Lithium Battery upgrade

[dave-g]

Has any one upgraded their house batteries to lithium? If so what brand and what capacity?



Has any one upgraded their charger inverter to a Victron Multiplus 3000 watt?

[Rednick69]

I have done both. I have two 100 Amp hour Battle Born batteries and the inverter you mentioned. I had to buy a BiM Li-Ion Battery Isolation Manager to replace the one that came with my RV.

I used Dragonfly Energy to make my purchase. They programmed my inverter to my setup.

I'm new to RVing. A friend of mine isn't. He likes to boondock a lot and these were his recommendations to me. I needed batteries and an inverter when I purchased my RV. My batteries were old and my inverted was fried.

I actually learned some very important benefits last weekend while boondocking with my friend about these batteries vs. lead acid. My friend that I mentioned bought a new used RV that has lead acid batteries. We run little 2200 watt generators when needed to charge back up. Once his batteries get to around 70% charged the charging slows down dramatically. He would have to run his generator for many hours to get to 100% charged. Being new to this scene I didn't understand this because my Li-Ions keep charging full speed until 99% then slow down.

Also, I do not benefit in promoting the companies mentioned. I like to help if I know anything about the subject.

If you have any more questions please ask.

Originally Posted by dave-g

Has any one upgraded their house batteries to lithium? If so what brand and what capacity?



Has any one upgraded their charger inverter to a Victron Multiplus 3000 watt?

[dave-g]

rednick69-


did you rewire your panel so the inverter powers everything? Also I surprised you only put in 2 batteries. I thought stock you rig would have had 4 - 6v lead acid.

[Rednick69]

No I did not. From the factory my inverter powers everything but 2 ACs/Heat Pumps, Water heater, Engine block heater, and Washer/Dryer. For me it wouldn't be worth rewiring to have these items run off of it. I could totally see if I had a roof full of solar and several more batteries.

I only purchased the 3000 watt over the 2000 watt because it was just slightly more expensive and there would be room for growth if wanted.

My battery compartment in the 2008 360QS has two trays for batteries. One tray for cranking and one for house. I'm pretty sure I could squeeze another battery on each tray and wire 4 for the house. I want to buy 1-2 more but when I bought all of this I was running out of money for this project.

Long story short. This RV setup for approx. 2-3 years and had many things wrong with it. I had to put myself on a budget.

[raidernation]

Upgraded last summer to 1 360 AmpHR battery. New Li-BIM (battery isolation manager), but same inverter/charger and same cabling.

[skishbaugh]

I upgraded to 4 battle borns and victron 3000 watt inverter.

[dave-g]

Originally Posted by skishbaugh

I upgraded to 4 battle borns and victron 3000 watt inverter.

with the 4 batteries- are you abe to run the ac for a short time?

[Rednick69]

Another choice of battery you might be interested in are the Sok lithium battery 206ah. These aren't a lot bigger than the BBs but twice the amp hours. Close to half the price too.

My friend I mentioned in an earlier post has now ordered his Victron 3000 watt inverter and 4 of these batteries.

[dave-g]

Originally Posted by Rednick69

Another choice of battery you might be interested in are the Sok lithium battery 206ah. These aren't a lot bigger than the BBs but twice the amp hours. Close to half the price too.

My friend I mentioned in an earlier post has now ordered his Victron 3000 watt inverter and 4 of these batteries.

That's the set up I was looking at- removing the battery tray- the 4 of them (sok 206ah) will fit. Then the Victron 3000 multi with 50 amp pass through.

[Rednick69]

Originally Posted by dave-g

That's the set up I was looking at- removing the battery tray- the 4 of them (sok 206ah) will fit. Then the Victron 3000 multi with 50 amp pass through.

That sounds nice. I wish these would have been out last when I bought the BBs.

[Rednick69]

@dave-g I do recommend getting the Bluetooth dongle for the Victron inverter as well as the Victron Battery Monitor. They are a great addition.

Most likely you will need the programming cable so you can program your inverter for the amount of AH you have too. Some of the companies you buy the inverter from will program it for you if not.

[skishbaugh]

yes works great... Only problem is the inverter get hot. I had to install more fans in the inverter compartment.

[jknutter]

I literally just did this to my 40QL. Here is a link to my thread. https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...de-255438.html

[djfrown]

Hi all. Some great electrical mods here. I picked up my Shasta Phoenix 298RLS last November in OR. Been using it out of Las Vegas. Replaced the 1 marine battery and stock converter with:
- Victron MultiPlus-II 12/3000/2x120-50 Inverter/Charger w/Smart Shunt, BT Dongle and USB
- 1- 300A Lithium Battery (from a Co. I've had good luck with before in China)
- 4 - 300W roof mounted Solar panels (cheap ones @ only ~12A output)
- Renogy DCC50S MPPT solar/alternator charge controller w/USB
- Progressive Industries 50A internal EMS/Surge Protector w/integrated display
and used the existing wiring plus 25' of cable to mount the Victron in the battery area.

Not using the fireplace and AC and keeping the water heater and fridge on gas, we've been able to boondock for 5 nights before getting to ~30% and running the generator. Typically, we keep the inverter on, run the ceiling and kitchen smart fans all the time we're in it, microwave < 10 minutes, coffee pot for 2 mugs, toaster/air fryer < 10 minutes and ROKU TV ~ 4 hours. BTW - It gets ~38A from the truck's alternator enroute, enabling me to turn off the propane while traveling.

I'm happy with that performance but would like any suggestions and/or comments you might have.

[djfrown]

Hi all. Some great electrical mods here. I picked up my Shasta Phoenix 298RLS last November in OR. Been using it out of Las Vegas. Replaced the 1 marine battery and stock converter with:
- Victron MultiPlus-II 12/3000/2x120-50 Inverter/Charger w/Smart Shunt, BT Dongle and USB
- 1- 300A Lithium Battery (from a Co. I've had good luck with before in China)
- 4 - 300W roof mounted Solar panels (cheap ones @ only ~12A output)
- Renogy DCC50S MPPT solar/alternator charge controller w/USB
- Progressive Industries 50A internal EMS/Surge Protector w/integrated display
and used the existing wiring plus 25' of cable to mount the Victron in the battery area.

Not using the fireplace and AC and keeping the water heater and fridge on gas, we've been able to boondock for 5 nights before getting to ~30% and running the generator. Typically, we keep the inverter on, run the ceiling and kitchen smart fans all the time we're in it, microwave < 10 minutes, coffee pot for 2 mugs, toaster/air fryer < 10 minutes and ROKU TV ~ 4 hours. BTW - It gets ~38A from the truck's alternator enroute, enabling me to turn off the propane while traveling.

I'm happy with that performance but would like any suggestions and/or comments you might have.

[skishbaugh]

yes

[skishbaugh]

I just added one more battleborn battery. Now i have 750 watts solar on roof.

[Eric B FR Diesel]

So we actually offer a lithium battery package on XLt and XL now. the battery we use is the Harris Energenie... really great battery, built more on the high end side with flexible bus bars that connect the cells, and high end shunts... the big thing to look at when comparing these batteries are the following:

what is the expected cycle life of the battery? OR how many cycles do they expect on the battery.

what are the materials of the battery, think more then just cells, like how are the cell connected, and integrated? is the battery heated for cold weather... is there a hard shut off to leave juice in the battery?


how is the BMI integrated to the battery? the BMI is the brains that manages the battery... it can be passive or active... a good BMI will protect the investment of the battery, and make it a smart battery...


when we build a coach with the lithium battery option the battery is 600 true amp hours, and the coach will have around 800 watts of solar on the roof.

[skishbaugh]

I have all victron and battleborn equipment. 600 amp hours. 750 solar. I will add 1 more panel for 1000. Cerbos GX to see everyone. The multiplus works great.

[sherman12]

Man, no matter how you look at it that is one expensive upgrade! Is it worth the thousands of dollars invested vs. just using standard lead acid or AGMs and the onboard generator?