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Thread: Lithium Batteries
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09-23-2021, 10:00 AM #1
Lithium Batteries
I know it's a good thing to change the 12 volt battery for two 6 volt batteries, good thing in many ways.
My question for weight purposes, can you add two 6 volt lithiums the same as you can two lead acid 6 volts?
Also...does anyone have any pictures of the basement area with the two 6 volt conversion maybe even with a kill switch in the mix?
Thanks all
RayMsgt Ray (Ret) and Margie Parker
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09-23-2021, 02:27 PM #2
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The advantage of lifepo4 over 2 6v is a fraction of the size and weight, more ah and charge circles. A 100ah lifepo4 will be roughly the same size as it's LA counterpart but a friction of the weight. The biggest downside is the initial cost but over its life cycle it becomes cheaper.
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09-23-2021, 05:07 PM #3
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You won't gain anything by going 2 6v lithium, unless you can find ones with much higher capacity than a 12v one. And no, the amps don't add. So if each 6v is 100 Ah, that's still what you will have with two, same as one 12v 100Ah. Each one will have it's own management system built in, which complicates how you wire them for charging. Because of the management system and the case, the total space occupied will be a bit more, and there will be a modest increase in weight. The trick works with Lead-Acids only because the 6v's are essentially bigger, allowing them to have more capacity.
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09-24-2021, 10:11 AM #4
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Over the last 17 years I have used 2 12 volt batteries, then 2 6 volt golf cart batteries. Both set ups were lead acid. When I purchased my Solitude in April it had 2 group 27 batteries & since I had a residential refrigerator I upgraded to 2 12 volt group 31 AGM batteries at a cost of $550. I was ignorant of how lithium batteries worked. Those 2 105 AH batteries only gave me 105 AH since you should not discharge them below 50%. In addition the 2 batteries combined weight was 140 pounds. Later I learned that one Lithium iron phosphate battery of 100 AH gives you 100% of its 100 AH. This is because the 100 AH is not the true capacity of the battery but it’s usable capacity. Most good lithium batteries have an internal BIM which shuts down the battery before it can be damaged. One 100 AH lithium battery weighs 26 pounds. I learned this as I educated myself on solar. Of course I went overboard & ended up installing 4 lithium batteries & 8 200 watt solar panels. But I no longer worry about not finding a RV park with available sites because I can run one AC for several hours, use my television & make coffee the next morning. Maybe I overdid it & maybe my kids will get less money when I’m gone but it sure is convenient.
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09-24-2021, 12:13 PM #5
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I wouldn't ever do 6V batteries anyway, unless it was the only way I could get the capacity I needed. It doubles the failure points since neither battery can be used by itself. Better to get dual 12V batteries, even if they are lower capacity each, so there is some redundancy.
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09-24-2021, 12:29 PM #6
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09-24-2021, 12:49 PM #7
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Lithium for sure, I'm never doing lead acid again. The performance advantage of the lithium is worth the price premium in my opinion, and the price gap has closed significantly. LFP is already cheaper in the long term, but there are retail lithium battery options now which are really close to price parity with a decent lead acid.
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09-24-2021, 05:27 PM #8Msgt Ray (Ret) and Margie Parker
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09-24-2021, 05:48 PM #9
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You can technically get away with the OE converter, if you get a drop-in lithium battery (like a Battleborn, but others are similar). Ideally you would replace the OE converter with one that understands it is charging a lithium, as it will do a better job (faster, and it will fully charge it, a lead acid charger probably won't completely charge a lithium). Progressive Dynamics makes drop-in boards that can be used to upgrade WFCO converters. But it's hard to say exactly what option is best without knowing what converter your rig has now.
You can also go with a separate charger, and disable the OE converter. This is what I did. I use a Victron IP22 for when I am connected to shore power. It is installed next to the solar charge controller, and gets power from the plugin at the 'universal docking station'. Most of the time I just use solar since I'm much more likely to be boondocking than camping somewhere with hookups.
A charger/inverter is the fancy choice (and expensive!), but not necessary for just converting from lead acid to lithium. It's overkill, if you didn't also want to have a whole-rig inverter solution.Current: 2021 Transcend 261BH, 2019 Ford F250 SRW SWB CC 6.2 - Picture
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09-24-2021, 06:18 PM #10
Re-pack bearings necessary?
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