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Reviews For: Bioenno LiFePO4 Batteries with PCM and charger

Category: Batteries & Chargers for Amateur Radio

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Review Summary For : Bioenno LiFePO4 Batteries with PCM and charger
Reviews: 20MSRP: 58.00
Description:
Bioenno Power offer a wide range of batteries (LiFePO4 and LiPO) with chargers plus other related items. Their LiFePO4 12V battery comes in various capacities, 3Ah, 6Ah, 10Ah and more. All of them have a PCM integrated that protects against over- and underdischarge, allows balancing, and more. They also offer a very inexpensive charger together with the batteries, or you can buy battery or charger separately. Both the battery and the charger have Anderson power poles already installed. The battery pack is nicely encased not only with a shrink tube but also with a thin PVC box, so it is all enclosed. For more details and specifications see their website.
Prices are very reasonable and their aftermarket support is excellent. The price below is for the 12V/3Ah with charger.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.bioennopower.com/collections/12v-series-lifepo4-batteries
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
23.5204.8
K7OED Rating: 2023-03-19
Works Great For Me Time Owned: more than 12 months.
My 9AH Bioenno battery (BLF-1209WS) and charger have been painless for more than 18 months of QRP operation including operating in the remote Boundary Waters Canoe Area where its light weight was appreciated. The previous review would be more helpful if it discussed how the battery performed instead of merely bashing the website and user manual. Also - the SB50 issue cited appears to be related to the Anderson Powerpoles rather than the Bioenno battery.
K5RG Rating: 2023-03-17
BLF-1230A Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
These guys need help. Their spec sheet is full of errors.
The most accurate information is on my local palm readers web page. The Powerpole interface details require reading minds. Details: The BLF-1230A states the following:
Charge Connector: Anderson Powerpole (PP45)
Discharge Connector: Anderson Powerpole (SB50)
Totally misleading since the two connectors are connected internally in parallel to the two battery posts so there is no such thing as a discharge or charge only connector. The SB50 connector spec is also totally misleading. Can you believe that there are major differences in a SB50 connector? Somehow one is supposed to know that the grey SB50 connector is incompatible with a red SB50 connector. WTF?? I will admit that when pressed directly, they are extremely helpful but why their User Manual is full of crap is beyond my understanding. Turns out the real details are in the FAQs, but I don't like to read responses to dumb questions, so I miss out. Ken K5RG
AD0AR Rating: 2022-07-24
Pinnacle of portable power! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Update: Purchased in February 2017. Just finished a complete discharge/ charge cycle to verify capacity. This battery NEW advertised as 50Ah had 57Ah of measurable capacity. 5 years of average use charge/ discharge cycles now shows 47Ah capacity.
Try that with a lead acid battery hi hi!

Over 2 years ago I made my first purchase from Bioenno Power.
For years I have been trying to find a decent portable battery that would give at least 2 solid hours of reliable power for my emergency communications go kit.
A lead acid Optima D31 battery would barely cover my needs and that was hardly portable at almost 80 pounds of dead weight. I explored other power solution avenues but to no avail.
All possible solutions suggested going lithium ion.
I had inquired with 3 of my main choices to source a lithium ion power source, of these 3, Bioenno Power was the only company that understood my needs and other competitor products did not have the same quality nor the price point, for Bioenno's products are actually better quality and capacity too.
After consulting their staff on some technical specifications and longevity of their battery products, I was able to justify purchasing the largest lithium ion battery that could fit in my emergency go kit.
I settled on a 50Ah battery.

2+ years of weekend use- charging the battery at least once a month (more like topping it off)- I use it with my Icom IC-7100 to check into the weekend vhf nets without a hiccup.
I use a coulomb counter battery level gauge that monitors charging and discharging for high accuracy and I found that the battery still meets and exceeds the rated 50Ah capacity by about 7Ah before the battery goes into shutdown. Amazing!
One of the features of the coulomb counter is a option to preset the capacity of the battery. When enabled, the counter will provide a running time meter indicating in hours and minutes how long the battery will last before hitting the theoretical "wall". This is amazingly great allowing you to adjust transmit output power to how long you want to operate away from civilization.
Observations using the fore mentioned 50AH battery solution and Icom IC-7100:
70+ hours of squelched standby time.
60+ hours of un squelched rx time.
Running full power of 100W HF and transmitting at about 20% transmit/rx cycle, I was able to achieve 10+ hours of operation and over 30+ hours at 25W HF setting.
I also thought I'd try a heavy duty load on the battery. I connected it to a friend's Ten Tec Hercules II 550 watt solid stated HF amplifier.
If you are not familiar with this amp, it likes electricity with a power need near 100 peak amps. @ 12v.
The battery performed flawlessly.
Yes, the lithium ion battery solutions provided by Bioenno are more expensive than the typical lead acid batteries, but they will last many times longer than those same lead acid batteries and if you compare how many lead acid batteries you will need to buy over the lifetime of a lithium battery, it becomes a no brainer decision to purchase a lithium battery as in the end it weighs less, performs better, takes up much less room, and is more cost effective over the lifetime of the product.
I am sure others who have purchased Bioenno power products echo my sentiments that you will not go back to any other power solution when given a choice.
K3QF Rating: 2021-11-16
Great for Portable/Field Day ops Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
These batteries are ideal for portable and field day ops. They are also excellent for EMS backups. Kevin at Bioenno is very responsive and their product support is Excellent! Highly recommended
N0ODK Rating: 2020-09-23
Great light weight and no issues. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought two years ago the BLF-1220A battery for my portable and my home station. I do use the charger sold with it and I also use the Epic PWRgate also for the home station and portable, run voltage up about 14.4 volts to charge.
Battery is light and not a big footprint. I use it for several different radios and wattages. When using PWRgate, I use a regular power supply and if, rarely, power goes out the battery takes over.
Never had an issue yet and may buy a second one.
Mike n0 odk 73
WZ1Y Rating: 2020-05-11
Great product, but travelers beware Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Last summer, I purchased the 12V, 12Ah LFP (144 Watt-hour) battery for use on a vacation-style mini-DXpedition to IS0. Sales at Bioenno was very responsive to my emails and helped me pick it out-- the customer service was great.

LFP batteries are regulated by the airlines, and 160 Watt-hours is the most you can bring aboard US flights. So, don't buy any bigger of a battery if you plane to take one aboard! The other thing to take heed of is that different countries have different Watt-hour limits for LFP batteries. 2 weeks before leaving for my trip to Italy, I found out that the limit in Italy was 140 Watt-hours. Although my Bioenno battery was only 4 watt-hours over the limit, I wasn't going to risk having it confiscated, so I rush-ordered the Bioenno 12 V, 6Ah (72 Watt-hour) battery, which arrived in time for me to take on my trip. Lesson: make sure you know the traveling restrictions on LFP batteries BEFOREHAND.

Once in the field, the 6Ah battery performed flawlessly and a full charge (I charged it overnight) powered a couple hours of 50W SSB operation. Great product, suited perfectly for ham radio use.
VE9CB Rating: 2019-07-25
Performs as expected, but the case is deficient Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought a BLA-1209A (12Vdc 9Ah) battery and charger in May 2019. It performed exactly as expected. I use it for low-power portable operations.

My only concern is with the physical packaging of the battery. The blue PVC cover split along two seams at the top of the battery within a couple of weeks of using it. I am concerned that if more splits develop, the blue PVC cover will fall off and the battery will become compromised.

I have handled the battery gently. I store it is a Pelican-style case with soft foam cutouts that fit the battery perfectly.

I have written to the manufacturer and I await their response.
K9RJ Rating: 2019-04-20
Pinnacle of portable power performance! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
They are light weight, able to hold voltage more or less constant and deliver far higher percentage of power than a lead acid deep cycle or any other heavy battery. They don’t leak acid if tipped over. They also rapidly recharge. Safe and light weight means portable perfection! :-;
KQ4MM Rating: 2018-09-17
Awesome batteries Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have 3, a 4.5, 15, and 30Ah ... the 15 and 30Ah are charged via a 100w solar panel.. the 15Ah runs my 2M rig and the 30Ah my ICOM 7300.. haven't turned on my power supply except for a long string of cloudy days.... Great product and very good and responsive support.
W1TXT Rating: 2018-06-18
Works well Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have the BLF-1205W (4.5Ah) and BLF-1220A (20Ah) batteries. I use the 4.5Ah with a KX-3 and the 20Ah is used for up to 100W transceivers. Build and performance are very good and no issues. I'm considering purchasing up a set of solar panels from Bioenno next.