Dakota Lithium DL+ 135AH

[johnray]

I am planning possible Lithium upgrade for 2023 Sunseeker LE, and am curious of the forums thoughts about the Dakota Lithium DL+ 135AH battery.

https://dakotalithium.com/product/dl...e-performance/

The docs indicate the battery as a true drop in replacement for LA/AGM, and I contacted them regarding alternator charging, and they indicate no DC-DC charger is required.

The battery is expensive, but similar to Battleborn wrt $/amp-hour, has internal heater, many impressive features. 2 in parallel will give 270AH.

Is this a true drop in only replacement? or is DC-DC still required to protect alternator?

Thanks for any thoughts

[simiHal]

“Drop in replacement” is very subjective. It all depends on the setup in regards to the charging capabilities of your rig. Battery footprint for one battery should be no problem.

[Duckogram]

Originally Posted by johnray

I am planning possible Lithium upgrade for 2023 Sunseeker LE, and am curious of the forums thoughts about the Dakota Lithium DL+ 135AH battery.

https://dakotalithium.com/product/dl...e-performance/

The docs indicate the battery as a true drop in replacement for LA/AGM, and I contacted them regarding alternator charging, and they indicate no DC-DC charger is required.

The battery is expensive, but similar to Battleborn wrt $/amp-hour, has internal heater, many impressive features. 2 in parallel will give 270AH.

Is this a true drop in only replacement? or is DC-DC still required to protect alternator?

Thanks for any thoughts

Probably not as your battery compartment is designed for two group 27’s. You should have a PC BIM 160 which can easily be upgraded to a LiBIM 225. That, along with switching your charge wizard to Li, should give you what you need.
Unless you plan on using the extra 70ah you would get with a pair of group 24’s, why not get better $/ah by using a pair of group 27 100ah true deep cycle batts (same manufacturer)?

If you do not opt to use the LiBIM you will likely not get a full charge on your batteries thereby reducing the ah gain and increasing the cost. Or you could get a dc 2 dc and use the charger that comes with or is available from the manufacturer.

And like I repeatedly mention, without stating the particularized need, the suggestions you get may or may not be appropriate.

YMMV

[Aussieguy]

I thought BB was being funny asking $800
$1189 that's a whopping premium for a small battery 135ah
just so it can occasionally be used for starting?

if your starting battery dies jump it either with the emergency combine switch or jumper cables... leave it connected for some minutes to allow the house to put some charge back into the starting battery .

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
They don't show the weight (gave up trying to find it on their page)
so hard to look at their extra dense claim... smaller denser battery

BUT do house batteries really need to be denser than they already are?
unless you are in a TINY popup room is not the biggest issue.

you could get much better and larger batteries for the price of 1 of them 135ah !

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Aussieguy

you could get much better and larger batteries for the price of 1 of them 135ah !

Are you suggesting that cheaper equates to better?


Just think how much is left out of those less expensive batteries just so the manufacturer can meet that lower price and still stay in business.

The list is lengthy and starts with the quality of cells. Contrary to popular belief not all LiFePo4 cells are the same.

No different than anything else we buy like tires, TV's, cars, appliances, and on and so forth.

[Aussieguy]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Are you suggesting that cheaper equates to better?

I'm saying RV/Trailers don't need the densest designed battery cells
nor the motor cranking power.
OR the battery charger that comes with this battery..

I would look for a design that is good at delivering the amount of power we need in a RV / Trailer for a decent price.

It may be the OP has something we never considered.... a flux capacitor? But in general 90% of RV / trailers only need moderate power consumption that solar could charge.

There are enough reviews, including tear-downs to give a reasonable insight into the build quality..
Some of the moderately priced ones are reasonably well made
do the legwork look for reviews .... then make informed decisions.

If I was looking for a couple of 100ah ... I would put Chin's or Ampertime on the shortlist.


Overpriced does not make a good battery either ..
the one in that fire video costs $2000.00 it is from a well known and often touted manufacturer.

The price of these Dakota's $1198 makes BB look cheap.
If someone likes the Dakota brand........ look to see if they offer an alternative for just storage power.

I rarely will buy the cheapest (in anything I buy) ... Unless there is a overwhelming evidence / reviews to convince me otherwise.

Quality......... is not the most expensive, nor the shiniest prettiest box.
A Quality Product is one that is able to perform the duty it was designed to do

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Aussieguy

I'm saying RV/Trailers don't need the densest designed battery cells
nor the motor cranking power.
OR the battery charger that comes with this battery..

I would look for a design that is good at delivering the amount of power we need in a RV / Trailer for a decent price.

It may be the OP has something we never considered.... a flux capacitor? But in general 90% of RV / trailers only need moderate power consumption that solar could charge.

There are enough reviews, including tear-downs to give a reasonable insight into the build quality..
Some of the moderately priced ones are reasonably well made
do the legwork look for reviews .... then make informed decisions.

If I was looking for a couple of 100ah ... I would put Chin's or Ampertime on the shortlist.


Overpriced does not make a good battery either ..
the one in that fire video costs $2000.00 it is from a well known and often touted manufacturer.

The price of these Dakota's $1198 makes BB look cheap.
If someone likes the Dakota brand........ look to see if they offer an alternative for just storage power.

I rarely will buy the cheapest (in anything I buy) ... Unless there is a overwhelming evidence / reviews to convince me otherwise.

Quality......... is not the most expensive, nor the shiniest prettiest box.
A Quality Product is one that is able to perform the duty it was designed to do

News flash! RV's need whatever battery fills the owner's needs which are determined by the appliances on board and number of days off grid.

Extra news flash, Battleborn hasn't been the most expensive lifepo4 battery on the market for a long time. Not even Dakota batteries.

Victron has a line of batteries that are truly "smart" batteries that network with Victron monitors, chargers, etc. They cost more because they do more.

Curious when you're going to own your own LiFePo4 batteries?

[Aussieguy]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

News flash! RV's need whatever battery fills the owner's needs which are determined by the appliances on board and number of days off grid.

Extra news flash, Battleborn hasn't been the most expensive lifepo4 battery on the market for a long time. Not even Dakota batteries.

Victron has a line of batteries that are truly "smart" batteries that network with Victron monitors, chargers, etc. They cost more because they do more.

Curious when you're going to own your own LiFePo4 batteries?

as fer News Flashes....
I won't watch the news anymore too full of news flashes !

OP asked for opinion he go mine
Unless there is some reason we don't know ... this style / design is not a particularly good fit for 90% house batteries.

also stated if Dakota was preferred...
could look to see if they offered a different style more suited to RV house use.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

have got my 8 x 280ah cells on order
the slow boat from China is the bummer part.
was suppose to be USA stock but I guess they may have fibbed a little

Newsflash "They Lied".

I'm not buying any assembled brand of battery therefore I know exactly what is used on mine.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Aussieguy

as fer News Flashes....
I won't watch the news anymore too full of news flashes !

OP asked for opinion he go mine
Unless there is some reason we don't know ... this style / design is not a particularly good fit for 90% house batteries.

also stated if Dakota was preferred...
could look to see if they offered a different style more suited to RV house use.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

have got my 8 x 280ah cells on order
the slow boat from China is the bummer part.
was suppose to be USA stock but I guess they may have fibbed a little

Newsflash "They Lied".

I'm not buying any assembled brand of battery therefore I know exactly what is used on mine.

If they lied on having US stock you can only hope they didn't lie on spec's like internal resistance and capacity match.

Also, are the cells UL 1642 certified?

Remember, they lied once.

[Pvardy]

I have a 2022 Forester 3011DS
Just upgraded to 2 100 AH Lifeblue Lithium ion. Both were drop in fit perfectly in battery bay. Very happy with them so far.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Forest River Forums mobile app

[ppine]

The prices of lithium batteries are dropping all the time. I am going on the cheaper side for my first lithiums because they will still probably last more than 5 years. By the time they need replacing batteries will seem cheap. There are plenty of 100 amp batteries now around $300. Dakota and Battle Born are good but cost almost twice as much.