Lithium Batteries still smart idea if NOT boondocking or two 6 volts?

[Rgpracer]

Well, I have decided on this combo:

- Battle Born 12 volt 100 amp
- Progressive Dynamics 60 amp LIfePO4
Converter Charger
- Victron BMV-712 Baytery Monitor

Will be ordering it from Dragonfly Energy next week.

Thanks to ALL on my post that gave input. I really enjoy this site.....seems like, anytime I read or post, I learn so much.
Again, thanks to you all.
Haapy New Year
Ray

[ajg617]

Agreed Ray, the folks on this site have provided me with so much insight and help - which is great before delivery because I feel I'll be better prepared. Great group of people.

[traveldawg]

That is not quite how it works. When you draw from a LA battery, the energy that comes out of it first as in the first 20 % will take the longest to put back into it....So it will take longer than 4- 6 hours to put it back. When you deplete a LA battery further, that energy can be put back in much faster... 4-6 hours is doable for that part. So you really have been operating at a different battery storage level than you thought. You really need a shunt with a battery monitor to "know" where you are at. Hint: Dropping into float does not mean it is at 100%.

What about Li batteries? Do they get to 100% right away (or when the float voltage is reached?

[SolarPoweredRV]

What about Li batteries? Do they get to 100% right away (or when the float voltage is reached?

Lithium batteries (LiFePo4) can accept a charge very quick and at a high rate of charge. Depending on your charger (Solar or Converter) they will initially take a high rate of charge to ~ 80%, and then begin tapering off similar to Lead Acid batteries, however, they do not taper off nearly as bad as Lead Acid batteries. A good example would be similar to the charging of an EV (with LiFePo4 batteries) where the battery pack charges up to 80% within 30 minutes and then takes another 30 minutes to get to 100%. In reality, your RV won't charge that fast because we don't have chargers that can charge the batteries at such a high rate, nor do you want to charge your batteries that fast because then you have to add a sophisticated cooling system.

I would venture a guess that most RV battery banks would charge to 85 - 90% before they started to taper off because you are not maximizing the charging rate. This would probably translate into a 2.5 to 3 hour charging time to 90% and another hour to get to ~100% (with a Lithium Converter). Obviously, each system will perform differently, but, I think this example would hold up for most LiFePo4 systems.

[SolarPoweredRV]

Just to give you an example of how Lithium batteries will perform with the OEM Converter versus a "Lithium" Converter.

Ray, from Love Your RV, recently mentioned that his OEM Converter was keeping his Lithium batteries charged at 53% (consistently). This figure is much lower than many people have mentioned on this Forum.

Just an FYI.

[huntindog]

Lithium batteries (LiFePo4) can accept a charge very quick and at a high rate of charge. Depending on your charger (Solar or Converter) they will initially take a high rate of charge to ~ 80%, and then begin tapering off similar to Lead Acid batteries, however, they do not taper off nearly as bad as Lead Acid batteries. A good example would be similar to the charging of an EV (with LiFePo4 batteries) where the battery pack charges up to 80% within 30 minutes and then takes another 30 minutes to get to 100%. In reality, your RV won't charge that fast because we don't have chargers that can charge the batteries at such a high rate, nor do you want to charge your batteries that fast because then you have to add a sophisticated cooling system.

I would venture a guess that most RV battery banks would charge to 85 - 90% before they started to taper off because you are not maximizing the charging rate. This would probably translate into a 2.5 to 3 hour charging time to 90% and another hour to get to ~100% (with a Lithium Converter). Obviously, each system will perform differently, but, I think this example would hold up for most LiFePo4 systems.

My system which consists of 8x 100 AH Battle born 12V batteries, a PD 80 amp lithium converter, and 1380 watts of Solar with a Victron and Jaboni controllers charges at a very high rateup to at least 95%, then it starts to slowly taper, while still staying in bulk. at 98-99% it will go into float and soon after reaches 100%. I have observed this many times while camping on my Victron shunt/monitor... I have not done any "scientific" timing/tests, as these were real life camping situations, so we were consuming power while I made these observations... And coupled with solar output variations makes for some pretty big swings in net charging.

Bottom line.... Lithiums can easily be charged to 100% while camping in a boondock situation

[Trailmaster]

I used a Renogy 200 Ah battery:
12V 200Ah Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery w/ Bluetooth (renogy.com)

Then I disconnected the factory converter and put in a Go Power Unit (I found a deal that included the remote panel):
IC Series 2000-watt Inverter Charger | Go Power (gpelectric.com)

Both items mounted in the front generator bay. Removing the stock battery and adding these was about a 25# gain total. So I moved a few items to keep my pin weight about the same.
The battery has built in bluetooth data, combined with the inverter remote panel, gives me a complete monitoring system.

Rob.

Rob I was researching the same battery for my 2930 RL when I stumbled across this thread. Getting just one of these batteries would be an upgrade, but I'm actually considering getting two of the Renogy 200 ah batteries.

My factory setup includes 300 watt solar, 2000W inverter and two LA batteries. I can keep the residential fridge and a CPAP running for one evening but it's marginal. If I understand correctly, wouldn't the built in Bluetooth monitoring eliminate the need for a separate battery monitor/shunt like the Victron BMV-712? Also are you aware of anything I should consider with this setup? I plan to install the PD9160ALV converter, but other than that, I was looking to keep everything else the same. Appreciate any input from you and others. Thanks!

[Dale B]

Rob I was researching the same battery for my 2930 RL when I stumbled across this thread. Getting just one of these batteries would be an upgrade, but I'm actually considering getting two of the Renogy 200 ah batteries.

My factory setup includes 300 watt solar, 2000W inverter and two LA batteries. I can keep the residential fridge and a CPAP running for one evening but it's marginal. If I understand correctly, wouldn't the built in Bluetooth monitoring eliminate the need for a separate battery monitor/shunt like the Victron BMV-712? Also are you aware of anything I should consider with this setup? I plan to install the PD9160ALV converter, but other than that, I was looking to keep everything else the same. Appreciate any input from you and others. Thanks!

I've been thinking about the Renogy 200ah smart batteries & this gizmo rather than a shunt. I'm not new to solar & always had a shunt to monitor the AGM batteries. Lithium will be a new adventure & I am curious as well if I can eliminate the shunt.

https://ca.renogy.com/monitoring-scr...attery-series/

[Rob+Kath]

My factory setup includes 300 watt solar, 2000W inverter and two LA batteries. I can keep the residential fridge and a CPAP running for one evening but it's marginal. If I understand correctly, wouldn't the built in Bluetooth monitoring eliminate the need for a separate battery monitor/shunt like the Victron BMV-712? Also are you aware of anything I should consider with this setup? I plan to install the PD9160ALV converter, but other than that, I was looking to keep everything else the same. Appreciate any input from you and others. Thanks!

Yes, IMHO the onboard bluetooth data provides what I need in battery monitoring. I do think the BMV-712 does provide a bit more data, but not anything that would make or break my operation. My inverter/converter also provides some data at the remote panel, so there is more there as well.

My original thought was to go with two 200Ah as well, but the $ wasn't worth the advantages for my situation. If I had a decent solar set-up, then I think I would go with two 200Ah batteries. I would give two batteries some serious consideration with your residential fridge. That extra Ah would be appreciated when the sky is overcast for a few days.

Solar is in my future,... not yet. I'm still looking ahead.

One issue (for me) on getting the Li battery, was the charging rate (time). In a bad situation, I only need three or four hours on generator to charge up (depleted to full). This keeps some options open.

Rob

[Rob+Kath]

I've been thinking about the Renogy 200ah smart batteries & this gizmo rather than a shunt. I'm not new to solar & always had a shunt to monitor the AGM batteries. Lithium will be a new adventure & I am curious as well if I can eliminate the shunt.

https://ca.renogy.com/monitoring-scr...attery-series/

If I understand correctly, this is used for a bank of non-bluetooth batteries. The individual Bluetooth data is battery specific (individual), I do not know if it can be expanded. Not sure about this as it looks like only a display, and it still uses the on-board data system.
My battery is the Bluetooth version and there is no plug for that unit anywhere. Without getting too deep into battery bank theory, the onboard system might be fine as long and certain parameters are not exceeded. I saw a specific note that there should never be more than 8 of these batteries connected as a bank.

I would contact Renogy for specific details on the best option there. I suspect the shunt built into the battery will be fine one way or the other, just need to figure out the best way to get the data. Please update this thread if you find out anything from Renogy.

Rob