Switch to Lithium Ion Battery

**PAPAJOJO** · 11-26-2020, 12:12 PM

Own 2019 Imagine and during the off season I considering switching my deep cell battery to Lithium Ion battery. Also looking for a good percentage meter to know the status of the battery. Is it as easy as plug and play by replacing the deep cell with the lithium ion or is there more hardware needed to make the change? Once the change over is need what percentage meter is good for reading the life of the battery?

**RickLight** · 11-26-2020, 02:55 PM

I strongly recommend searching the forum for each of your questions, and even other forums. There's no way anyone can summarize 1000s of opinions.

I can answer some basic questions. Most lithium batteries sold retail are intended as 'drop in' replacements. However most OEM charger/ converters won't fill LiPo batteries completely. From there your specifics really matter. Seeing that you are in Michigan you might want to think about the battery temperature. LiPo can't be charged while below freezing, and the built in electronics will simply shut it off. I moved mine to a heated space, there are batteries with little heaters, and there are separate battery heaters.

You'll see lots of recommendations for the Victron battery monitor, the most expensive. I don't have it (mine is a bit odd) and there are many other options but mostly they differ in advanced features. The only real requirement is that it measures the current and voltage as you charge and discharge. Most of them use a 'shunt' but a 'hall effect' sensor is a newer option.

Happy reading!

**rrlowen** · 11-26-2020, 02:57 PM

Originally Posted by PAPAJOJO

Own 2019 Imagine and during the off season I considering switching my deep cell battery to Lithium Ion battery. Also looking for a good percentage meter to know the status of the battery. Is it as easy as plug and play by replacing the deep cell with the lithium ion or is there more hardware needed to make the change? Once the change over is need what percentage meter is good for reading the life of the battery?

This is not a "plug and play" modification. The charging regime for lithium batteries is different than the lead acid batteries. Some will say that your current charger will charge them but it will not achieve full charge and the absorb/float settings will be wrong. The best solution is to upgrade the charger. Progressive Dynamics has lithium upgrades and replacements for various types of power converters. The best monitoring system I have used is the Victron BMV-712 which is Bluetooth enabled so that you can read battery condition on your phone.
The lithium upgrade gives many advantages but low cost is not one of them.
I recently installed a solar/inverter/lithium package in our new Reflection 303rls. Haven't camped with it yet but it tests out very good.

**Scott'n'Wendy** · 11-26-2020, 03:15 PM

Originally Posted by rrlowen

The lithium upgrade gives many advantages but low cost is not one of them.

Yes. So far I will stick with my 2000w inverter generator. When I get about $4000 or so to go Lithium solar., I will. But until then....

**jasondenos** · 07-14-2021, 08:29 AM

rrlowen,

We just purchased a 2021 303rls and love it. I am currently looking into adding a solar/lithium package and would love to see what you did with yours.

**rrlowen** · 07-14-2021, 09:05 AM

Originally Posted by jasondenos

rrlowen,

We just purchased a 2021 303rls and love it. I am currently looking into adding a solar/lithium package and would love to see what you did with yours.

I am not near the trailer right now so no pictures available yet.
We installed 4 X 100Ah lithium batteries in the pass-through storage area and 650w of solar. The 3000w GoPower inverter and all other components are in the front storage compartment. The charge controller is Victron and I use the Victron BMV-712 battery monitor. We also carry an Onan 4500w generator but have not needed it so far. The inverter came with a remote monitor which is mounted near the main panel in the cabin and the remote for the BMV-712 is there as well. If you are familiar with the BMV-712, you know that it is Bluetooth enabled so all battery info is readable on your phone. The Victron solar charge controller is also Bluetooth. When added to the Compass Connect system, pretty much everything is controlled with the phone which I find very convenient. I understand that this is not for everyone, but it works for me. Let me know if you have any questions. I can get pictures if needed.

**rrlowen** · 07-14-2021, 09:17 AM

Originally Posted by jasondenos

rrlowen,

We just purchased a 2021 303rls and love it. I am currently looking into adding a solar/lithium package and would love to see what you did with yours.

I forgot to mention that the inverter is an inverter/charger/transfer switch so it replaces the converter which came with the trailer. It has fully programmable charging parameters so will work with any battery type. So far operation has been seamless. We leave the inverter off most of the time. Our batteries have never been below 60% with this system even when parked in some forested areas. Of course if we had a week of rain the generator would be required. It's been so dry here in BC that it hasn't been a problem. I would love to see a week of rain right now.

**jasondenos** · 07-15-2021, 06:38 PM

very cool, I would love to see some pics when you get a chance.

**SolarPoweredRV** · 07-15-2021, 07:07 PM

Originally Posted by Scott'n'Wendy

Yes. So far I will stick with my 2000w inverter generator. When I get about $4000 or so to go Lithium solar., I will. But until then....

One thing some people don't realize is that the whole Solar/Lithium/Inverter system can be installed one section at a time.

For Example: Like the OP (Papa JoJo) said, he is considering installing a Lithium battery soon. This is a perfect first step, as a matter of fact, many people will be more than happy with the performance of the Lithium battery that they may not need to go beyond the Lithium battery step.

The performance of Lithium batteries is far,far, superior to the Lead Acid battery, so much so, that they command a premium price and people willingly pay $ 1,000 per 100ah battery (compared to $150 for a 100ah Lead Acid battery).

The whole Solar/Inverter/Lithium battery project does not need to be installed all at once, you can install different parts as your time and wallet allow. The only caveat: plan your system from the start to allow for the size of your finished project, this will prevent you from needing to replace certain components as your system grows.

**SolarPoweredRV** · 07-15-2021, 07:12 PM

Originally Posted by PAPAJOJO

Own 2019 Imagine and during the off season I considering switching my deep cell battery to Lithium Ion battery. Also looking for a good percentage meter to know the status of the battery. Is it as easy as plug and play by replacing the deep cell with the lithium ion or is there more hardware needed to make the change? Once the change over is need what percentage meter is good for reading the life of the battery?

One comment I would like to make for clarification...

Most "Lithium" battery installations in RVs are not Lithium Ion batteries, but a safer Lithium chemistry called "Lithium Iron Phosphate" commonly abbreviated as LiFePo4.

This is the chemistry used in Battle Born, SOK, and Lion Energy as well as many others.