Q:
What is the Safari UT1300?
Answer: The Safari UT 1300 is the latest in Lithium battery technology. It replaces traditional deep cycle lead acid batteries with the safest Lithium Iron Phosphate. It is a drop in or "plug and play" battery because you can remove the deep cycle lead acid battery from your RV or boat and replace it with this superior preforming battery. It is used for auxiliary power and home energy storage too. It is not designed for cold cranking or as a startup battery for vehicles.
Q:
What does the Safari UT1300 power?
Answer: The Safari UT 1300 is an amazing Lithium Iron Phosphate battery that can be used for auxiliary power in RV's trailers, motorhomes, boats, cabins, sheds, gazebos, dump trailers, and where you need a reliable sources of stored energy. It replaces lead acid batteries and provides twice the energy because all of its energy (amp hours) can be used instead of only ~50% like lead acid batteries provide. For example, use it in an RV to power slide outs, lights, microwave, TV, AC, etc and get 2X the camping time on a single charge than a lead acid battery. Want to use it to power a trolling motor? No problem, and you'll get not only a longer use time, but it also weighs less than half a lead acid battery and that's a big deal in a boat. How about using it to store energy at a cabin so you can power lights, TV, and more? Yes, you can use it for that too. It can use 100% of the Ah stored in it and can be recharge over 3,500 times and still have 80% of its capacity left. (Note: The Safari UT 1300 is not a battery to use for starting vehicles.)
Q:
How long does it last? More about the Limited Lifetime Warrenty.
Answer: The life of this Lithium battery is about 14 times that of deep cycle lead acid batteries. The Safari UT 1300 is a lifetime battery and comes with a limited lifetime warranty. It's that good! Life Cycles – each of our Battery Warranties has a Cycle Count warrantee component – this is the number of cycles we warrant the battery to be able to withstand and still yield the stated percentage of original battery life. For example, our UT1300 Battery is warranted for 3,500 Cycles up to 100% Depth of Discharge with 80% of original battery life remaining. This simply means that the consumer can fully discharge this battery 3,500 times and we warranty that it will still have 80% of the original 105 Amp Hours (80% X 105 = 84 Amp Hours) Remaining.
Q:
How long can the UT 1300 hold a charge?
Answer: It will maintain its charge for up to 2 years without having to charge it. This is known as shelf life or storage life. However, we recommend using it more frequently, in the house, outside, on adventures, and for emergencies.
Q:
Can it store solar power?
Answer: The Safari UT 1300 is a great energy storage unit for solar power from panels on homes, cabins, businesses, and RV's. It can harness the power of the sun. You'll need a charge controller between the solar panel and the Safari UT 1300 to regulate the energy flow from the panel(s) to the UT.
Q:
Do I have to maintain it?
Answer: The Safari UT 1300 is virtually maintenance free, meaning you don't have to use it or even trickle charge it every 3-4 months, deal with messy acid or water since it doesn't have any, or remove it from your vehicle and store it for the next season. It can hold its charge for up to 2 years and can be recharged and used over and over again for years and years.
Q:
Is it good in bad weather?
Answer: The Safari UT 1300 performs better than lead acid batteries in most weather conditions. It can charge between temps of 32 to 113° F and can discharge between -4 to 131° F. Outside these ranges it can discharge at a lower rate. It is water resistant too.
Q:
How big is it?
Answer: The Safari UT 1300 weighs in at just 23 pounds and is the same 24 Group as other standard small footprint batteries. The dimensions are 10.2" L X 6.6" W X 8.8" H
Q:
What's the rated capacity?
Answer: The Safari UT 1300 is commonly referred to as a 12V, 105Ah (how much energy is stored in it), 1344Wh. Technically, it is called Nominal Voltage at 12.8V and 105Ah. It can output 900A peak, then approximately 250A for one minute and 150A continuously.
Q:
Can it be put in series or parallel?
Answer: Yes. You can increase the voltage in a Safari UT 1300 system by connecting them together from 12V up to 48V total (series). For example, 4 batteries connected together via + to - posts will make the four 12V become a 48V system. You can also increase the Amp Hours (Ah) from 105Ah up to 420Ah (parallel) by connecting them together via + to + and - to -.
Q:
What are the battery charging parameters
Answer: We recommend setting all voltage to a max of 14.6V or at least close to it as you can. End amps or tail amps need to be set as low as possible and inverter low voltage needs to be set to 11.5V. Victron inverters charger and charge controllers should be set to 13.9V for a 12V inverter and 27.8V for 24Vinverters. We recommend a good lithium charger.
Q:
What is a BMS?
Answer: The Safari UT 1300 has a smart internal Battery Management System (BMS) that acts as a safety net to shut down the battery if it is out of the parameters. This prevents the battery from over charging or discharging as well as operating outside of the temperature range.
Q:
Can I use my standard charger?
Answer: Yes! You could use a standard battery charger to charge the Safari UT 1300 and it will charge the battery. However, since most chargers are designed for a lead acid battery, they charge up to a certain voltage. A lead acid battery "full" is about 13.8V. The Safari UT 1300 can accept a charge up to 14.6V. Most charger will get the batteries to 13.8V. That will put the Safari UT 1300 at about 80-85% full. For best performance, we recommend a lithium charger.
Q:
Can I charge the Safari UT 1300 from an alternator?
Answer: Yes. To prevent possible damage to your alternator, we recommend using the Redarc (Model #BCDC1225D), which is a DC-DC charger. It will safely charge your batteries while you are driving.
Q:
Can I use a heating element to keep my Lithium batteries above freezing?
Answer: If you want to use some type of heating element to keep the battery above freezing, you may want to do an online search or check out sites like offgridpowerpack.com. We recommend you keep the batteries in an enclosed and/or insulated area.
