User Tag List

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 11
  1. #1
    Site Sponsor SolarPoweredRV's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2019
    Location
    Tampa Florida
    Posts
    2,044
    Mentioned
    103 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Higher Capacity DIY Lithium Batteries.

    For those adventurous souls who may be planning on making your own LiFePo4 battery bank from cells purchased direct from China, here is some good news...

    It seems like the new standard capacity has increased from 280ah to 304ah. This should (literally) give you a little more "Bang" for your Buck!!!

    Taking a quick look around AliExpress I found these cells sold as sets of four with free shipping for $630 - $650.

    That is equivalent to paying $150 for a Battle Born battery. That is a very good deal and it beats the cost of AGM or even flooded Lead Acid batteries.

    Of course, you will need to build the battery(ies) yourself and provide the proper Battery Management System (BMS), but the value proposition for these batteries is really incredible.

    Good Luck to those adventurous enough to tackle this project and please let us know how your projects turned out.

    PS: If these batteries were available when I built my system, I would have definitely built my battery bank using these LiFePo4 cells.
    David and Peggy
    2019 Ford F350 Lariat, 6.7L Diesel, Dually, Long Bed
    Running with 20k Reese Goosebox (Love It) and Ford Factory "Puck" system.
    Stopping with 8,000 lb Disc Brakes and Titan Hydraulic over Electric Brakes system.
    Powering all this fun with 1200 Watts of Solar, two Tesla, Model S, battery modules, 24 volt Victron Inverter.
    2018 Solitude 310 GK

  2. #2
    Fireside Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2019
    Location
    Lexington, KY
    Posts
    58
    Mentioned
    1 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    I just finished my battery pack build and installation with 280 Ah cells. Wound up costing me right at $750 with the cells, BMS, cables and battery box. Was very easy to build (at least for me). Installing in the passthru was a little harder due to rerouting wires but still only took about a 1/2 day.
    2018 Imagine 2500RL
    2016 F150 with 3.5L Ecoboost

  3. #3
    Site Sponsor SolarPoweredRV's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2019
    Location
    Tampa Florida
    Posts
    2,044
    Mentioned
    103 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Dnmatt View Post
    I just finished my battery pack build and installation with 280 Ah cells. Wound up costing me right at $750 with the cells, BMS, cables and battery box. Was very easy to build (at least for me). Installing in the passthru was a little harder due to rerouting wires but still only took about a 1/2 day.
    Awesome !!!!

    Thanks for letting everyone know how it turned out.

    I am glad to hear that it was an easy build, it really is only a matter of stringing a few batteries together and hooking up the BMS to protect the cells and keep the batteries healthy.
    David and Peggy
    2019 Ford F350 Lariat, 6.7L Diesel, Dually, Long Bed
    Running with 20k Reese Goosebox (Love It) and Ford Factory "Puck" system.
    Stopping with 8,000 lb Disc Brakes and Titan Hydraulic over Electric Brakes system.
    Powering all this fun with 1200 Watts of Solar, two Tesla, Model S, battery modules, 24 volt Victron Inverter.
    2018 Solitude 310 GK

  4. #4
    Rolling Along
    Join Date
    Sep 2020
    Posts
    509
    Mentioned
    2 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    I'm about to look into this again. I already have cases that are sized to work with four Lishen 272Ah cells, so I need to make sure whatever I end up getting will fit.
    Current: 2021 Transcend 261BH, 2019 Ford F250 SRW SWB CC 6.2 - Picture
    Previous: 2016 Jayco X213, 2014 F150 EB 3.5

  5. #5
    Site Sponsor SolarPoweredRV's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2019
    Location
    Tampa Florida
    Posts
    2,044
    Mentioned
    103 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by rootusrootus View Post
    I'm about to look into this again. I already have cases that are sized to work with four Lishen 272Ah cells, so I need to make sure whatever I end up getting will fit.
    Here is a video comparing the new 304 ah (EVE) cells with the previous 280ah cells (along with a very good capacity test). The new 304ah cells are the same size, only a little bit taller ( ~ 1/8 inch).

    Here is the video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbNl9ZpvCsY&t=1271s
    David and Peggy
    2019 Ford F350 Lariat, 6.7L Diesel, Dually, Long Bed
    Running with 20k Reese Goosebox (Love It) and Ford Factory "Puck" system.
    Stopping with 8,000 lb Disc Brakes and Titan Hydraulic over Electric Brakes system.
    Powering all this fun with 1200 Watts of Solar, two Tesla, Model S, battery modules, 24 volt Victron Inverter.
    2018 Solitude 310 GK

  6. #6
    Site Team Ynot4me2's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Location
    ON & QC Canada
    Posts
    4,767
    Mentioned
    38 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    I should be ready to start this project come Feb/Mar. Really looking forward to it.

    Sent from my SM-P610 using Tapatalk
    Steph & Lise
    2019 F150 Lariat 2.7 EB
    2020 Imagine XLS 22MLE

  7. #7
    Site Sponsor SolarPoweredRV's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2019
    Location
    Tampa Florida
    Posts
    2,044
    Mentioned
    103 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Update (10/1/21):

    I just ran across this advertisement for CATL batteries that are 320ah (310ah nominal) for only $679 with Free Shipping (with a Guaranteed Delivery Date or they are free).

    The good thing about these cells is that you know that CATL is the largest LFP battery supplier and they make quality cells.

    Here is the link if anyone is interested...

    https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005...d03f617e8fc967
    David and Peggy
    2019 Ford F350 Lariat, 6.7L Diesel, Dually, Long Bed
    Running with 20k Reese Goosebox (Love It) and Ford Factory "Puck" system.
    Stopping with 8,000 lb Disc Brakes and Titan Hydraulic over Electric Brakes system.
    Powering all this fun with 1200 Watts of Solar, two Tesla, Model S, battery modules, 24 volt Victron Inverter.
    2018 Solitude 310 GK

  8. #8
    Setting Up Camp
    Join Date
    Jul 2020
    Posts
    16
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by SolarPoweredRV View Post
    Update (10/1/21):

    I just ran across this advertisement for CATL batteries that are 320ah (310ah nominal) for only $679 with Free Shipping (with a Guaranteed Delivery Date or they are free).

    The good thing about these cells is that you know that CATL is the largest LFP battery supplier and they make quality cells.

    Here is the link if anyone is interested...

    https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005...d03f617e8fc967
    Hi David,

    I'm new to this so could use a little advice. I have 2 FLA batteries in my 303RLS. I am interested in going LFP, my assumptions are that 4 LFP's give me 12.8ish VDC and 320ah (far more than my 170ah). What kind of BMS would I need ? I believe I have one in the pass thru that goes thru start-up routine when plugged into shore power or generators. My goal is to get rid of FLAs and, eventually tie some range of solar charging into it was well.

    Thank you in advance for your help,
    Mike
    Last edited by MikenKerri; 10-04-2021 at 02:52 PM.
    Mike & Kerri
    2019 Reflection 303 RLS
    2018 Chevy Siiverado Z71 2500 HD Duramax CC SB 4WD

  9. #9
    Setting Up Camp
    Join Date
    Jul 2020
    Posts
    16
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Dnmatt View Post
    I just finished my battery pack build and installation with 280 Ah cells. Wound up costing me right at $750 with the cells, BMS, cables and battery box. Was very easy to build (at least for me). Installing in the passthru was a little harder due to rerouting wires but still only took about a 1/2 day.
    Hello,

    Do you have any pics if your build? What BMS did you use, and is one really needed? I think we have a power management system (we bought our rig used, so nit sure). I did have problems charging and powering with a generator and so I consulted here (but can't find the post) and was told generators had either a floating neutral or floating ground, dont remember which, but the solution was to get a replacement male plug and to connect the ground and neutral with a jumper wire inside the plug. Of course it worked, I wish I could find that post but no luck.

    So, I'm interested if I also need a BMS in addition to the "PMS".

    Thanks,
    Mike
    Mike & Kerri
    2019 Reflection 303 RLS
    2018 Chevy Siiverado Z71 2500 HD Duramax CC SB 4WD

  10. #10
    Site Team Redapple63's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Location
    SoCal
    Posts
    2,761
    Mentioned
    26 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by MikenKerri View Post
    Hello,

    Do you have any pics if your build? What BMS did you use, and is one really needed? I think we have a power management system (we bought our rig used, so nit sure). I did have problems charging and powering with a generator and so I consulted here (but can't find the post) and was told generators had either a floating neutral or floating ground, dont remember which, but the solution was to get a replacement male plug and to connect the ground and neutral with a jumper wire inside the plug. Of course it worked, I wish I could find that post but no luck.

    So, I'm interested if I also need a BMS in addition to the "PMS".

    Thanks,
    Mike
    Hi Mike,

    I think I can answer your BMS question. The BMS (Battery Management System) is only for the battery and not to be confused with an EMS (Energy Management System). The EMS manages your rig from an electrical usage standpoint. The BMS manages your battery. It makes sure no charging takes place beyond the acceptable temperature parameters as well as output.

    Hope that helps.

    Bill
    2019 GMC 3500 SRW Sierra Denali Duramax
    2020 Reflection 315RLTS

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

DISCLAIMER:This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Grand Design RV, LLC or any of its affiliates. This is an independent site.