Are LiFePO4 lithium batteries a good option for deer feeders and can you use a standard feeder solar panel to keep them charged?

IDK but not sure why a regular good 12V feeder battery and a good solar panel wont work. Im on year 5 with my academy 12V battery and havent had any issues

I tried a cheapo lithium off Amazon and first freeze killed it. Needs to have low temp charge protection.

Consider that fire risk might be higher, if you care a lot about the feeder.

AgTech88 said:

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Are LiFePO4 lithium batteries a good option for deer feeders and can you use a standard feeder solar panel to keep them charged?

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if you have battery issues, you either bought a junky Chinese agm or your solar panel is trash. I've found my ASF batteries and solar panels to be most reliable (they might be chinese too but they are the good chinese). but as mentioned, check the voltage coming out of your solar, you may need a voltage regulator. that applies to any type of battery.

edit, also pay attention to the amp/hr rating on your agm. you get what you pay for.

Probably fine in TX. Lithium iron phosphate batteries can discharge down to 0 degrees. But they can / will get damaged if you charge them below 32 degrees. Will cause lithium plating.

I stick to lead acid for that reason.

Had an Apollo gate opener on two gates on the ranch in Texas with solar panels and Odessey AGM batteries. Never had a controller on either and they lasted over 5 years each.

AgTech88 said:

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Are LiFePO4 lithium batteries a good option for deer feeders and can you use a standard feeder solar panel to keep them charged?

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Yes they work but I've found them to only last about 2.5-3 years instead of maybe 4 on the better brands.

Two of my feeders now have the WiFi ASF timers on them which have built in voltage regulators. I have since switched to bigger 5w solar panels instead of the standard 1.7w that are commonly used. Much better, in my opinion. Can also just get a bigger solar panel and wire in a regulator too.

Edit - I misread your battery as the cheap Amazon lead ones

Id be terrified to leave a lithium battery like that in a pasture when its so damn dry out.

You can get a lifepo4 battery that has a heater built in. Which would eliminate some of the cold weather issues that happen. The better lifepo4 batteries have good battery management system that will shut it off if it senses a variety of conditions that are bad for the battery. Im sure it will depend on your current solar panel whether it would work with a lithium battery.

I've had one in one of my feeders for a while now - several months at least. No issues that I"m aware of.

I have a solar panel and controller in my blind and I use it as a charging station so when I do have a dead battery I always have at least one readily available and charged to swap it out with. Especially nice because I don't have to remember to bring a battery from camp or find a dead feeder and have to go all the way back to camp to grab a battery. Most of our batteries are the traditional lead acid ones. A bunch of them are at the end of their life span right now.

IMO not worth the expense for a deer feeder. Solar charger and a standard battery has been a proven method. They are all going to crap out at some point.

I bought one several months ago and have really liked it thus far so I bought another one that came in today. It seems to keep a great charge in this heat. Its an extra 15 dollars, not THAT much more so will see what happens over the winter etc....

Edit to add that sometimes I have a spur of the moment need for a deer feeder battery somewhere and I think it should charge up much faster than the lead battery if needed

I finally upgraded some of my solar chargers. You can get some decent 10-20 watt panels on Amazon, that also have a charge controller (to prevent overcharging), for $30-$40 (not much more than the cheap garbage that Moultrie/etc, sell). They're about 10" x 14", and charge way better…

(Look for Solperk, 10w or 20w, solar panels on Amazon, to get started)

mts6175 said:

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IMO not worth the expense for a deer feeder. Solar charger and a standard battery has been a proven method. They are all going to crap out at some point.

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The last one i bought was actually $3 cheaper than the normal lead acid batteries I usually buy.