Battle Born 100 Ah LiFePO4 12 Volt Deep Cycle Battery

Battle Born 100 Ah LiFePO4 12 Volt Deep Cycle Battery is a lightweight and durable drop-in replacement for similar lead-acid (SLA AGM or Gel Cell, or even flooded cells) batteries. It features protective electronics that monitor battery parameters, like charging and discharging currents, voltages, temperatures, and similar.

Battle Born 100 Ah LiFePO4 12 Volt Deep Cycle Battery can be directly connected in series and parallel to create battery packs with larger capacities and voltages. It can be directly charged using lead-acid chargers, just one has to be cautious regarding charging currents and voltages.

Updated: January 11, 2022.

Battle Born 100 Ah 12 V (BB10012) Lithium Battery Features and Specifications

BB10012 battery nominal capacity is 100 Ah - it is capable of providing 5 Amps for 20 hours. Lithium Iron Phosphorous batteries do lose some capacity with the increase of discharge current, but not as nearly as lead-acid batteries. Also, BB10012 can be discharged fully, while most deep cycle batteries shouldn't go below 20-30% of nominal capacity, or their number of charging/discharging cycles will drop significantly.

BB10012 battery nominal voltage is 12 V,  operating voltage is ~12.8 volts, and charging voltage should be around 14.4 volts. The output voltage is rather flat during operation ('power fade-free' operation), increasing the efficiency of most electrical systems.

One of the more important safety features is battery chemistry - Lithium Iron Phosphorous (LiFePO4) is not the 'best' lithium battery chemistry regarding capacity or discharging current, but it is one of the safest, especially in combination with protective electronics. Also, this battery holds a charge for up to one 1 year, requiring no additional trickle charger.

The battery is designed to withstand 3000-5000 charging/discharging cycles while retaining at least 75-80% of nominal battery capacity - just note that very important condition is NOT to charge the battery with currents of 0.5C or stronger (that is 50A or more!).

For short: the battery can be theoretically charged once a day for almost 10 years with currents that will recharge the fully discharged battery in 2 or more hours. In real life, the battery comes with a 3-year warranty.

The maximum continuous current is 100 Amps, while the battery can provide 200 Amps for 30 seconds - one can assume that in normal conditions battery has an MCA rating of 200 Amps.

Also, the battery will tolerate 0.5 seconds surge current, which can be very important when the battery is used for powering electric vehicles and when connecting/powering electronics with large electrolytic capacitors (DC/DC and DC/AC converters, for example).

Battery physical dimensions are (L x W x H) 12.75 x 6.875 x 9 inches (~32.4 x 17.5 x 22.9 cm), which is approximately BCI Group 27/27H or 31 battery size. Nonetheless, before purchasing this battery it is highly recommended to measure your current battery space.

The battery weighs only 29 pounds (~13.14 kg), making it one of the lightest 100 Ah automotive and marine batteries. Also, it is one of the most expensive 100 Ah automotive and marine batteries - you win some, you lose some :)

How to Charge BB10012 Battle Born Battery

BB10012 is designed to be used as a drop-in replacement in various marine and automotive applications, so generally, just get rid of your old lead-acid battery and put this one instead of it. And that is all. However, there are a few important things to check before doing it so:

- ideal voltage of the bulk/absorption stage is between 14.2 and 14.6 volts, preferably 14.4 volts. Anything higher than 14.6 volts (14.7 - 15.0 volts) will trigger BMS (Battery Management System) to protect the battery.

- float stage is not required for the BB10012 battery - set it to 13.6 volts or lower.

- equalization stage is not recommended and should be turned off or at least kept below 14.6 volts.

- temperature compensation is not required and should be turned off, or perhaps set to 0. The operating temperature range is between 25°F and 135°F (-4°C and 57°C). Actually, below 25°F BMS doesn't allow charging the battery, but the discharge is allowed.

The loss of performances in severe cold conditions (for example -40°F (-40°C)) is not published by the manufacturer.

Note: even before purchasing this battery, it is highly recommended to read the manuals/instructions, which can be found on the official Battle Born 100Ah 12V LiFePO4 Deep Cycle Battery page (link opens in the new window).

How to Connect BB10012 Battle Born Battery

BB10012 batteries come with standard flag-style terminals, which also include a 3/8” (~0.95 cm) hole. For the best connection, either copper or brass ring terminals are recommended.

Parallel connection is used to increase the capacity and discharge currents. Two batteries in parallel act as one 200 Ah battery being able to provide 400 Amps for 30 seconds, three batteries in parallel act as one 300 Ah battery being able to provide 600 Amps for 30 seconds, etc.

Note: be sure to properly connect batteries in parallel and to use properly dimensioned cables.

Connection in series is used to increase the voltage to 24, 36, or 48 volts. For example, two batteries connected in series will act as one 24 volts 100 Ah battery, being able to provide 200 Amps current for 30 seconds. Such battery (battery pack) should be charged using a voltage of 28.8 volts and with a float voltage below 27.2 volts or with the multibank charger.

Recommended Usage of Battle Born 100Ah 12V LiFePO4 Deep Cycle Battery

BB10012 battery can be used in many situations:

- as trolling motor battery, BB10012 can easily supply maximum required currents (usually below 50-60 Amps) and when the trolling motors are not used at full throttle, operating time can be much longer than 2h.

- as starting battery BB10012 is not as good as AGM dual-purpose or even deep cycle batteries. It has a limit of 200 Amps for 30 seconds and if more Amps are required, more batteries should be connected in parallel.

- as a fishfinder battery, BB10012 is excellent since it can easily supply, for example, 1 Amp for practically four days continuously, while weighing less than 30 pounds.

- as an RV house battery, deep cycle marine battery in dual battery systems, and for off-the-grid applications, it is an initially expensive choice, but it saves plenty of weight, and thanks to a really large number of charging/discharging cycles, it pays itself after some time. Also, it has a very low self-discharge rate, which is often very important when used in systems powered by sun, wind, or some other renewable energy source.

Battle Born 100Ah 12V LiFePO4 Deep Cycle Battery vs. Other 100Ah 12V Batteries

BB10012 is a deep cycle 100Ah 12V battery and to find out its actual strength and weaknesses, it must be directly compared with similar lead-acid batteries in order to get a better picture of how good or bad it is.

The following table lists the most popular ~100Ah 12V batteries, with their most important features:

Model	Battery Type	Group Size	Cell Type	Ah	MCA	Weight (lbs/kg)
Battle Born 100Ah 12V LiFePO4 Battery	Deep Cycle	31	LiFePO4	100	-	29 lbs; 13.2 kg
Exide XMC-31	Deep Cycle	31	AGM	100	1110	68 lbs; 31 kg
Lifeline GPL-31T	Deep Cycle	31	AGM	105	750	69 lbs;  31.5 kg
Odyssey 31M-PC2150	Dual Purpose	31	AGM	100	1370	77.8 lbs; 35.3 kg
Trojan SCS150	Deep Cycle	24	Flooded Cell	100	650	50 lbs; 22.6 kg
Trojan T31	Deep Cycle	31	AGM	102	720	69 lbs; 31.5 kg
UPG UB121000	Deep Cycle	27	AGM	100	-	64 lbs; 29 kg
VMAXTANKS MR127-100	Deep Cycle	27	AGM	100	800	68 lbs; 30.8 kg

Note: Amazon affiliate links in the table open in the new windows, feel free to check them out. Also, we didn't write down the MCA value for the BB10012 battery, since Battle Born doesn't state at what temperature is BB10012 battery is able to produce 200 Amps for 30 seconds and it doesn't state the battery voltage after those 30 seconds. Whatever is the voltage after those 30 seconds, it is IMHO better than lead-acid's 7.2 volts.

As one can see, BB10012 is by far the lightest battery of them all and it weighs just 29 pounds. The next best battery is a flooded cell(!) Trojan SCS150 deep cycle battery weighing 50 pounds.

My two favorite batteries in this class are Exide XMC-31 (labeled as 'Deep Cycle' battery by the manufacturer, but it is an excellent dual-purpose AGM battery) and Odyssey 31M-PC2150 batteries weigh much more (68 and 77.8 pounds respectively vs 29 pounds of BB10012), and although they are not cheap AGM batteries, they are still much cheaper than BB10012 battery.

The number of cycles of AGM batteries depend on the Depth of Discharge (DoD) percentage and avoiding really deep discharges can significantly prolong the battery's operating life, as it is shown in the following table for the Odyssey 31M-PC2150 battery:

DoD%	10%	20%	30%	40%	50%	60%	70%	80%	90%	100%
Number of Cycles	~6000	~2200	~1300	~900	~650	~550	~470	400	~380	~320

Note: AGM battery is considered good as long as its native 20h capacity is more than 80% of the 20h capacity of the new battery. That means that when Odyssey 31M-PC2150 battery 20h capacity drops down to 80 Ah or less, the battery is not considered to be good and should be properly recycled!

When compared with other AGM batteries, Odyssey 31M-PC2150 tolerates very well deep discharges, but even such battery can withstand ~650 cycles down to 50% DoD and ~400 cycles down to 80% DoD.

Now, compare that with 3000-5000 cycles of BB10012 battery (when being charged with 0.5C or less current).

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Long Story Short: Battle Born 100Ah 12V LiFePO4 Deep Cycle Battery is a lightweight and initially expensive LiFePO4 deep cycle battery that tolerates a really large number of charging and discharging cycles, much more than competitive SLA AGM batteries.

It is an excellent battery for all applications where battery weight is important. But, it also features constant output voltage, tolerates deep discharge conditions, it has a very low self-discharge rate, etc.

If you need such a battery and you don't mind spending some extra money initially, consider Battle Born 100Ah 12V LiFePO4 Deep Cycle Battery.

Battle Born also has very good customer support, so if you have any questions, feel free to send them an email or give them a call.

For more reviews and recommendations, check Battle Born 100 Ah LiFePO4 12 volt Deep Cycle Battery Amazon link (link opens in the new window).