deep cycle needs (which are usually not difficult).

Due to some yard work, I wasn’t able to get great photos, but I had no problem using it with a 60-watt foldable solar panel and Renogy charge controller. Just be sure to get a charge controller compatible with LiFePO batteries if you want to charge one (or more) with solar energy. The user guide contains full details on the settings to be used with a compatible charge controller.

important note! The best part: Redodo offers a discount for CleanTechnica Readers when using code (CT4) at a 4% discount!

How it can double or triple your energy storage

Having worked with deep cycle batteries in RVs, what immediately occurred to me was how much energy storage you could get here. Not only is the unit about half the size of a typical deep cycle, but you can run it safely low instead of having to keep it above 50% like you would with a lead-acid battery.

This means that just one of these batteries can give you twice the usable storage space as a lead-acid deep cycle battery, but you have room for two of these batteries per regular deep cycle, so you can quadruple the storage in the same space and with less weight. Many RV home battery banks use two or three deep cycle batteries, and a Redodo Mini battery can work in that capacity as well. You can put up to four of them in parallel to get a 400Ah 12V system, and if you can use 24 or 48V you can get more storage if you’re smart about your battery placement.

The guide makes it easy

Finally, one of the things I most appreciate about this 12V 100Ah Mini LiFePO4 battery is that it comes with proper documentation. Unlike what you might get at a big box retail store, they don’t assume you’re an expert on batteries when you buy one of these. The manual gives you all the details regarding charging, discharging, connecting and setting up a larger battery system. They assume you don’t know much, so anyone can work with them (assuming you take reasonable precautions with electricity).

Even better, the Handbook and Quick Start Guide come in a waterproof zip bag so you can keep the guide handy after installing in an RV or other harsh environment. So, they’ve really thought through this product, from start to finish. Don’t forget: Redodo offers a discount for CleanTechnica Readers when using code (CT4) at a 4% discount!

Images provided by Jennifer Sensiba/CleanTechnica.

This article is sponsored by Redodo. This 12V 100Ah Mini LiFePO4 battery was provided to the author free of charge for the purposes of this review.

 

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