Randyretired

Most of the battery cells that make up the LFP batteries are rated to still retain 80% capacity after 3000 to 5000 cycles. This usually means 100% full to cutoff but most RV people will never cycle batteries like that. Just yesterday one of the companies I have purchased from are claiming a new and improved version that will meet the 80% capacity after 6,000 cycles or more. Some manufactures are saying these batteries will meet the 80% capacity for 20 years or more within cycle capacity. In 20 years whoever owns our batteries will know if it is a fact. Currently about 99% of the cells are made in China and the prices are going up as the rare minerals needed are in short supply. There is some hope that factories in other countries will open soon but rare minerals may be still be a problem. China controls most of the known supplies. Of course as technology is driven by the EV's these batteries could become obsolete at anytime. Parts of the Colorado front range, near Denver are often hit with hail. Some have called it the hail capital of the world. There are a lot of solar panels on homes there and rarely have I heard of solar panel damage. Solar panels seem to be pretty robust. Roof, siding and car damage from hail happens most years somewhere in that area. I agree with others that are happy with LFP batteries. The efficiency and weight reduction works for me. We boondock like we are plugged in. We have 2,000 watts of solar on our 5er and we have another 1,700 watt ground mount array at our mountain property along with 1400 ah of batteries.

That is pretty clever. So you didn't mix the chemistries into the same battery bank.

There is a YouTube video from a person that does the same thing. His video goes into detail on how he does it and how it works. It is interesting but maybe it is just me, I wouldn't do it. Fusing would also seem to be very critical.

We have decided to wait on our 2nd booster until maybe fall. We don't go out to eat or spend time indoors with others except when I go shopping or doctor appointments. We wear masks for that. Sure wish they could develop a better vaccine that would actually keep us from getting ill instead of just a milder infection.

Try to find the glass or even a new window if possible. If a new window or glass needs to be made it may take quite awhile. I ordered the windows for our new place and we are HOPING to get them in 5 months. Businesses are waiting sometimes weeks or even more to get glass for a broken door or window.

There are kits to install MC connectors and that is one way to do it. Some prefer to splice the wires and just avoid the connectors. Splices of course need to be made properly and water proof. Either way works.

Depending on the roof type there are some choices. Our 5er has 1/2" plywood under a rubber roof. By covering the area of the mount with Dicor and then putting the mounting into that and using screws has worked. I also cover the screws with Dicor self leveling caulk. We have 2,000 watts of solar. I have used the same method with a roof with thin maybe 1/4" plywood but used mounts that covered a larger area. And finally I have used this method on a fiberglass roof. None of these leaked. On some roofs people have used a bonding agent without using screws. On some large solar panel installs I have seen rails mounted to carry the panels above all of the roof obstructions. If possible these are often secured to the roof structure. There are already a number of screw holes in an RV roof and these are sealed and rarely leak. If the panels are removed I have used Eternabond tape to cover the holes.

We didn't get that far but after talking with him it was clear he wouldn't want to kill a bear.

Some years ago when we were near Hyder AK watching the bears fish I met a gentleman that said he had been studying bears for over 20 years. He talked about what he called false charges, where a bear would charge then turn away only a few feet from you. He said he had it happen 4 times. He carried bear spray and a side arm.

Kirk, My comment about gains was to talk about things like 1% interest when inflation is 7.9% by reported basis and likely much higher than that. At that point you are spending it. Just not getting anything for it. As for when to spend lifes savings that is a tuff question. However, if you have large sums not keeping up with inflation maybe sooner than later. Then there is always that fear. Will I need it later? Sure wish I could figure a way to cross home plate exclaiming WHAT A RIDE as my last check bounced. Nice dream but not likely for me. I am often to conservative for my own good.

Gains can only be considered gains when you have something worth more than what you started with. When the amount of dollars to buy an item goes up then what is the gain? My house and other properties have gone up in value based on dollars but the property is still the same as it was a couple of years ago. What has changed is clearly the value of the dollar. Higher interest rates are only a good thing when the return is better than inflation. Bank interest rates clearly don't even keep up with inflation as RV and others were saying and the price of every day items proves that. With interest rates less than inflation it takes high returns just to hold on to what you have today. Chasing those higher returns in this environment forces higher risk or a guaranteed loss.

Or crazy inflation!

John, Most but not all lithium batteries are equipped with a BMS like you said and most but not all will limit charging by disconnecting the battery. LFP will take about whatever current you throw at it but if it is not controlled the battery will overheat. When batteries are built for fast charging they usually have a means to control the heat. I don't remember for sure but think Telsa uses liquid to cool some of their batteries.

Hi John, The voltage curve on LFP rise very fast when these batteries reach 100% SOC. When the battery is fully charged the internal voltage will equal the charging voltage (within parameters) and the current will stop. So if the battery charger holds the voltage steady all batteries will become equal. That is the way many people top balance the cells before they are arranged to make a battery. Of course if the batteries have way different SOC then it might take many cycles to even out. I guess I am saying they need to be close but .05v depends on the SOC and how long bulk charging is set for.

As long as the battery voltages are close I have never had or seen a problem. The problems arise when there is significant differences in SOC. Some manufacturers go so far as to suggest the voltages should be within .05v for balance. In my fooling around parallel batteries that are pretty close will balance themselves. Certainly the first time they are fully charged.

Most LFP batteries have a BMS that will disconnect the battery cells if the charge current is to high. That saves the battery cells but the voltage spikes when this happens is significant and can cause series problems. I have seen voltage spikes above 21v on a 12v system. Another thing that is interesting is if you connect a fully charged LFP to a discharged battery the current can be really high. 100's of amps.

Until lithium batteries I think that was correct. .25 milli ohms is really really not much resistance.

Lou, The lithium batteries are different. The last cells that just arrived have an internal resistance of .25 milli ohms. These are a matched set that I ordered and yes it is easy to drive them beyond specs. Most inverter/chargers have the option to regulate the amps. For most people though it isn't a problem because it is rare that LFP can't accept at least .5c and most are 1c Some are 2c or more. The lithium batteries are crazy different. From about 20% state of charge to about 90% the voltage only changes about .1v. When charging these the charge will not change the voltage that much either. Most of the time the battery will just take whatever you throw at it. Then as long as the voltage is within parameters the current just stops when the battery is full.

The internal resistance on LFP batteries is so small it is easy to drive more than recommended.

Arizona is pretty easy going as far as sxs. We have taken our RZR there and it was always easy to find a place to ride. We see a lot of sxs's on the street and once saw one advertised as never been off road. Laughlin NV sometimes has a big sxs race. Big fast and expensive machines. Especially during the winter it would be hard to find a better place to ride. We are in Colorado and there are a lot of trails here. Many still covered in snow and many are 50" or less.

I have multiple charge controllers to charge my lithium, LFP batteries. 3 solar charge controllers, inverter charger and the original converter. While you can charge LFP batteries at 14.6v the chargers I have are purposely not set to that high of voltage. When LFP batteries are fully charged and then rested the voltage will settle around 13.3 or 13.4v. Given enough time these batteries will charge at a much lower voltage. The old converter in our RV maintains 13.8v and that will easily fully charge the LFP batteries. I set the solar charge controllers to charge at 14v and the inverter is also set to 14v. The float voltages are set at 13.4v as it is not recommended to keep the batteries at much higher voltages for long periods. Most LFP batteries can accept charge rates of .5c or more, which means a 100ah battery can easily accept 50 amps. I have a large LFP bank and when I run the generator I like to plug in every charger I have. For whatever reason my converter runs at a higher voltage than most and so I don't leave it connected constantly as 13.8v is to high keep the batteries at. I set the inverter charger to float at 13.4v so I use that for when we are plugged in. For long term storage these batteries don't self discharge like lead acid and maintain the charge for weeks or even months. These batteries are best stored at around 50% SOC.

We mostly boondock in the west and prefer to stay in dispersed camping not in campgrounds. Most of those areas allow ATV use. Driving on public roads is complicated. That is area specific. Sometimes specific to a defined area or certain roads in a county.

What can also make this more complicated is many states have requirements for people working in the state. They require you become a resident and obtain licenses in the state. The requirements vary by state and there requirements like time that are included. Working while traveling can be complicated. State taxes are another consideration.

I don't know if this fits the bill. Our inverter has a receptacle on the outlet that I plug the shore wire into. The inverter input has a plug to connect a shore power line to. This way we can use the inverter or not. Generally when on shore power I just bypass the inverter. When we are without shore power (most of the time) I plug the 5er into the inverter and plug the inverter into the generator. Our setup also includes shore power access at the front or the rear of the 5er with these plugs and receptacles but that is another story.

Usually when cylinders leak it is just seals (O rings) leaking. Cylinder rebuilding is probably cheaper. You could do it yourself. There are YouTube videos on how to do it. The local hydraulic shop often has the seals needed. There maybe kits available also. I had some of the cylinders on my heavy equipment rebuilt but I don't do many of those because they are so big and heavy. I have to use a lift just to remove them.