K2 Energy - LiFePo₄ Batteries

Price: $170 US for the 12V - 11 Amp-hr Battery with built-in BMS and $35 US for the charger

Looking for a battery that will run all the electronics in your cockpit for the whole flight without running out of juice?  Look no further, the K2 battery is a direct replacement for the normal sealed lead acid (SLA) with identical physical size to fit in your battery box but that is where the similarities end.

 This is a whole new technology in batteries compared to the SLA batteries, but don't be fooled by the cheaper knock-offs on the market.  The K2 batteries are UL certified and listed and have gone through rigourous testing.  K2 manufactures the individual battery cells in the United States, they don't assemble cheap Chinese components.

Advantages of the LiFePo₄ batteries

• provide much longer battery use during flight.

• can be used for at least 2000 discharge-recharge cycles, compared to 300 for SLA's

• hold their charge during the off-season loosing only 1% per month (unlike the SLA batteries that loose 5-10% per month)

• don't have the special charge/discharge requirements of the early Li-ion types and can be charged with most normal SLA chargers

• The K2 batteries have the highest capacity available at ANY discharge rate available on the market.

• identical size to standard lead-acid batteries: 151L x 65W x 97H mm,

Off-season Storage Tips

• The K2 has a very low self discharge rate and does not need to be topped up during the winter

• They can be stored fully charged during the off-season and do not need monthly charges

• If they are left in a discharged state for the off-season, you may be able to recondition them with a prolonged (2-3 day) float cycle on the charger

FAQ's

Are they Safe?  (These are not the Li-Ion batteries that are making the news)

• No Thermal Runaway (self propagated rapid decomposition)
• Passes Stringent UN/DOT Testing with No Circuit Protection
• No Poisonous Chemicals

Are they durable?

• 2000+ Cycles
• 3+ Year Shelf Life
• Highest Energy Density LFP Batteries on the Market
• solid ABS plastic case

Are they Green?

• Absolutely see the picture: above :)
• Ingredients are safe enough to use as soil to grow plants
• No Heavy Metals
• Recyclable

What is the Discharge Capacity?

• this of course depends on your current draw, but the following graph shows the discharge rate at various loads.
• C/20 represents a current draw of the battery's capacity divided by 20, i.e. 9.6 Ah/20 giving 0.48 Amps (and a duration of 20 hrs)
• C/2 gives 4.8 Amps and a capacity of 2 hrs, etc
• to determine your current draw, add up the current draw for all your instruments, and then add some more depending on how much you talk on the radio
• note the Pb-Acid discharge drops rapidly and loses effective use in about half the time of the LiFePo4 as radios and some of the modern computers will not function with less than 10 V