Why we’ve created the UK’s BEST LiFePO4 Leisure Battery

You may be wondering why we’ve made such a bold statement here, but I guarantee after reading this blog you’ll be fully onboard.

If you’ve been a Fogstar customer for some time, you’ll have noticed some newer, much larger batteries appearing on our website. Our venture into the world of off-grid power began in November 2021 with the addition of EVE LiFePO4 Prismatic cells. The introduction of these cells marked a turning point for Fogstar, and paved the way for our Fogstar Drift and Energy ranges.

However, whilst LiFePO4 cells are great for those with an active interest in electronics, for those who don’t have the knowledge (or time) to connect and manage prismatic cells, a simpler solution was required. Enter - the Fogstar Drift LiFePO4 Leisure Batteries.  

For Fogstar, leisure batteries are an area of real interest to our MD Ben and the rest of the Fogstar team, especially since we are all van enthusiasts!

Let’s have a look at some of the reasons we’re confident we’ve created the UK’s best LiFePO4 Lithium leisure battery.

Fogstar Drift LiFePO4 Leisure Batteries use Grade A EVE LiFePO4 Cells

Our Fogstar Drift LiFePO4 leisure batteries were designed in the UK, by our team in Worcestershire. 

Having full control of what went into our leisure batteries was incredibly important to us, simply because many of our competitors do not know what is in theirs. 

We knew straight away that we wanted to use Grade A EVE LiFePO4 cells as part of the build. The Fogstar team has tested and used these cells in a variety of scenarios - we love them, and so do our customers. 

Key to the success and longevity of a Lithium Leisure Battery is the LiFePO4 cells inside. It’s really important to use quality products; using Grade C LiFePO4 cells will never guarantee the cycle life, depth of discharge and performance you’ll get from Grade A cells. You’ll be paying for an inferior product. It’s that simple.

We also see a mention of A+ LiFePO4 cells by many of our competitors - again, it pains us to say there is no such thing as an A+ LiFePO4 Cell. Those leisure battery retailers that claim to be using A+ lithium cells in their batteries are not being completely transparent. There are no cell manufacturers on the earth who classify their batteries as A+. The standard classifications for LiFePO4 cells are A, B, C and D. 

Even if you do not plan on purchasing your LiFePO4 leisure battery from Fogstar - always ask which brand of prismatic cells are inside.

All Fogstar Drift LiFePO4 Leisure Batteries contain JBD Battery Management Systems

As a team, we also selected the JBD Battery Management System (BMS) to accompany the Grade A EVE LiFePO4 cells. We’ve spent many hours in the unit testing and analysing options for potential BMS. For us, JBD was always the clear choice for our leisure batteries. 

JBD BMS have a superb reputation for quality and longevity - they work beautifully with the EVE LiFePO4 cells and have some great protection functions. The popular US brand ‘Overkill BMS’ are simply a rebranded version of the JBD BMS and have been given the thumbs-up by popular YouTuber Will Prowse - if that isn’t a mark of industry acceptance, we don’t know what is.

With JBD BMS originally manufactured for medical grade equipment, you know the quality of the product is going to be vastly superior to many others on the market. 

When it came to selecting a BMS we required one that could be programmed to interface perfectly to work with our Fogstar Drift App. The JBD fit this objective perfectly, combined with the reliability, brand reputation and enhanced protection functions - it was a no brainer. It also allows for (up to four) Drift batteries to be connected in parallel, or series, thanks to some fancy BMS reprogramming during the manufacturing process.

With the core functionality of our ‘Drift’ Lithium Leisure batteries in place, the LiFePO4 cells and the BMS, we knew our product could be even better with some enhanced features…

Fogstar Drift LiFePO4 Leisure Batteries come with heating as standard

It’s no secret that LiFePO4 cells do not like the cold. You should never charge your LiFePO4 leisure battery at a freezing temperature (0°C) - this could permanently damage your cells. 

You can safely discharge a LiFePO4 battery down to -20°c degrees with no issues, and the JBD BMS is set to allow this. The Drift heating pads are only activated when the battery is being charged, and are only powered by the incoming charge current, not the battery itself. 

If you put the battery on charge, it will heat the battery first, and then allow current through to the battery when the temperature is safe enough to do so.

For those of us in the UK and Europe, we’re almost certain to see freezing temperatures in the winter which, for many months of the year, can put the kibosh on your battery usage pretty quickly.

However, with the Fogstar Drift range, you can continue to use your battery throughout the cold weather because all of our LiFePO4 leisure batteries contain heating as standard. This is something unheard of without paying a premium!

Fogstar Drift Leisure batteries are designed to be a drop in replacement for Lead Acid batteries

Yes! You read that correctly too! Drift LiFePO4 Leisure batteries were designed to be a drop-in replacement for Lead Acid batteries.

It’s not just price that’s been a barrier for consumers looking to upgrade to Lithium, but people also think it’s outrageously complex when switching from Lead Acid to Lithium. It isn’t.

LiFePO4 Leisure Batteries have a terminal voltage remarkably similar to that of other Lead Acid variants such as Wet, Gel and AGM.

All of our 12V Drift variants are designed to charge to their full 14.4V capacity, the same output used by the charging systems of all modern 12V existing split-charge engine wiring circuits.

The same can be said for solar too. When charging your Fogstar Drift leisure battery by Solar, existing 12V MPPT chargers can charge Wet, Gel and AGM batteries, and will therefore charge Fogstar Drift just as efficiently, in exactly the same way.

Most PWM or MPPT chargers have separate settings for Wet, Gel and AGM (and Lithium) batteries, enabling you to fine tune their charging efficiencies. However, if you don’t have a PWM or MPPT charger with these settings, just opt for the setting nearest to a 14.4V charge voltage.

It doesn't need to be overcomplicated, and in most instances you don't need to reconfigure your vans entire electrical system.

There is a FREE Fogstar Drift App

All of our Leisure batteries come with Bluetooth - which means you’ll be able to hook them up to our Fogstar Drift App. That’s right - there’s also an App. Again, this is completely FREE for all Fogstar Drift customers.

Our App has been custom built to connect directly with the Fogstar Drift battery management system (BMS), allowing you to manage and maintain the health of your battery at all times.

The Fogstar Drift app is free to download on both Android and iOS.

Our App is not an ‘out of the box’ version as you’ll find from many UK battery retailers. We’ve carefully chosen the core parameters, settings and visual aesthetics of our App - and built it to our customers specifications. 

The Fogstar Drift app contains both a digital and numerical dashboard display, allowing you to see real-time voltage, current, power, internal resistance and other parameter values. You can also compare data from each cell, including voltage and temperature difference.

We're always updating and tweaking our app, taking onboard our customers recommendations and suggestions - if you have anything you'd like to see added, please get in touch!

All Fogstar Drift Leisure Batteries come with a 10 Year Warranty

No need to reach for your reading glasses; you read that correctly. 

We’re so unequivocally optimistic about the performance, capability and reliability of our Drift leisure batteries, we’ve given all of them a 10 year warranty.

So, not only are they made using the very best quality products, they’re also protected with a decade-long warranty.

You can read more about the warranty we offer over on our product pages, but for those wondering whether to make the switch to Fogstar Drift products, this offers real peace of mind. 

If you've received your Drift battery, you can sign up for your warranty here.

Surely by now you’re thinking it can’t get much better - but yes, it really can…

Fogstar Drift are the lowest priced LiFePO4 leisure batteries in the UK

Why pay over £500 or even £800 for a 100ah 12v LiFePO4 leisure battery when you can get a higher spec version for under £400?

If you’re familiar with Fogstar, you’ll know we’ve got a reputation for delivering the best quality lithium batteries, for the best possible price. That's how we’ve spent the last 6 years honing our fantastic reputation.

Don't believe us? You can read plenty of five star customer reviews here.

Despite the price, you can rest assured that our products are delivered to the highest specifications and standards possible, because that is exactly what we stand for as a business; the authentic supply of lithium battery cells to consumers and retailers across the UK and Europe.

Our LiFePO4 cells and LiFePO4 leisure batteries are no different.

You can check out our new Fogstar Drift LiFePO4 Leisure Batteries here and/or visit the dedicated Fogstar Drift website to read more about Lithium Iron Phosphate Leisure Batteries. 

Ready to check out the brand NEW Drift PRO? These are due to land soon and, although they won't be on pre-sale, you can still sign-up to receive product updates on the listings!

If you have more questions, feel free to get in touch with our team.