Finished Lithium battery installation
- Thread starter MOJO
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Trek
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Whats the advantages of having a lithium battery over lead acid and what are the advantages of fitting the Sterling Battery to Battery charger ?
how does the B2B charger interact with the original Hymer power kit ?
how does the B2B charger interact with the original Hymer power kit ?
Pudsey Bear
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I get the Lithium bit, it can go lower than the LA, and doesn't have a memory as such, as to the rest I'm lost.
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Phillybarbour
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That’s a neat and tidy install.
Reevsie
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I think it look's great and if it is what you want, don't worry about the cost. (saw a few posts on the other forums) This is something I might look at in a few years time. Would be great if you could let us know in the future if it lives up to your expectations. I bought a used EFOY and when I had it in the first summer I thought it was a waste of money. That is until I went away in the winter. Now I would not do without it.
MOJO
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info-
Many forums discuss the pro cons of such a expensive power supply and I fall in to the try it and see bracket as we are now full time and having invested a lot in to our (new to us) Hymer Starline I want bells and whistles.
The cons say stick with conventional batteries as the technology will get cheaper as time goes and the pro say its the best thing they have had fitted to their vans.
We had Road Pro install the inverter some months back to allow use of 240v items such as kettle,hotplate,microwave,etc but soon learned that our expectations were high.The batteries ( 3x100 amp gel -usable 150 amp ) soon flattened and we found more experienced motorhomers only used their invertors sparingly.
The problem is that the batteries are not designed to supply large lumps of power but a smaller steady 12v supply.Along with that they take quite a while to charge again despite having 3x100 amp solar roof panels and a 180 amp “smart” alternator.
My research brings us to the LiFe04 technology and a better understanding of what is going on in the power supply presently on the van.
1 The expensive single NDS 150 amp LiFe04 battery can discharge down to 10% and the standard batteries down to 50% .The NDS weighs 21 kg and the three older ones weigh 60kg + .
The NDS can charge much quicker so replacing 30 % lost power even when just tick over on the engine for half hour,the old would require more to achieve that.
It works better with a inverter than standard due to its ability to give larger output without any detrimental harm to the cells ,unlike standard.
“IF” it works as promised it will have a long life 12 to 20 years and pay itself back by avoiding campsite electric charges typically £3.00 per day and can be transferred to any new van we may purchase in the future.
2 I now understand that the regulator for my solar panels could provide more power to the battery if it was a MPPT type .This boosts the input when needed for a quicker charge .
3 I now understand that a battery to battery charger will also provide a much quicker charge from the engine and that the standard item probably does not allow for the fact that this vans Euro 6 engine has a “smart” alternator.This has regenarative braking and provides peaks and troughs that can damage batteries.
The Sterling Power video on B to B for smart inverters would be interesting to any Euro 6 owners.Perhaps all new vans should have a similar device fitted as standard for battery protection.
So there we have it ,best part of three grand with fitting to get the best 12v power supply presently available .All change in a few years time maybe but then you can constantly put off buying the newest tech .
Many forums discuss the pro cons of such a expensive power supply and I fall in to the try it and see bracket as we are now full time and having invested a lot in to our (new to us) Hymer Starline I want bells and whistles.
The cons say stick with conventional batteries as the technology will get cheaper as time goes and the pro say its the best thing they have had fitted to their vans.
We had Road Pro install the inverter some months back to allow use of 240v items such as kettle,hotplate,microwave,etc but soon learned that our expectations were high.The batteries ( 3x100 amp gel -usable 150 amp ) soon flattened and we found more experienced motorhomers only used their invertors sparingly.
The problem is that the batteries are not designed to supply large lumps of power but a smaller steady 12v supply.Along with that they take quite a while to charge again despite having 3x100 amp solar roof panels and a 180 amp “smart” alternator.
My research brings us to the LiFe04 technology and a better understanding of what is going on in the power supply presently on the van.
1 The expensive single NDS 150 amp LiFe04 battery can discharge down to 10% and the standard batteries down to 50% .The NDS weighs 21 kg and the three older ones weigh 60kg + .
The NDS can charge much quicker so replacing 30 % lost power even when just tick over on the engine for half hour,the old would require more to achieve that.
It works better with a inverter than standard due to its ability to give larger output without any detrimental harm to the cells ,unlike standard.
“IF” it works as promised it will have a long life 12 to 20 years and pay itself back by avoiding campsite electric charges typically £3.00 per day and can be transferred to any new van we may purchase in the future.
2 I now understand that the regulator for my solar panels could provide more power to the battery if it was a MPPT type .This boosts the input when needed for a quicker charge .
3 I now understand that a battery to battery charger will also provide a much quicker charge from the engine and that the standard item probably does not allow for the fact that this vans Euro 6 engine has a “smart” alternator.This has regenarative braking and provides peaks and troughs that can damage batteries.
The Sterling Power video on B to B for smart inverters would be interesting to any Euro 6 owners.Perhaps all new vans should have a similar device fitted as standard for battery protection.
So there we have it ,best part of three grand with fitting to get the best 12v power supply presently available .All change in a few years time maybe but then you can constantly put off buying the newest tech .
Reevsie
Full Member
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Where does it say 54amp charge?
I also have a sterling B2B and the most I tend to get is 20-25 amp whilst ticking over.
I do tend use a lot to power whilst away. Mainly 12v, But I use laptops, printers and the microwave a lot so use a lot of 240V .I have 2 x 115AH batteries but would like some more. I have worked out my consumption through my battery monitor and 99% of the time everything just works fine. What I do like with the EFOY is when I go to bed I switch it on and let it do its work overnight. This only charges at 3-4AH so if I do get to 55% batteries on the monitor I always wake up to almost full batteries, or full batteries if I have a lie in.
I also have a sterling B2B and the most I tend to get is 20-25 amp whilst ticking over.
I do tend use a lot to power whilst away. Mainly 12v, But I use laptops, printers and the microwave a lot so use a lot of 240V .I have 2 x 115AH batteries but would like some more. I have worked out my consumption through my battery monitor and 99% of the time everything just works fine. What I do like with the EFOY is when I go to bed I switch it on and let it do its work overnight. This only charges at 3-4AH so if I do get to 55% batteries on the monitor I always wake up to almost full batteries, or full batteries if I have a lie in.
RichD1
Guest
Hi MOJO, I'm going to convert to lithium to save valuable weight and install a Sterling B2B charger. The wiring seems pretty straightforward but was wondering if you know if Road Pro altered any of the wiring to your onboard distribution panel. Did they also change your existing mains charger?
Richard
Richard
RichD1
Guest
I'm not going to be buying from RP so reluctant to ask them advice. Did you get any advice before buying?
Richard
Richard
debs
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That is a nice set up, and yes it will get cheaper in time, and the technology will continue to improve. I would love a similar set up, although I would use C-Tek b to b charger, but at the moment the pension won't allow that to happen, but when my present batteries are done, maybe.
RichD1
Guest
The CTEK B2B isn't optimised for a Lithium. I was interested in it as it also took a solar panel and includes a MPPT regulator.
Richard
Richard