Nickel Iron (NiFe) Batteries

We recommend NiFe batteries as a Go-to-Battery for longevity, the only drawback is these Battery have a lot larger footprint and are Very Heavy & Not suitable for wall mounting due to there Weight.

We purchase New, un-used NiFe Battery from the Manufacturer that has made batteries for the Military for over 20 years, we Do Not sell re-conditioned NiFe Cells like some people on eBay ...we get there complaints !

Use this Battery Electrolyte Mixing Calculator to work out the correct quantities of Chemicals and Distilled Water required each battery !  We recommend customers Purchase a $80+ Distilling Kettle , that should be operated off your Solar power, to produce FREE Distilled Water to maintain Electrolyte level.

We can supply an Automatic Gravity Feed Distilled Water Battery Filling system, to provide a maintenance free operating system, using quality 6mm Plastic Air fittings & Stainless Steel Filling Straws. 

The Pros & Cons:

1. Our NiFe batteries come with an 8 year Warranty.
2. A majority of NiFe batteries are fully operational after 50+ years of service, and most will likely be for another 50 years, if you keep on replacing or filtering the Electrolyte, as that provides a "Like New Battery" again !
3. Be aware some Chinese manufacturers Re-furbish X-Government Cells & sell them as New !
4. NiFe batteries require a larger storage footprint & are heavier at approx. 45kg per kWh, compared to LiFePo4 batteries at approx. 8kg per kWh.

This Electrolyte Chemical Mixing Calculator provides the correct mixing quantities !

If you are looking to Replace the Electrolyte, we can Import the Chemicals, however that may be more expensive than sourcing locally, the Chemicals for a 500Ah cell cost approx. $45 per Cell if imported.

EG: 40x 500Ah Cells requires 75kg of KOH and 5.6kg of LiOH chemicals.

25kg Bag of KOH from Bosca below Costs $95, and 500g LiOH on ebay costs $150, use links below to Purchase;

• KOH: https://bosca.com.au/
• LiOH: https://www.ebay.com.au/

What comes with a Bank of Nickel Iron Batteries.

HISTORY of Nickel Iron Batteries

In 1901 Thomas Edison developed this battery technology, it has long been considered one of the perfect battery technologies, and time has proven them against all comers!  You can still purchase some of these Vintage 100yrs old battery, and they still work, this has a lot to do with the fact that the energy is actually stored in the Electrolyte.

Edison once said, “A good idea is never lost, even though its inventor or possessor may die without publicising it, it will someday be reborn in the mind of another.”  See these Heritage images (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8).

The latest designs of these days are rated and reported to cycle over 10'000 times, that's 30+ year daily cycles life span, where the electrolyte only need to be replaced after 7~10+ years, covered below in more detail.

Worldwide Users Report: NiFe battery's & Electrolyte have cycled over 10'000 times;

1. That equates to over 27years, with Electrolyte lasting between 7~12+ year periods, meaning you only have to Replace or Filter the Electrolyte, the electrolyte replacement cost is approx. 5~7% of the battery cost, that will provide like new condition for the next 10+ years.
2. Battery's Liquid level need to be kept above the internal plates, checked every 6~12 months if you have a large reserve tank on a Automatic Watering system.

Nickel Iron (NiFe) Battery Electrolyte consists of;

• Potassium hydroxide (1.2g/cm3) is an inorganic compound with the formula KOH, and is commonly called caustic potash.
• Lithium hydroxide (20g/L) is an inorganic compound with the formula LiOH. It is a white hygroscopic crystalline material. It is soluble in water and slightly soluble in ethanol, and is available commercially in anhydrous form and as the monohydrate (LiOH^.H₂O), both of which are strong bases. It is the weakest base among the alkali metal hydroxides.
• If you already have Solar or just want to make your own Distilled Water, you can purchase a $70 Water Distiller on ebay, these 750W units make 1 litre per hour.

What is the Correct NiFe Electrolyte Chemical Mixing Quantities ?

This Calculator automatically provides the correct chemical mixing quantities.

These batteries are now manufactured with stronger and newer improved technology.  A NiFe battery bank is made up from individual cells, all cells are 1.2 volts, No matter the size of the cell or battery bank.  To make a battery Bank to a specific Voltage, you simply add cells together until you get the require voltage.

Example in Green are the Cells we recommend you Purchase;

• 10 x 1.2volt cells = 12 Volts System.
• 12 x 1.2volt cells = 14.4 Volts..
• 14 x 1.2volt cells = 16.8 Volts.
• 20 x 1.2volt cells = 24 Volts.
• 22 x 1.2volt cells = 26.4 Volts..
• 24 x 1.2volt cells = 28.8 Volts.
• 40 x 1.2volt cells = 48 Volts.
• 42 x 1.2volt cells = 50.4 Volts
• 44 x 1.2volt cells = 52.8 Volts

It is worth Noting that by simply adding Two or Four additional NiFe Cells into the Battery Bank, will provide a better Hi-Voltage performance characteristics on Hi-Amp draws, most modern Inverters are capable of handling up to 60 Volts DC, the additional Batteries also takes the strain off the Bank. NiFe battery Banks can be configured up to 750V DC,

The key to Nickel Iron (NiFe) Batteries long life lies in quality manufacturing, the VARTA cell technology was designed for use moving & vibrating situations like vehicles, trains & mining equipment etc., providing a very long working life.

NiFe batteries will continue to work like new a long past the 10 year manufacturer guarantee period, and have long been considered the best green energy battery for decades, they are 100% recyclable, with no dangerous materials including the electrolyte, NiFe batteries are a Non Acid battery.

NiFe battery are widely used as DC back-up power supply for Solar Energy storage and used in homes, businesses, vehicles, remote telecommunications, railway, mines, tractors, petrochemical, oil and gas, electricity industries, and other renewable power applications.

Nowadays, more and more countries have attached great importance on environmental protection and advocate using green energy. Because of NiFe batteries high reliability, long service life, lower maintenance cost, pollution-free and other positive characteristics, NiFe batteries are rapidly replacing Lead-acid batteries in wide ranges of applications, especially in off-grid systems using Solar, Wind, Aqua as well as power produced by Fuel Generators, NiFe are also be used in load shifting applications, e.g. charging the batteries using cheaper off-peak power, usually at night.

We can order NiFe batteries Casings made from either Polypropylene (PP) or Methacrylate butadiene styrene (MBS), MBS is also known as impact modified Styrene Methyl Methacrylate (SMMA). This polymer has excellent clarity, high stiffness, high impact performance and easy process ability.

Advantage of NiFe Batteries:

1. The Cheapest Long Term Battery Investment Cost per kWh.
2. Wide capacity range: 100Ah~1200Ah.
3. SGS, GOST, IEC60623, ISO, CE, UL certificate.
4. Long life: 15~40+ years.
5. -20°C~50°C Operating Temperatures.

Characteristics:

• MBS (Methacrylate Butadiene Styrene) is an Opaque Casing modifying agents used to improve the impact strength.
• PP (Polypropylene) is a Transparent battery Casing, material is Hard, but Fragile in low temperatures.
• Excellent charging efficiency and smooth discharge voltage.
• High reliability without sudden death.
• Ability to withstand ultra-high and ultra-low environmental temperatures.
• Withstand physical and mechanical abuses.
• Exceptionally long & reliable service life (up to and over 50yrs).
• Pollution-free, total green energy and recyclable.
• Low Self-discharging, not an issue when being charged on a daily basis.
• No emission of corrosive gases, Safe from flame & explosion.
• Pollution-free and excellent mechanical strength.
• Convenient for installation and low maintenance.
• Comply with SGS and GOST standard.
• Availability to design and manufacture other model according to user's requirements.
• Electrolyte weighs approx. 1.2kg per litre.

Initial Charge:

• New battery stored for more than 6 months should be charge at 0.2C 5A for 12hours, then discharge at 0.2C 5A to 1v per Cell.
• Repeating above charge and discharge for 3-5 cycles.
• If the discharge duration isn't less than 5hours and the battery voltage isn't less than 1v per Cell, the battery can be put into operation according to normal charge.
• C5 means the output capacity of the battery discharged to cut-off voltage at 1.0V with 5 hours rate at 20°C. Namely-nominal capacity, Under normal circumstances, the battery should be charged by normal rate (0.2C 5A).
• In the case of emergency, the fast charge method ( 0.5C 5A ) can be used.
• The battery must be charged at normal rate (0.2C 5A) for 12 hours when it is overcharged.

NiFe Customer Reports:

• Read what Customers have reported about there NiFe Batteries.