Charging Directions for Dakota Lithium Batteries 

(Source: Dakota Lithium)

Dakota Lithium and most lithium-ion batteries require a higher voltage than lead-acid batteries to fully charge.

To ensure a full charge, our Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) chemistry performs best when using a lithium specific battery charger that charges at 14.4 – 14.8 Volts. Here at Dakota Lithium, we recommend using Dakota Lithium LiFePO4 chargers because they provide an optimal voltage of 14.4V, which slightly increases the battery’s lifespan by stressing the battery chemistry less during charging. Dakota Lithium LiFePO4 chargers also undergo our company’s redundant quality control process, ensuring every charger is optimized and safe to use with all our LiFePO4 batteries.

A battery charger for a lead acid battery will work to partially charge a lithium battery, but only to a maximum of 60-80% of the lithium battery’s capacity. The performance limitations of lead acid chargers being used for lithium batteries is significant enough that most lithium battery owners prefer to use lithium specific chargers.

What is the battery voltage when my battery is full or depleted?

Batteries measure around 14.4V when they are fully charged and quickly drop to about 13.4V when the charger is removed. They provide consistent power between 13.4 to about 12.8V and quickly deplete to 9.7V at the end of the discharge. Dakota Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries have a flat voltage curve. This means that the voltage will be fairly steady throughout use, and only drop below a useful voltage when the battery is nearly empty. Lead acid batteries have a steep voltage drop and it is common that a lead acid battery’s voltage is no longer useable when the battery still have 60% of capacity left. This flat voltage curve is why Dakota Lithium batteries have twice the usable power even though the battery has the same amount of energy inside the battery. A 100Ah Dakota Lithium battery will last twice as long as a 100Ah AGM or lead acid battery even though the name plate or energy rating is the same. Please note:  Seeing a low voltage of <1V is evidence that the B.M.S. is triggered.

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