Nice, thank-you! Yeah, electrical work is a bit of a job, but a huge benefit to make the upgrade to lithium. Especially with how inexpensive they are these days.
great video. I have an off grid home with lead acids that I'm going to upgrade in a couple of years. Although I'm not a complete novice, I really appreciated the balanced level of detail on your experience with this video. No overly macho tech talk and not overly simplistic either. Lots of parallel concepts between your application and mine. Thanks!
Jay here -- Yeah, I didn't want to delve too much into those details in this "newbies" video, but if there's enough interest, I could put together an in-depth video covering the actual circuits. I'm not a complete electronics expert, but I think I could probably explain most of it now.
Great to hear it's was helpful to you. Good luck with your solar instal. We also have a couple of videos about our solar installation if you're interested.
Thanks for visiting our channel :-) Hope to get out to do some boondocking soon, and can't wait until we can cross the border again to boondock south of the border, too. Cheers!
Cool and helpful video. I'm assuming you can just use a standard charge controller like the renogy rover elite for a lithium battery if only charging with a solar panel and not with shore power or from the 7 pin plug on tow vehicle
Thanks! Yes, absolutely. In fact I would recommend using a different charge controller if you don't need the dual inputs, and specifically something that can handle a higher voltage so you can put some of your panels in serial and use thinner wires. The DCC50 in our rig can only handle solar input up to 25V, which means we had to run all our panels parallel.
Another great how-to from you guys--even though it LOOKS intimidating, this video makes it a little less intimidating! Though we aren't personally in need of this kind of upgrade info ATM, it's so great to know that there is a very informative explanation on how to do this! You guys are doing great stuff for all of us newbies! Part 2 should be interesting... "MORE POWER!!!" 😂👍 -Keith and Raini
When you hooked up your old converter directly to the alternator charging post on the Renogy charge controller, which output wire from the converter did you use? Mine has three-red, white, and black that were connected to the old battery +, old battery -, and old fuse box respectively. Not sure if I should use the red or the black to go into the Renogy DC50. Any ideas?
Hi there Julian, it will vary depending on the converter model, but if you check out the diagram at homearoam.com/how-to/rv-lithium-battery-upgrade/ on my unit, the live charging wire was connected to a port labeled VCC+ and was red. Black is typically negative, and all of your negatives need to be bussed together. IMPORTANT NOTE: Make sure to use a voltmeter to confirm! Don't just take my word for it! 😁
Hi, Thanks for valuable information. Please advise what amp of ANL fuse for each spot (between battery disconnection and battery, inverter and battery and battery disconnection, ac power and controller. your reply will be highly appreciated.
Hello there. Great video and circuit diagram, i have a couple of questions though, would it be possible to see a picture of your full setup as you have it in the room? That would make the diagram read much easier and also is it possible not to install an inverter now and add it later?
Sorry, I don't have a wide angle view of the full setup. That would have been a great idea. I'll have to keep it in mind for any followups. And yes, the inverter is optional. Its only purpose is to converter DC power into AC, so if you don't have any AC appliances you want to run, you can leave it out and upgrade later.
This appears to be a complex "do it yourself" project. Did you consider getting bids to have a professional install it all, and what did you calculate you saved by doing it yourself? Personally, I don't have the skill or confidence to do all this myself, so you guys once again amazed me. You are both awesome!
Thanks Doug! We never actually looked into quotes for someone else to do it, since I (Jay) was pretty confident I could handle it -- with a some help from my brother who has worked with a lot of electronics in the past. I'm not sure if I would have tried to tackle it without an expert I could call on 😀. In terms of how much we saved doing it ourselves? I'd guess maybe $5,000 or so in labour. It was a time-consuming project, but very rewarding. And it keeps paying back dividends on our trips. Solar is so much quieter and nicer than our having to use our generator. 😁
Just a correction. That renogy charge controller does DC-DC charging and solar panels but it doesn't look like it does shore power charging like you mentioned in the video. It would sure be nice to see one unit do all 3 but I can't seem to find one.
We actually have the shore charging coming in on the DC-DC input, but of course that's after it goes through the stock converter. I believe you can get converter/inverter combos but not from Renogy.
I checked out your schematic and shopping list. It appears you’ll be connecting both the 12 V coming from your tow vehicle and the 12 V coming from your trailer‘s converter to the same input lug on the DC to DC converter using a 1-2-Both-Off disconnect switch. Is that correct? If so, can it be safely ran in the both position, or are there backfeed concerns using that switch setting? By the way, thanks for the great video!
Thanks! That's right, although we never implemented the high amp vehicle charging cable since the solar has been more than enough for our needs. No backfeed concerns as far as I know, but it would be very rare to be charging from the truck and shore power at the same time. We do still have the low amp truck charging via the trailer signal plug and I've actually installed a disconnect switch on that since it's direct to the battery. Because of that, the lithium batteries will start charging the truck battery when the truck alternator is off. Which could be useful in some circumstances, but otherwise might overcharge the truck battery. So good to have it disconnected if we're still attached to the truck overnight.
@@HomeARoam Outstanding! Thanks for the quick and thorough reply! I’ve been planning the exact same set up, so you’ve been extremely helpful. Last question (I think). How many total watts are your solar panels rated for? I read that this Renogy 50A DC to DC converter only accepts 25 amps of solar while receiving power from the alternator input. Has either limitation (25A or 50A) caused any issues? Thanks!
Welcome aboard and thanks for taking time to comment. Yeah we like the Renogy products and the price is pretty competitive. The setup has been working great for us so far (coming up on 1 year spring 2022).
I think that would show solar charging only whereas we have our monitor hooked up to show net usage across the whole system. That accounts for when we use the generator or charge while driving too.
I like your simple breakdown for calculating power needs. I assume that fan was noisy because it wasn't mounted but you might want to look at a bigger one as they tend to run a bit quieter!
Thanks, the formula is simple, but as you know, it's not always straightforward to know what your actual usage will be until you actually get out there. For the fan, we're limited by the size of our new "console" area, so we couldn't go too big. Hoping once installed it won't be that noisy :)
Hi there, if you mean the crossover wire for the ammeter, I believe it's a 5 amp. It shouldn't ever have any substantial current flowing through it, so you want it to trip quickly if something goes wrong.
Hi there thanks for the video! Super helpful. I am currently renovating an old ‘77 Fleetwood Prowler and will be adding a small solar array and installing one lithium battery to start. The Renogy multi input charge controller you used looks promising! I didn’t catch how you hook up your shore power to it though. Did you leave your old converter and add the charge controller downstream of the converter? I’m assuming you can’t hook up the 120V AC shore power line directly to the Renogy controller. Thanks again for your help!
Hi Julian, yes, we kept the old converter and connected that to the "starter battery"/alternator (labeled ALT+) connector. We weren't entirely sure how well they would play together, but it turns out the converter has very similar voltages to an automotive system and it works great. Makes for a really simple setup with just the one piece of hardware.
@@HomeARoam wow that’s great! Thank you so much for the reply. I’d like to do the same with my setup. Do you know the output of your converter? Mine puts out 40A at 12V. I’m hoping that will work
Did you guys figure out if connecting the converter to this DC-DC charger for-sure works? @HomeARoam and @@JBMizz . I had a perfectly working system with my alternator and converter charging my house batteries, so when switching to Lithium I'd love to add only one more piece of equipment.
Did you guys figure out if connecting the converter to this DC-DC charger for-sure works? @HomeARoam and @JBMizz . I had a perfectly working system with my alternator and converter charging my house batteries, so when switching to Lithium I'd love to add only one more piece of equipment. @@HomeARoam
Great video! Just watched your solar panel vids too. Was wondering how your system has panned out? Are their any changes you would like to make? Are you satisfied with the 700W inverter? Does 400W of solar panels work well? Do you bother tilting them or are they collecting lots of power being flat while your in the baja? Would love to see a video on all this with your power usage and recharge times 👍 Thanks!
Thanks! If you'd asked last year, I'd say we had way more power than we needed. However, Starlink changed everything. Cost is always a factor, of course, I would love to have at least two more panels. More if they fit. I've been tilting the two far panels up to get some extra power in the morning and evening. I'll cover this in our Los Barriles video coming out in 2 weeks. With more solar and battery we could then go bigger with the inverter (1500W at least, maybe more) and then be able to run the fridge on electric, use the microwave, or even an instant pot. That would cut down on our propane usage, and propane is hard to find in the super-remote area we're in now (Los Frailes). Overall, the system is _sufficient_ but we've started to see the limitations. I've made a note do to a follow-up video after we get back.
Hi there, Either check your manual, or open up the converter box to get the model number and Google for the specs. All converters will charge lithium in theory but only newer ones will charge them efficiently. Older ones without a lithium charge profile will take longer and possibly not go to 100%.
Excellent! We have to be concerned with our dual AGM's as we use an 80 watt CPAP at night. We don't boon dock enough to justify Lithium but next batteries maybe... Currently have 1000 Jackery (and a Generator) which makes a huge difference. So we're good for 1-2 overnights. Renogy is A1.
Lithium is definitely pricey, but the amazing thing is that you can basically use almost the entire capacity. So 100Ah actually means 100Ah, whereas with most other battery types, you shouldn't really use more than half capacity. We plan to mostly boondock, so we figure this upgrade will pay for itself -- eventually :) Plus we have the flexibility of camping absolutely anywhere that it's legal. We're certainly looking forward to trying the new system out! And more power upgrades to come, including solar and the truck charging.
I have read that the majority of lithium battery manufacturers do not recommend leaving the batteries connected to a converter / charger once they are fully charged. Reason being that lithium batteries work best when they are allowed to discharge to 20% and then recharge to 95%. That being true… the lithium converter/ chargers like the WFCO with auto detect for lithium will start charging the batteries as soon as they start to be discharged. If I understand that this is how those converters work I would think this would be detrimental to the lithium batteries. In your system when does charging start when hooked to shore power ? Thanks , Walt.
Hmm, I haven't seen that. All lithium chargers I know charge based on the voltage reported by the battery's BMS, and yes, as soon as that starts dropping, it charges. I'm not sure if always letting the charge drop that much would improve long-term battery life or make it worse.
Nice thourough video guys, great work! How exactly did you integrate the DC-DC charger with the on board power converter you have there ? Or did you just by pass all together ?
Thanks Alex! That was the tricky part that actually required some planning and some advice from my brother (who has more electrical experience than I do). We changed the routing such that the 55a "converter output" goes directly to the "charging input" of the DCC. This is the port that would normally take charging from your vehicle's alternator. Conveniently, the DCC-50 has two different charging inputs, so the solar goes in separately to an MPPT charger to maximize efficiency. Then, we simply routed the battery positives to the distribution board where the converter used to go in. There were a lot of other configurations discussed, but that seemed to be the one that required the least amount of rewiring. You can find a full (somewhat messy :) circuit diagram here: homearoam.com/how-to/rv-lithium-battery-upgrade/
Great video, its been very helpful ! I am currently trying to tackle a similar setup on our TT. After you moved the battery location to inside the cabin, how did you bring power back to the trailers break away switch ?
Very good question! I didn't, actually. I installed a new battery cutoff switch close to the new batteries, and I would probably recommend doing something similar to reduce wire run length.
Wow! definitely not a newbie project. lots of parts and lots of complex decisions to be made that a "newbie" should not undertake. If i tried this project even by following your great instructions id be looking for a new camper after blowing mine up! If you're going to spend over 2K on all this gear then it might be wise to pay a professional to install it.
It all depends. I've heard stories of "professionals" really messing things up. And it's pretty easy to mess up a DIY job too. There's always lot of learning experiences along the way. I think if you have some basic knowledge of 12v power systems, upgrading from lead acid to lithium batteries is a reasonable job to be able to attempt to do it yourself. Everyone has their own level of comfort, of course.
I’m very new to this field, so thanks for the video. I understand the need for a new charge controller and a battery monitor, but why did you have to buy an inverter also? Would the original inverter in your trailer suffice? Thanks!
Hi Ben, In our case, our trailer didn't come equipped with an inverter and most don't. The stock "converter" is what coverts 110v "shore power" or AC (the same type that powers your house) into 12v DC that your trailer lights, pump, slide, etc. use. The inverter, on the other hand, converts 12v DC back to 110v AC so that you can use household devices when powered by just 12v solar and battery. We use this mostly for plugging in our laptop chargers when boondocking or dry camping. Does that help? 😁
@@HomeARoam ok yes that totally makes sense. I realized later you installed solar panels so the inverter makes even more sense. I’m trying to simply replace my two lead acid batteries with lithium so the heater can run fully overnight and to avoid having to replace lead acid batteries as frequently. I will still be relying on having the generator running for AC power and to charge the batteries, but I should still plan on purchasing a charge controller or converter and a battery monitor correct? Thanks so much for the reply!
Ahh, got it. In that case you should look up the model of your converter and see if it supports a lithium charge profile. If it does, you're good and can just drop in new batteries and switch the profile. But if not you're best to upgrade to a newer one that does. Hope that helps!
Hey guys. Great video. I was looking at your cost sheet and I didn’t feel that it was too expensive. Some systems people are putting in their trailer seem to way more expensive than your system. I had a question. Is it ok to leave the batteries in my trailer in the winter time when the trailer isn’t being use?
Hi Shelly, good question. You can leave them in the trailer (we do), but you can't charge them when it is below freezing out as that could damage the batteries.
That's a great question Cameron! It really came down to cost and value. At the time we were purchasing, here in Canada, a Battle Born 100Ah battery cost about $1200 CAD from most distributors, whereas the Renogy 100Ah batteries were on sale for about $800 CAD. So we saved about $400 CAD total. But what about quality? There's a UA-camr named Will Prowse who has made a name for himself doing very detailed reviews of solar and battery hardware. He reviewed the batteries and gave them the thumbs up, so what was good enough for us! Differences? Battle Born has a 10-year warranty, whereas Renogy only has a 5-year warranty. This wasn't a big deal for us since 1) both will likely last longer than 10 years under good conditions, and 2) if a battery does fail in the 5-10 year range, battery costs may have decreased enough that it would make more sense to buy a new, larger capacity battery rather than pay the shipping for repair/replacement and not have a battery for that whole time (warranty claims tend to be slow). Another minor difference is that the Renogy Smart batteries cannot be put in series, they need to be in parallel. So if you're building a 24v or 48v subsystem, you'll need to use a different battery. But we used them in our main circuit, so they needed to be in parallel at 12v anyway. Wow, I've written a bit of a book here. I hope that helps explain our choice! 😀
Hi there, the DCC 50A version will simply let more current pass through, which means you can charge much faster, assuming you have a charging source that can produce that amount of current. For instance, we have 400W of solar panels, which at 12v means a maximum of 33A current (ie. 400/12). If we had 600W of solar and we only had the 30A charger, we wouldn't be able to use the full capacity. But if we had the 50A version, we could use the full charging capacity (600/12=50) and charge our batteries 50% faster. Does that help explain the difference?
LOL, it also helped us to have a brother who is well-versed in electrical systems and electronics. He helped out quite a lot. My parents deserve credit too, since they bought us electronics kits like this: www.pinterest.ca/pin/8936899251285207/ when we were young. I'm sure that got us on the right path too! 😀
The only way to install in a worse location would be to install in the shower. It’s not the water the battery is sitting in that will cause you issues, it’s the water on top of the battery.
It's a bit hard to see, but thankfully there is no water _above_ the batteries. The batteries are actually in the space under the stove and directly behind the converter and main electrical junction. The water heater and sink are off to the left. The reason we raised them off the ground is in case the water heater or other plumbing developed a leak. In that case, we didn't want them directly on the floor. Many people install the batteries in their garage at floor level and I worry that could be an issue for that type of setup. But with our installation, there's very little risk of water contact. It was a hard place to get to, but overall I'm really happy with that location choice.
Please don't add music to your videos or at least have it at a much lower volume. Can you imagine if you had an annoying music loop playing while your professor was giving a lecture on a difficult topic??
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Nice, thank-you! Yeah, electrical work is a bit of a job, but a huge benefit to make the upgrade to lithium. Especially with how inexpensive they are these days.
great video. I have an off grid home with lead acids that I'm going to upgrade in a couple of years. Although I'm not a complete novice, I really appreciated the balanced level of detail on your experience with this video. No overly macho tech talk and not overly simplistic either. Lots of parallel concepts between your application and mine. Thanks!
That's great to hear! Thanks for letting me know, that's very encouraging. We might have some more electrical videos coming up when we get a new rig!
"hook everything up", yes a bench test, what a great way to see how all the components are wired together.....fasts forward through it.
Jay here -- Yeah, I didn't want to delve too much into those details in this "newbies" video, but if there's enough interest, I could put together an in-depth video covering the actual circuits. I'm not a complete electronics expert, but I think I could probably explain most of it now.
Great video! I bought the same Renogy battery and currently installing solar to my RV. This video will help me with the install.
Great to hear it's was helpful to you. Good luck with your solar instal. We also have a couple of videos about our solar installation if you're interested.
Great Home A Roam How-To! Let the longer boondocking trips begin!
Thanks, we can't wait to test it out!
Where is your solar video that hooks that into the lithium bats?
This might be the video you are looking for: ua-cam.com/video/1FSQP9GhG0w/v-deo.html
Way to go! We boondock all the time! Hopefully we'll see ya out there someday!
Thanks for visiting our channel :-) Hope to get out to do some boondocking soon, and can't wait until we can cross the border again to boondock south of the border, too. Cheers!
Cool and helpful video. I'm assuming you can just use a standard charge controller like the renogy rover elite for a lithium battery if only charging with a solar panel and not with shore power or from the 7 pin plug on tow vehicle
Thanks! Yes, absolutely. In fact I would recommend using a different charge controller if you don't need the dual inputs, and specifically something that can handle a higher voltage so you can put some of your panels in serial and use thinner wires. The DCC50 in our rig can only handle solar input up to 25V, which means we had to run all our panels parallel.
Another great how-to from you guys--even though it LOOKS intimidating, this video makes it a little less intimidating! Though we aren't personally in need of this kind of upgrade info ATM, it's so great to know that there is a very informative explanation on how to do this! You guys are doing great stuff for all of us newbies! Part 2 should be interesting... "MORE POWER!!!" 😂👍
-Keith and Raini
Thanks! Yeah, we're very excited to test out the new system. Are you guys fans of Tim the Toolman Taylor as well? :) That was a great show.
When you hooked up your old converter directly to the alternator charging post on the Renogy charge controller, which output wire from the converter did you use? Mine has three-red, white, and black that were connected to the old battery +, old battery -, and old fuse box respectively. Not sure if I should use the red or the black to go into the Renogy DC50. Any ideas?
Hi there Julian, it will vary depending on the converter model, but if you check out the diagram at homearoam.com/how-to/rv-lithium-battery-upgrade/ on my unit, the live charging wire was connected to a port labeled VCC+ and was red. Black is typically negative, and all of your negatives need to be bussed together. IMPORTANT NOTE: Make sure to use a voltmeter to confirm! Don't just take my word for it! 😁
Hi, Thanks for valuable information. Please advise what amp of ANL fuse for each spot (between battery disconnection and battery, inverter and battery and battery disconnection, ac power and controller. your reply will be highly appreciated.
Hi Ric, it depends on your capacity. We used a 100a for our main battery.
@@HomeARoam Thanks for reply and using 100ah battery too but There are 2 x 100ah and 1 x 80ah on your list of items, what spot of 80ah?
I believe the 80a item is a fuse. We just have the two 100ah batteries.
Hello there. Great video and circuit diagram, i have a couple of questions though, would it be possible to see a picture of your full setup as you have it in the room? That would make the diagram read much easier and also is it possible not to install an inverter now and add it later?
Sorry, I don't have a wide angle view of the full setup. That would have been a great idea. I'll have to keep it in mind for any followups. And yes, the inverter is optional. Its only purpose is to converter DC power into AC, so if you don't have any AC appliances you want to run, you can leave it out and upgrade later.
@@HomeARoam Thank you much for a fast reply, i wish u had that picture 🤣
This appears to be a complex "do it yourself" project. Did you consider getting bids to have a professional install it all, and what did you calculate you saved by doing it yourself? Personally, I don't have the skill or confidence to do all this myself, so you guys once again amazed me. You are both awesome!
Thanks Doug! We never actually looked into quotes for someone else to do it, since I (Jay) was pretty confident I could handle it -- with a some help from my brother who has worked with a lot of electronics in the past. I'm not sure if I would have tried to tackle it without an expert I could call on 😀. In terms of how much we saved doing it ourselves? I'd guess maybe $5,000 or so in labour. It was a time-consuming project, but very rewarding. And it keeps paying back dividends on our trips. Solar is so much quieter and nicer than our having to use our generator. 😁
Just a correction. That renogy charge controller does DC-DC charging and solar panels but it doesn't look like it does shore power charging like you mentioned in the video. It would sure be nice to see one unit do all 3 but I can't seem to find one.
We actually have the shore charging coming in on the DC-DC input, but of course that's after it goes through the stock converter. I believe you can get converter/inverter combos but not from Renogy.
I checked out your schematic and shopping list. It appears you’ll be connecting both the 12 V coming from your tow vehicle and the 12 V coming from your trailer‘s converter to the same input lug on the DC to DC converter using a 1-2-Both-Off disconnect switch. Is that correct? If so, can it be safely ran in the both position, or are there backfeed concerns using that switch setting? By the way, thanks for the great video!
Thanks! That's right, although we never implemented the high amp vehicle charging cable since the solar has been more than enough for our needs. No backfeed concerns as far as I know, but it would be very rare to be charging from the truck and shore power at the same time. We do still have the low amp truck charging via the trailer signal plug and I've actually installed a disconnect switch on that since it's direct to the battery. Because of that, the lithium batteries will start charging the truck battery when the truck alternator is off. Which could be useful in some circumstances, but otherwise might overcharge the truck battery. So good to have it disconnected if we're still attached to the truck overnight.
@@HomeARoam Outstanding! Thanks for the quick and thorough reply! I’ve been planning the exact same set up, so you’ve been extremely helpful. Last question (I think). How many total watts are your solar panels rated for? I read that this Renogy 50A DC to DC converter only accepts 25 amps of solar while receiving power from the alternator input. Has either limitation (25A or 50A) caused any issues? Thanks!
New subbie. Wow Renogy everything huh. I like their compact panels. That CC looks pretty neat. Great video 👍
Welcome aboard and thanks for taking time to comment. Yeah we like the Renogy products and the price is pretty competitive. The setup has been working great for us so far (coming up on 1 year spring 2022).
Your shunt hooks up between the inverter/solar charge controller neg and your battery neg.
I think that would show solar charging only whereas we have our monitor hooked up to show net usage across the whole system. That accounts for when we use the generator or charge while driving too.
I like your simple breakdown for calculating power needs. I assume that fan was noisy because it wasn't mounted but you might want to look at a bigger one as they tend to run a bit quieter!
Thanks, the formula is simple, but as you know, it's not always straightforward to know what your actual usage will be until you actually get out there. For the fan, we're limited by the size of our new "console" area, so we couldn't go too big. Hoping once installed it won't be that noisy :)
This is a very thorough video. Great job. Welcome to the UA-cam community FB group as well... BTW... I always cut my hair when we are camping now! lol
campsite hair cuts = less mess to clean up at home 🧹 Thanks for stopping by and taking time to comment :-)
What is the recommended 12v solar panel array that should be used to charge this 2-battery storage bank? What does your solart array look like on top?
Hi there Jerald, we have 4 100W Renogy panels on the roof. You can check out more details and the install here: bit.ly/har-solar-install
Please what size fuse for the very small live wire which your brother said to use???
Hi there, if you mean the crossover wire for the ammeter, I believe it's a 5 amp. It shouldn't ever have any substantial current flowing through it, so you want it to trip quickly if something goes wrong.
Hi there thanks for the video! Super helpful. I am currently renovating an old ‘77 Fleetwood Prowler and will be adding a small solar array and installing one lithium battery to start. The Renogy multi input charge controller you used looks promising! I didn’t catch how you hook up your shore power to it though. Did you leave your old converter and add the charge controller downstream of the converter? I’m assuming you can’t hook up the 120V AC shore power line directly to the Renogy controller. Thanks again for your help!
Hi Julian, yes, we kept the old converter and connected that to the "starter battery"/alternator (labeled ALT+) connector. We weren't entirely sure how well they would play together, but it turns out the converter has very similar voltages to an automotive system and it works great. Makes for a really simple setup with just the one piece of hardware.
@@HomeARoam wow that’s great! Thank you so much for the reply. I’d like to do the same with my setup. Do you know the output of your converter? Mine puts out 40A at 12V. I’m hoping that will work
Did you guys figure out if connecting the converter to this DC-DC charger for-sure works? @HomeARoam and @@JBMizz . I had a perfectly working system with my alternator and converter charging my house batteries, so when switching to Lithium I'd love to add only one more piece of equipment.
Did you guys figure out if connecting the converter to this DC-DC charger for-sure works? @HomeARoam and @JBMizz . I had a perfectly working system with my alternator and converter charging my house batteries, so when switching to Lithium I'd love to add only one more piece of equipment. @@HomeARoam
Great video! Just watched your solar panel vids too. Was wondering how your system has panned out? Are their any changes you would like to make? Are you satisfied with the 700W inverter? Does 400W of solar panels work well? Do you bother tilting them or are they collecting lots of power being flat while your in the baja? Would love to see a video on all this with your power usage and recharge times 👍 Thanks!
Thanks! If you'd asked last year, I'd say we had way more power than we needed. However, Starlink changed everything. Cost is always a factor, of course, I would love to have at least two more panels. More if they fit. I've been tilting the two far panels up to get some extra power in the morning and evening. I'll cover this in our Los Barriles video coming out in 2 weeks. With more solar and battery we could then go bigger with the inverter (1500W at least, maybe more) and then be able to run the fridge on electric, use the microwave, or even an instant pot. That would cut down on our propane usage, and propane is hard to find in the super-remote area we're in now (Los Frailes). Overall, the system is _sufficient_ but we've started to see the limitations. I've made a note do to a follow-up video after we get back.
Great video, thank you!!
Thanks! Hope it was helpful
How do we know if our rv converter charges lithium batteries
Hi there, Either check your manual, or open up the converter box to get the model number and Google for the specs. All converters will charge lithium in theory but only newer ones will charge them efficiently. Older ones without a lithium charge profile will take longer and possibly not go to 100%.
@@HomeARoam THANK YOU 🙏🤩
@@Drvinnieboombatts you bet
Excellent! We have to be concerned with our dual AGM's as we use an 80 watt CPAP at night. We don't boon dock enough to justify Lithium but next batteries maybe... Currently have 1000 Jackery (and a Generator) which makes a huge difference. So we're good for 1-2 overnights. Renogy is A1.
Lithium is definitely pricey, but the amazing thing is that you can basically use almost the entire capacity. So 100Ah actually means 100Ah, whereas with most other battery types, you shouldn't really use more than half capacity. We plan to mostly boondock, so we figure this upgrade will pay for itself -- eventually :) Plus we have the flexibility of camping absolutely anywhere that it's legal. We're certainly looking forward to trying the new system out! And more power upgrades to come, including solar and the truck charging.
I have read that the majority of lithium battery manufacturers do not recommend leaving the batteries connected to a converter / charger once they are fully charged. Reason being that lithium batteries work best when they are allowed to discharge to 20% and then recharge to 95%. That being true… the lithium converter/ chargers like the WFCO with auto detect for lithium will start charging the batteries as soon as they start to be discharged. If I understand that this is how those converters work I would think this would be detrimental to the lithium batteries. In your system when does charging start when hooked to shore power ? Thanks , Walt.
Hmm, I haven't seen that. All lithium chargers I know charge based on the voltage reported by the battery's BMS, and yes, as soon as that starts dropping, it charges. I'm not sure if always letting the charge drop that much would improve long-term battery life or make it worse.
@@HomeARoam This is a great question. I don't have an answer either but if you find the answer I would love to know. Thanks for all the great info!
How do you charge batteries while parked on cloudy days?
Thanks for your question. We have a small backup generator for when our solar panels aren't performing well.
Nice thourough video guys, great work! How exactly did you integrate the DC-DC charger with the on board power converter you have there ? Or did you just by pass all together ?
Thanks Alex! That was the tricky part that actually required some planning and some advice from my brother (who has more electrical experience than I do).
We changed the routing such that the 55a "converter output" goes directly to the "charging input" of the DCC. This is the port that would normally take charging from your vehicle's alternator. Conveniently, the DCC-50 has two different charging inputs, so the solar goes in separately to an MPPT charger to maximize efficiency.
Then, we simply routed the battery positives to the distribution board where the converter used to go in.
There were a lot of other configurations discussed, but that seemed to be the one that required the least amount of rewiring.
You can find a full (somewhat messy :) circuit diagram here: homearoam.com/how-to/rv-lithium-battery-upgrade/
Great video, its been very helpful ! I am currently trying to tackle a similar setup on our TT. After you moved the battery location to inside the cabin, how did you bring power back to the trailers break away switch ?
Very good question! I didn't, actually. I installed a new battery cutoff switch close to the new batteries, and I would probably recommend doing something similar to reduce wire run length.
Can you link me to the cost sheet please?
Wow! definitely not a newbie project. lots of parts and lots of complex decisions to be made that a "newbie" should not undertake. If i tried this project even by following your great instructions id be looking for a new camper after blowing mine up! If you're going to spend over 2K on all this gear then it might be wise to pay a professional to install it.
It all depends. I've heard stories of "professionals" really messing things up. And it's pretty easy to mess up a DIY job too. There's always lot of learning experiences along the way. I think if you have some basic knowledge of 12v power systems, upgrading from lead acid to lithium batteries is a reasonable job to be able to attempt to do it yourself. Everyone has their own level of comfort, of course.
I’m very new to this field, so thanks for the video. I understand the need for a new charge controller and a battery monitor, but why did you have to buy an inverter also? Would the original inverter in your trailer suffice? Thanks!
Hi Ben, In our case, our trailer didn't come equipped with an inverter and most don't. The stock "converter" is what coverts 110v "shore power" or AC (the same type that powers your house) into 12v DC that your trailer lights, pump, slide, etc. use. The inverter, on the other hand, converts 12v DC back to 110v AC so that you can use household devices when powered by just 12v solar and battery. We use this mostly for plugging in our laptop chargers when boondocking or dry camping. Does that help? 😁
@@HomeARoam ok yes that totally makes sense. I realized later you installed solar panels so the inverter makes even more sense. I’m trying to simply replace my two lead acid batteries with lithium so the heater can run fully overnight and to avoid having to replace lead acid batteries as frequently. I will still be relying on having the generator running for AC power and to charge the batteries, but I should still plan on purchasing a charge controller or converter and a battery monitor correct? Thanks so much for the reply!
Ahh, got it. In that case you should look up the model of your converter and see if it supports a lithium charge profile. If it does, you're good and can just drop in new batteries and switch the profile. But if not you're best to upgrade to a newer one that does. Hope that helps!
Hey guys. Great video. I was looking at your cost sheet and I didn’t feel that it was too expensive. Some systems people are putting in their trailer seem to way more expensive than your system. I had a question. Is it ok to leave the batteries in my trailer in the winter time when the trailer isn’t being use?
Hi Shelly, good question. You can leave them in the trailer (we do), but you can't charge them when it is below freezing out as that could damage the batteries.
You've probably gotten a lot of questions, but why didn't you get Battleborn Lithium batteries?
That's a great question Cameron! It really came down to cost and value. At the time we were purchasing, here in Canada, a Battle Born 100Ah battery cost about $1200 CAD from most distributors, whereas the Renogy 100Ah batteries were on sale for about $800 CAD. So we saved about $400 CAD total. But what about quality? There's a UA-camr named Will Prowse who has made a name for himself doing very detailed reviews of solar and battery hardware. He reviewed the batteries and gave them the thumbs up, so what was good enough for us! Differences? Battle Born has a 10-year warranty, whereas Renogy only has a 5-year warranty. This wasn't a big deal for us since 1) both will likely last longer than 10 years under good conditions, and 2) if a battery does fail in the 5-10 year range, battery costs may have decreased enough that it would make more sense to buy a new, larger capacity battery rather than pay the shipping for repair/replacement and not have a battery for that whole time (warranty claims tend to be slow). Another minor difference is that the Renogy Smart batteries cannot be put in series, they need to be in parallel. So if you're building a 24v or 48v subsystem, you'll need to use a different battery. But we used them in our main circuit, so they needed to be in parallel at 12v anyway. Wow, I've written a bit of a book here. I hope that helps explain our choice! 😀
Thanks
what is the difference of dc-dc 30A and dc-dc 50A?
Hi there, the DCC 50A version will simply let more current pass through, which means you can charge much faster, assuming you have a charging source that can produce that amount of current. For instance, we have 400W of solar panels, which at 12v means a maximum of 33A current (ie. 400/12). If we had 600W of solar and we only had the 30A charger, we wouldn't be able to use the full capacity. But if we had the 50A version, we could use the full charging capacity (600/12=50) and charge our batteries 50% faster. Does that help explain the difference?
So happy for you. Yea.
Thanks! We're pretty excited and can't wait to get out there to test our new setup :-)
do you have part 2?
Looks like you found it :) But thanks for pointing that out, I've added a link in the description now: bit.ly/har-lithium-install
Dang, there is a lot of wiring involved. I wouldn't know how to start. I guess watching this video helps.
LOL, it also helped us to have a brother who is well-versed in electrical systems and electronics. He helped out quite a lot. My parents deserve credit too, since they bought us electronics kits like this: www.pinterest.ca/pin/8936899251285207/ when we were young. I'm sure that got us on the right path too! 😀
The only way to install in a worse location would be to install in the shower. It’s not the water the battery is sitting in that will cause you issues, it’s the water on top of the battery.
It's a bit hard to see, but thankfully there is no water _above_ the batteries. The batteries are actually in the space under the stove and directly behind the converter and main electrical junction. The water heater and sink are off to the left. The reason we raised them off the ground is in case the water heater or other plumbing developed a leak. In that case, we didn't want them directly on the floor. Many people install the batteries in their garage at floor level and I worry that could be an issue for that type of setup. But with our installation, there's very little risk of water contact. It was a hard place to get to, but overall I'm really happy with that location choice.
Buy a portable Solar Generator to run/charge IPhones, Computers, TV, and other low watt devices.
That works great for an all in one solution. We opted for separate batteries and solar panels.
Please don't add music to your videos or at least have it at a much lower volume. Can you imagine if you had an annoying music loop playing while your professor was giving a lecture on a difficult topic??
Thanks for the feedback 👍
Never heard anybody getting shocked by a 12 V DC battery
Definitely possible! Even a 9v battery can give you a decent shock if there's enough conductivity.
The little power up switch is not to keep you from getting shocked from that battery, it’s to prevent you from turning a wrench into molten metal.