Carpokes Porsche Forum

Dave W. wrote: Fri Apr 07, 2023 12:37 pm I put the NOCO battery in my daily driver, so I don't need to use a charger. My voltmeter typically shows 13.8 to 14.0 while driving so I don't believe it's necessary to charge at the recommended 14.5V. IMHO optimum charging is at 14.5V but 14.0 seems to work just fine.
Cold starts are great. The engine spins quickly with no sign of struggle. I also have newish battery cables between battery, starter and alternator, and a newish starter.
Driving with all electrical loads on, such as headlights, wipers, fan and brake lights, the voltmeter shows 13.6V. Typical night driving with just lights on is 13.8V.
BTW I just bought another NLP30 for my other car. Prices on eBay/Amazon seem to be coming down.

Hi Dave.W, I was discussing the NOCO NLP30 with @R3wir3d and he had some good questions I was hoping you could help with:

What is the attitude of the battery if it gets abused or treated less than desirable, what are the ramifications?
What if it gets drained completely, what damage does this cause?
Does it need to be kept on a battery tender for long periods of no use?

j1nx3d wrote: Thu May 11, 2023 7:55 pm

Dave W. wrote: Fri Apr 07, 2023 12:37 pm I put the NOCO battery in my daily driver, so I don't need to use a charger. My voltmeter typically shows 13.8 to 14.0 while driving so I don't believe it's necessary to charge at the recommended 14.5V. IMHO optimum charging is at 14.5V but 14.0 seems to work just fine.
Cold starts are great. The engine spins quickly with no sign of struggle. I also have newish battery cables between battery, starter and alternator, and a newish starter.
Driving with all electrical loads on, such as headlights, wipers, fan and brake lights, the voltmeter shows 13.6V. Typical night driving with just lights on is 13.8V.
BTW I just bought another NLP30 for my other car. Prices on eBay/Amazon seem to be coming down.

Hi Dave.W, I was discussing the NOCO NLP30 with @R3wir3d and he had some good questions I was hoping you could help with:

What is the attitude of the battery if it gets abused or treated less than desirable, what are the ramifications?
What if it gets drained completely, what damage does this cause?
Does it need to be kept on a battery tender for long periods of no use?

I think it would be best if you send those questions to the guys at NOCO directly. I don't know the finer details, I just bought 2 of them and have observed my voltmeter while driving.

j1nx3d wrote: Thu May 11, 2023 7:55 pm Hi Dave.W, I was discussing the NOCO NLP30 with @R3wir3d and he had some good questions I was hoping you could help with:

What is the attitude of the battery if it gets abused or treated less than desirable, what are the ramifications?
What if it gets drained completely, what damage does this cause?
Does it need to be kept on a battery tender for long periods of no use?

The advice to ask Noco directly is spot on. However some generic info;

1. Abused how? The more common abuses are deep discharge and/or overcharging. Over is the one that can get you in trouble, but most batteries are built to off vent when they are getting that level of abuse, that is regardless of the design of the battery. But if you abuse it right it will overheat and eventually catch fire and or the casing will explode. Note that is true of every battery out there, lead acid batteries have burned down FAR more cars than lithium has - and checkout Youtube, plenty of videos of people abusing batteries and the results that happen. Note that any decent lithium battery will have controllers to protect itself from over charging and temp sensors to protect itself.

2. Same as every other battery, it damages the battery. A lithium battery can be discharged farther than a lead acid/AGM battery before you get to the point of no return, but it is still not good for the battery - and sooner or later you will get to a point where the battery can no longer recover from the discharge. As above, those same controllers will kill the battery at a certain discharge point to protect itself.

3. No...and yes. Lithium batteries don't self discharge like a lead acid battery will. Basically take both types of batteries out of the car, charge them to 100% and take the charger off, and in a couple/few months the lead acid battery will be at like a 50% state of charge, the lithium will be at a 95% state of charge (or better). The yes part about keeping it on a tender in a car environment is that every car has parasitic drains, sometimes very little, sometimes a lot, but it's a reality.

Any good Lithium car battery will contain a battery controller that will not allow for over-charging or deep discharging and will monitor battery temps, once it hits whatever limit it will disconnect the battery and not allow whatever to continue until conditions change. Hence one of the reasons why you spend so much more on a Li battery.

@Ajay213 Excellent advice - thanks for posting!

By the way, Welcome to Carpokes!

Purchased the NLP-30 and test-fitted it using a home construction framing bracket (had to make one bend) and making some “custom” adapters to connect the battery cables to the battery terminals, which do not have your traditional posts. The battery has a female threaded hole and bolt included, so that is how the bracket is attached.

I will redo the bracket and terminal adapters now that I know it’ll work. I want a “Singer” level of fit and finish, so will paint or powder coat the bracket black. The battery is so light it is firmly held in place by the one bracket. I’ll also cover up the terminals to prevent accidental arching, and top it off with the factory battery lid.

The NLP-30 weighs about 5 pounds and barely registers on a bathroom scale. It has started my car fine over the last couple weeks, though the temperatures have not dipped below 40. I’m loving it so far!

How are those Lithium batteries holding up for everyone? Nice to get some real world feedback.

I am thinking the Motobatt MHTX30 or MHTX20 hybrid batteries might be the best of both worlds. They are 15 or 10 lbs (depending on model) but designed to work with conventional alternator charging and also have decent amp-hour ratings. Pricey, but maybe worth it...

I just saw something called Antigravity Batteries. I might consider their H6 replacement for my S2 in the future.

I recall a bit of discussion a few years ago now related to some sourcing issues with Antigravity Batteries. I don't remember the specifics. Due diligence seems like it might be important.

stitch2k1 wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2023 8:06 pm I just saw something called Antigravity Batteries. I might consider their H6 replacement for my S2 in the future.

This may be about the only time I link to RL, but see post #33 in the link below. The whole thing left a very sour taste in my mouth about both AG and RL....

https://rennlist.com/forums/964-forum/1 ... doa-3.html

Tom wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2023 8:51 pm

stitch2k1 wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2023 8:06 pm I just saw something called Antigravity Batteries. I might consider their H6 replacement for my S2 in the future.

This may be about the only time I link to RL, but see post #33 in the link below. The whole thing left a very sour taste in my mouth about both AG and RL....

https://rennlist.com/forums/964-forum/1 ... doa-3.html

Ugh