Upgrade to Roamer Lithium Smart 5 Battery - Any thoughts/experience of the new BMS etc?

[marchie]

This trip to Spain for Winter Sun has again turned into one with insufficient sun and far too much rain for us to survive off-grid. We've passed the gloomy weather drawing up a list of what we need on the kit front to make the 2027 trip less challenging ...

First change will be to replace the 180w Solar Panel with a 300w version. We have a 3 year old Roamer 230Ah Smart 3 Lithium which is struggling to keep pace for 90 days when the weather is so poor; Roamer have introduced a 300Ah version, Smart 5 BMS which has better cold weather protection and automated top down balancing, but most importantly, fitted into a casing that has almost identical dimensions to the existing 230Ah Smart 3 casing. It'll be a tight fit alongside the 1200w Inverter, but should be achievable without butchering the under sofa battery box beyond recognition.

Has anyone bought a Smart 5 battery and got any tips, including both 'would do/would not do' steps re purchase, installation and use?

Steve

 

[nabsim]

You can only take out what you put in Steve, more capacity just gives longer til the inevitable happens unless you can top up. Won't matter on how much solar if you don't get sun unless you can do a Jeff and tilt it.

Either:
Move to where you got sun
Big B2B and run engine
Go on Hook up
Get a genny

 

[Exwindsurfer]

This trip to Spain for Winter Sun has again turned into one with insufficient sun and far too much rain for us to survive off-grid. We've passed the gloomy weather drawing up a list of what we need on the kit front to make the 2027 trip less challenging ...

First change will be to replace the 180w Solar Panel with a 300w version. We have a 3 year old Roamer 230Ah Smart 3 Lithium which is struggling to keep pace for 90 days when the weather is so poor; Roamer have introduced a 300Ah version, Smart 5 BMS which has better cold weather protection and automated top down balancing, but most importantly, fitted into a casing that has almost identical dimensions to the existing 230Ah Smart 3 casing. It'll be a tight fit alongside the 1200w Inverter, but should be achievable without butchering the under sofa battery box beyond recognition.

Has anyone bought a Smart 5 battery and got any tips, including both 'would do/would not do' steps re purchase, installation and use?

Steve

I personally would butcher the battery box and fit a way bigger battery Steve

 

[wildebus]

This trip to Spain for Winter Sun has again turned into one with insufficient sun and far too much rain for us to survive off-grid. We've passed the gloomy weather drawing up a list of what we need on the kit front to make the 2027 trip less challenging ...

First change will be to replace the 180w Solar Panel with a 300w version. We have a 3 year old Roamer 230Ah Smart 3 Lithium which is struggling to keep pace for 90 days when the weather is so poor; Roamer have introduced a 300Ah version, Smart 5 BMS which has better cold weather protection and automated top down balancing, but most importantly, fitted into a casing that has almost identical dimensions to the existing 230Ah Smart 3 casing. It'll be a tight fit alongside the 1200w Inverter, but should be achievable without butchering the under sofa battery box beyond recognition.

Has anyone bought a Smart 5 battery and got any tips, including both 'would do/would not do' steps re purchase, installation and use?

Steve

Saying a tight fit alongside the Inverter? Are you thinking you could fit the 300Ah battery and keep the 230Ah battery as well? I would be surprised if you have the room to do so - at the very least you would need to relocate the B2B as well.

What is under your Drivers seat? that Roamer 230Ah (and so presumably the 300Ah) is shaped to go underneath a cab set. The Passenger seat is stuffed full of kit but not sure about the Drivers side. Could possibly add one there and run some extra cabling to it.

For your solar, no room to add additional panels rather then remove the existing one first? You can get a bit creative maybe to add extra panels in roof 'dead space'? For example, on my van I added another 6 small panels (totalling 180W) to make the use of the space which otherwise would be plain roof.

 

[marchie]

Saying a tight fit alongside the Inverter? Are you thinking you could fit the 300Ah battery and keep the 230Ah battery as well? I would be surprised if you have the room to do so - at the very least you would need to relocate the B2B as well.

What is under your Drivers seat? that Roamer 230Ah (and so presumably the 300Ah) is shaped to go underneath a cab set. The Passenger seat is stuffed full of kit but not sure about the Drivers side. Could possibly add one there and run some extra cabling to it.

For your solar, no room to add additional panels rather then remove the existing one first? You can get a bit creative maybe to add extra panels in roof 'dead space'? For example, on my van I added another 6 small panels (totalling 180W) to make the use of the space which otherwise would be plain roof.

Thanks, David. I had thought of just replacing the 230Ah with the 300Ah Roamer, enabling the Inverter to remain in situ.The driver's seat just has a tray underneath (and various tools that I need to remove for weight & space) and the airbag loom. The semi- air suspension is stored in the driver's door step, but that shouldn't be a problem. Will the Roamer 3 and the Roamer 5 play happily together with differing BMS capabilities?
I also envisage removing the 180w Solar and having a 300w version as a replacement. If you could play around with the dead roof space (and there is lots of it with small vents littering the roof from the hab door back to the rear of the Van, that would be good. There is a small, old, TV Dish that has never been used since we bought the M/Home and it has a socket just inside the Hab door for a power supply/cable run.
If you want to DM me if you fancy the challenge, I can get down to you as soon as you can manage after we get back from Spain by 2nd March ...

Steve

 

[marchie]

You can only take out what you put in Steve, more capacity just gives longer til the inevitable happens unless you can top up. Won't matter on how much solar if you don't get sun unless you can do a Jeff and tilt it.

Either:
Move to where you got sun
Big B2B and run engine
Go on Hook up
Get a genny

Thanks, Neil. Our experience is slightly different, insofar as the (relatively few) sunny days have produced enough solar to replenish a larger battery, and a larger solar panel would have been able to shovel more juice in during peak time. Today, for example, the sun was chucking out 60w+ for about 6 hours, and that refilled the battery easily. Then the sun went into dozy mode, and the last 2 hours was producing only 15-20w from the Panel. The bigger Panel and battery combo could have made hay whilst the sun shone and given me spare leccy, instead of being on the limits

Steve

 

[Trotter]

As a point of caution Steve. No matter how big a battery you have, without sufficient sunshine or or vehicle movement, you will run out of power.
I did exactly that last year in mid France, with my 460 Fogstar. Took my eye off the ball, kept on keeping on using electric. Lesson learnt. Any idea of going gas free, in my case, out of the window. My new catch word is, gently does it.
When in doubt, either put the gas kettle on, or go for a drive.
Somehow I feel like I’m trying to teach you how to suck eggs

 

[wildebus]

Thanks, David. I had thought of just replacing the 230Ah with the 300Ah Roamer, enabling the Inverter to remain in situ.The driver's seat just has a tray underneath (and various tools that I need to remove for weight & space) and the airbag loom. The semi- air suspension is stored in the driver's door step, but that shouldn't be a problem. Will the Roamer 3 and the Roamer 5 play happily together with differing BMS capabilities?

Can't really say 100% that there will be no issues with the differing BMSes, but as an example I have been running the Polarmax Lithiums lo-temp batteries alongside your old problematic Lithium that kept going to sleep and they've all been ok together (in my setup I have quite a high minimum load so the battery never gets a chance to sleep ) . Can't see a reason why a pair of roamers won't play well together.
I think the 230Ah one you bought was an underseat form factor wasn't it? It did look like one (and it was as it happens also a lovely shape for the bench seat fitment as well )

I also envisage removing the 180w Solar and having a 300w version as a replacement. If you could play around with the dead roof space (and there is lots of it with small vents littering the roof from the hab door back to the rear of the Van, that would be good. There is a small, old, TV Dish that has never been used since we bought the M/Home and it has a socket just inside the Hab door for a power supply/cable run.
If you want to DM me if you fancy the challenge, I can get down to you as soon as you can manage after we get back from Spain by 2nd March ...

Steve

Ref the comments on charging a bigger battery bank, it would be quite straightforward in your van to up the size of the B2B by swapping with another larger unit or adding another in parallel. Having the Leisure battery behind the passenger seat with the Starter battery in front of the passenger seat makes the cable run nice and short.
But only something to consider if really needed as your style of use I think suits Solar more than B2B.

 

[marchie]

Can't really say 100% that there will be no issues with the differing BMSes, but as an example I have been running the Polarmax Lithiums lo-temp batteries alongside your old problematic Lithium that kept going to sleep and they've all been ok together (in my setup I have quite a high minimum load so the battery never gets a chance to sleep ) . Can't see a reason why a pair of roamers won't play well together.
I think the 230Ah one you bought was an underseat form factor wasn't it? It did look like one (and it was as it happens also a lovely shape for the bench seat fitment as well )


Ref the comments on charging a bigger battery bank, it would be quite straightforward in your van to up the size of the B2B by swapping with another larger unit or adding another in parallel. Having the Leisure battery behind the passenger seat with the Starter battery in front of the passenger seat makes the cable run nice and short.
But only something to consider if really needed as your style of use I think suits Solar more than B2B.

More food for thought, David - thanks! I think I'll contact Roamer for advice on the BMS compatability between Smart 3 & Smart 5. The 230Ah Smart 3 is an underseat version, so could go under the Driver seat and the Smart 5 dimensions are nearly identical to the Smart 3, just that the height and, say, width dimensions are swapped around ( can't remember which sides are different), but mounting the battery on its side or end won't cause a problem, other than perhaps some extra cabling/rerouting thereof?

My needs, expressed in terms of water, are akin to driving from a site with only 20 litres and arriving at Site B to find the tap broken ... I would not be wail the fact that I missed the chance to fill the tank before leaving the first site!

The limited solar harvesting in peak sun hours is frustrating when the sun disappears for the next 2-3 days (and in mid-December, we were 8 days in Vilafranca in qell nigh constant rain - it was right across Spain so no escape - broken by a brief period that would generate 20-30Wh solar max some days. I even had to break the rule and run the engine in situ for 10-15 minutes just to keep the Batteries above the minimum SoC ...

Steve