REVIEW – As I add more and more extraneous lights and accessories to my truck, powering them all efficiently becomes an issue. Right now, everything is powered by my main starter battery, which is fine to a point. The ultimate goal is to protect that starter battery at all costs and power everything else from a secondary battery. The PowerUrus 12V 100AH LiFePO4 Deep Cycle Rechargeable Battery is the perfect choice for this situation. The PowerUrus has many great features, like built-in Bluetooth functionality for a companion app, self-heating, and an integrated carrying handle. The best feature, though, is the price of $339.99, which is a bit lower than most similarly featured batteries.
What is it?
The PowerUrus 12V 100AH LiFePO4 Deep Cycle Rechargeable Battery is a large-capacity battery that operates at 12 volts with a capacity of 100 ampere-hours. The “LiFE” in LiFePO4 stands for Lithium Iron Phosphate, meaning it’s a type of battery that uses lithium ions and iron phosphate to store and deliver energy efficiently. The deep cycle designation means that it’s capable of being discharged and recharged through most of its capacity, which is great for consistent, long-term power needs. The PowerUrus also features built-in Bluetooth for monitoring, a Battery Management System (BMS) for protection against overcharging, and self-heating for charging in low-temperature environments.
The PowerUrus arrives in a large box marked with more than a few warning labels indicating its heavy weight and the fact that it contains a lithium-type battery.
Plenty of foam, plastic, and cardboard protect the battery from damage during shipping.
I also had the opportunity to review the PowerUrus 14.4V-10A LiFePO4 Battery Charger, which ships separately.
What’s included?
- Battery:
- PowerUrus LiFePO4 Deep Cycle Battery
- Welcome guide manual
- Charger:
- PowerUrus 14.4V-10A LiFePO4 Battery Charger
- Power cord
- Ring terminal connectors
- Clamp connectors
- User manual
Tech specs
- Battery:
- Model Number: S12100H
- Nominal Capacity: 100Ah @0.5C
- Actual Capacity: ≥100Ah @1C
- Nominal Voltage: 12.8V
- Charge Voltage: 14.4V~14.6V
- Max Charge Voltage: 14.6V
- Discharge Protection Voltage: 10.8V
- Continuous Charge Current: 50A
- Max Charge Current: 100A
- Continuous Discharge Current: 100A
- Discharge Protection Current:
- 200A @ 20 sec
- 280A @ 5 sec
- Bluetooth Version: Bluetooth 5.0
- Waterproof Rating: IP65
- Battery Terminal Size: M8
- Cycle Life: >3500 Cycles
- Charge Below 32°F/0℃: Supported
- Battery Cells Preheat Temperature:
- Preheat Start: 38℉ (3℃)
- Preheat Stop: 61℉ (16℃)
- Operating Temperature:
- Charge: -4~113℉ (-20~45℃) 45～85%RH
- Discharge: -4~131℉ (-20~55℃) 45~85%RH
- Storage Temperature:
- 1-Month: -4~113℉ (-20~55℃) 45～85%RH
- 1-Year: 32～95℉ (0～35℃) 45～85%RH
- Product Weight: 30.8 lbs
- Product Dimensions (L x W x H): 13 x 6.8 x 8,46 inch
- Charger:
- Model: C146
- Input: 100-240V~50/60Hz 3.0A
- Output: 14.4V—10A
- Use: LiFePO4
- OTR: -5~40°C
- Humidity: 5%~95% RH
- Cord Length: 6.56ft (2m)
- Weight: 450g (15.87 Oz)
Design and features
The PowerUrus 12V 100Ah LiFePO4 battery has a simple, practical design. While it looks similar to traditional lead-acid car batteries, it cannot be used as a starter battery, although it does have many other practical uses.
The battery is encased in a tough plastic material with a V0 fireproof rating, which means it’s been tested and rated to extinguish a flame within 10 seconds after ignition without producing flaming drips or particles. The battery is also IP65 rated for waterproofing.
The PowerUrus includes an integrated carrying handle, making it a little easier to carry despite its weight of 28.2 pounds.
The carrying handle is removable as it’s held in place by sliding it into slots on either side of the battery.
The battery terminals are clearly marked red for positive and black for negative, are standard M8 size, and are easily removable with a Phillips screwdriver.
The PowerUrus 14.4V-10A charger has a black textured plastic body with the same colors and design notes as the battery. There are LED status lights on the top of the charger.
The LED lights indicate charging status along with errors like overcharging, reversed connections, and short-circuits.
The PowerUrus charger comes with both ring terminal connectors and clamp connectors.
Both styles of connectors attach to the charger via standard SAE plugs.
Assembly, Installation, Setup
Setting up the PowerUrus battery is pretty straightforward. Most importantly, the battery needs to be charged to 100% before use, as it ships about 30% charged. PowerUrus recommends only using their chargers, but if other chargers are used, the settings need to be configured to LiFePO4 battery mode. I used the clamp connectors to charge the battery, but the ring terminals work just as well.
After charging, it’s best to set up the Bluetooth app for monitoring the battery’s state of charge, temperature, voltage, and other settings from your smartphone. Download the “RoyPow Fish” app on an Android or iPhone. It’s an odd name, but that’s the correct app for the PowerUrus. After granting the necessary permissions for the app and turning on Bluetooth, open the app, navigate to the list of batteries, and select the corresponding battery model to connect. If prompted, click “Skip” to bypass any steps and finalize the connection. If the “undervoltage protection” prompt appears, continue to charge the battery until it’s fully charged and the prompt will disappear.
Performance
The PowerUrus battery performed excellently during my tests. The charging time using the PowerUrus charger was perfectly in line with the reported average of about 2-3 hours. I also charged it using the FlexSolar 120W Foldable Solar Panel Kit that I reviewed back in April of 2022. Of course, the solar panel took longer than the PowerUrus charger, but it worked fine nonetheless.
After charging and discharging the battery several times, I repeatedly measured the power output with my trusty Fluke 101 Digital Multimeter.
The PowerUrus reliably delivered slightly over 13V every time. I was also able to confirm the output as well as the charge level using the excellent companion app.
The app installed and connected flawlessly, displaying a ton of relevant info like cell temperature, cell voltage, average voltage, and available power.
It was incredibly useful being able to consistently monitor the status of the battery, especially when it was not immediately physically accessible.
What I like about the PowerUrus battery
- Able to be used in series or parallel
- Bluetooth connectivity and well-designed monitoring app
- Integrated carrying handle
What needs to be improved
- Charger needs to be purchased separately
- Can only be used in parallel with other PowerUrus batteries of the exact same configuration
- Not usable as a starting battery
Final thoughts
The PowerUrus 12V 100Ah LiFePO4 battery is the perfect option for those seeking a durable, lithium-type battery with advanced features. The PowerUrus’ simple design, coupled with Bluetooth connectivity, a great app, self-heating capability, and a Battery Management System (BMS) for protection against overcharging, makes it a great value at the price of $339.99. While the battery can be charged easily from solar panels and other compatible chargers, it works best with the official PowerUrus charger. However, the PowerUrus charger must be purchased separately and costs $39.99. Overall, for my use as a secondary accessory battery in my overlanding truck, the PowerUrus 12V 100Ah LiFePO4 battery is an affordable, dependable choice.
Price: $339.99
Where to buy: Battery – PowerUrus (Save 15$ off with code: BA15) and Amazon / Charger – PowerUrus and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by PowerUrus. PowerUrus not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
