can you have a combined liop and lead acid battery banks, isolate circuits to run off liop and isolate circuits to lead acid and have the best of both worlds?
Lithium 12v 26 lbs AGM 12v 29 lbs Acid 12v 41 lbs I’m not sure where 200 batteries were mentioned or needed But lithium is LESS weight not more Maybe I misunderstood your comment
Does your battery need to be constantly covered? Mine isn’t completely covered. It gets below freezing and here lately it’s been not lighting or furnace turning on. But it seems only when it’s really cold. I heard your advice on cold but I wondered about the covering and if that affects everything.
All batteries suffer in extreme weather. I would always recommend providing cover and some protection from the elements on any battery. Otherwise you will have reduced performance and shortened battery life.
So Todd I have been trying to find out what could be going on with my dauters camper. All the tank sensors show empty all the time. Even when i know they are full. eny ideas ???
Todd, thanks for sharing your knowledge about so many things RV. Can you please advise the dif between the lithium Battleborn 100ah battery at $875 vs lithium brand X 100ah battery at $320 ?
Build quality and quality of bms inside. Until recently there were two major types of LiFePo4 cells, cylindrical and prismatic. Now there seems to be a third type case, bag. Battleborn uses cylindrical cells which is arguably the best casing. The low cost leaders are using bass to hold the lithium. Wiring/busbars, types of connections also play quite a bit in the quality. When you use lithium batteries with an inverter, you are asking that battery to perform at a lot higher amp rate than standard 12v loads so all the constants and conductors need to be above the specs needed to handle the rated load as the most common use is to use them constantly. Lastly the bms this is the brains of the battery and it’s top two functions are to limit the amount of amps in and out of each cell and to keep the cells balanced. An add on is cold weather protection that Battleborn provides. Hard to say if the low cost batteries do that. On a side note, for the past two years I have been researching and building lithium batteries, will soon hit the market. Low cost/high performance all in one.
I use GC2 6 volt golf cart batteries. 4 225ah 6 volt Pared up in series. Seems to work fine for my needs. No problem charging in cold weather no real issues and 100 years of proven technology. I've seen a couple of lithium battery fires. No need to expose my rig to that risk.
Howdy, I have two 90 ah hour AGM batteries in my boat, a 90 ah AGM in my camper, 2 AGM batteries in my Polaris Ranger and an AGM in my Kubota. My wife has three garden sprayers with small 6 volt batteries, I have an AGM battery in my Suzuki Samurai. Two of the 90 ah AGM's are 10 years old, the rest of the batteries are newer, but only two are less than 2 years old, those are in the sprayers. My point to all of this is I live in Eastern Oregon, we get below zero weather every winter and it is freezing at night from October to April or later. I leave all of the batteries in their respective vehicles outside with no heat. I charge all of them with their dedicated NOCO smart chargers 24/7 when they are not in use, summer and winter. The NOCO chargers I have are all different types, some small and some produce 15 amps. My boat has a two channel, 15 amp per channel NOCO for both batteries. Most of them are 1 to 3 amps. I have not lost a battery in the past 10 years except for the original non-AGM that came with my Ranger. I have the 10 year old AGM that I took out of the Ranger along with the original battery that only lasted about 5 years. The AGM was still good and I keep it in an ammo can and keep it charged. I use it on my trailer jack and a backup battery for the Ranger. Sorry about the length, but I wanted to show that the smart chargers work and do not harm batteries. I only use lead/acid because I am afraid of Lithium batteries, especially in some of the remote places in Eastern Oregon and Nevada that I camp in the fall and spring. I keep the terminals and cables coated with No-Ox grease and never have a corrosion problem. Any helpful information will be appreciated.
Just got a 2023 cougar with the lithium battery I live in Canada when in storage do I just leave it plugged in all winter or remove and bring inside my house? It has a heater switch inside rv.
The idea that lithium batteries need "exercise" is baloney. Older chemistries like nickel cadmium required a complete discharge before recharge, but lithium cells don't. To store a lithium cell or battery, let the charge rise or drop to about 50% and disconnect it from the system. If the BMS has a shutoff, turn it off to keep it from drawing power. Store at room temperature whenever possible. Lead acid batteries typically use metallic lead as a conductor inside the battery, and in the case of cranking batteries, will have lead terminals on the outside. Connecting dissimilar metals to these posts will cause electrolysis, and corrode both metals. Exposing them to moisture and road salt exacerbates this. That's why some lead acid batteries need special prep and cleaning. Lithium batteries and cables with nickel-steel connectors are like metals, and should not have this problem. Obviously you should check every so often to make sure that the connections haven't loosened from road _vibrations_ but electrolysis should not be an issue with lithium. In fact, deep cycle lead acid batteries made for hotel power should also have steel screw terminals, and if connected to like metals, should not corrode.
Question what about the opposite temperature extreme. Storing lithium batteries in a climate where it's in the upper '90s and low hundreds. Can extreme heat cause damage to lithium batteries?
wow, great info. what about using a lithium battery jump start for boosting the single house battery ? possible? when the house battery gets to 50% boost the house battery up to 80% w/ the booster jump battery? good idea? yes or no ?
Question? I have been looking at lithium batteries for awhile for my camper. I have a solar panel on my camper that keeps my current battery charged while its in storage. Can i still use the solar panel to keep my lithium battery charged in the winter.
So the temperature of the battery becomes the concern. If the temp of the battery gets too low (safe to say around 32*f) then depending on the bms inside the battery, I would limit the charge current.
So this would replace the converter typically near the breaker panel. Some older models you can get a lithium converter that can be swapped out for your old one. Converters both charge you batteries and provide 12v power to your rig while plugged in.
You want to get a lithium charger / converter, it will replace the current house battery charger. it's typically a straight swap. maybe upgrade the wires to a thicker gauge wire.
Why RV in Alaska? Come on Todd! Not another Texas Versus Alaska thing!!! ;-) summers are incredible and my solar from mid June to mid July pulls in power 20+ hours a day! Charges my lithium through the day like a boss! And some times you just got to get out and see a big state! :-P But yeah, i store my rig starting mid to late September, pull the lithium, drain and blow dry the lines and wait for spring which depending on Mother Nature has in store can be as early as mid March or as late as late April. So spring, summer and fall is definitely a short RV season and my lithium batteries can definitely be out and stored for as much of the year as they are installed and being used. I just had to rattle the cage a little bit with the Alaska jab. Keep up the great videos, I do enjoy them and some of them are genuinely helpful to me, always learning! Even if I'm only RVing 6 months or less a year... ;-)
keeping batteries warm shouldn't change whether you are using 4 12v batteries or a few 6v batteries. If they get too cold then it does effect the performance of those batteries.
AGM batteries fall into the lead acid category when it comes to cold weather. in general the warmer you can keep your batteries the better they will perform no matter the type.
This is funny Batteries is a source to keep power in the box , hot or cold , is known the colder temp. The efficiency drops considerable at very lower temp , I have 3 lead acid batteries and in being in there for over 8 years , Still operating like new , you will consider install a batterie mantener when you not operating your rig , not more the 2amps , That will take care conditioning your lead box ,, winters true summer , Without it , you know there are all sorts of electronics that causes fantom discharges , A batería it doesn’t mater , they do discharge by the self 😊 Sugestión get a unit , they are not expensive and get is plugged via 125 volt is just Pennie’s , cheaper then a new batteries Go for ir and find out your self 🎉
Just a reminder Call the manufacturer for your questions so many manufacturers 1 guy can't know it all, i know more now after a conversation with battle born on my batteries.
I actually store my lead acid battery in my basement in the winter. Not charging, just storing. I put it in the garage to recharge. Not this winter. I'm coming to Athens in January
I’m in Utah where it can get cold in the RV is stored from November till March. Is it best to take the lithium battery out and keep it where it’s warmer or is it OK to leave it where it can get fairly cold sometimes down in the teens?
Key is if the battery has a low temp sensor to prevent charging at low temps. If you don’t than you should disconnect them when not in use or keep them warm. Otherwise it is safe to store them in the cold just can’t charge them until they are warmed up. If you happen to charge them and there is no low temp sensor they will be damaged.
there's really no issue with lithium batteries freezing, they can handle that fine and you can use power from it even if it's below freezing, the problem is that if they get below freezing temps and you try to charge them, that for sure will damage the battery, so you can store it fine below freezing temps without issue. One thing to consider is if you have stored your RV and you have a small battery charger connected like some people do for storing their RVs(like a window solar charger), disconnect it, or make sure it's only charging the engine starting battery and NOT the house battery.
So if you are putting the trailer up for the winter. See if you can limit the charge current. If you cannot then one thing that will help is to turn all demand to the batteries off only keeping the charge to the batteries on. If no demand is provided then you should get out of a maintenance charge.
@@NationalRVTrainingAcademy My battery has a shut of switch on the battery and uses an andersen connector so I can just leave it in the 5th wheel for 4 months without issues?
Is there anything I should be doing when I just bring my lithium battery in and store it in the basement over winter? Does it need to be trickle charging or anything?
I have a lead acid battery with 100 watt solar system. Can I use the battery to use my Viair 300 or should I just use my truck battery with the truck running ? Do I have to use the battery disconnect before using the air compressor if I can use the trailer battery or shut off the solar unit ? Lots of questions that may not be directly related to your video but don't want to damage anything. Thanks in advance.
I have 3 Battle Born 100's. I live in the north East, so my rig is parked from November to March. My rig is totally winterized and I usually disconnect and remove my batteries. Because the temperature can drop down below zero degrees Fahrenheit, do I need to remove those batteries or is it okay to just leave them in there if they're disconnected?
As long as your not drawing them dead and not charging them and they are secure, not walking away. Then you can leave them. Key is that they are not being charged. Battle born BMS should prevent charging at low temp anyways, but at the same time you don’t want to draw them to empty either.
@@NationalRVTrainingAcademy I was interested in how your online hybrid class worked for the certified RV inspector. Is is online and then students come in for a hands on portion? That’s how some of my college classes are. I live in Lubbock and being a paramedic it’s extremely hard for me to take 4 weeks off and sit in a classroom. But I really want to take your classes.
There are thermostats that can be placed in the same area as the batteries. You want to find out if the lithium battery you gage is equipped with a cold temp thermostat that will not allow it to be charged until the temps increase to a safe level.
@@NationalRVTrainingAcademy to clarify i was talking about measuring the area inside of the case where the sensor is located or the areas where the wires are attached i called battel borne in Nevada today and had a conversation.
We are getting a 21 foot travel trailer in about 4 weeks. It is in production at the moment. The company (Escape) offers a number of battery options... 12V and 6V lead-acid and lithium. We opted for lithium because of the greater power density and lighter weight. It is my understanding that ALL battery types must be vented when the RV is manufactured in Canada. Of course the manufacturer must adhere to the Canadian standards even when it is exported to the US. Is there a valid reason for that? I dunno. Doesn't seem logical to me.
Ok something was just said ......
Cold weather charger to 5 amps how do I lower my solar panels amps output my batteries are on my trailer tongue
can you have a combined liop and lead acid battery banks, isolate circuits to run off liop and isolate circuits to lead acid and have the best of both worlds?
"Change over to Lithium Batteries" (about 200 of them in your video), you sure? With the added weight you will need an Abrams Tank to tow the RV.
Lithium 12v 26 lbs
AGM 12v 29 lbs
Acid 12v 41 lbs
I’m not sure where 200 batteries were mentioned or needed
But lithium is LESS weight not more
Maybe I misunderstood your comment
Does your battery need to be constantly covered? Mine isn’t completely covered. It gets below freezing and here lately it’s been not lighting or furnace turning on. But it seems only when it’s really cold. I heard your advice on cold but I wondered about the covering and if that affects everything.
All batteries suffer in extreme weather. I would always recommend providing cover and some protection from the elements on any battery.
Otherwise you will have reduced performance and shortened battery life.
So Todd I have been trying to find out what could be going on with my dauters camper. All the tank sensors show empty all the time. Even when i know they are full. eny ideas ???
Lose wire connection to the sending probe. Could be a lose harness connection to your display
Todd, thanks for sharing your knowledge about so many things RV. Can you please advise the dif between the lithium Battleborn 100ah battery at $875 vs lithium brand X 100ah battery at $320 ?
Build quality and quality of bms inside.
Until recently there were two major types of LiFePo4 cells, cylindrical and prismatic. Now there seems to be a third type case, bag. Battleborn uses cylindrical cells which is arguably the best casing. The low cost leaders are using bass to hold the lithium.
Wiring/busbars, types of connections also play quite a bit in the quality. When you use lithium batteries with an inverter, you are asking that battery to perform at a lot higher amp rate than standard 12v loads so all the constants and conductors need to be above the specs needed to handle the rated load as the most common use is to use them constantly.
Lastly the bms this is the brains of the battery and it’s top two functions are to limit the amount of amps in and out of each cell and to keep the cells balanced. An add on is cold weather protection that Battleborn provides. Hard to say if the low cost batteries do that.
On a side note, for the past two years I have been researching and building lithium batteries, will soon hit the market. Low cost/high performance all in one.
The most important thing with charging Li batteries is make sure that the battery charger or battery tender is made for Lithium
I have the midnite solar kid my Mario. It's a beast
I use GC2 6 volt golf cart batteries. 4 225ah 6 volt Pared up in series. Seems to work fine for my needs. No problem charging in cold weather no real issues and 100 years of proven technology.
I've seen a couple of lithium battery fires.
No need to expose my rig to that risk.
No u haven’t!!! And there is no risk!
very funny stuff but true, move..
Howdy,
I have two 90 ah hour AGM batteries in my boat, a 90 ah AGM in my camper, 2 AGM batteries in my Polaris Ranger and an AGM in my Kubota. My wife has three garden sprayers with small 6 volt batteries, I have an AGM battery in my Suzuki Samurai.
Two of the 90 ah AGM's are 10 years old, the rest of the batteries are newer, but only two are less than 2 years old, those are in the sprayers. My point to all of this is I live in Eastern Oregon, we get below zero weather every winter and it is freezing at night from October to April or later. I leave all of the batteries in their respective vehicles outside with no heat. I charge all of them with their dedicated NOCO smart chargers 24/7 when they are not in use, summer and winter.
The NOCO chargers I have are all different types, some small and some produce 15 amps. My boat has a two channel, 15 amp per channel NOCO for both batteries. Most of them are 1 to 3 amps. I have not lost a battery in the past 10 years except for the original non-AGM that came with my Ranger. I have the 10 year old AGM that I took out of the Ranger along with the original battery that only lasted about 5 years. The AGM was still good and I keep it in an ammo can and keep it charged. I use it on my trailer jack and a backup battery for the Ranger.
Sorry about the length, but I wanted to show that the smart chargers work and do not harm batteries. I only use lead/acid because I am afraid of Lithium batteries, especially in some of the remote places in Eastern Oregon and Nevada that I camp in the fall and spring. I keep the terminals and cables coated with No-Ox grease and never have a corrosion problem.
Any helpful information will be appreciated.
Good Afternoon 🌞 Do you have any Imfo. On AGM batteries ? I have a 5th wheel RV . I spent $400.00 on each battery . (2)
Just got a 2023 cougar with the lithium battery I live in Canada when in storage do I just leave it plugged in all winter or remove and bring inside my house? It has a heater switch inside rv.
The idea that lithium batteries need "exercise" is baloney. Older chemistries like nickel cadmium required a complete discharge before recharge, but lithium cells don't. To store a lithium cell or battery, let the charge rise or drop to about 50% and disconnect it from the system. If the BMS has a shutoff, turn it off to keep it from drawing power. Store at room temperature whenever possible.
Lead acid batteries typically use metallic lead as a conductor inside the battery, and in the case of cranking batteries, will have lead terminals on the outside. Connecting dissimilar metals to these posts will cause electrolysis, and corrode both metals. Exposing them to moisture and road salt exacerbates this. That's why some lead acid batteries need special prep and cleaning. Lithium batteries and cables with nickel-steel connectors are like metals, and should not have this problem. Obviously you should check every so often to make sure that the connections haven't loosened from road _vibrations_ but electrolysis should not be an issue with lithium. In fact, deep cycle lead acid batteries made for hotel power should also have steel screw terminals, and if connected to like metals, should not corrode.
Question what about the opposite temperature extreme. Storing lithium batteries in a climate where it's in the upper '90s and low hundreds. Can extreme heat cause damage to lithium batteries?
Quick question can a large fast battery charger be hooked up to the house batteries of a driving RV
wow, great info. what about using a lithium battery jump start for boosting the single house battery ? possible? when the house battery gets to 50% boost the house battery up to 80% w/ the booster jump battery? good idea? yes or no ?
Question? I have been looking at lithium batteries for awhile for my camper. I have a solar panel on my camper that keeps my current battery charged while its in storage. Can i still use the solar panel to keep my lithium battery charged in the winter.
So the temperature of the battery becomes the concern. If the temp of the battery gets too low (safe to say around 32*f) then depending on the bms inside the battery, I would limit the charge current.
My rv is quite old and doesn't have an invertor but want to upgrade to lithium. Question where to i put in the lithium charger?
So this would replace the converter typically near the breaker panel. Some older models you can get a lithium converter that can be swapped out for your old one.
Converters both charge you batteries and provide 12v power to your rig while plugged in.
@@CardelliFamof8 so get lithium converter/charger. Right?
You want to get a lithium charger / converter, it will replace the current house battery charger. it's typically a straight swap. maybe upgrade the wires to a thicker gauge wire.
Why RV in Alaska? Come on Todd! Not another Texas Versus Alaska thing!!! ;-) summers are incredible and my solar from mid June to mid July pulls in power 20+ hours a day! Charges my lithium through the day like a boss! And some times you just got to get out and see a big state! :-P But yeah, i store my rig starting mid to late September, pull the lithium, drain and blow dry the lines and wait for spring which depending on Mother Nature has in store can be as early as mid March or as late as late April. So spring, summer and fall is definitely a short RV season and my lithium batteries can definitely be out and stored for as much of the year as they are installed and being used.
I just had to rattle the cage a little bit with the Alaska jab. Keep up the great videos, I do enjoy them and some of them are genuinely helpful to me, always learning! Even if I'm only RVing 6 months or less a year... ;-)
Alaska in the summer is great, but that’s not what I was saying. ;)
Todd, can you speak to using 2 6-volt batteries in place of one 12 volt. Thanks, very much enjoy your videos. Keep them coming.
keeping batteries warm shouldn't change whether you are using 4 12v batteries or a few 6v batteries. If they get too cold then it does effect the performance of those batteries.
What about AGM batteries?
AGM batteries fall into the lead acid category when it comes to cold weather. in general the warmer you can keep your batteries the better they will perform no matter the type.
This is funny Batteries is a source to keep power in the box , hot or cold , is known the colder temp. The efficiency drops considerable at very lower temp ,
I have 3 lead acid batteries and in being in there for over 8 years ,
Still operating like new , you will consider install a batterie mantener when you not operating your rig , not more the 2amps ,
That will take care conditioning your lead box ,, winters true summer ,
Without it , you know there are all sorts of electronics that causes fantom discharges ,
A batería it doesn’t mater , they do discharge by the self 😊
Sugestión get a unit , they are not expensive and get is plugged via 125 volt is just Pennie’s , cheaper then a new batteries
Go for ir and find out your self 🎉
Just a reminder
Call the manufacturer for your questions so many manufacturers 1 guy can't know it all, i know more now after a conversation with battle born on my batteries.
All the information is out there if you are willing to go find it.
Why RV in Alaska? Well I live here lol.
I actually store my lead acid battery in my basement in the winter. Not charging, just storing. I put it in the garage to recharge. Not this winter. I'm coming to Athens in January
That is awesome. We look forward to meeting you.
I’m in Utah where it can get cold in the RV is stored from November till March. Is it best to take the lithium battery out and keep it where it’s warmer or is it OK to leave it where it can get fairly cold sometimes down in the teens?
Key is if the battery has a low temp sensor to prevent charging at low temps. If you don’t than you should disconnect them when not in use or keep them warm. Otherwise it is safe to store them in the cold just can’t charge them until they are warmed up.
If you happen to charge them and there is no low temp sensor they will be damaged.
there's really no issue with lithium batteries freezing, they can handle that fine and you can use power from it even if it's below freezing, the problem is that if they get below freezing temps and you try to charge them, that for sure will damage the battery, so you can store it fine below freezing temps without issue. One thing to consider is if you have stored your RV and you have a small battery charger connected like some people do for storing their RVs(like a window solar charger), disconnect it, or make sure it's only charging the engine starting battery and NOT the house battery.
So if you are putting the trailer up for the winter. See if you can limit the charge current. If you cannot then one thing that will help is to turn all demand to the batteries off only keeping the charge to the batteries on. If no demand is provided then you should get out of a maintenance charge.
@@NationalRVTrainingAcademy My battery has a shut of switch on the battery and uses an andersen connector so I can just leave it in the 5th wheel for 4 months without issues?
Is there anything I should be doing when I just bring my lithium battery in and store it in the basement over winter? Does it need to be trickle charging or anything?
I wouldn't think so. Just make sure the batteries are charged to about 70 or 80 percent and leave them alone.
I have a lead acid battery with 100 watt solar system. Can I use the battery to use my Viair 300 or should I just use my truck battery with the truck running ? Do I have to use the battery disconnect before using the air compressor if I can use the trailer battery or shut off the solar unit ? Lots of questions that may not be directly related to your video but don't want to damage anything.
Thanks in advance.
I don't think you'll run into issues running off of either.
@@NationalRVTrainingAcademy Thank you. I will advise if any issues but I don't foresee any. 👍
Don't RV in anything less than 70 degrees
That would be ideal.
Thank you for the videos!!
Glad you like them!
👍good information
Thanks
I have 3 Battle Born 100's. I live in the north East, so my rig is parked from November to March. My rig is totally winterized and I usually disconnect and remove my batteries. Because the temperature can drop down below zero degrees Fahrenheit, do I need to remove those batteries or is it okay to just leave them in there if they're disconnected?
As long as your not drawing them dead and not charging them and they are secure, not walking away. Then you can leave them. Key is that they are not being charged. Battle born BMS should prevent charging at low temp anyways, but at the same time you don’t want to draw them to empty either.
So the consideration with cold weather is on charging. If you disconnect them then they cannot be charged. They will be ok in regular cold temps.
@@NationalRVTrainingAcademy I was interested in how your online hybrid class worked for the certified RV inspector. Is is online and then students come in for a hands on portion? That’s how some of my college classes are. I live in Lubbock and being a paramedic it’s extremely hard for me to take 4 weeks off and sit in a classroom. But I really want to take your classes.
So how do you measure a battery temperature ?
There are thermostats that can be placed in the same area as the batteries.
You want to find out if the lithium battery you gage is equipped with a cold temp thermostat that will not allow it to be charged until the temps increase to a safe level.
@@NationalRVTrainingAcademy to clarify i was talking about measuring the area inside of the case where the sensor is located or the areas where the wires are attached i called battel borne in Nevada today and had a conversation.
We are getting a 21 foot travel trailer in about 4 weeks. It is in production at the moment.
The company (Escape) offers a number of battery options... 12V and 6V lead-acid and lithium.
We opted for lithium because of the greater power density and lighter weight.
It is my understanding that ALL battery types must be vented when the RV is manufactured in Canada. Of course the manufacturer must adhere to the Canadian standards even when it is exported to the US.
Is there a valid reason for that? I dunno. Doesn't seem logical to me.
What about the 6. Volt, golf cart batteries,,, are they better than the 12 volt,,,
Golf cart batteries are prone to the cold just like standard lead acid batteries.