Nickel Iron Batteries - A Lifetime Battery For Your Off-Grid System (or On-Grid Backup)!

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The Nickel-Iron Battery A Lifetime* Battery For Your Off-Grid System or Grid-tie Backup We have been importing these cells from a major Chinese battery company since 1995! No other company in the US can make this claim. The company that makes our cells has been making Nickel-Iron cells for 40 years! The cells are sent direct from the factory to you in secure wooden crates. We know you will find a substantial savings purchasing NEW cells from us in contrast to buying cells that are 30-50 years old or older from other companies. Some companies are selling "new cells" that have ABSOLUTELY no track record. We offer the LONGEST warranty in the industry on nickel iron cells - 15 years! Other companies selling Nickel Iron cells (new or old cells) offer 1 or 2 year warranties. Compare their warranty to ours! We stand firmly behind our products and have the over 30 years experience and knowledge working with Nickel-Iron batteries. * These batteries can be expected to last up to 40 years with proper maintenance, proper sizing, proper usage and electrolyte changes when needed. That is our definition of a "lifetime".
No battery has outlasted the Nickel-Iron battery in daily use for home power systems! We have an original Nickel-Iron battery that is 68 years old - a real testament to the technology! We also have in our possession a set of the new cells we imported from China in 1995 that are still in service after 19 years and are currently in operation in an Idaho off grid system. They have had one electrolyte change in 2000 and another is planned for August 2013. The benefits of using Nickel-Iron batteries for home energy storage: • Longest battery life of any battery known today. • Clean and simple green technology. • Time-tested (invented by Thomas Edison in the early 1900's) tecknology • Battery efficiency stays about 75-80% throughout its lifetime. • Will NEVER sulfate. • Does not freeze. • Easily rejuvenated by a simple electrolyte change (unless abused) • No need for frequent equalization charges. • Electrolyte is a preservative for the metal plates. • 100% nickel plated plates and posts and intercell connectors • Up to three posts per cell in larger cell sizes! • Sold in individual cells for any voltage combination -12, 24,36,48,etc. • Up to 80% Depth of Discharge (DOD) without harm or loss of battery capacity. • NO harm if your battery is overcharged. • Can add to your battery bank at ANY TIME in the future • Leave in any state of charge without harm • No memory effect • No harmful effect when being discharged to 1 VPC • Wider operating temperature range than lead acids which gives you more power out of yoru battery bank • Can replace a defective cell at ANY time, unlike lead acid cells • Does not contain sulfuric acid, thus no "rotten egg small" • Average life is 20 years, but original NiFE cells manufactured by Thomas Edison have been known to still be functional after 80 years! • Light in weight compared to lead acid cells, so moving them around is a snap. • Industrial grade materials insure a quality product • Independent testing by NREL has shown these cells to have a higher rated capacity than the manufacturers rating! • Can add different battery capacities in parallel. For example you can add a 200 Ah battery bank to a 400 Ah battery bank for a total of 600 Ah which one can NEVER do with lead acid batteries. • All of cells are all made with MBS plastic and NOT polypropylene (PP). MBS plastic is a semi-transparent plastic and it makes seeing electrolyte levels a breeze! Two of our competitors sell PP cell cases. You will be sorry if you buy a PP case! We guarantee it! • With a higher operating voltage than a lead acid battery bank you can get more power from a nickel iron battery bank. Most high quality inverters can handle the wide voltage operating range. • Charges faster than any lead acid battery, so if you are just using a generator to charge your battery bank you will use far less fuel because you can charge at a C/5 rate with no harm to your battery bank! Almost all flooded home power battereis are rated at a C/20 chareg rate. • At end of life cycle these can be treated as scrap metal for recycling purposes and can be totally recycled! A true GREEN battery! • Almost maintenance free, compared to flooded lead acid batteries • NEW! We now have a battery capacity warranty no other manufacturer or compeditor can match! Now you have to ask yourself: Do you really want to own a lead acid battery? Financing available. Buy your set of batteries ONCE and have easy monthly payments while reaping the benefits of a nickel-iron battery. Now you can OWN a NiFe battery for about the same price or LESS than a good quality lead acid battery (Trojan RE series, Sureete, etc.) without all the lead acid battery hassels!!! No other company offers this! Pricing and Sizing info as of January 1, 2012: Click here for sizes, prices and more.		NiFe FAQ Click Here for Frequently Asked Questions About Nickel-Iron Batteries This is a MUST read if you have never heard of these batteries!

Ordering Deadlines: Our cells are now shipped WITH ELECTROLYTE directlly from China's factory to your door with the convenience of a lift gate. Time frame from order palcement is approximately 60-90 days to receipt of your order, but we delays can occur beyond our control. They are shipped in a wooden crate(s) (please see picture on our brochure). Purchase also included is a hydrometer, digital volt meter, battery tools and much more!		How to Order: Click here for ordering guidelines and purchasing policies, including current time frame from order placement to delivery. If you are serious about ordering these cells then you must read this BEFORE you place your order! Click here for a shipping fee quote.
Our next order closing deadline is scheduled for May 31, 2013. Over 10,980 cells sold since 1995!


A 48-Volt bank of 305 Amp-hour cells we built in Española, NM December 2010 for a grid-tied battery backup system.		A 24-Volt bank of 610 Amp-hour cells BUF installed in Idaho, September 2009

The electrolyte change went well. The batteries immediately responded to the change, and are performing phenomenally. Marcus, TX July 2, 2012 What caught my interest on NiFe was I could add cells at a later time to increase my capacity (my system is always growing) as well as if a cell goes bad. (this has happened twice with my LA batteries) without the same headache as lead acid and the long life. I’m in my early fifties and the thought of swapping out my batteries every 4 to 5 years for the next 20 years just didn’t thrill me. That all said I decided on buying a set of NiFe batteries. As has been stated here the upfront cost was a little sobering. I called around and found the folks at BeUtlityFree will help finance some of the cost of a battery of brand new cells…even if they are Chinese. That was a big deciding factor on why I went with them for my purchase So far my experience with the folks at BeUtlityFree has been nothing but positive…of course my interactions so far has just been me sending them money, but they have been attentive to my questions and get back to me promptly whenever I contact them. Bob L, AZ Post on Otherpower forum May 23, 2012 "I have had my ChangHongs (purchased from BeUtilityFree) since last Sept. or so. They are running my PV-powered home very nicely. Compared with lead acid, they are a pleasure to work with as they are so much lighter in weight and can be discharged to zero without damage...being able to discharge them to that level without damage to batteries allows one to make do with a smaller-capacity bank....We have had no technical or electronic or electrical problems and have had to make no changes in our appliances, etc. We have a combination of DC stuff ['fridge, freezer, lights, fans] and AC [computers, TV, hand tools, etc.] and all are working normally and well." Post on Otherpower Forum from our customer SH from Idaho Springs , Colorado - 12V @ 700 Ah @ C/5 rate March 12, 2012 "After three full charge/discharge cycles, I am running the house on the NiFe bank as of three days ago. So far, great. We'll see how they do with some short winter days and snow storms. But right now they are performing every bit as well as I'd hoped." SH from Idaho Springs , Colorado - 12V @ 700 Ah @ C/5 rate September 3, 2011 "Thank you ... for keeping us posted on the shipping progress & we were pleased the pack was complete with tools, apron, etc." Letter from T.B., Felton, CA July 2011 "I can report being quite happy with NiFe, in my demanding off-grid application. I have lived off-grid for over 7 years, in Central Texas, with air conditioning no less...When all is said and done, having experienced what some feel are among the best and most trouble-free Lead Acid batteries, I love these NiFe's, and I am grateful to have them." Central Texas customer July 2011 Post on SolarPanelTalk, 48V 620 Ah@ 100 Ah rate, purchaed in 2009 "I am using Nickel Iron batteries on my house and it lives up to its historical claims. All December I have been running on the bottom half of the battery bank voltage since we have had very very dreary weather. I have been grateful that it is no problem to discharge them to an extreme when you need to. Now the sun is coming back and we lasted through Dec 21st without having to protect the battery from the deepest of discharges. One week I took them right down to zero volts just to see what happens! They came right up and held their charge!" Ian - Post on The Otherpower discussion board December 2010 Hi BeUtilityFree, I've successfully filled my ten 305Ah batteries with electrolyte. I charged them to their equalizing voltage, then discharged them using a 2 kW pure sine wave inverter running big loads. So far they've performed really well. I'll be testing them more over the next month with a solar/wind system. email from Rich June 9, 2008 John, Well It looks like my NiFe batteries were worth the waiting for. I finally got the first 10 cells filled, and charged, and I load tested them today. The 10 TN-600 cells easily powered my workshop for several hours tonight. The machinery draws about 100 amps, with the occasional surge up to 400 amps. (starting motors). They easily out powered my failing lead acid batteries, and nicely compliment my old "original" Nickel Iron cells. (51 years old!). Now hopefully, they will last longer than me! email from Trevor June 24, 2008 "I'm one of (BeUtilityFree's) ancient and very satisfied customers (you have a quote from me on your website! It's still true)" John Berton Nov 28, 2007 - original comment below "They never need equalizing. I have never experienced any problem with overcharging... Not only would I use nickel-iron batteries again, but I would probably not want to set up a new system without them. The idea of using lead-acid batteries after the ease of nickel-irons is horrifying." John Berton, Home Power Magazine Issue #80 December 2000/Jan 2001
"Lorenzen has been scavenging used forklift batteries for almost 50 years, and his collection of the Edison cells — which work on an alkaline principle with an iron anode, a nickel oxide cathode, and a potassium hydroxide electrolyte — now totals over 140 units of sixty-plus amperes apiece. Some of the batteries are over 80 years old . . . yet it takes nothing more than regular addition of water and a supplement of potash every 15 years to keep them in good shape." Update 2011: We believe, but have not confirmed that John has passed and am sorry to see such a pioneer leave us. Mother Earth News Issue #62 - March/April 1980 (our emphasis in red) The above picture was taken from our CEO's visit to his house in late 1972.