LITHIUM VS 6v BATTERIES FOR YOUR RV | WHICH ONE SHOULD YOU BUY ? | RV BATTERY UPGRADE
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- Опубліковано 13 вер 2024
- In this video we are comparing Lithium vs 6v batters for your RV. We will go over which one should you by for your RV battery upgrade. We go though some of the major reasoning for each upgrade including factors of price, weight, lifespan, charging speeds and styles of camping.
All of these factors play a big role in determining which battery setup is right for you. 6v batteries are cheaper upfront ,but in longevity the Lithium is actually less expensive. Weight is also a major reason as lithium is far lighter than a traditional 6 volt setup. And you can charge lithium at a higher rate than led acid batteries.
But there are some reasoning for not going to lithium as well as in if you primarily camp in hooked up parks most of the time or you don’t have a lot of high draw items or you are only boon docking for short stints at a time, the 6 volt setup might be better.
Any questions regarding this please feel free to leave them in the comments and check out our other RV battery / Generator videos as well.
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6volt vs Lithium , Which setup do you have ?
if one upgrades to lithium, it's not just the cost of the batteries. if you have an older model rv/trailer, YOU MUST upgrade the charger/inverter to one that can charge lithium. avg cost $300-750, plus the cost of newer ticker gauge wiring and labor costs if you are not a DIYer.
You are correct on all these points. We do discuss these hidden cost in another video as well. Great comment !
💯 excellent info.
I did the 6 volt conversion 6 years ago, pretty much drop in with no modifications needed. Last week I did the lithium up grade, required upgrading solar controller & purchasing a lithium battery charger in addition to the new lithium battery. The biggest reason for the upgrade was tongue weight. 15 year old 2008 fleet wood E2 tent trailer & have only dry camped. 160 watts solar on roof, 200 watts on ground, 100 ah Lion battery (new this year), 45 quart Engel 12 volt refrigerator/freezer. Back up power is a goal zero 1000. I have been out for 20 days straight, and I’m sure you can tell I love my set up!
Lithium is a game changer, but there is some fair cost for the upgrade. But that is great you are getting to stay out for 20 days and no power issues. That’s what it’s all about. Sounds like you are getting things dialed in. Good luck on you future adventures and thanks for the amazing comment !
What about compatibility with your vehicle alternator? What about voltage management system in your RV? Most RV's are set up for AGM/Lead cell batteries.Temperature is a big factor for lithium batteries. Additional costs related to Lithium Batteries
To charge with your batteries alternator you would need a DC/DC charger to put out the proper amount of amps to lithium. As for using your factory pin hookup for charging while driving the amount of power being supplied is pretty minimal vs a direct DC/DC hookup. As for a volt management system a traditional RV setup is 12v and lithium / lead acid can work at 12v levels, but you do need a shunt to properly measure the power going in and out of the system. And as far as charging you do need solar or a charge converter that will support lithium as it charges to higher levels than lead acid. And yes the temperature is also a factor as well, but lithium batteries are coming with heaters and low temp charge control, I feel that lithiums biggest weakness is charging in the cold. But if you can relocate them somewhere you can regulate the temperature then it may not be an issues. Great points indeed Robert !!!
Great job on the video. You pointed out both options very well. I wouldn’t get a FLA and would rather choose a SLA. The sealed lead acid can be discharged 100% if defined as not going lower then 10.8volts. That is in every battery data sheet, has been done in the UPS industry for over 30 years. I choose LiFePo4 due to several reasons, cycle life is not a concern. The SOK is a great choice
Never heard a difference between discharges between sealed and flooded lead acid. Definitely a lot of great benefits to lithium.
Just got a 2023 JayFeather 26RL. Chose the gas fridge and the 2 6v batteries. Hoping they will last us until the prices drop on lithium. I do have 1 200W solar panel. I'll probably be adding panels before getting batteries. We are minimalistic campers also. I wish I had the extra cash just for the weight savings. Thanks for the videos.
Great to hear about your setup Chad. The price of lithium will continue to come down as more competition arises. I think for your needs the solar and the 6v batteries should get the job done for now. Thanks for sharing about your setup and happy camping !!
Answering all my questions! Thanks!!!
Glad the videos are answering all your questions. Hopefully it help with your setup !
เป็นข้อมูลที่ยอดเยี่ยมมากเพื่อน สนับสนุน 👍👍👍
thanks !
You didn't mention charging differences. The two 6v batteries will work with any trailer or RV setup. The lithium wont.
Lithium batteries have several faults.
You cant charge them cold
You run the risk of battery thermal runaway where the battery bursts into flames and cant be put out. Uf you e ever witnessed a lithium battery fire youd never ever put a litium in your rv.
I bought 4 interstate 6v golf cart batteries.
165.00 each total cost less than 1 lithium battery. Life span is likely 5 or 6 years. They are 4 years old now still charging to full capacity.
Luthium batteries cost way too much for the supposed benefit. Acid batteries have over 100 years of proven performance.
We appreciate your feedback. Lead acid still has its place and you bring up some good points with lithium vs lead acid. I haven’t heard much of the thermal runaway with LiPo4 batteries. I know they had issues with lithium batteries. The cheapest I can find the 6v interstate batteries is a bit less than 100 per battery. Which at 400 $ for the same 100ah of useable power , that is entry to mid level LiPo4 battery range.
There are always pros and cons either direction. Glad you are getting great usage out of your lead acid setup .
I have some aging 6v batteries. They are 3 years old now and my last 2 trips they seem to not be outputting what they used to. My big power sucker is my computer. I use my camper for work and the computer is a huge component of it. While editing photos or videos that thing is pulling down 7-9Amps the entire time. I think I got a shorter life from my setup from several mistakes over the years. Routinely discharging down into the 11volt range and letting the plates get exposed last year. I did however learn a ton with these batteries. I built a 400w solar setup and have an inverter hardwired to a transfer switch. I am getting an SOK 200ah battery to replace with so it will be a very big upgrade. I can fit 2 in my battery bay with a few modifications. So if I need more next year I will get another.
For you it sounds like lithium is perfect for you also having higher amp draw items and solar to recharge. You will like the SOKs. We have had them in our rig for the past 6 months and haven’t had any issues !! Thanks for the great comment on you setup !
I have 2-100ah SOK batteries....love them....just be aware that one 200ah battery can only put out 100ah.....so you would be limited to 1280 watt draw....couldn't use a 2000 watt inverter to run a microwave or hair dryer....while 2-100ah batteries have an output capability of 2560 watts.
@@craigmichel9636 for me I only have an 800w inverter. I opted not to do the big victron 2000 to save space and some money. But this is something not many think of. The combined output of 100s can be better than the 200, 300 and even 400ah batteries getting released now. It isn't something being talked about.
man this is my dilemma can't decide between lithium or 2 6volt batteries it's 50/50 when it comes to boondocking and camping with shore power our camper has a 12v fridge and all the lights are led so i don't have big loads tough decision great video
With a 12v fridge Lithium is the hands down answer . The ability to charge faster and carry more amp hours for less weight makes it a no brainer !!
@@UniqueAdventurez i agree but the converter i have now will only charge lithium to 80% so i got to change that out then i have 100w solar panel on top of my camper so i am not sure if that will do anything to the lithium battery like will it trickle charge it or will it hurt the battery
@@kyleerickson3382 as long as the profile on the solar charge controller is switched to lithium it will finish the charging of what the factory lead acid converter won’t (for the last 15% or so). They will work together to effectively charge that lithium battery.
@@UniqueAdventurez so i can't change profile on solar monitor it's a waaree pwm ip68
TWO OTHER CONSIDERATIONS: 1) How long is the buyer going to be using the rig. 2) if re-powering an existing rig, will Lithium outlast the rig? I’m 70 years old and my two 12v group 24 AGMs that came with my camper lasted eleven years. Neither myself or my rig justify Lithium. I re-powered with two 6v 220ah AGMs (110ah usable). They will outlast my use and the useful life of the camper.
There are some instances where lead acid domes make sense. The beauty of these batteries is that they can be moved from rig to rig and your right that these batteries might outlive the length people owning the trailer. You definitely got some great life out of your AGM batteries. But if I had to replace an AGM battery I would personally go to lithium as the price difference is almost a wash for most AGM batteries as lithium continues to get more affordable. Thank you for the great comment about your usage. Happy camping !
@@UniqueAdventurez not trying to change your mind…. In my case it wasn’t only the above considerations. I would have needed to change the charger and solar controller too. I don’t even buy green bananas anymore.
@@Doc.Holiday totally understand !! It’s nice to hear about other people’s setups because one way isn’t perfect for everyone. Glad you are getting great results from your setup. Happy camping !!
@@UniqueAdventurez thanks, on my way back down from Tuktoyaktuk, NT, CA.
Can you use the 100 AH Lithium battery with the 12vdc fridge on its own circuit? Use a solar panel to charge it?
I guess you could ? Not sure on the benefit for having it on its own circuit.
What about starting a generator on a lithium battery. Does it have low CCA? Also does the charging from your tow vehicle have a problem with lithium?
Great questions. For starting power lithium doesn’t shine there and really at this time should it be a consideration to replace a car battery. As for charging off your vehicle you should have an inline dc-dc charger to get the best benefit out of it. It will charge slowly off the 6 pin connector , but if you want to seriously charge , you should have a dc-dc charger to protect your lithium and tow vehicle.
Great video. I do have a question for you. Me and my wife would like to start boondocking instead of full hook ups. We have two interstate deep cycle lead acid batteries. We are thinking about a 200w portable solar panel. We like to listen to music throughout the day and run both of our max air fans. We have a propane fridge and we need battery power to run some lights and the water pump throughout the night. Would that set up be sufficient or would I have to upgrade to golf cart batteries or lithium?
Great question. Always with solar you are dependent on having good conditions to bring in adequate power. You may need to do some testing and see if your setup meets your needs . Looks like most 12v batteries 30 usable amp hours per battery (50% discharge rule ) so 60 amp hours which maybe enough for basic needs for a couple days. 6v batteries and Lithium will provide more wiggle room for power needs as a 6volt setup and a typical lithium battery both have 100 usable amp hours , which would be a 40% increase.
For longevity reasons I always push lithium as the tend to provide 7-10x the amount of cycles and they are maintenance free . But if you are looking not going out for more 3-5 days and you are looking for some more amp hours , the 6v option maybe enough.
Just depends on how many days you will be out. 200 watts of solar in optimal conditions may produce enough to keep up with you possible draw needs. Hope that helps !
6 volt batteries are designed to be completely discharged and recharged with little damage to them . A 12 volt battery that is lead acid can't be discharged past 50 % charge or you do damage to them.
But there is damage past 50% and that is just a good rule of thumb with any lead acid battery , regardless if its a 6v or a 12 v lead acid battery.
@@UniqueAdventurez that is true. But the damage is a great deal less on a 6 volt battery compared to a 12 volt battery. I'll try to find the real world tests for them and post the link.
ua-cam.com/video/fYkvyw_k3cg/v-deo.htmlsi=xR2nvEY7MhO8GziP
ua-cam.com/video/L_UuLolGZ18/v-deo.htmlsi=rjuyMdLa_hwZdIYF
@@UniqueAdventurez I've posted links for the two real world tests. The first is for 6 volt the second is for 12 volt.
What has your experience been with the 12v fridge? We sold our tent trailer but still camp. Been researching the 12v fridges people pit in their car and thought we'd pick one up and put it on our utility trailer with our utv. No more soggy stuff in ice chests. Could I run one on a lithium battery with solar? Week long camping.
Most 12v fridges can run on lithium and solar (obviously depending of conditions ). The smaller the fridge the longer the run time. I think you might be referring to a 12v ice chest ? We know people with those using around 30-40ah per day. We have done great with ours , but have plenty of lithium and 380 watts of solar.
@UniqueAdventurez yes, I'm talking about the 12v coolers. Found an 83qt igloo dual zone at costco. I know it's big, but we're a family of 7. We camp at the beach every year with a bunch of families in our neighborhood. Without the tent trailer, I'd love to not go back to soggy food in an ice chest. I plan to built a 4x8 box on our utility trailer to haul our gear and would keep the 12v cooler in there (out of the sun). Just trying to figure out if there is a feasible way to set it up would having to run a generator all the time to keep battery juiced up. Was hoping if that's all we're running on the battery(ies) either 2 6v or 1 12v lithium, some affordable solar panels would do the trick
@@bradevans8714 if your budget allows I would go lithium. That’s a pretty big cooler. I would also have a backup charging plan in case the weather didn’t cooperate.
@UniqueAdventurez thanks. We do have a champion inverter generator for backup. Just hoping solar can take care of it for the most part so we arent running the generator all the time. I'm assuming there is something I can get that allows me to monitor the battery? See it's current capacity?
I went with two 6 volt, 230 amp agm batteries. They weigh 70 pounds each.
230ah in 6v batteries are pretty good. But a lot of weight for those amp hours. Hopefully they are meeting you needs well !
Does the amp load double or remain the same when u connect in series
@@djaspire I believe the ah does not double if you have 2 x 6V 220ah, our go power solar system say between 450ah static and 475ah, we have two 6v GC2 Interstate batteries not sure what the difference is between the GC2 and the Costco Golf cart batteries is, but I believe the GC2 is built a little better and has more ah ....
@@blkcoupequattro I have 2 6v 220ah sitting in the garage. If I series the batteries will I get 12v 415ah ?? Please advice
@@djaspire I believe that the GC2 flooded deep cycles we have are 215- 220ah batteries give or take state of charge, but the since they are series for 12V the amps do not double, I'm not sure how the go power solar system is reading 450ah we have, but I believe it's able to detect both batteries so while it actual say 450ah available in reality discharging down to 50% is about half that since you don't want to really run them all the way down or even down to 50%. That said an AGM battery I believe would be able to sustain that total discharge and recover.
We just bought a 2022 Rockwood 2516s. We are seriously considering lithium after watching your video, but one concern I where would we put them, as I assume they need to be inside the trailer??
They don’t need to be inside the trailer, but personally an investment like should try to be more secured than a plastic box with a ratchet strap. But people do keep them outside , we have seen other people replace the battery box with a more solid locking tongue box.
That being said we looked at th MINILITE 2516 floor plan and it’s a pretty interesting setup with minimal front pass thru storage and would need a interesting relocation to make it work. I would suggest close to the ac/dc breaker panel or near the inverter would decrease the amount of wiring needed for the relocation. But that floor plan is pretty amazing ! Great question and any other questions feel free to ask !
@@UniqueAdventurez they make self heating Lithium batteries that can easy be stored outside the rv. Lithium battery prices are falling everyday. in the cold you can use lithium just not charge them when freezing. usage of the battery in the cold will heat them up and allow charging. SOK are great. vestwoods are cheaper and have cold charging protection.
Costco is really great for taking your old batteries that you bought back so you will never need to buy another battery again once you buy from them once. They have replaced mine twice already with no questions asked, thats why I buy almost everything from Costco!!!
Never heard of anyone bringing back batteries and getting a full replacement with no extra cost. A friend of ours tried and got theirs prorated per usage. Kudos for you for getting them to do that for you. I would keep doing it until they say something. Costco is amazing for sure . Thanks for the awesome comment !!
Nah, don't believe the hype! I've been use my 6v batteries for 3 years now. Every year I pull them out to store, and the beginning of the season, I fill them with Dis-Water and give them a cycle change...High power for 15mins, 1 hour rest, them repeat 4 to 5 times till the batteries water starts bubbling. And your good to go! 👍
Thanks for the comment. Love hearing everyones successes from both sides. 6v batteries carry some great attributes and we would recommend them over a regular 12 v fridge setup. Lithium also has its place. Glad you have done well with your setup over the past 3 years. Maintence is key for these batteries to shine !!!
New to this lithium stuff! I have four 6 volt batteries I want to go lithium but I know lithium aren't starting batteries and I want to be able to start my generator. What do you recommend? Also worried about the RV charging the lithium battery properly? Thanks
Great questions. Sounds like you have motorized coach . I would recommend using lithium for your house batteries , not for your primary vehicle battery. Does the generator start off the house or vehicle battery ?
The only difference with lithium is that it operates at a higher voltage then lead acid. So a standard charger will only charge to 85% or so. To get to 100% you would need solar or to change out the charge converter in the RV. Most changes are only 5 wires and is fairly simple to do
@UniqueAdventurez thanks for getting back with me. It is a fifth wheel I should have told you that. They had upgraded to a magnum inverter charger. It's older so I don't know if it's compatible with lithium. Dakota does make a lithium starting battery.
Aren't the Costco golf cart batteries 210 AH? Just looked at the today, 210ah, $107 a piece
I believe you are correct @ 210ah. But with them being lead acid you can only discharge to 50% , which is 105ah.
@@UniqueAdventurez you can discharge to 100% you just reduce the life of the battery.
@@wendellkeresztyen7687 you can , but you then diminish the life even faster of a cell that has very limited cycles compared to lithium.
But you have 420 amp hr with two batteries right?
@@mikshmt91 with parallel wiring you add amp hours as you already have a 12v battery.
With 2 6v batteries you wire in series , thus increasing your voltage to 12x. When you wire in series the amp hours don’t double.
How about chargers you have to rewire ur chargers for lithium that will cost money , also by the time those batteries die you will change ur trailers lol I swap mine every few years 😜
Beauty with Lithium is that it isn't a perminent thing. These systems can go back to led acid setups if the new buyer doesn't want the investment. When we sold our 1st RV that had lithium , the new buyer was ecstatic that they didn't have to do the upgrade and paid extra for the upgraded system. The charge controllers can run 150-300 dollars , but also makes you charging way more efficient.
Progressive Lithium batteries have heater built in. Battle born lithium don’t have heater built in.
Battleborn hasn’t changed much with their 100ah batteries and hasn’t gotten on the heater trend. Not sure why, but I think they will probably have a re design at some point.
Lithium explodes...
This isn’t the same lithium as they have they phone batteries . Totally different chemistry and totally safe
@@UniqueAdventurez BS
Lithium is lithium.