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.

 

[The Raptor]

Hi Everyone
Here’s an up update on my Fogstar Drift 460Ah drop in (for a LA 95Ah replacement). Used for a 4 days away and working with no issues. The MPPT is left on LA charging profile from the 200W solar panels, and when home I turn on the 20A Fogstar Drift designated charger until the 460Ah is showing charged. I then open up the Fogstar app and turn off discharge & charge for it, and obviously the Fogstar Drift charger.
I decided this week that rather than risk my remaining 2x 95Ah silver Bosch batteries in parallel at 5 yrs old causing an issue I removed them and bought a new Bosch LA 95Ah battery to leave in parallel with the Fogstar Drift so that my old alternator (Fiat Ducato 2007 Autotrail Apache) doesn’t get harmed as it will still see a LA battery. (Thank you Wildebus/David for your forum comments that I have read). My new set up is a 460Ah Fogstar Drift in parallel with a Bosch silver S4 95Ah LA battery with existing alternator and MPPT ( no B2B gizmo or any alterations), I’ve used my 2000W/4000Wpeak sine wave inverterwithout issues). Hope this helps anyone with an impending upgrade.
Cheers Dave