Cheaper lithium battery's

wildebus said:
If it's of any interest, you could have a look at my thread on the motorhomebuilder site here -
https://motorhomebuilder.com/threads/turbo-charging-motorhome-electrics.67127/
It covers what I did when fitting 300Ah of Lead Carbon batteries (which have quite similar properties to Lithium in terms of charging speeds) in my Autotrail Motorhome fitted with a Sargent 325/328 PDU.
I would have gone for the Poweroad Infinity Subzero except the budget didn't allow it. If I DID go for Lithiums, my install would have remained exactly the same except for the actual batteries.
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Good thread David a bit above my low tech skills
 
I guess battery choice just depends on your power requirements, budget, and how long you intend to use/keep a camper/moho? So whatever is the most feasible cost effective solution for you.
I have cheapies but would certainly consider better next time. But no real point in buying all of the bells and whistles if you don't need or use them.
 
nabsim said:
Its getting what is best for you. If you need a lot of power all year round its much different from lower power users. Its finding what works for you that's the trick :)
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I couldn't agree more, as a full-timer refillable gas saves me money but lithium keeps me off grid for much longer ;)

Regards,
Del
 
nabsim said:
Its getting what is best for you. If you need a lot of power all year round its much different from lower power users. Its finding what works for you that's the trick :)
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Didn't you say previously, you've gone lithium? How you getting on with them and an approximate cost?
Rightly or wrongly, I've gone the carbon lead agm route. I can confirm they are b.... heavy. But, they were within my budget, just. My main concern is how fast they take a charge from solar. The B2B is fine. Not had enough sunshine vs load to make a decision.
 
Trotter said:
Didn't you say previously, you've gone lithium? How you getting on with them and an approximate cost?
Rightly or wrongly, I've gone the carbon lead agm route. I can confirm they are b.... heavy. But, they were within my budget, just. My main concern is how fast they take a charge from solar. The B2B is fine. Not had enough sunshine vs load to make a decision.
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Yes I went lifepo4 after killing my Bosch/Varta powerlines, I just pulled far more than they could cope with, would have needed a lot more than the three I had. The lithium works well for me and not had any problems since changing over to them. Weight is ridiculous, even I can move these around at 13kg each, the pair of them weigh the same as one of my old ones.
 
When, not if, Nik kicks me out. I'll possibly go that route. As I'm still very much part time (atm:oops:) I'll see how these AGM's workout.
 
My reasons for for considering lithiam are size of battery 1 x 100amp not 2 x 100amp lack of storage space .weight saving 13 klg , not 46 klg as 2 lead acid ,less risk of overloading and back ache fast charging is a bonus but not essential .Thanks all for replies.
 
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Molly 3 said:
My reasons for for considering lithiam are size of battery 1 x 100amp not 2 x 100amp lack of storage space .weight saving 13 klg , not 46 klg as 2 lead acid ,less risk of overloading and back ache fast charging is a bonus but not essential .Thanks all for replies.
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A lot of these new >3.5t motorhomes seem to have stupid low payload Caz so I suspect quite a few will be glad of the weight savings of lithium. Prices continuing to drop so getting better option all the time
 
If a single lithium can just drop in with no changes to Solar contrller etc...
You know it mkes sense..
I upgraded to 2 batteries in February DOH !!!!
 
nabsim said:
A lot of these new >3.5t motorhomes seem to have stupid low payload Caz so I suspect quite a few will be glad of the weight savings of lithium. Prices continuing to drop so getting better option all the time
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Spot on Neil ,my van is 300 klg pay load Alpha batterys 100 amp poweroad £ 499 , did you go top of the range or economy .
 
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Trotter said:
Didn't you say previously, you've gone lithium? How you getting on with them and an approximate cost?
Rightly or wrongly, I've gone the carbon lead agm route. I can confirm they are b.... heavy. But, they were within my budget, just. My main concern is how fast they take a charge from solar. The B2B is fine. Not had enough sunshine vs load to make a decision.
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They will take everything your solar can send them.

I did a test of the Relion 100Ah Lithium (LiFePO4) against one of my 210AhNorth Start Blue+ Lead Carbon 210FT (PbC).
Taking the LiFePO4 down to empty gave me exactly the the wattage output as the PbC down to 50%
Recharging the PcC back to full took no longer than recharging the LiFePO4 back to full (using a charger limited to 50A Rate for both)

100Ah Lithium lighter for sure than 200Ah of Lead Carbon
200Ah of Lead Carbon cheaper than 100Ah of Lithium
200Ah of Lead Carbon lot more usable capacity than 100Ah of Lithium (you can go a lot lower than 50% if you want).
 
wildebus said:
They will take everything your solar can send them.

I did a test of the Relion 100Ah Lithium (LiFePO4) against one of my 210AhNorth Start Blue+ Lead Carbon 210FT (PbC).
Taking the LiFePO4 down to empty gave me exactly the the wattage output as the PbC down to 50%
Recharging the PcC back to full took no longer than recharging the LiFePO4 back to full (using a charger limited to 50A Rate for both)

100Ah Lithium lighter for sure than 200Ah of Lead Carbon
200Ah of Lead Carbon cheaper than 100Ah of Lithium
200Ah of Lead Carbon lot more usable capacity than 100Ah of Lithium (you can go a lot lower than 50% if you want).
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Thank you
A very concise & useful summary
AND based on testing

An opinion please
I now have 2 of these
www.alpha-batteries.co.uk

12v 100AH Platinum AGM Leisure Battery (AGMLB6110L) NCC Class A - Alpha Batteries

Looking for a top quality leisure battery for frequent use off hookup? Look no further. This Platinum 100ah AGM battery […]
www.alpha-batteries.co.uk www.alpha-batteries.co.uk
As we onluy use MoHo in summer they are unlikely to go as low as 60 percent
(120wtt panel..Battery often dispaying over 14v by midday in sunny conditions)
If they were to go to say 40 %
How much damage might that do
Follow up what voltage might they register at 50% when in light use
Ie some lights (LED) Fridge on gas Heating on but not "blowing"

With my single banner battery I never got below 12.6V
I have a simple digital voltmeter easily viewable permanently connected
 
I don't think doing that will have much overall impact. You will lower the overall charge cycle count, but if it were an occasional thing I doubt you would really notice the difference (maybe change the batteries one season earlier in 4 years instead of 5 for example?)
12.05V with no charge and no load for a couple of hours is the typical reading at 50%. With a setup like yours, I would advise people as a rule of thumb to try and avoid letting the voltage go below 12V (a much easier number to remember and check when looking at the voltmeter) for best battery treatment.

The key thing, IMO, for your specific case is making sure your Platinum batteries are correctly looked after for the 6 months or so it is being stored. That could actually have a bigger impact than when you are using it. Always keep fully charged, but at the same time, don't leave on the charger 24/7 unless the charger is right to do that (some are, some are not). I'd probably think about setting up to disconnect the lesiure batterys from all loads and have a charger on a timer to come on periodically.
In your situation, a Lithium battery could be a big advantage as one feature that is rarely thought of as significant is that they can be stored long-term partially charged (and prefer it in fact) so you could park up at the end of the season, disconnect from the loads and never even bother with charging unti you return in 6 months and just recharge them ready for the new tour.
(This feature tends to be ignored as people buy a battery to use of course, not sit unused - but for you and your situation it is a bit different for long periods).
Most Lead Carbon batteries have a similar feature where they can sit at PSOC (partial state of charge) for prolonged periods without an issue. Normal Lead Acid batteries should not, however.
 
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