GimmyTree

There is a bit more to it than I thought. Okay so I will make sure to charge it only to 14.2V, not it's full capacity. I'll take a look through that site to get a bit more of an education on lith batts. The last thing I need is to have my van catch fire because I did something wrong with the battery.

Alright thanks. I'm not familiar with soldering but this is probably what I'm going to have to end up doing.

Thanks, I'm just taking a look now.

I have just ordered a very pricey LiFePO4 battery to go with my 160 watt solar panel. Now I want a MPPT controller and I was hoping someone here could confirm this is the correct controller for the battery and panel. I believe it is the correct controller but I would like a second opinion please. The charge controller: https://fazcorp.co.nz/collections/mppt-s...v-ml2430-1 With a MPPT Bluetooth Communication Module so I can monitor the solar system from my Amazon Kindle: https://fazcorp.co.nz/collections/mppt-s...ies-bt-1-1 Solar panel: Standard power: 160 Watts Maximum power voltage: 17.8 Maximum power current: 9.0A Open Circuit voltage: 21.1V Short Circuit current: 9.5A LiFePO4 battery: Nominal voltage: 12v Capacity: 100Ah Discharge cut-off voltage: 8.4v Operating voltage min 11.5 V - max 14.8 V At 80 % DOD Optimal discharge current < 50 A Charge voltage: 14.6v

The battery I purchased has a charge voltage of 14.6 I think I'll look into buying a charge controller that is definitely for a LiFePO4 battery, The PWM controller I currently own does have a lithium option but it doesn't specify LiFePO4. So I'd have to gamble on it being compatible with LiFePO4 batteries, and I'm not willing to gamble.

Thanks for the information guys. Another thing is; even though my PWM controller is compatible with a Lithium battery, the battery in the OP link that I want to buy is only compatible with a LiFePO4 charge controller and my PWM controller doesn't specify what type of lithium battery it works with. Do you think I should by a LiFePO4 charge controller like this?: https://www.amazon.com/Genasun-GV-10L-Controller-Lithium-Batteries/dp/B01N6AXQZH/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=sl1&tag=zk0c5-20&linkId=2a1ee7abd062307ea19a3cb9a8e644ce

Man that sounds good:)

Thanks for the links, I'm going to have a good read up after work.

It is actually more expensive. The battery I plan to buy costs $949NZD ($640USD). Shipping a lithium battery within NZ only costs $4USD and shipping lithium batteries internationally is not allowed anyway unless the battery is already installed in the equipment it operates.

I don't own a RV, I own a 1999 high roof Toyota Hiace which I plan to live out of full time. It's still in the conversion stage and because I can only work on it one day per week, I've got a two more weeks before it's finished. I do plan on doing some traveling (I'm located in NZ) but generally I'll be staying in the same town because I have a full time job. The traveling will be done on weekends and holiday's. I'll be mostly boondocking near a beach where I previously lived for nine years, so I know the area well. I have a pure sine wave inverter and I'll be powering a laptop, 2 x kontiki batteries (by plugging the kontiki charger into the inverter), a mobile and a kindle. A kontiki is a fishing device, if you're not familiar with it.

It's currently 5am and I have work in a couple of hours but I'll have a good read of those sites when I get home. Thanks for the links:)

I was just about to buy the battery below for my 160 watt solar panel but there is a lot of different guidelines and warnings on the battery: https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/caravan...ed0d07-003 My questions are; Are Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries easily damaged compared to lead acid batteries? Is a newbie like myself better off with a lead acid battery?

Ah good answers, that explains things. I'll have to watch a few YouTube video's on how to crimp MC4 connectors without a crimper.

This one: https://www.trademe.co.nz/business-farmi...b7393b-001 Or this one: https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/caravan...1883d5-001 I know the lithium iron phosphate batteries are better than the lead acid batteries, so I assume all lithium iron phosphate batteries are deep cycle batteries?, is my assumption correct?

My solar panel is 160 watts and I currently have a PWM solar charge controller (30V) which apparently aren't very efficient and loss 30% of solar power. So a MPPT solar charge controller was recommended. My question is; will this controller be okay for a 160 watt solar panel, or should I buy one of the smaller ones? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07429RK43/ref=as_li_ss_tl?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B07429RK43&pd_rd_wg=2Tk2y&pd_rd_r=92XADJVX85X17T90PT7F&pd_rd_w=R7yk9&linkCode=sl1&tag=vehicledwelling-20&linkId=8b93017dcab6009786a3f874e2280e87