Battery Booster for Lithium lightweight sport battery ?

scott_e · Post by **scott_e** » Sun Oct 09, 2022 1:40 pm

Just thinking out loud here, the Cup has a Lithium lightweight sport battery thing and I was warned by Laura not to jump start in the normal way you would with a standard car battery as it will damage the battery.

She took a fair bit of time explaining how to take the front panel off, attach a battery booster to power the central locking, flip the rear hood and instead use the this trickle charger mains powered:

"Optimate 6 AmpMatic 12V Motorcycle Car Smart Automatic Battery Charger Optimiser"
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07NDKCGGJ/ ... _lig_dp_it

Works great when at home for sure but what if I get stuck with a low bat away from home.

Was looking around for a portable option for my support vehicle (wife & family wagon

) and wondered what the options are for a Lithium lightweight sport battery safe compatible portable battery booster ?

Spotted this , but not really sure what I am looking for and if it would be safe to use. I don't really understand the science here.

"NOCO Boost Sport GB20 500A 12V UltraSafe Portable Lithium Jump Starter, Car Battery Booster Pack, USB Powerbank, and Jump Leads for up to 4.0 Liter Petrol Engines"
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B015TKPT1A/ ... _lig_dp_it

Guess my question is , can anyone recommend a battery booster device that is compatible with a Lithium lightweight sport battery ?

Thanks for any support here. Not urgent, just planning ahead

Scott

Sanjøy · Post by **Sanjøy** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 9:27 am

I’m sure Campbell uses a usb thing like that.

A

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Post by **campbell** » Mon Feb 20, 2023 1:26 am

Yep. Have a DB Power pack that looks like a backup pack for iPhone etc

However only ever used it for jump-starts, not as an off-grid trickle charger.

One person who WILL know what to use and how to use it is our resident Jedi Master Robini … he doesn’t pass by here much these days but I will give him a nudge

robin · Post by **robin** » Mon Feb 20, 2023 8:01 am

Are you worried about jump starting it or trickle charging it while away from home?

There is no one right answer. But your car alternator and ECU have no idea you have a lithium ion battery so in some sense the battery must be similar enough to lead acid.

The right answer depends on at least three things.

What is the actual chemistry of the cells in the battery (there are various cell chemistries with different characteristics).

What is the geometry of the battery (how many cells in parallel and series).

Does it have a built in BMS (battery management system) or is it just a bunch of cells.

If you can point me at the make and model of the battery that Lotus fitted I can take a look.

But ... I reckon for jump starting when flat you ought to be able to just hook normal jump leads ... because there is no difference between what your alternator and the alternator in the other car will output in terms of current and voltage. So if your engine was running it would do to the battery exactly what the other car will do via the jump leads.

If you want to see proof.of that take the car out for a spin to get it warm and charge the battery. While the engine is still running measure the voltage across the battery terminals. I reckon it will be 13.5v to 14.5v if the battery is fully charged (just the same as lead acid).

Those wee jump packs are no different than jump leads from another car except that there are so many of these cheap things that at least some of them are bound to have poor voltage regulation. Hard to know how to avoid the sketchy ones.

BigD · Post by **BigD** » Mon Feb 20, 2023 8:45 am

……Realised you have a trickle charger and we’re asking specifically about jump starters.

Scottish Elises