Lithium/Lead Acid Hybrid Storage

[The Raptor]

I've been thinking about getting Lithiums for just over a year but because of price didn’t do anything, just sat on the fence reading and reading . Well I’ve just gone and done it and payed a deposit on a Fogstar Drift 460Ah due in Late August.
Why now? Well currently I had 3 x 95Ah Silver Bosch batteries in Parallel and they were coming close to replacing (possibly to there end of life needing CPR…..who knows as I didn’t want to be Wild camping at that time). I had been looking at the Prime Days just gone and saw amazing prices for Eco Worthy …… I looked at reviews and considering the 280Ah (no Bluetooth monitoring & no heating ) the price looked OK BUT some reviews were not good. I then looked at the other options out there from Roamer, Eco Tree and Fogstar Drift with lots of discussions on our Forums.
The Eco Worthy had a deal for 2x 280Ah (560Ah) for £940 with no Bluetooth monitors or heating, I then looked at FogstarDrift 460Ah which was £950 after Wildcamping/Motorhomer discount and it had Bluetooth monitoring and heating included in this price ( I would have to purchase the Victron 500A shunt at ~ £90 with the EcoWorthy) so the cheaper EcoWorthy would be more cash with only an extra 100Ah and space for 2 batteries needed.
I will keep you updated with the Hybrid install as I will still have 2 x 95Ah Bosch Silver batteries in parallel with an old charging system and 200A solar panels. The expected delivery is end of August after paying a £100 deposit
Cheers Dave

 

[Mr and Mrs Tupcox]

460ah fogstar are really good product. Ours works a treat .never used the gas kettle since fitting it.

 

[marchie]

We bought a Roamer 230Ah Under seat model in January 2024. Spanish winter sun + 180w Solar Panel enables us to run an Induction Hub via an Inverter, and to boil water at midday, stored in a pair of flasks for use the following morning. Reduced the gas consumption quite a bit!

Steve

 

[wildebus]

460ah fogstar are really good product. Ours works a treat .never used the gas kettle since fitting it.

they are remarkably compact for the capacity. Installed one on the camper install currently finishing off. Looks like a nice battery

We bought a Roamer 230Ah Under seat model in January 2024. Spanish winter sun + 180w Solar Panel enables us to run an Induction Hub via an Inverter, and to boil water at midday, stored in a pair of flasks for use the following morning. Reduced the gas consumption quite a bit!

Steve

I liked the packaging of that 230Ah Roamer. Thought it a perfect box size for an underbench installation.

 

[Gazthediver]

We have installed 2x230amp under seat frogstar battery’s to get us to the 460amp and choose frogstar because of the heat pad just in case we get a bad winter

 

[marchie]

We have installed 2x230amp under seat frogstar battery’s to get us to the 460amp and choose frogstar because of the heat pad just in case we get a bad winter

We bought the Roamer 230Ah. No heat pad, but BMS shows an 'Under Temperature Charging' [UTC] Error Code and resets itself once the temperature rises above 5 Celsius. The Battery sits under the passenger side sofa, and most of the Winter should be in Spain, so shouldn't be a problem, because we'll have gas heating with the thermostat set at a minimum of 10 degrees overnight to stop the Frost Stat dumping the freshwater tank, then boost the heating when we wake up

Steve

 

[wildebus]

We bought the Roamer 230Ah. No heat pad, but BMS shows an 'Under Temperature Charging' [UTC] Error Code and resets itself once the temperature rises above 5 Celsius. The Battery sits under the passenger side sofa, and most of the Winter should be in Spain, so shouldn't be a problem, because we'll have gas heating with the thermostat set at a minimum of 10 degrees overnight to stop the Frost Stat dumping the freshwater tank, then boost the heating when we wake up

Steve

And if you do find the cold a problem in the locker, you could make a few holes in the heater ducting hose or even add a tee with an adjustable outlet in it.
Not for a battery however (but same principle), I fitted a heater outlet into the kitchen cupboard where my water pump is so if it gets very cold I can directly heat that space via the 12V space heater installed.

 

[rugbyken]

just posted this in barry sd thread 2 x fogstar drift 460A new batteries £875 each

 

[trevskoda]

just posted this in barry sd thread 2 x fogstar drift 460A new batteries £875 each View attachment 73709

Id be looking a new car for that dosh.

 

[rugbyken]

I appreciate you probably would trev most of us would think less than £2 an amp is great lol

 

[rugbyken]

already gone down now only £800; each

 

[The Raptor]

The Fogstar Drift 460Ah due on 23/8 was dispatched last week and arrived on Thursday about 3 hrs before we were going on a weekend trip. One of my 95Ah leisure batterys was removed and the Fogstar placed in and strapped down ( a two person lift required ). The Bluetooth was connected to my phone and charge was at 240/460Ah. The Fogstar charger purchased was connected and charge started getting to 299Ah before leaving. We enjoyed a 3 night wild camp with 200W solar and can give a thumbs up to our new battery. Multiple cappuccinos via a nespresso machine and we returned home with 210Ah/460Ah so this was a positive experience. Battery now fully charged to 460/460Ah and awaiting our next trip ( Using the Bluetooth I’ve switched off charging & discharging until we leave), this means the solar is only trickle charging our remaining old (5yrs) 2 x95Ah lead acid batteries in parallel

 

[Okta]

My new Roamer 230Ah Seatbase Smart4 battery arrived yesterday. It is likely to be several weeks before I can get it fitted, I am told I am no longer fit enough to remove the heavy seats from their bases. I chose the Roamer because I liked the construction details provided and the serviceability should anything go wrong. I deliberately decided against one with built in heating having read about some of the downsides that can come with heating in some of the cheaper batteries.

There is a new Roamer App to come with the new Smart4 batteries but this is still awaiting final approval so until then I have to use a generic app that has fewer functions. Not a big issue for me at present.