$1,449 EG4 12V 400Ah LiFePO4 Server Rack Battery

Signature Solar has a 5% off entire site sale. Affiliate links here:

0:00 Intro
4:14 Charging to 100%
5:40 Budget Battery Max Current Test!
7:08 Budget Battery Tear Down
9:16 Pro Battery Over Current Test
11:16 Pro Battery Tear Down
13:10 Fire Arrestor and Breaker Discussion
14:32 Downsides
16:52 Price Comparison
18:05 Conclusion

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[WillProwse]

Signature solar has a sale for 5% entire site. Affiliate links here:

The sale is 5% and a deal for shipping these batteries. This sale ends April 18th.


Price comparison is in 100Ah. Figured that was obvious but saw a lot of comments not understanding that. Sorry

0:00 Intro
4:14 Charging to 100%
5:40 Budget Battery Max Current Test!
7:08 Budget Battery Tear Down
9:16 Pro Battery Over Current Test
11:16 Pro Battery Tear Down
13:10 Fire Arrestor and Breaker Discussion
14:32 Downsides
16:52 Price Comparison
18:05 Conclusion

[joepeach]

"I love science man, that's so awesome!" No Will, you are so awesome! Love your videos and your attention to details.

[timdowns]

Will, thank you so much for all your great videos. You taught me almost everything I know about solar over the past few years and I now live 100% off grid with 7k of solar and 10kwh of self made batteries and its all thanks to you and your great teaching skills. So happy to see your success too. Thanks again

[mandmmilling]

I have been using 4 of the 12v non-pro batteries for a year now in my yacht. They work amazingly. Mounting was easy. I built a wood bottom for the batteries with a lip all the way around so the bottoms cant slide and bolted that to the boat. Next, I installed a piece of strip stainless steel across all the mounting plates on the top to connect all the tops of the batteries together. Finally, I used 2 1000-lb nylon ratchet straps to hold the batteries down in the wood bracket on the bottom. The batteries don't move. I did not make a separate box for the batteries as they are in my engine room and not located around any moisture. If I get water up to the batteries, my boat is gone anyway.

My only beef with the eg4s is they don't make a 12v all-in-one converter charger to communicate directly with the batteries. I am using a multiplus 2 with Victron lynx and charge controllers.

If I was building a boat from scratch, I would go 24v or 48v. But, since my entire boat is 12v, i will just stick with that for ease of use.

[YallAintRight]

I just bought my dream Rv. This might be what I need to upgrade the electrical. Thank you Will.

Update: I did some mental math late last night and I think this is the right thing for my rv. I have a 16 foot 4 inch Class C. The battery area is very small with no room to give. I have to take measurements and everything, but this is 400 Ah in a *much* smaller form than I thought possible and with better protections to boot. Granted, shipping will be higher because I only need 1. And, because there is only 1 battery, I have no redundancy in case of major problem. That being said, this looks like an excellent fit.

[GetUpAndGoVanLife]

love your videos, 90% of what I know about electrical I've learned from watching your videos over the years. 
thank you for making great, well explained electrical content

[kenword]

Been in a bus for over a yr with 2 EG4 batteries and 800 watts on the roof runs microwave air frier even air conditioner in Florida never get below 60% and charges back up daily...great batteries

[DarrLaw]

Great video, Will. Bummer that EG4 isn’t making any marine-grade 12’s. I’m guessing they’d be a stellar price compared to the comps.

[BobCollins]

Thanks for rounding back to discussing 12V systems. For small mobile applications—5 kWh or less—it's hard to justify the costs of using 48V or even 24V. The cost of thicker, but very short cables, etc. don't make up for the higher cost of less common equipment.

I would like to hear more on the reliability of server-rack batteries in a high vibration environment such as mounted in a van or small RV. Do you have any input on this subject?

Thanks again for your quality reviews and advice!

[DHD-]

I like the longsleve black shrts you've been wearing lately. Stylish and utilitarian.

[johnhufnagel]

seems like EG4 has got their battery game nice and tight. Regarding the warranty, the question is always will the company be there when the warranty gets long in the tooth. EG4 does seem like they're doing things right enough that 10 years from now they might still be here. but honestly their build quality actually hurts them in that regard; their materials choices are of high enough quality that it looks like you'll get that life expectancy if not more, so why bother paying more for a longer warranty. :D

in relation to mounting, anyone who's capable of custom designing their own system for an RV or other mobile 12V setup, probably is smart enough to make sure the batteries aren't going to go flying. adding more ways to tie them down might actually hurt EG4 in the long run, as people could become complacent in securing them, trusting that any additional brackets are actually strong enough to NOT rip from the chassis in an accident. quite honestly none of the server rack batteries have cases that are strong enough to withstand accident forces on their own. those mounting wings will get ripped off in a heartbeat.

[tomfisher]

Thank you. This was really helpful. I bought two 200ah 12 v sok batteries in the last few years for our small camper, but going forward this seems like the better option. 👍

[ur_pore]

Thanks a ton for checking out 12v large form factor batteries still. I know many are switching to 48v systems but those of us that have vans it makes more sense to run 12v in general. Reason being of small surface area for solar panels and most do not run a second dedicated 48v alternator.

[matthewprather]

24V and even 48V automotive style alternators aren't terribly expensive. For an RV or boat it wouldn't be too tough to add an extra alternator to many engines, and then have a higher voltage (and power) DC bus to charge a 24V or 48V battery bank. I suspect the 48V inverters are more efficient, along with saving on wire size. Might be a good solution if a system in which most / all loads are AC - microwave, induction cook top, heat pump. Hybrid paired with solar.

[quartamile]

Incredible product! Thank you for the high quality videos as always! I'll likely get this for an RV to run air conditioning this summer. Bless

[rodmartel]

Seasonal Canadian cabin where Temps can go VERY low...need a battery heater, preferably built in AND reliable.

[Vigo]

Nice vid. One thing i would say is that the thermal breaker would be affected hy heat generated inside the box, so in the event something inside the box was getting really hot while current was still under the BMS trip rating, that would slowly ‘derate’ the breaker and could lead to it tripping when the bms would not. But that depends on the high temp behaviour of the bms. I agree its mostly a convenient disconnect ‘for emergencies’.

Its a lot more elegant than the 5kwh of paralleled 12v in my rv! Still more expensive, but definitely worth it for multiple reasons.

[krissfemmpaws]

Hey Will, I think you are missing something here, for a small off grid home/cabin it's easy to use 12 volt for lighting and 12 volt RV/truck appliances for your convenience needs.

They do make a pellet stove powered by 12 volts for your heating.

In some ways it makes things very simple to get a low power system on line.

[MyWasteOfTime]

It sucks EG4 removed the breakers from their value battery.

[rosstaylor]

Vibration test?
I bought one of these for my RV. The naysayers said it wouldn’t perform because it’s not made for all the vibrations of an rv.

The build quality is just as nice as any top tier 12v 100ah company make. And maybe better.