switching to lifepo4 batteries

[ashton23l]

anyone switched over from lead acid to LiFePo4 batteries?  any regrets?  i know the up front cost is much more, but i am going from 2 lead acid at 70 pounds each to 2 lithium at 30 pounds each and will still have more power.  tips? 

[pjstough]

Do it, and dont look back.

[rbertalotto]

I just did exactly that this week.....Simply amazing improvement in performance....WAY faster charging....For the same space and half the weight, twice the capacity. Prices are falling. You can get great Li batteries with all the temperature protections for well under $500 each. I bought two Renogy on sale for $499 each and a Chinese battery for the boat for $369.....All with low temp protection, high and low discharge protection and warrantees.....

 

[hemsteadc]

I bought years ago so price was at a premium, but no way would I go back to LA.  Less weight, much faster charging, no watering, no corrosion.. etc.  You cry once, but you'll love them.  Hoping it's the last batteries I'll ever buy.

Edited April 14, 2022 by hemsteadc

[Chad Heiser]

I made the switch last year.  I will never go back to lead acid or AGM.  The benefits far outweigh the initial sticker shock, in my opinion.  Weight savings, linear power output, available power, speed of charging, etc. are all great benefits.  I can and do charge my lithium batteries at 300+ amps.  I can gain 30%+ in state of charge an hour for my 1080 amp hour lithium battery bank when plugged into a 50 amp power source.  I can charge at up to 200 amps when I am using my solar array to charge them.  When you actually amortize the cost out over the lifespan of the battery they come in at the same or lower cost than lead acid.  This assumes you will keep them for long enough to realize this though.

[oldjohnt]

Ashton here's a copy of what I just posted on the other thread:

BOTTOM LINE (for my frequent dry camping) given their MUCH lighter weight,,,,,,LESS if any voltage sag under load and/or as SOC decreases,,,,,,,,,,,MUCH faster charging,,,,,,, I LOVE MINE AND WOULD NEVER GO BACK but of course to each their own based on THEIR needs and THEIR budget. FWIW I chose SOK (like 1/2 cost of BB) and they have performed perfect to date... AFTER I invested in Li I keep reading how all the future technologies such as solid state batteries are even better than Li but that's for the next generation. 

John T  Retired n rusty electrical engineer and 50 year RV owner

[ashton23l]

So i was looking at the BB batteries, but SOK looks like a more financially feasible battery.  BB was going to adjust all my settings when i bought theirs, but if i buy the SOK, i still need some settings changed. who can do that?  does SOK?

[Itinerant1]

If you can get over the initial up front cost you'll never look back. Add a little solar and you have your own little power plant running quietly in the background.

Edited April 15, 2022 by Itinerant1

[oldjohnt]

7 hours ago, ashton23l said:

but if i buy the SOK, i still need some settings changed. who can do that?  does SOK?

Ashton I don't know the answer, you would have to ask them (maybe some other gent here knows ?) All I do know is I got excellent help and support when I called about SOK and my Li Charger was set at their recommended level. I've seen some chargers with easy dip switch adjustments for various charge levels but I have no idea about your equipment or settings.  I recommend you ask SOK FIRST and then follow up talking to the charger tech people...With that kind of investment may as well get it right !!!! While its NOT my preference I have seen people use their older so called Smart chargers designed for Lead Acid for charging Li and sure that still provides some degree of charge, but I prefer to use the manufacturers recommendations myself, but that's JUST ME, do as you please or what the maker or experts here say.

Happy Easter

John T 

Edited April 16, 2022 by oldjohnt

[rbertalotto]

Yup.....Quick article I wrote about the Li adventure...

http://rvbprecision.com/rv-projects/rv-lead-acid-agm-to-lithium.html

[ashton23l]

so I currently have 3 group 27 marine deep cycle batteries.  here are the spec

Detailed Description Group Size (BCI): 27M; Cold Cranking Amps (CCA): 600 CCA; Cranking Amps (CA): 750 CA; Voltage (V): 12 Volt; Length (in): 12-7/8 Inch; Width (in): 6-7/8 Inch; Height (in): 9-1/8 Inch; reserve capacity 160 minutes. Super Start Marine Batteries deep cycle line delivers deep discharges of power for marine and recreational applications.

But what does that equal in amp hours?   I cannot find anything that measures the amp hours of these batteries?

[Darryl&Rita]

Group 27 batteries typically run around 85 ah capacity. Around 40 usable.

[ashton23l]

1 hour ago, Darryl&Rita said:

Group 27 batteries typically run around 85 ah capacity. Around 40 usable.

thats incredible, thank you 

 

[oldjohnt]

While it's NOT exact or accurate whatsoever, if you divide the CCA by 7.25 you can get AN APPROXIMATION of Amp Hours. 600/7.25 = 83 Amp Hours. Again that CCA to AH crude approximation IS NOT IDEAL OR ACCURATE.........In the days when I used Full True Deep Cycle batteries I did NOT consider RV Marine to be as suitable for deep cycle RV use and considered them designed to have enough CCA to start a big marine engine (typical starting battery application) and then be used to power up a trolling motor (typical deep cycle application). Batteries designed to START (high current for short duration) are not the same as those designed for long term lower amperage deep discharge, the plates among other things are different.  

 But hey no problem I used RV Marine batteries in RV's way back when before I converted to full true deep cycle golf cart batteries  before converting to AGM, before converting to Lithium, its a natural progression for frequent dry campers.

FYI two Trojan 6 Volt Golf Cart batteries in series would be rated around 225 AH at 12 volts but that's more weight and size. My old 12 Volt AGM's are 200 AH but they weight 129 lbs and are huge frame size 4D. My 12.8 Volt 206 Amp Hour Lithiums charge must faster, are much smaller and lighter and don't experience near as much voltage sag under load or at reduced SOC,,, BUT YES THEY WERE EXPENSIVE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Best wishes

John T

 

Edited April 18, 2022 by oldjohnt

[ashton23l]

1 hour ago, oldjohnt said:

 

FYI two Trojan 6 Volt Golf Cart batteries in series would be rated around 225 AH at 12 volts but that's more weight and size. My old 12 Volt AGM's are 200 AH but they weight 129 lbs and are huge frame size 4D. My 12.8 Volt 206 Amp Hour Lithiums charge must faster, are much smaller and lighter and don't experience near as much voltage sag under load or at reduced SOC,,, BUT YES THEY WERE EXPENSIVE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 

 

but those 2 6 volt batteries are basically 50% usage right?  like the 12 volt?  

 

I just purchased 2 BB liFepo4 batteries from Battleborn with a shunt. they will be here in 2 days!

Edited April 18, 2022 by ashton23l

[oldjohnt]

12 hours ago, ashton23l said:

but those 2 6 volt batteries are basically 50% usage right?  like the 12 volt?  

Correct, when using Lead Acid (6 Volt or 12 Volt) its best NOT to discharge over 50%

Congratulations on upgrading to Lithium and a shunt based battery monitor..

John T

[Itinerant1]

Once you have the lfp in and the charging/ discharging parameters in place the punishment the batteries can take and performance it can deliver is just amazing even after 6 years fulltime use. 

[justRich]

I did exactly as you did and I upgraded the power converter to one for lithium.
The standard LA charger will work but does not exactly meet lithium requirements.

 

[ashton23l]

31 minutes ago, Rich&Sylvia said:

I did exactly as you did and I upgraded the power converter to one for lithium.
The standard LA charger will work but does not exactly meet lithium requirements.

 

What do you mean? I called battleborn and they said we could adjust mine to work

[hemsteadc]

3 hours ago, ashton23l said:

What do you mean? I called battleborn and they said we could adjust mine to work

Assuming you mean Battleborn can adjust your converter, yes, that's possible.  Schauer did that for me, just for the cost of UPS.  Schauer, however, is the charger maker, not the battery maker.

Edited April 20, 2022 by hemsteadc