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After doing my due diligence, I determined that I needed a lot more battery and solar than I had first estimated! I ended up with a 2kw solar panel setup, with 1000aH of LifePO4 batteries to get what my small (25 foot TT) needed for boondocking power. I even have a still to turn gray water into fresh water, which extends my boondocking time tremendously. So as soon as I'm done with the cancer regimen, we will be out of here! Cheers from the Boondocking Brewer™!
@@JetTech1966 TYVM! Cancer has been cured, now I'm on the next leg of curing the side effects of the cure :-/ Currently getting ready for nephrolithiasis surgery within the next week or so as this is another secondary issue of the chemotherapy I had to take. One thing, or another I guess...
what ever you think you might need, double, or triple that for your solar. but run at least enough battery power to run your rv for 48 hrs with no recharge. yes there will be days your solar will be just dead weight. got a good gasoline powered generator?
As an long time RV'er, I hope to see a concise, no hype, video on what to buy for a typical DIY, cost-effective, NON-SOLAR, Class C RV conversion to Lithium power, including Lithium converter/charger, lithium battery voltage monitoring , battery heating, and other special devices needed. I use a "Trikle Start" (sp) device and home AC power to keep house batteries charged/healthy/ready for use.
13:18 Not the best way to wire your batteries. If using more than two, use equal length wires from each positive to a common point, i.e. a bus bar, then hook up from the bus bar to the load. Do same with negative wires. This will five all the batteries equal charging and discharging, PLUS allow taking one battery out of system for maintenance without having to shut the whole system down. I've lived off-grid for over 30 years now and have found this much better than what is shown here.
16:49 You should have shown the two different bus bars. Some folks don't pay close enough attention and might think one can use just one bus bar, as that's what you've shown.
Also concerning residential fridges using 120 volts ac power, one should refer to watts first when draining dc batteries, because if an ac fridge is drawing 7 amps ac, or 7amps times 120v or 840 watts an hour, then rake tgat wattage over to the dc draw, bit including the inverter consumption, that is 840 watts devided by 12 volts or 70 amps. So your 80 amp hour battery would last just over one hour at 100 percent discharge or 30 minutes, 50 percent discharge. Roughly, not exactly speaking its a power of ten. The watts dont go away. Solar wise, if you have 1000 watts on your roof, per hour of sun, you could run your 840 watt fridge off solar as long as the panel power ( watts) is above your demand.
that's nice but, i started out with 4 100amp hour batteries. now after. i found out that u can not use a bigger battery. if u want to add more. the bms is different. did not know this going into it. i now have 12 100amp hour battle born batteries. generator has not turned on in months. 1000 watts of solar on roof. luv them
If you've got big bucks, that's the way to go. We are retired FT RVers, living on social security and a small pension, so have to do everything on a tight budget forgoing name brand components like Battleborn and Victron for lesser-known brands. Last January we upgraded our 2 tired GC-2 FLA batteries to a custom built 560ah of LiFePo-4 battery, made with 8, 280ah prismatic cells. It's like having 5 1/2, 100ah Battleborn batteries like you have. We chose a Heltec 350amp BMS, to start the onboard 5,500watt generator in our motorhome, along with a 5a active balancer to keep all the cells synched up. We built our 12v battery with grade "A" LiFePo-4 prismatic cells having a 6,000 cycle manufacturer projected life at 100% DOD. This means that if we cycled them 100% every single day, 365 days a year, they would last over 16 years! So they're obviously going to wear out from age before they wear out from cycling as we only use 15-20% of their capacity daily giving us enough reserve capacity for several days of bad weather before we have to run our generator for charging. It only cost us $1,500 to build this 560ah battery, including the high amp BMS and active balancer. The main reason we chose these cells (other than their price and quality) is that they fit perfectly under the steps of our motorhome where our old pair of golf cart batteries used to reside, saving 35lbs while having over 5 times the capacity. We insulated the battery compartment, cut a 1" hole in our step risers and installed a tiny computer CPU fan to keep this space at close to room temperature, so we don't have to worry about the BMS shutting down charging if they get too cold - or their life reduced from getting too hot. We've found lithiums charge much faster than our old lead acid batteries did and are typically full before 1:00. This first phase, including our 620w liftable solar array, wiring, breakers, a new Progressive Dynamics 80a Li compatible converter/charger, a 1,000w Renogy PSW inverter (to run our big 55" HD TV, sound system, PC, ice maker, electric blanket, etc.), an Epever 50a MPPT charge controller, a Lnex battery monitor/shunt, and a Renogy battery to battery charger (to protect the alternator) cost us around $3,600. To put things in perspective, that's less than the cost of just 4, 100ah Battleborns for our entire off grid electrical system.
My 100ah Battleborns are about 4 years old now and I've noticed a definite shift in cell voltage over time (and lots of boodocking usage). I don't hold to 13.0v all the way down to 50% anymore. It drops to 12.8v - 12.4v at 50% and lower energy levels. In fact, I had to lower my Victron inverter drop out voltages to reach that 30% and lower levels in my Battleborns. I don't do that very often, but something I've noticed over time.
Thanks so much! We upgraded to lithium but I didn’t realize it still shows 13.6 even when it’s 40%. We killed our lithiums overnight because we thought we had enough!!! Now I know why!
Shunts must be the highest profit item in any system. Or at least a high margin add on. Looking at the BMS app gives a similarly accurate state of charge. If the app is too much hassle there are bms screens that can be added. Or use an old phone as the screen 😊
I was always told with a 5th wheel you need 6 Battleborn and that’s is for people that bondock but with normal campers that stay in parks 3 would be good and at 1K a piece you can always add more. And I have a Bigfoot truck camper and it will run Ac for anywhere 5-6 hrs.
Heard you recommend the camco box for lithium to be stored on the tongue of a travel trailer. Do you have to worry about moisture with these boxes? This placement is where we will need to go with our batteries.
You have to take into account the resistance of the wires. You can minimize the difference in resistance, which causes the batteries to charge and discharge at different rates by using very heavy wires and keeping the lengths connecting the batteries as short as possible. Then, say once a year, swapping the inside batteries with the outside ones to balance them out. To do the job correctly, however, keeping the resistance identical in all batteries so they all charge and discharge at the same rate, equal length cables can be used, between the battery posts and a couple heavy buss bars, that you then draw power from.
Wrong. You can mitigate the effect with big cables, but any cable adds resistance, meaning that the load isn't distributed evenly. This is widely proven.
@@SuperSushidog Your reply literally suggests that all parallel wiring (designs) are the same. It is rational to assume that you are suggesting, as have others, the parallel wiring (daisy chaining) has the same effect as using a bus bar. If you want to be clearly understood, then write clearly.
If boondocking is on your list, then mistake number 1 is getting a trailer with a residential style fridge. The two way absorption fridge in propane mode uses a tiny fraction of the power needed to run a residential style fridge and sips propane. Its like 8-10W per hour and a pound a day vs 150-300W per hour for a residential style fridge (accounting for defrost mode). Also realize that for your fridge to consume 300W, you must collect, store and transform a heck of a lot more than that. You lose at the panels, you lose at the solar charger, you lose at the AC charger, you lose at the alternator charger, you lose at the batteries, you lose at the inverter. Everything else blue shirt guy said is sketchy at best. Cleary, he is just a salesman.
Hey I put a watt meter on my full-size refrigerator it ran about 110 to 120 watts while compressor was running and 10watts while not but when I opened the door the light jumped to about 40 watts any way my rv duel refrigerator on electric was 340 watts ,I used a eco flow 1600 delta max to run it while driving it lasted 4 hour and only 5 hours with the 10 amp cigarette lighter recharge.Idk about the 12 rv refrigerator . Best tool I own plug in watt meter. Happy camping
Perhaps I am missing something, but batteries wired in parallel, (daisy chained), with the PROPER gauge jumpers, are no different than using a buss bar to connect batteries. Each battery is at the exact same point electrically, so all batteries will share the exact same load. The total load current does NOT go through each battery in the chain. So long as the jumpers that parallel the batteries are large enough to easily handle the load, there will be NO voltage drop between batteries, so the order in which they are connected and the location of the voltage supply and load connection will not matter.
I am just wondering if you start with 2 200ah batteries in parallel for a total of 400ah... Can you add a 3rd 200 ah battery to them in 6 months to a year later, if you decided you would want to add more capacity. Or would I need to start all over with 3 new 200ah batteries?
You will be fine if you use the exact same brand/model of battery. They will balance themselves and of course the old 2 will have less cycles left in them , but it's not a big deal. But ask yourself if you NEED 600ah , OR, just more charging power via solar/wind to keep your 400ah topped off better. A battery is only as good as what's charging it. So maybe an extra 250-500 watts of solar would be just as beneficial to your needs keeping your 400ah setup topped off ( and far cheaper solution )
@SailProMarina Thank you for the reply. I was thinking it would be ok if the same battery was used. I have 8 180w panels that I am going to be installing in the next few weeks. So those along with the 165w from the factory that will be a total of 1605w of solar. We are parked at a seasonal lake spot all summer, so it is always plugged into shore power. So the solar setup & batteries are just for a few extra trips a year, but it is also a step towards making more trips sometime in the near future hopefully.
I know that you have advertised for Brooklyn bedding in the past. FYI they won't / don't honor letters or prescriptions from Dr.'s to take care of the taxes. That would be worth mentioning in your ads.
Love your videos. I have watched to batter upgrade videos several times and can't seem to find the answer to something so simple. I just upgraded to Lithium in my new TT. I just received my Victron Smart Shunt in the mail. My question is.......where does the negitive ground wire connect to that is attached to the side of the trailer tongue? Does it go back on the battery or to the shunt?? Looking forward to another video and and answer to my nagging question. Thank you.
I personally go with a 48 V system. The batteries and inverter and charger are cheaper. You can use thinner wire which is cheaper and it will last longer however you do need converter. To drop the voltage to 12 V to run 12 V lighting and other appliances but overall a 48 V system is cheaper per kilowatt hour
at 3:36, what does "You do that by 10 70" mean? FYI, my 50qt 12v fridge uses about 1amp on average in the summer. So, 12 amp hours over 12h. Perhaps double that for a 3x larger unit (5cu ft).
Better to have 2 - 100 a/h batteries then 1 - 200 a/h battery. With 2, if one fails you still have power while you replace the other one. Not true if the 200 a/h battery fails. And they can fail.
Not discussed as an advantage to upgrading two AGM batts to one Lifepo4 is avoiding the unbalanced batteries issue. When two batts with one charging source become disparately charged (one a 12.4 and the other at 12.6 for instance) then you never properly charge either battery after that, which seriously reduces performance and life.
I noticed he gave us a price on Several of the items but did not price that 300 amp hour battery what is the price range for that if you don't mind me asking. We plan on doing a pretty extensive Solar System so that we can do a good bit of Boom docking Been doing some research but need to really get into it soon
My question is would you put a lithium battery in your RV with all the EV fires that burn hotter that most fires and with that in mind is your RV insurance higher or out of site when you have lithium batteries installed?
The EV batteries that caused fires are Lithium Ion. These batteries are Lithium Iron Phosphate which is a different chemistry that doesn't have the same problems with thermal runaway when exposed to air like Lithium Ion do.
He talks about proper wiring and Parallel (daisy chaining), its not the best way. Each battery should connect to a busbar on positive side and negative side with all positive cables being same length and same length with negative cables. Then on negative side a shunt to inverter and if you don't have a all in one inverter you will need a second negative and positive busbar for inverter and charger so shunt will read all going in and out of batteries. Biggest reason to not Daisy chain batteries is it never pulls evenly and causes way more heat which lowers lithium life big time. The other is each battery will work less to supply loads using the C rating. if you pull 2400 watts from a 12 volt daisy chain 200 amps come from that pack which is 2C with a 100ah battery x 3 and if using busbars each battery will pull .66C if using 3 100ah batteries. I suggest if you have a 3000 watt inverter which puts out 2400 watts max continues, 3 200ah batteries to busbar. Having .33C continuously is way less heat on your batteries. Also I would do 48 volts and have a DC to DC converter to handle 12V loads and also a 5000 watt inverter so it doesn't work so hard all the time. The harder something works the faster it breaks down.
I'm glad you adviced him on that....using the bus bar system also. Just to brag a little..... this is the way I installed my system last fall. I have 3-206amp hr. SOK's at 618 amp hrs., Multiplus II 3000 12volt 120 inverter charger using +/-- 4/0 equal length of 45" to disconnect with 7" to Blue sea 400 amp ANL fuse and 11" to 2 +/-- Victron 600amp bus bars 4 stud, with #2 battery cabling all +/-- sized equally at 22" long. I believe my wire is #8 gauge wire +/-- and + to 3 - 60 amp Bussmann MRCB marine breakers 1 each for 3 Victron smart solar chargers the longest cable is around 15", there's 1880 watts of solar panels above. I used a Midnight solar metal breaker box with 3 - 15amp DC breakers. All managed using Cerbo GX and Touch 50 screen with Victron 500amp smart Shunt. My shunt bus is frame grounded but I may be a little under sized here by using #4 gauge wire...it's all I had at the time. I have not directly grounded my Multiplus II either. All is good though even running my 15,000btu AC. My battery 4/0 cabling at the copper connectors the temperature after running an hour checked at around 95° to 99° even at noon and sunny I'm about a 400 or 500 watt deficit for replacing battery power when panels get warm. Don't intend to run longer than that, if I do I will start the genartor to supplement inverter with 50% or more of the power needed.
SO WHEN YOU GET INTO THESE REALLY BIGGER LITHIUM BATTERIES LIKE THIS THE 300 YOU'RE SHOWING AT THE END I SEE A PROBLEM THAT BATTERY INTERNALLY THE MIDDLE OF IT IS NOT GETTING THE SAME AMOUNT OF WHEREAS THEY'RE THE POSITIVE AND ENDS OF THE BATTERY SO INTERNALLY IT IS NOT WEARING AS BALANCE AS THREE 100 AMP BATTERIES CONNECTED TO A BUSS BAR DAVID GRENIS BOULDER CO
So if your running lead acid with an inverter. At a certain point (6:00) the battery is not going to have enough power to run the inverter and it shuts down. So are you protecting your lead batteries when that happens? So they do not drain completely? You recharge and use again. I have 2 lead acid batteries running in parallel in my photography darkroom trailer.
It isn't clear if you are asking a question. You can add a low-voltage disconnect for your lead acid batteries to protect them from over-discharge. Most lithium batteries incorporate them internally.
Doesn't the trailer batteries not charge off the tow vehicle? If not, why not? A DC-DC charger isn't that expensive and they have solar control provisions too. A folding panel/solar blanket would be a good idea for expanding your system as you can move them into more direct sunlight and work around shade/tree coverage/direction.
A battery monitor is almost mandatory with a lithium battery. They don't cost all that much either and the convenience/awareness they provide make them a no-brainer. I put a 200 Ah LFP battery in my Class A a few years ago. It cost me $1000 (Chins when they first came out). After our first boondocking trip, running it dead over night, I realized that I needed a shunt to monitor the capacity. You just can't rely on the voltage to give you a reliable estimate of remaining capacity. With the monitor display right by my door, I can now make informed decisions on when to run the generator. I typically let it go down to 20-30% and bring it up to 80% with a 70amp inverter charger. With the prices lower now, I would get a 300AH minimum but I don't regret the decision at all. I run the fridge on gas but have an inverter running the whole coach which has about an 80w idle load. My friend has a 2019 Fleetwood class A and his converter will auto-sense the battery type so a lithium upgrade will be a breeze for him. He will need to add a shunt, in my opinion.
A lot said but SO MUCH left out! Charging lithium batteries is WAY different and YES a special charger is needed! There's a lot to learn so KEEP LEARNING!
I learned that from this video. I think. I was gonna just go hook it straight up to my cars 12 battery to charge from my 260amp alternator. Would that be bad?
@@MarkSegreeIf the new battery has a built in BMS , you can get away with charging directly off Alternator. However for a few $$ more you can get a proper regulator and/or a DC-DC Charge Regulator to assure its charged and protected properly. Lithiums are NOT designed to be used as a Starting battery , They are moreso for STORAGE of Power to utilize in running your appliances. So I suggest using a Lithium as the SECONDARY battery to run your 12v toys in your truck. Don't waste the money using Lithium as a " regular " automotive battery. Use a OPTIMA for that if you want a high end battery to start and run average things on your vehicle....
Dc-dc chargers are cheap. ($100) and have charge profiles for different batteries including lithium and also offers solar charging as many have built in controllers for that too.
A good way to blow your trucks alternator is hook it up directly to a LiFe battery with no DC to DC controller. The LiFe battery can pull a 100 amps off the alternator and burn it up!
Unfortunately the wiring on the Rubicon is just crazy. Inverter positive and negative going to one battery. 12 v fridge is coming off the second battery. Does not allow for battery balancing or monitoring
That's a good question that I had early on when we got our camper. The answer is yes. Your truck is providing power to the battery charger then onto the battery. So yes it is. Just don't leave it plugged in overnight when the truck is off because it will kill your truck battery.
Used to own a 36’ 5th wheel. Hated it! Now every 5er going down the road looks like a hermit crab with an oversized shell. On topic, my calculations on the last 2 twelve volt fridges consumed around 55 amp hours. One was an Everchill and the other a Dometic. Both can freeze ice cream hard as a rock. With LiFe prices going down so much Lead acid hardly makes sense in the short time horizon and is pointless long term. AGM is actually more expensive than Lithium. If the manufacturers would wire RV’s for them the conversion cost would be minor (charge controller, converter, inverter, dc-dc controller between the alternator and the Lithium batteries.)
I just did a very short video on 12v floor cooler vs compact 120v upright. Power consumption was a wash. The big pro for the upright over the floor cooler was its 3 times the storage, you get an actual freezer, it’s cost less, has a smaller floor footprint and it weighed less (in my example). Thinking not inverting power is more efficient (conversion loss) is really kinda silly. Watts are watts.
yeah they're 1800. Honestly not terrible since they can last up to 10 years. If you're not living in an RV full time, or close to it, I think you should stick with lead acid tbh
Using bus bars for a balanced set up? That way you don't need to use the balanced version he demonstrated. If all positive went to one bus bar, and all negative on it's own bus bar, would that not be preferable?
FYI, I'm using 400 Watts of solar on roof and as needed 200watts on the ground to chase the sun with it's own solar charge controller, and 4 100AH Bluetooth batteries from LiTime. I did see later he recommended the setup I installed which is using +-+ and --- on bus bars for the ultimate balance, especially using all same length cables. I am about to install a Victron shunt for the obvious reasons, just waiting on budget. But I have a 12vdc fridge, and it's hungry, and on cold nights, the furnace will overwork the AGM batteries I originally had. Great recommendations for those who stuck around to the end. BUT - you also need to consider a couple more things. A) Does my current plug in "Converter" work with lithium and/or "do my lithium batteries protect from overcharging" because not all batteries have a great battery management system onboard. You want batteries that prevent overcharge, short, overvolt, over-temp, under-temp, etc. Lithium is not flawless, and can easily be damaged in certain conditions. My trailer, built in 2021 did not have the appropriate "converter." I replaced it. Also, having batteries that accept charges in cold or hot conditions ruins them as well. Do your homework.
I am not buying what you're selling as far as battery configuration. The battery's have wires inside them too and BMS's you can't tell me a 6 gauge over say 12 inches wire has more resistance than the internal battery wires that are much smaller. not to mention the BMS.
The guy said the Lithium battery can be drawn down 100 percent. Not really. For example of a one hundred amp hour battery, the internal components equal say at 100 percent BMS reported state of charge is 130 internal amp hours. Then at zero percent state of charge its 26 amp hours or 20 percent of the internal battery capacity ( to protect tge battery. Companies dont build AGM batteries with BMS (Battery Management System)s so you see the actual battery available.
A lifepo4 battery rated at 100 amp will deliver 100 amps before the BMS shutting down as the cells are actually bigger than 100 amp hrs. An AGM will never deliver the stated power rating without damage to the battery.
Our fridge,, is AC and uses 1 amp when running. Put on the inverter,, at 12 volt it takes 21 amps. So a fridge that's 12 volts that uses 7 amps is great.
So, I have a TT, standard absorption fridge, no inverter, 160 watts of solar, 2 6 volt GC batteries... Why would I even consider the expense of switching to lithium? No real need or want for an inverter. I have a 2500 watt generator in case of bad weather & need to charge batteries. Cost was $600. Why the big push for lithium. The average person really doesn't need all that. Almost all electronics today have car chargers. Just my opinion..
Weight. Li-Po's are remarkable light compared to lead acid. One battery is a nice savings but if you have a beefy multiple battery setup the weight saving really add up quick. And of course, the longevity of the Li-po's as well. Just be aware of the hit on your wallet.
2-100ah lithium batteries would weigh less than 1 of those 6v batteries and give you 4 times the AH. plus they will likely last 10 years with zero maintenance.
@Reaper9789 And at a cost of over $1,000. I can replace my 6 volt batteries almost 3 times for that cost. That's around 10 years or more. A small generator makes more sense to me. Can run AC when needed. Under $600.
@@johnhines3591 I got my 2 lithium HQST batteries under $500. just have to shop around and avoid the stupid expensive battleborn batteries. For running AC, a generator is the way to go. You would need like 12 lithium batteries and 2000watts of solar.
@@johnhines3591absolutely correct if you have low power requirements stick to what you have, also lithium getting cheaper and some of the battery bms systems are crap, built to a price. But if you have a weight problem or use a lot of power and use it more than just the odd holiday go lithium. But you are also correct about the generator it is a very cheap second battery
The Balanced vs unbalanced diagram for a parallel connection makes no sense, because of the parallel connection, such that all of the batteries are connected together, pos to pos , neg to neg, such that regardless where you take the load from, all are going to be drawn from equally with one exception which is, the weaker battery will cause a problem regardless where it is located.
At lower voltages(12v) and higher amps the wiring losses can easily be significant enough to drop a tenth of a volt which equals a large capacity difference because lithium has a mostly flat discharge curve. The first battery would wear more quickly if wired incorrectly.
100% not correct and is has been proven time and again. You can mitigate the effect with massive cables, but it is always present. I'm fine with doing 2 batteries with the opposite + and - connection, but with over 2 batteries, the bus bar is the best choice.
amps per hour is totally meaningless. the important number for power consumption is watthours per hour. a fridge will use the same watts per hour wether its 12 V or 120 V providing the 2 fridges are otherwise identical. the 120 V fridge will use a tenth of the amperage. a single 100 Ah battery holds about 1200 watthours of power. run all of that through an inverter and you will get 10 Ah at 120 volts minus the losses in the inverter
From what my Solar installer told me, when connecting a new(out of the box) Inverter, you should power it up for the first time with a Agm or lead acid to prevent an instant failure due to in rush overload. He's had brand new 3000 watt Pro-sine inverters and other top of the line large inverters instantly short out and have to be replaced. Hooking up a car battery on any new inverter till the internal capacitors are charged sounds like a reasonable precaution. The lithium batteries have a huge kick potential, so carefulling is advised.
Lithium aren’t good for 5 hour of charging or less, as many will drain their around 200 lithium’s ah to below 50% Trojan 6 volt x2 or 4 can go down as low as 10.8 regularly as those golf cart battery, my first set is 14 yr still 100% charging. Lithium bulk charging is 15-70% then take hour to tap off, vs 6 v that 10.8- 95% and 1 hr tap off compare to my friend lithium he still charging till 3:00 pm and Iam under the trees or mall parking by 1:30 litium has a terrible slow tapping off 80-100 % same as ev they throttle the charge above 80 % That why 6 v Trojan better and they only cost 240 ea. and I water it 2 times a yr. But you need a 600 buck + good mppt controller as tested it’s about 1-1/2 hr faster here where you don’t skip.. and get more panel than battery. Iv got almost 2 k series watts and 440 ap hr in 6 v and still it’s tap of in few hr. Cause Iam in that fast bulk charging range . Can’t avoid that in lithium even if you got ton off panels your controller will waste them watts at 80%
His comments at 12:00 or so about balanced and unbalanced load is nonsense, there is no electrical difference between these two configurations, none at all. I figured he had no idea what he was talking about when he mentioned "amps per hour" earlier in the video when he was talking about draw for a fridge.
It always makes me cringe when someone says “amps per hour” I know it’s minor, and I still understand what he means, but credibility as an “expert” really goes down hill when you don’t use the language of your trade properly.
Hey you guys I hope your doing well. I just saw Matt’s Rv reviews and he just did a pet safety updat with a device called Waggles. Three dogs just passed away in Texas heat the Rv power went out. Waggles sends alerts to you on the temperature in your Rv. ua-cam.com/video/OJ9MJ5WQkic/v-deo.html
With my stock POS lead acid battery my GE fridge will last for DAYS. What runs mine down is the furnace in the winter. With a 2/3rds full (way too small battery from the factory) it will run the fridge and furnace all night long with 28 to 40 degree outside temp. I was boondocking all of last week and spent the whole weekend experimenting with power. I'm a huge LiFePo4 fan. I normally boon-dock with my off grid solar system. if you have any idea that it not worth it to switch watch Will's video. It has all of the science. ua-cam.com/video/Rp8Hspi4BC4/v-deo.htmlsi=4CpKne_JM1hMlpV8
no offense but the edits on this video made this conversation hard to follow. Statements are made, with not enough conversation and flow to explain why. Could you schedule a proper interview in the future?
in most cases lithium batteries are made to work with a lead acid/agm charging profile. they are just lithium cells and a bms. the bms will stop charging at its setpoints anyways. so if you can afford the appropriately sized battery you get almost 2x the usable capacity at the same rating. but as this guy also pointed out you have to size out your system. know your usage and you will know what capacity you will need.
I agree, at the cost of the lithium batteries I can buy several lead acid batteries for the same price. I have a small 20 ft. trailer and after watching this and seeing the price of the lithium battery I will just add one more lead acid battery to my system. My solar will work, my old inverter will work and still will chrge from my truck too. I can do that a couple three times before reaching the price mark of the lithium system.
Please warn new users of lithium batteries to NEVER charge them at or below 32 degrees!! It will destroy a lithium battery, but is fine for lead acid batteries.
All u do on traveling stops 》 charging charging 😅 😅 cleaning up solarpanels bcz ppl will use their gadget drone to figure how clean ur solar panels trully are 😅. , and at rv resorts u still worries about ur cummins generator + pr😅pane tanks. I think RV resorts have lowvoltage electrical povver source Everything wasted excercises are not came frm GOD. See ya (alfa gold)
Not a very descriptive statement, but these LFP batteries are quite safe, especially when compared to the typical Lithium Cobalt batteries you see in notebook computers, cell phones and most electric vehicles.
Lithium Iron Phospate (LiFePO4 or LFP) batteries are way more safe than the typical lithium/cobalt batteries we have in notebook computers, phones and many electric vehicles.
Lithium aren’t good for 5 hour of charging or less, as many will drain their around 200 lithium’s ah to below 50% Trojan 6 volt x2 or 4 can go down as low as 10.8 regularly as those golf cart battery, my first set is 14 yr still 100% charging. Lithium bulk charging is 15-70% then take hour to tap off, vs 6 v that 10.8- 95% and 1 hr tap off compare to my friend lithium he still charging till 3:00 pm and Iam under the trees or mall parking by 1:30 litium has a terrible slow tapping off 80-100 % same as ev they throttle the charge above 80 % That why 6 v Trojan better and they only cost 240 ea. and I water it 2 times a yr. But you need a 600 buck + good mppt controller as tested it’s about 1-1/2 hr faster here where you don’t skip.. and get more panel than battery. Iv got almost 2 k series watts and 440 ap hr in 6 v and still it’s tap of in few hr. Cause Iam in that fast bulk charging range . Can’t avoid that in lithium even if you got ton off panels your controller will waste them watts at 80%
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Some good 12 volt fridges are very efficient.
05:57 - It's Will Prowse's long lost twin brother!!
After doing my due diligence, I determined that I needed a lot more battery and solar than I had first estimated! I ended up with a 2kw solar panel setup, with 1000aH of LifePO4 batteries to get what my small (25 foot TT) needed for boondocking power. I even have a still to turn gray water into fresh water, which extends my boondocking time tremendously. So as soon as I'm done with the cancer regimen, we will be out of here! Cheers from the Boondocking Brewer™!
May God bless you and I wish you the best of luck with your cancer regime. You got this!!
Kick that cancer to the curb. You still have a lot of living to do. God Bless You.
@@JetTech1966 TYVM! Cancer has been cured, now I'm on the next leg of curing the side effects of the cure :-/ Currently getting ready for nephrolithiasis surgery within the next week or so as this is another secondary issue of the chemotherapy I had to take. One thing, or another I guess...
what ever you think you might need, double, or triple that for your solar.
but run at least enough battery power to run your rv for 48 hrs with no recharge.
yes there will be days your solar will be just dead weight. got a good gasoline powered generator?
As an long time RV'er, I hope to see a concise, no hype, video on what to buy for a typical DIY, cost-effective, NON-SOLAR, Class C RV conversion to Lithium power, including Lithium converter/charger, lithium battery voltage monitoring , battery heating, and other special devices needed. I use a "Trikle Start" (sp) device and home AC power to keep house batteries charged/healthy/ready for use.
I just wanted to drop a comment letting you know we enjoyed the video and watching your channel. Thanks.
13:18 Not the best way to wire your batteries. If using more than two, use equal length wires from each positive to a common point, i.e. a bus bar, then hook up from the bus bar to the load. Do same with negative wires. This will five all the batteries equal charging and discharging, PLUS allow taking one battery out of system for maintenance without having to shut the whole system down. I've lived off-grid for over 30 years now and have found this much better than what is shown here.
16:49 You should have shown the two different bus bars. Some folks don't pay close enough attention and might think one can use just one bus bar, as that's what you've shown.
I wish you were my camper salesman. I feel like I know more than my guy selling my camper especially with my wifi and solar
Also concerning residential fridges using 120 volts ac power, one should refer to watts first when draining dc batteries, because if an ac fridge is drawing 7 amps ac, or 7amps times 120v or 840 watts an hour, then rake tgat wattage over to the dc draw, bit including the inverter consumption, that is 840 watts devided by 12 volts or 70 amps. So your 80 amp hour battery would last just over one hour at 100 percent discharge or 30 minutes, 50 percent discharge. Roughly, not exactly speaking its a power of ten. The watts dont go away. Solar wise, if you have 1000 watts on your roof, per hour of sun, you could run your 840 watt fridge off solar as long as the panel power ( watts) is above your demand.
1000w of solar power will net you closer to about 500w total (or less). Due to the inefficiency of solar.
in the summer at 8 am I turn my fridge to AC, by 1 pm I am full 420a/h
that's nice but, i started out with 4 100amp hour batteries. now after. i found out that u can not use a bigger battery. if u want to add more. the bms is different. did not know this going into it. i now have 12 100amp hour battle born batteries. generator has not turned on in months. 1000 watts of solar on roof. luv them
If you've got big bucks, that's the way to go. We are retired FT RVers, living on social security and a small pension, so have to do everything on a tight budget forgoing name brand components like Battleborn and Victron for lesser-known brands. Last January we upgraded our 2 tired GC-2 FLA batteries to a custom built 560ah of LiFePo-4 battery, made with 8, 280ah prismatic cells. It's like having 5 1/2, 100ah Battleborn batteries like you have. We chose a Heltec 350amp BMS, to start the onboard 5,500watt generator in our motorhome, along with a 5a active balancer to keep all the cells synched up. We built our 12v battery with grade "A" LiFePo-4 prismatic cells having a 6,000 cycle manufacturer projected life at 100% DOD. This means that if we cycled them 100% every single day, 365 days a year, they would last over 16 years! So they're obviously going to wear out from age before they wear out from cycling as we only use 15-20% of their capacity daily giving us enough reserve capacity for several days of bad weather before we have to run our generator for charging. It only cost us $1,500 to build this 560ah battery, including the high amp BMS and active balancer. The main reason we chose these cells (other than their price and quality) is that they fit perfectly under the steps of our motorhome where our old pair of golf cart batteries used to reside, saving 35lbs while having over 5 times the capacity. We insulated the battery compartment, cut a 1" hole in our step risers and installed a tiny computer CPU fan to keep this space at close to room temperature, so we don't have to worry about the BMS shutting down charging if they get too cold - or their life reduced from getting too hot. We've found lithiums charge much faster than our old lead acid batteries did and are typically full before 1:00. This first phase, including our 620w liftable solar array, wiring, breakers, a new Progressive Dynamics 80a Li compatible converter/charger, a 1,000w Renogy PSW inverter (to run our big 55" HD TV, sound system, PC, ice maker, electric blanket, etc.), an Epever 50a MPPT charge controller, a Lnex battery monitor/shunt, and a Renogy battery to battery charger (to protect the alternator) cost us around $3,600. To put things in perspective, that's less than the cost of just 4, 100ah Battleborns for our entire off grid electrical system.
@@SuperSushidogI need help I don't understand this but want to
My 100ah Battleborns are about 4 years old now and I've noticed a definite shift in cell voltage over time (and lots of boodocking usage). I don't hold to 13.0v all the way down to 50% anymore. It drops to 12.8v - 12.4v at 50% and lower energy levels. In fact, I had to lower my Victron inverter drop out voltages to reach that 30% and lower levels in my Battleborns. I don't do that very often, but something I've noticed over time.
Ya the last generation of cells BattleBorn used were not good quality cells and the cyclic data was not upheld to estimated specs.
10 year warranty, right?
@@JeremyHorton Pro Rated Warranty and/or they'll claim " User Error and Abuse ". You didnt use a Victron Charger or some other BS
Try to charge them at 14.4 for a day or two so they can top balance. I am just guessing.
Thanks so much! We upgraded to lithium but I didn’t realize it still shows 13.6 even when it’s 40%. We killed our lithiums overnight because we thought we had enough!!! Now I know why!
Excellent video! I am sold on this conversion.
If I change over to a lithium battery, will I have to upgrade my inverter to make sure the battery charges properly? This is in a RV trailer.
We switched to 4 lithium batteries and solar, we now have plenty of power when boon docking!
Same here.
Is that’s with a residential fridge?
It would be nice to be able to see the battery monitor with shunt he is talking about in your filming process
My 12v fridge with freezer off at sundown bat is 13.40 and 13.25 at 9am.Only getting 3 hours of sun per day where in at.
Shunts must be the highest profit item in any system. Or at least a high margin add on. Looking at the BMS app gives a similarly accurate state of charge. If the app is too much hassle there are bms screens that can be added. Or use an old phone as the screen 😊
I was always told with a 5th wheel you need 6 Battleborn and that’s is for people that bondock but with normal campers that stay in parks 3 would be good and at 1K a piece you can always add more. And I have a Bigfoot truck camper and it will run Ac for anywhere 5-6 hrs.
@@watchthewatchmaker how about 25 yrs !
I boondock with 4 Lion Energy, if needed I can run AC for 3 hours.but fridge is running on gas. thinking to buy/add a cheap 200 or 300Watt
Heard you recommend the camco box for lithium to be stored on the tongue of a travel trailer. Do you have to worry about moisture with these boxes? This placement is where we will need to go with our batteries.
electricly, all parallel wirings are the same. power flows to/from parallel batteries equally.
You have to take into account the resistance of the wires. You can minimize the difference in resistance, which causes the batteries to charge and discharge at different rates by using very heavy wires and keeping the lengths connecting the batteries as short as possible. Then, say once a year, swapping the inside batteries with the outside ones to balance them out. To do the job correctly, however, keeping the resistance identical in all batteries so they all charge and discharge at the same rate, equal length cables can be used, between the battery posts and a couple heavy buss bars, that you then draw power from.
Wrong. You can mitigate the effect with big cables, but any cable adds resistance, meaning that the load isn't distributed evenly. This is widely proven.
@@gunningopher Read my reply again. That is exactly what I said. I also said to do the job correctly you should use wires of equal lengths.
@@SuperSushidog Your reply literally suggests that all parallel wiring (designs) are the same. It is rational to assume that you are suggesting, as have others, the parallel wiring (daisy chaining) has the same effect as using a bus bar. If you want to be clearly understood, then write clearly.
If boondocking is on your list, then mistake number 1 is getting a trailer with a residential style fridge. The two way absorption fridge in propane mode uses a tiny fraction of the power needed to run a residential style fridge and sips propane. Its like 8-10W per hour and a pound a day vs 150-300W per hour for a residential style fridge (accounting for defrost mode). Also realize that for your fridge to consume 300W, you must collect, store and transform a heck of a lot more than that. You lose at the panels, you lose at the solar charger, you lose at the AC charger, you lose at the alternator charger, you lose at the batteries, you lose at the inverter. Everything else blue shirt guy said is sketchy at best. Cleary, he is just a salesman.
my dometic 97 fridge is using 500 w and hour, so stop crying
Hey I put a watt meter on my full-size refrigerator it ran about 110 to 120 watts while compressor was running and 10watts while not but when I opened the door the light jumped to about 40 watts any way my rv duel refrigerator on electric was 340 watts ,I used a eco flow 1600 delta max to run it while driving it lasted 4 hour and only 5 hours with the 10 amp cigarette lighter recharge.Idk about the 12 rv refrigerator . Best tool I own plug in watt meter. Happy camping
Perhaps I am missing something, but batteries wired in parallel, (daisy chained), with the PROPER gauge jumpers, are no different than using a buss bar to connect batteries. Each battery is at the exact same point electrically, so all batteries will share the exact same load. The total load current does NOT go through each battery in the chain. So long as the jumpers that parallel the batteries are large enough to easily handle the load, there will be NO voltage drop between batteries, so the order in which they are connected and the location of the voltage supply and load connection will not matter.
YES! I was screaming this at the TV as he went through that ridiculous explanation. Any two points that are mechanically connected are identical!
I am just wondering if you start with 2 200ah batteries in parallel for a total of 400ah... Can you add a 3rd 200 ah battery to them in 6 months to a year later, if you decided you would want to add more capacity.
Or would I need to start all over with 3 new 200ah batteries?
You don't want to wait too long when adding additional batteries so the voltage of the cells is as close as possible
You will be fine if you use the exact same brand/model of battery. They will balance themselves and of course the old 2 will have less cycles left in them , but it's not a big deal. But ask yourself if you NEED 600ah , OR, just more charging power via solar/wind to keep your 400ah topped off better. A battery is only as good as what's charging it. So maybe an extra 250-500 watts of solar would be just as beneficial to your needs keeping your 400ah setup topped off
( and far cheaper solution )
@SailProMarina Thank you for the reply. I was thinking it would be ok if the same battery was used.
I have 8 180w panels that I am going to be installing in the next few weeks. So those along with the 165w from the factory that will be a total of 1605w of solar.
We are parked at a seasonal lake spot all summer, so it is always plugged into shore power.
So the solar setup & batteries are just for a few extra trips a year, but it is also a step towards making more trips sometime in the near future hopefully.
I know that you have advertised for Brooklyn bedding in the past. FYI
they won't / don't honor letters or prescriptions from Dr.'s to take care of the taxes.
That would be worth mentioning in your ads.
What in a lithium battery system negative doesn’t go to the ground? And so the shunt 1 side to ground the other to the the negative post
Love your videos. I have watched to batter upgrade videos several times and can't seem to find the answer to something so simple. I just upgraded to Lithium in my new TT. I just received my Victron Smart Shunt in the mail. My question is.......where does the negitive ground wire connect to that is attached to the side of the trailer tongue? Does it go back on the battery or to the shunt?? Looking forward to another video and and answer to my nagging question. Thank you.
I personally go with a 48 V system. The batteries and inverter and charger are cheaper. You can use thinner wire which is cheaper and it will last longer however you do need converter. To drop the voltage to 12 V to run 12 V lighting and other appliances but overall a 48 V system is cheaper per kilowatt hour
at 3:36, what does "You do that by 10 70" mean? FYI, my 50qt 12v fridge uses about 1amp on average in the summer. So, 12 amp hours over 12h. Perhaps double that for a 3x larger unit (5cu ft).
I heard if you switch from AGM batteries to Lithium you also have to get another alternator that can handle a lithium battery. Is that true?
enduro 200a/h what size is bms? 100 amps ? u should explain why u would uses 2 x100a/h batteries compared to 1 x200 a/h
We have a series of videos about Solar & Lithium installs enjoythejourney.life/lithium
What about lead acid phosphate headway lithium batteries??
Better to have 2 - 100 a/h batteries then 1 - 200 a/h battery. With 2, if one fails you still have power while you replace the other one. Not true if the 200 a/h battery fails. And they can fail.
Great Information!!! Thanks!!!
Glad it was helpful!
Or LPO4 batteries for short ??
But I have a Renorgy DC to DC charger that works off alternator so when you are driving and it charges pretty fast.
Not discussed as an advantage to upgrading two AGM batts to one Lifepo4 is avoiding the unbalanced batteries issue. When two batts with one charging source become disparately charged (one a 12.4 and the other at 12.6 for instance) then you never properly charge either battery after that, which seriously reduces performance and life.
I noticed he gave us a price on Several of the items but did not price that 300 amp hour battery what is the price range for that if you don't mind me asking. We plan on doing a pretty extensive Solar System so that we can do a good bit of Boom docking Been doing some research but need to really get into it soon
Take out a second mortgage.
Depends on the manufacturer.
900 to 1200? But three 100’s are as low as 750 now.
Thanks just wanted an idea of a price range
From my understanding, you would have two separate busbars, one for negative and one for positive on the parallel run.
My question is would you put a lithium battery in your RV with all the EV fires that burn hotter that most fires and with that in mind is your RV insurance higher or out of site when you have lithium batteries installed?
The EV batteries that caused fires are Lithium Ion. These batteries are Lithium Iron Phosphate which is a different chemistry that doesn't have the same problems with thermal runaway when exposed to air like Lithium Ion do.
He talks about proper wiring and Parallel (daisy chaining), its not the best way. Each battery should connect to a busbar on positive side and negative side with all positive cables being same length and same length with negative cables. Then on negative side a shunt to inverter and if you don't have a all in one inverter you will need a second negative and positive busbar for inverter and charger so shunt will read all going in and out of batteries. Biggest reason to not Daisy chain batteries is it never pulls evenly and causes way more heat which lowers lithium life big time. The other is each battery will work less to supply loads using the C rating. if you pull 2400 watts from a 12 volt daisy chain 200 amps come from that pack which is 2C with a 100ah battery x 3 and if using busbars each battery will pull .66C if using 3 100ah batteries. I suggest if you have a 3000 watt inverter which puts out 2400 watts max continues, 3 200ah batteries to busbar. Having .33C continuously is way less heat on your batteries. Also I would do 48 volts and have a DC to DC converter to handle 12V loads and also a 5000 watt inverter so it doesn't work so hard all the time. The harder something works the faster it breaks down.
I'm glad you adviced him on that....using the bus bar system also.
Just to brag a little..... this is the way I installed my system last fall. I have 3-206amp hr. SOK's at 618 amp hrs., Multiplus II 3000 12volt 120 inverter charger using +/-- 4/0 equal length of 45" to disconnect with 7" to Blue sea 400 amp ANL fuse and 11" to 2 +/-- Victron 600amp bus bars 4 stud, with #2 battery cabling all +/-- sized equally at 22" long. I believe my wire is #8 gauge wire +/-- and + to 3 - 60 amp Bussmann MRCB marine breakers 1 each for 3 Victron smart solar chargers the longest cable is around 15", there's 1880 watts of solar panels above. I used a Midnight solar metal breaker box with 3 - 15amp DC breakers. All managed using Cerbo GX and Touch 50 screen with Victron 500amp smart Shunt. My shunt bus is frame grounded but I may be a little under sized here by using #4 gauge wire...it's all I had at the time. I have not directly grounded my Multiplus II either.
All is good though even running my 15,000btu AC. My battery 4/0 cabling at the copper connectors the temperature after running an hour checked at around 95° to 99° even at noon and sunny I'm about a 400 or 500 watt deficit for replacing battery power when panels get warm. Don't intend to run longer than that, if I do I will start the genartor to supplement inverter with 50% or more of the power needed.
Will my on board house charger work for lithium
Thanks Tom great video!
I’m saving this for reference when I’m more ready to upgrade 👍🏼🍺
People pay attention to THIS POST! This is the most important point in this while thread!
SO WHEN YOU GET INTO THESE REALLY BIGGER LITHIUM BATTERIES LIKE THIS THE 300 YOU'RE SHOWING AT THE END I SEE A PROBLEM THAT BATTERY INTERNALLY THE MIDDLE OF IT IS NOT GETTING THE SAME AMOUNT OF WHEREAS THEY'RE THE POSITIVE AND ENDS OF THE BATTERY SO INTERNALLY IT IS NOT WEARING AS BALANCE AS THREE 100 AMP BATTERIES CONNECTED TO A BUSS BAR
DAVID GRENIS BOULDER CO
Like the simple explanation with diagrams😊
Glad you liked it
So if your running lead acid with an inverter. At a certain point (6:00) the battery is not going to have enough power to run the inverter and it shuts down. So are you protecting your lead batteries when that happens? So they do not drain completely? You recharge and use again. I have 2 lead acid batteries running in parallel in my photography darkroom trailer.
It isn't clear if you are asking a question. You can add a low-voltage disconnect for your lead acid batteries to protect them from over-discharge. Most lithium batteries incorporate them internally.
It boggles the mind that the industry has moved away from propane refrigerators. And don't even get me going on how much solar power sucks.
Doesn't the trailer batteries not charge off the tow vehicle? If not, why not? A DC-DC charger isn't that expensive and they have solar control provisions too. A folding panel/solar blanket would be a good idea for expanding your system as you can move them into more direct sunlight and work around shade/tree coverage/direction.
Most campers do charge off the tow vehicle. But they could use that example to trick a lot of people into buying lithium batteries😂
@@kevinmcgregor7340 yea, but figured it might be something new, solar replacing the vehicle charger kind of thing.
A battery monitor is almost mandatory with a lithium battery. They don't cost all that much either and the convenience/awareness they provide make them a no-brainer. I put a 200 Ah LFP battery in my Class A a few years ago. It cost me $1000 (Chins when they first came out). After our first boondocking trip, running it dead over night, I realized that I needed a shunt to monitor the capacity. You just can't rely on the voltage to give you a reliable estimate of remaining capacity. With the monitor display right by my door, I can now make informed decisions on when to run the generator. I typically let it go down to 20-30% and bring it up to 80% with a 70amp inverter charger. With the prices lower now, I would get a 300AH minimum but I don't regret the decision at all. I run the fridge on gas but have an inverter running the whole coach which has about an 80w idle load.
My friend has a 2019 Fleetwood class A and his converter will auto-sense the battery type so a lithium upgrade will be a breeze for him. He will need to add a shunt, in my opinion.
A lot said but SO MUCH left out! Charging lithium batteries is WAY different and YES a special charger is needed! There's a lot to learn so KEEP LEARNING!
I learned that from this video. I think. I was gonna just go hook it straight up to my cars 12 battery to charge from my 260amp alternator. Would that be bad?
@@MarkSegree yes
@@MarkSegreeIf the new battery has a built in BMS , you can get away with charging directly off Alternator. However for a few $$ more you can get a proper regulator and/or a DC-DC Charge Regulator to assure its charged and protected properly.
Lithiums are NOT designed to be used as a Starting battery , They are moreso for STORAGE of Power to utilize in running your appliances.
So I suggest using a Lithium as the SECONDARY battery to run your 12v toys in your truck. Don't waste the money using Lithium as a " regular " automotive battery.
Use a OPTIMA for that if you want a high end battery to start and run average things on your vehicle....
Dc-dc chargers are cheap. ($100) and have charge profiles for different batteries including lithium and also offers solar charging as many have built in controllers for that too.
A good way to blow your trucks alternator is hook it up directly to a LiFe battery with no DC to DC controller. The LiFe battery can pull a 100 amps off the alternator and burn it up!
Unfortunately the wiring on the Rubicon is just crazy. Inverter positive and negative going to one battery. 12 v fridge is coming off the second battery. Does not allow for battery balancing or monitoring
If you are hooked to the trailer connector on your truck is it charging the battery on your trailer that runs the trailer electric?
That's a good question that I had early on when we got our camper. The answer is yes. Your truck is providing power to the battery charger then onto the battery. So yes it is. Just don't leave it plugged in overnight when the truck is off because it will kill your truck battery.
Or install a battery isolator.
@@jimbrown9817 Another great idea!!
Used to own a 36’ 5th wheel. Hated it! Now every 5er going down the road looks like a hermit crab with an oversized shell. On topic, my calculations on the last 2 twelve volt fridges consumed around 55 amp hours. One was an Everchill and the other a Dometic. Both can freeze ice cream hard as a rock. With LiFe prices going down so much Lead acid hardly makes sense in the short time horizon and is pointless long term. AGM is actually more expensive than Lithium. If the manufacturers would wire RV’s for them the conversion cost would be minor (charge controller, converter, inverter, dc-dc controller between the alternator and the Lithium batteries.)
I just did a very short video on 12v floor cooler vs compact 120v upright. Power consumption was a wash. The big pro for the upright over the floor cooler was its 3 times the storage, you get an actual freezer, it’s cost less, has a smaller floor footprint and it weighed less (in my example).
Thinking not inverting power is more efficient (conversion loss) is really kinda silly. Watts are watts.
Good info.
Funny he didn't mention the price for the 300ah battery. Maybe because it could be as much as $1000.00.
yeah they're 1800. Honestly not terrible since they can last up to 10 years. If you're not living in an RV full time, or close to it, I think you should stick with lead acid tbh
Did he say 260 dollars for the system?
Probably was just for the monitor and maybe the charger, too. Definitely didn't include the battery!!
Using bus bars for a balanced set up? That way you don't need to use the balanced version he demonstrated. If all positive went to one bus bar, and all negative on it's own bus bar, would that not be preferable?
FYI, I'm using 400 Watts of solar on roof and as needed 200watts on the ground to chase the sun with it's own solar charge controller, and 4 100AH Bluetooth batteries from LiTime. I did see later he recommended the setup I installed which is using +-+ and --- on bus bars for the ultimate balance, especially using all same length cables. I am about to install a Victron shunt for the obvious reasons, just waiting on budget. But I have a 12vdc fridge, and it's hungry, and on cold nights, the furnace will overwork the AGM batteries I originally had. Great recommendations for those who stuck around to the end. BUT - you also need to consider a couple more things. A) Does my current plug in "Converter" work with lithium and/or "do my lithium batteries protect from overcharging" because not all batteries have a great battery management system onboard. You want batteries that prevent overcharge, short, overvolt, over-temp, under-temp, etc. Lithium is not flawless, and can easily be damaged in certain conditions. My trailer, built in 2021 did not have the appropriate "converter." I replaced it. Also, having batteries that accept charges in cold or hot conditions ruins them as well. Do your homework.
I am not buying what you're selling as far as battery configuration. The battery's have wires inside them too and BMS's you can't tell me a 6 gauge over say 12 inches wire has more resistance than the internal battery wires that are much smaller. not to mention the BMS.
The guy said the Lithium battery can be drawn down 100 percent. Not really. For example of a one hundred amp hour battery, the internal components equal say at 100 percent BMS reported state of charge is 130 internal amp hours. Then at zero percent state of charge its 26 amp hours or 20 percent of the internal battery capacity ( to protect tge battery. Companies dont build AGM batteries with BMS (Battery Management System)s so you see the actual battery available.
A lifepo4 battery rated at 100 amp will deliver 100 amps before the BMS shutting down as the cells are actually bigger than 100 amp hrs. An AGM will never deliver the stated power rating without damage to the battery.
Our fridge,, is AC and uses 1 amp when running.
Put on the inverter,, at 12 volt it takes 21 amps.
So a fridge that's 12 volts that uses 7 amps is great.
That's why he said "per hour" on average. Your fridge may use 21 amps when running, but if it only runs 1/3 of the time, it averages 7 A or 7 Ah/hr
I would love to know an ac fridge of any size that pulls only one amp. If you don't have a shunt, you should add one.
So,
I have a TT, standard absorption fridge, no inverter, 160 watts of solar, 2 6 volt GC batteries...
Why would I even consider the expense of switching to lithium?
No real need or want for an inverter.
I have a 2500 watt generator in case of bad weather & need to charge batteries. Cost was $600.
Why the big push for lithium.
The average person really doesn't need all that.
Almost all electronics today have car chargers.
Just my opinion..
Weight. Li-Po's are remarkable light compared to lead acid. One battery is a nice savings but if you have a beefy multiple battery setup the weight saving really add up quick. And of course, the longevity of the Li-po's as well. Just be aware of the hit on your wallet.
2-100ah lithium batteries would weigh less than 1 of those 6v batteries and give you 4 times the AH. plus they will likely last 10 years with zero maintenance.
@Reaper9789
And at a cost of over $1,000.
I can replace my 6 volt batteries almost 3 times for that cost. That's around 10 years or more.
A small generator makes more sense to me. Can run AC when needed. Under $600.
@@johnhines3591 I got my 2 lithium HQST batteries under $500. just have to shop around and avoid the stupid expensive battleborn batteries.
For running AC, a generator is the way to go. You would need like 12 lithium batteries and 2000watts of solar.
@@johnhines3591absolutely correct if you have low power requirements stick to what you have, also lithium getting cheaper and some of the battery bms systems are crap, built to a price.
But if you have a weight problem or use a lot of power and use it more than just the odd holiday go lithium. But you are also correct about the generator it is a very cheap second battery
The Balanced vs unbalanced diagram for a parallel connection makes no sense, because of the parallel connection, such that all of the batteries are connected together, pos to pos , neg to neg, such that regardless where you take the load from, all are going to be drawn from equally with one exception which is, the weaker battery will cause a problem regardless where it is located.
At lower voltages(12v) and higher amps the wiring losses can easily be significant enough to drop a tenth of a volt which equals a large capacity difference because lithium has a mostly flat discharge curve. The first battery would wear more quickly if wired incorrectly.
100% not correct and is has been proven time and again. You can mitigate the effect with massive cables, but it is always present. I'm fine with doing 2 batteries with the opposite + and - connection, but with over 2 batteries, the bus bar is the best choice.
6-8 amps an hour is bs. I’m running three 12 volt and am at around that #
amps per hour is totally meaningless. the important number for power consumption is watthours per hour. a fridge will use the same watts per hour wether its 12 V or 120 V providing the 2 fridges are otherwise identical. the 120 V fridge will use a tenth of the amperage.
a single 100 Ah battery holds about 1200 watthours of power. run all of that through an inverter and you will get 10 Ah at 120 volts minus the losses in the inverter
From what my Solar installer told me, when connecting a new(out of the box) Inverter, you should power it up for the first time with a Agm or lead acid to prevent an instant failure due to in rush overload. He's had brand new 3000 watt Pro-sine inverters and other top of the line large inverters instantly short out and have to be replaced. Hooking up a car battery on any new inverter till the internal capacitors are charged sounds like a reasonable precaution. The lithium batteries have a huge kick potential, so carefulling is advised.
Should drive with your fridge running. Many videos support that. You'll ruin your fridge prematurely.
Lithium aren’t good for 5 hour of charging or less, as many will drain their around 200 lithium’s ah to below 50% Trojan 6 volt x2 or 4 can go down as low as 10.8 regularly as those golf cart battery, my first set is 14 yr still 100% charging. Lithium bulk charging is 15-70% then take hour to tap off, vs 6 v that 10.8- 95% and 1 hr tap off compare to my friend lithium he still charging till 3:00 pm and Iam under the trees or mall parking by 1:30 litium has a terrible slow tapping off 80-100 % same as ev they throttle the charge above 80 %
That why 6 v Trojan better and they only cost 240 ea. and I water it 2 times a yr. But you need a 600 buck + good mppt controller as tested it’s about 1-1/2 hr faster here where you don’t skip.. and get more panel than battery. Iv got almost 2 k series watts and 440 ap hr in 6 v and still it’s tap of in few hr. Cause Iam in that fast bulk charging range . Can’t avoid that in lithium even if you got ton off panels your controller will waste them watts at 80%
His comments at 12:00 or so about balanced and unbalanced load is nonsense, there is no electrical difference between these two configurations, none at all. I figured he had no idea what he was talking about when he mentioned "amps per hour" earlier in the video when he was talking about draw for a fridge.
SHOCKING!
It always makes me cringe when someone says “amps per hour” I know it’s minor, and I still understand what he means, but credibility as an “expert” really goes down hill when you don’t use the language of your trade properly.
Exactly. It's "amps." Or if you're trying to state an average consumption for a
Hey you guys I hope your doing well.
I just saw Matt’s Rv reviews and he just did a pet safety updat with a device called Waggles. Three dogs just passed away in Texas heat the Rv power went out. Waggles sends alerts to you on the temperature in your Rv.
ua-cam.com/video/OJ9MJ5WQkic/v-deo.html
With my stock POS lead acid battery my GE fridge will last for DAYS. What runs mine down is the furnace in the winter. With a 2/3rds full (way too small battery from the factory) it will run the fridge and furnace all night long with 28 to 40 degree outside temp. I was boondocking all of last week and spent the whole weekend experimenting with power. I'm a huge LiFePo4 fan. I normally boon-dock with my off grid solar system. if you have any idea that it not worth it to switch watch Will's video. It has all of the science. ua-cam.com/video/Rp8Hspi4BC4/v-deo.htmlsi=4CpKne_JM1hMlpV8
confusing. seems like advertising
no offense but the edits on this video made this conversation hard to follow. Statements are made, with not enough conversation and flow to explain why. Could you schedule a proper interview in the future?
Maybe an amp/hr meter would be helpful. This way you know how much power you have used and can estimate what you have left based on past drains.
The Victron App includes history and trends so you have all of that data automatically when using their shunt.
Get shut and gauge and you will know exactly what you have and the cheaper ones work just as good as the blue ones .
heck even the avg small car must have two 12V lead acid battery's. just to handle all the needs of all the computers.
Most people are not going to be able to afford making the conversion. Just saying…
in most cases lithium batteries are made to work with a lead acid/agm charging profile. they are just lithium cells and a bms. the bms will stop charging at its setpoints anyways. so if you can afford the appropriately sized battery you get almost 2x the usable capacity at the same rating. but as this guy also pointed out you have to size out your system. know your usage and you will know what capacity you will need.
I agree, at the cost of the lithium batteries I can buy several lead acid batteries for the same price. I have a small 20 ft. trailer and after watching this and seeing the price of the lithium battery I will just add one more lead acid battery to my system. My solar will work, my old inverter will work and still will chrge from my truck too. I can do that a couple three times before reaching the price mark of the lithium system.
God help anyone who gets near one of his arms while he's talking and flailing
Please warn new users of lithium batteries to NEVER charge them at or below 32 degrees!! It will destroy a lithium battery, but is fine for lead acid batteries.
Not mine as they are the self-heating variety. The charging current will heat them first and then charge them. No worries here.
Mine are also self-heating, plus they are inside the insulated living area of the trailer (in an internal storage area).
the expert lost his credibility when he said 'amps per hour'. There is no such thing.
All u do on traveling stops 》 charging charging 😅 😅 cleaning up solarpanels bcz ppl will use their gadget drone to figure how clean ur solar panels trully are 😅. , and at rv resorts u still worries about ur cummins generator + pr😅pane tanks. I think RV resorts have lowvoltage electrical povver source
Everything wasted excercises are not came frm GOD. See ya (alfa gold)
This makes my brain hurt.
Lithium battery fires
Not a very descriptive statement, but these LFP batteries are quite safe, especially when compared to the typical Lithium Cobalt batteries you see in notebook computers, cell phones and most electric vehicles.
Imagine sleeping on top of these lithium batteries. Reinventing a nightmare.
Lithium Iron Phospate (LiFePO4 or LFP) batteries are way more safe than the typical lithium/cobalt batteries we have in notebook computers, phones and many electric vehicles.
Imagine sleeping in a box that has several propane outlets inside it.
Lithium aren’t good for 5 hour of charging or less, as many will drain their around 200 lithium’s ah to below 50% Trojan 6 volt x2 or 4 can go down as low as 10.8 regularly as those golf cart battery, my first set is 14 yr still 100% charging. Lithium bulk charging is 15-70% then take hour to tap off, vs 6 v that 10.8- 95% and 1 hr tap off compare to my friend lithium he still charging till 3:00 pm and Iam under the trees or mall parking by 1:30 litium has a terrible slow tapping off 80-100 % same as ev they throttle the charge above 80 %
That why 6 v Trojan better and they only cost 240 ea. and I water it 2 times a yr. But you need a 600 buck + good mppt controller as tested it’s about 1-1/2 hr faster here where you don’t skip.. and get more panel than battery. Iv got almost 2 k series watts and 440 ap hr in 6 v and still it’s tap of in few hr. Cause Iam in that fast bulk charging range . Can’t avoid that in lithium even if you got ton off panels your controller will waste them watts at 80%