Are you wondering what type of battery bank is best for food truck? If YES, here are 5 best battery bank for food truck.
Mobile businesses are growing rapidly in the United States, with coffee vans, food trucks, dog groomers, music DJs, mobile mechanics and auto detailers, nail salons, clothing and accessory stores on wheels.
Historically, mobile business owners have depended on generators or plugging into a customer’s electrical outlet to power their equipment.
However, in this modern age, solar and battery banks offer a full range of safer, more economical, less toxic and quieter solution that eliminates reliance on generators. A battery bank is group of batteries connected together using series or parallel wiring.
This allows more power to be stored than using a single battery. A battery bank allows you to store electricity generated by solar PV system for use at any time.
The first thing to consider when you are sizing food truck battery bank is to determine how much space and weight carrying capacity you have available.
Most battery types are heavy and take up a decent amount of room. Extra weight in your truck may require balance loads in your truck.
Note that in some situations, the extra weight of the battery bank may reduce some of the items you can take on the road with you.
Many food truck owners will have the batteries on the tongue which limits total number and can create an extremely heavy tongue weight.
Other batteries are located on one side of a truck and can create an unbalanced moving situation. However, once you are able to rectify how you can install, mount and safely operate batteries in your food truck it is time to determine battery bank size.
Typically, most food truck applications operate at 12 volts so you will most likely only parallel battery connections between them.
Deep cycle marine batteries are rated in amp hours when they are designed for deep discharge. The amp hour rating of most batteries allow a user to estimate how much power a battery contains.
The actual useful power depends on battery type and drain rate or the speed at which you draw power from the batteries. It’s is important to state the higher drain rate will drain more power than a lower drain rate.
Even if your load is only 2X as much, you could actually reduce the power in the battery by 3X or 4X as much depending on load. You want to keep most battery banks charging as much as possible.
This keeps them topped off and running properly. This can be accomplished using your converter & generator, grid power, or truck solar kit.
If you have a really good food truck solar system, you can get 30 amps of charging in the full sun. In a 10 hour solar day, you could have 300 amps of charging power.
Having enough battery banks to handle a 10 percent charge rate would be ideal. This energy can power up small systems and appliances inside your food truck. The food truck battery bank is the heart of the system.
A battery bank can be composed of a single battery, or multiple interconnected batteries that are wired to work as one large battery at a certain voltage and amp – hour capacity. Here are top battery banks for Food Trucks in the United States.
Best Battery Bank for Food Truck
1. Universal Power Group UB121000
This model is recommendable for deep discharge situations. The nominal capacity is 100Ah, but this would still depend on the temperature, battery condition, and discharging current.
Since the recommended discharge temperature is between 5 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit, you will have to limit the charging voltage around 13.6V to 13.8V.
However, the charging temperature should be between 32 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Note that one amazing fact about this bank is that the stainless cell makes the batteries spill – proof in any mounting position.
This design also enables the model to withstand shocks and vibration. When stored fully charged at 68 degrees Fahrenheit, you will still get a nominal charge of around 64 percent after one year.
2. WindyNation BattaMax
This model boasts a high reserve capacity of 100 amps per hour. It enables the battery to maintain voltage for up to 240 minutes under a 25 – amp discharge.
Note that since this is an AGM – sealed lead acid battery with heavy – duty plates, WindyNation BattaMax can handle deep and repetitive discharges.
On the other hand, the virgin lead keeps a low discharge rate while optimizing power storage. The 99 percent pure lead content also entails that the lead floats inside while powering up the battery.
Indeed, you will get more than the rated capacity if you go beyond this temp, but the life expectancy diminishes. If you want to further boost the capacity and system voltage, you should consider doing a series – parallel connection.
In terms of construction, the ABS plastic material prevents the battery from emitting harmful substances or fumes. Most importantly, maintenance is minimal. Aside from quick recharging, you can use this model for solar charging.
3. Battle Born LiFePO4
This model is one of the best deep cycle lithium – ion banks especially due to its modern design that combines excellent discharging, ruggedness, and reliability.
This model delivers 3,000 to 5,000 repeated discharging capacities while still sustaining 80 percent of its energy capacity. According to reports, this unit is so versatile—its voltage can serve both solar energy applications and as a backup power source.
Another good thing about this battery is that it does not need a floating stage for charging. In case, you can connect the battery to shore power at a float voltage between 13.4 and 13.8.Regardless of the weather and outdoor situation, you can ensure a supply source of energy.
Since it is a lithium – ion RV battery, the model can withstand repeated charging. And aside the impact – resistant design that makes the battery tough against vibration, shocks, and spills, you can place the unit in any direction.
Other energy – saving and safety features include high/low voltage protection, short circuit protection, high / low temperature, and automatic cell balancing.
4. XS – Power – D3100
This model stores energy and there is no need to add a capacitor to the system to get a quick burst. Note that this is one of the best Truck deep cycle banks especially due to its 1360 cranking amps and 110 amp – hours of discharge capacity. Basically, this unit is a six – cell, sealed – valve regulated, lead – acid battery bank.
It leverages a fibrous material to suspend all liquid electrolytes against the plates. So, no acid will spill even if the case gets damaged. However, to maximize the nominal capacity of 110Ah, consider using the bank at 25 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, it will deliver up to 5,000 maximum amps. The discharge temperature can range between 5 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit.
Since the XS – Power – D3100 has a sealed AGM mat design, its non – hazardous configurations guarantee durability and longer operation.
5. Renogy Lithium – Iron Phosphate
In terms of capacity, this unit is rated 12 volts with 100 Amp – hours. Note that its 2000 – cycle operation means a longer lifespan.
As a result, it provides a better shelf life. In terms of the operation’s temperature range, the recommended discharge temp is between – 20 to 60 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, the charging temperature should be from 0 to 45 degrees Celsius.
Also note that it comes with a monitor that checks the amperage out of the battery bank. An LCD screen even displays accurate readings of current, voltage, battery capacity, and consumed power.
When it comes to energy – saving, Renogy 12V Lithium – Iron Phosphate Battery has a built – in Battery Management System, which protects the battery’s performance.
The BMS balances the cells while protecting the battery against short – circuiting, over – discharging, over – charging, and over – current. Similarly, its safety features are possible due to the fully – sealed lithium – iron phosphate cells.
Conclusion
Indeed, the battery bank is one of the most complicated and costly components of any off – grid power system. Your battery storage needs to be big enough to supply power year – round. Nothing is more frustrating than suffering a power outage because your battery bank doesn’t store enough charge.
On the other hand, too much battery capacity means your system won’t be able to fully recharge. If your battery bank is too large, your batteries can’t get the full charge, which can ruin the batteries.