Battery Maintenance, Testing & Safety

A good LiFePO4 pack gives 4,000–6,000 cycles at 80% depth of discharge, which is eight to ten years of daily use. Heat, sitting at 100% and charging below freezing are what shorten it.

Measure resting voltage first, then voltage under a known load, then internal resistance if you have the tool. A pack that holds voltage at rest but collapses under load has a bad cell group or a weak connection.

Very little: keep terminals clean and tight, keep the enclosure ventilated, and review the BMS log periodically. There is no watering, no equalising and no acid to check.

Yes — stop using it and stop charging it. Swelling means gas inside the cell, and the pack should be replaced rather than investigated.

At around 50% state of charge, in a cool, dry place, disconnected from loads. Leaving a pack flat for months is what does the damage.