Battle Born Lithium

[DaveMatthewsBand]

...FWIW, I'm only installing 100 amps of lithium, initially. As 100 amps (usable) is roughly what our RV's come from the dealer with...

Our Reflection came with a single FLA rated at 88 amps, of which only 44 is useable. 100 amps of useable power will definitely be noticeable compared to 44.

Another obvious difference you’ll notice is the lithium will charge 10x faster and doesn’t take all day to charge from 90% to 100%. Then you’ll notice the voltage doesn’t drop off sharply as the DoD gets lower.


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[Devinh2]

Devin--does your Magnum inverter have the load-balancing feature DMB mentioned? I can't quite figure out which (if any) of the Magnums have this feature. (The Victron's are e-x-p-e-n-s-i-v-e!)

No it doesn’t. If I knew then what I know now, I would have got the Magnum 3000W Hybrid. Best of all worlds. Oh well, live and learn.

[gbkims]

This Samlex doesn't have the voltage boost, but I like their comprehensive manual https://www.samlexamerica.com/docume...-0117_Hrez.pdf

[SouthTX]

Our Reflection came with a single FLA rated at 88 amps, of which only 44 is useable. 100 amps of useable power will definitely be noticeable compared to 44.

Another obvious difference you’ll notice is the lithium will charge 10x faster and doesn’t take all day to charge from 90% to 100%. Then you’ll notice the voltage doesn’t drop off sharply as the DoD gets lower.

Wow, I'm not sure 44 amps would run my brake system for long. I installed 2 GC batteries with 225 amps usable before I pulled my fiver off the lot. Even that wasn't entirely satisfactory because after the first day of recharging with a little 15 amp inverter generator I was starting out with less than 100%.

The things you point out are exactly why I'm anxious to switch to Lithium.

I'm finding, too, that solving these problems brings on a whole new set of considerations. For instance, the OEM charge circuit is #6 AWG and it would be easy to overload these wires if the batteries were still in the front compartment.

[howson]

For instance, the OEM charge circuit is #6 AWG and it would be easy to overload these wires if the batteries were still in the front compartment.

I agree. I'm planning on replacing the wires from the batteries to the converter/inverter with (at least) #4 gauge. I found the sizing chart on this website easy to understand: https://www.bluesea.com/resources/1437 Gene gbkims, Rob Cate&Rob, and GrandLiving (and maybe others) have previously posted this link.

[SouthTX]

I agree. I'm planning on replacing the wires from the batteries to the converter/inverter with (at least) #4 gauge. I found the sizing chart on this website easy to understand: https://www.bluesea.com/resources/1437 Gene gbkims, Rob Cate&Rob, and GrandLiving (and maybe others) have previously posted this link.

That's exactly what I did, but keep in mind that some converters won't take a cable much larger than OEM. The PD converter I removed was maxed out with #6 AWG (it just clamped down on the bare wire) and my new converter uses crimp on terminals and #4 AWG just barely fits.

I ended up running #4 less than 2 ft to a buss bar that feeds the batteries and connecting that to the OEM #6 wire that feeds the house circuits since all those are 15 amp circuits. I had to scratch my head for a bit until that came to me - I thought I was going to have to turn down the max charging amperage which is an option on my new converter.

Nothing is ever simple. I like to overbuild stuff, but that can cause complications, too.

[Ditchdigger]

I must have done something wrong then. There is no reason these components can’t be in the same compartment.
Attachment 17378

Aren't those Lithium batteries?

[Devinh2]

Aren't those Lithium batteries?

Nope!! But I wish they were.

[Ditchdigger]

Nope!! But I wish they were.

AGM's then. You can install the equipment in with AGM's, but not flooded like I have.

[DaveMatthewsBand]

AGM's then. You can install the equipment in with AGM's, but not flooded like I have.

What are you talking about?

Are you saying you can’t put FLA in the same compartment with an inverter and solar controller?



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