Installing Lithium Batteries under sofa

[JonnyVinSB]

I am thinking about installing 2 lithium batteries under the sofa in our 2015 FR3 28DS instead of installing them underneath in the battery compartment so they don’t get stolen. Any drawbacks to doing this?

Jon
2015 FR3 28DS

[ependydad]

No drawbacks. Just extra work of running new wires.

[Cowracer]

IIRC, Lithium batts can be prone to fires if improperly charged. Make sure you have a compatible charging system designed for lithium batts.

Tim

[rk06382]

Originally Posted by Cowracer

IIRC, Lithium batts can be prone to fires if improperly charged. Make sure you have a compatible charging system designed for lithium batts.

Tim

No true. LiFePO4 with a BMS are safer than a lead acid.

[Cowracer]

Originally Posted by rk06382

No true. LiFePO4 with a BMS are safer than a lead acid.

Yeah. What I said.

Tim

[rk06382]

Originally Posted by JonnyVinSB

I am thinking about installing 2 lithium batteries under the sofa in our 2015 FR3 28DS instead of installing them underneath in the battery compartment so they don’t get stolen. Any drawbacks to doing this?

Jon
2015 FR3 28DS

If you install them under sofa, you will need to put them in a battery box or rack with a cover as they have bare terminals. Also as posted above you will need to route your battery cable to your load. Also you will need lithium battery chargers. I programed my Solar Charge controller & Inverter/Charger for LiFePO4 lithium. I had to remove the stock Converter/Charger.

I have mine in the battery bay. I am going to enclose my battery bay because my Battle Born LiFePO4 batteries do not charge below 32F. I also wanted to keep dust out. I think my batteries should be safe as I changed out all 13 basement locks. Also my FR3 28DS is stored in my driveway all winter.

All the 12v cables for the FR3 are in the battery bay. If you keep the lead-acid batteries, then were will have two different battery systems to maintain.

I went with one system to keep it simpler and maximize storage in the FR3. My Inverter/Charger can recharge my batteries at 100 amps.

See my post: Expanding compartment space for 2200 Watt Inverter/Charger

[Dpelaez]

None that I know of. There's no water involved and no fumes so no ventilation necessary I placed my lithium in the battery compartment with a key lock and my motorhome is at home which is safe. I did close off the ventilation to the compartment to keep the area free of unnecessary road dirt. You'll love the lithium upgrade.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Dpelaez

None that I know of. There's no water involved and no fumes so no ventilation necessary I placed my lithium in the battery compartment with a key lock and my motorhome is at home which is safe. I did close off the ventilation to the compartment to keep the area free of unnecessary road dirt. You'll love the lithium upgrade.

Just waiting for them to sell at a price I can love as well.

[Dpelaez]

Cowracer,
Lithium probe to fires were the lithium mercury batteries. Lithium is now LIFO and they come with a built in BMS. No more fires .

[camaraderie]

There's prolly less danger from LifePo4's than regular batts...but the real danger is to your wallet...since you need charging systems that are quite different than existing converters...and there are a number of cheap "lithium compatible" chargers that aren't gonna take care of them properly. At around a grand a piece...you can put a serious dent in the wallet if you treat them the same as wet cells. A built in BMS in the battery alone is not the solution...despite what some salespeople will say.
On an amp hours delivered over a lifetime basis...lithiums are the cheapest batteries per amp hour that exist...but you need to treat them exactly right or they can quickly become the most expensive per amp hour.

[Dpelaez]

Get a Magnum or Victron inverter /charger for lithium and you'll be fine. They are the best.

[babock]

I have 2 BattleBorn under my bed. The charger is a PD Lithium that was less than $200 and the solar controller is a Victron set to lithium mode.

[rk06382]

Originally Posted by Dpelaez

Get a Magnum or Victron inverter /charger for lithium and you'll be fine. They are the best.

Samlex EVOLUTION Series Inverter/Charger (2 AC Input) is what I installed.

I went with a Samlex Inverter/Charger hard-wired to the AC circuit panel, Shore & Generator. I have a 30 amp RV shore service. My EVO-2212 is big enough to power everything in my FR3, even the AC. I did a load test of the LiFePO4 batteries.

After I went back on shore power the EVO-2212 was able to recharge at 100 amps and when I turned on the AC it dropped back to 85 amps to keep from going over the 30 amp AC limit.

I highly recommend both Samlex & Battle Born Batteries. Phone support from both helped me to setup the EVO-2212 for LiFePO4 batteries.

I am having problems working with suport for EPever TRIRON 4210 Solar Charge Controller. It does work for LiFePO4 batteries but support has been by Amazon email. I am thinking of replacing it with a Victron SmartSolar MPPT 100/50, when I install the Victron BMV-712 Smart to monitor the LiFePO4 batteries.

I included all this information because LiFePO4 batteries are only part of a system. The Inverter needs to be less than a 10 feet cable run from the batteries. I did not want the Inverter inside because of the fan noise. I also did not want to add any weight to the rear of the FR3.

[sunnyinfla]

look up lithium batterys explode on the net....

[camaraderie]

Originally Posted by sunnyinfla

look up lithium batterys explode on the net....

You need to bring yourself up to date. We are not talking about the old lithium batteries that DID explode. We are discussion LiFePo4 batteries which do not. You have a better chance of a lead acid battery exploding from overcharging than a Lifepo does.
The biggest danger from lifepo's is damage to your wallet if you don't make ALL charging systems compatible with their particular charge and stop charging requirements before you install them.

[rk06382]

Originally Posted by sunnyinfla

look up lithium batterys explode on the net....

Please don't fall for the Pierre Salinger Syndrome.

Please link two or three sources when making a statements like that. The 'exploding lithium' batteries on youtube are done by driving a nail through a LiCoO2 lithium cell phone battery. You would have a bigger problem if you drove a nail through a Lead-acid battery.

Gartner: "Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) Batteries are a type of lithium ion (Li-Ion) rechargeable battery. Their benefits over the more traditional cobalt-based Li-Ion batteries are increased power output, faster charging, reduced weight and longer lifetime. The batteries also have better safety characteristics and do not explode under extreme conditions. LiFePO4 batteries also eliminate the concerns of cobolt entering the environment through improper disposal once they have expired."

A GUIDE TO EFFICIENT LIVING: Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries are being used in most electric cars and bikes. This new battery type is set to dominate the market. Based upon lithium ion technology, LiFePO4 batteries offer many advantages over lithium cobalt dioxide (LiCoO2) batteries which are commonly used in laptops, mp3 players and cell phones."

Yahoo: Do Lifepo4 batteries explode?

Originally Posted by camaraderie

You need to bring yourself up to date. We are not talking about the old lithium batteries that DID explode. We are discussion LiFePo4 batteries which do not. You have a better chance of a lead acid battery exploding from overcharging than a Lifepo does.
The biggest danger from lifepo's is damage to your wallet if you don't make ALL charging systems compatible with their particular charge and stop charging requirements before you install them.

I agree with Camaraderie. LiFePo4 Lithium batteries are safe to use inside coach because they sealed. Lead acid batteries give off sulfuric acid fumes.

I looked at the Total cost of Ownership before I purchased my Battle Born 100ah LiFePo4 Batteries.

Interstate GC2-HD-AGM is a 6v 210ah Deep Cycle Battery weights 66.1lb. (50% usable power is 105ah) Suggested Retail Price (in USD) is $324.95. Six GC2-HD-AGMs would give 315ah @ 50%, weight in at 396.6 lbs and cost $1,949.70. Life span in one to three years.

I would have to buy six GC2-HD-AGMs to equal my four 100ah Battle Born LiFePO4 Lithium Batteries. 4x100ah give me 320ah @ 80%, weight in at 116 lbs and cost $3,796.00. Life span in five to ten years.

I don't ever have to think about the corrosion from sulfuric acid fumes. I had corrosion to cleanup from the year I used the original lead acid batteries before I replaced them with the LiFePO4 batteries.

Yahoo: Lead acid vs Lifepo4 battery

Google: Lead acid vs Lifepo4 battery

[Gparra]

Are there any inverters that would work and that are not super expensive that you would recommend? I have installed 2 EWT lithium batteries in my coachmen freelander coach. Noticed that when I tried to turn the generator all power is cut off. Then I turn the engine on and that's how I've gotten the generator to start. Once the generator is going everything works just fine even after I turn it off. Help?

[rk06382]

Originally Posted by Gparra

Are there any inverters that would work and that are not super expensive that you would recommend? I have installed 2 EWT lithium batteries in my coachmen freelander coach. Noticed that when I tried to turn the generator all power is cut off. Then I turn the engine on and that's how I've gotten the generator to start. Once the generator is going everything works just fine even after I turn it off. Help?

A few sources for the Progressive Dynamics Lithium Converter/Chargers:

https://battlebornbatteries.com/prod...epo4-chargers/

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw...ithium+charger

https://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr...nid=2941120011

[Toyman]

I have 4 BB batteries under the bed in my Forester, no worries. For charging I have a Victron 2000W inverter/charger. I bought the batteries about 2yrs ago and put them in my Foretravel for a trip to Alaska. I planned on doing some fishing & didn’t want a box of rotten fish when I got back to Texas. I had a residential refrigerator & freezer backed up with 1200W of solar, never even flinched over power...we dry camp when possible. One great thing about the BB's is they are very voltage stable, meaning the inverter doesn’t drop due to a low voltage situation..even drawing the batteries down to 30%.

When we returned I put the 3 group 8 batteries back in and put the B.B. in the Forester. The folks at BB have been some of the best and most helpful I’ve delt with in the past few years.

[Dpelaez]

I have the Victron 3000 watt with lithium and solar and very happy with it. Victron is top quality, efficient and low noise. Recommended.