Bogie
Well-known member
Changing to a single 12 volt battery (lithium or lead/acid) can be done. But, what you gain with two 6 volt batteries is more amp hours. For example, two Trojan T105 6 volt batteries in series (12 volts) would have a max total of 225 amp hours. A single Battle Born lithium battery has a 100 amp hour capacity. Therefore, by going to a single battery you would be reducing your available amp hours. This may or may not be a problem depending on your needs and usage.
The converter supplied with a 2016 RV is likely not to be compatible with a lithium battery because the maximum voltage of older converters is about 12.7 volts. A lithium battery requires 14.4 volts. So a converter that doesn't have the ability to switch to a higher voltage will never fully charge a lithium battery (reduces the capacity). Newer converters usually have the ability to be set to the voltage required for the type of battery you are using.
You will have to get the model number of your converter and look up it's specifications before making a change to lithium.
The converter supplied with a 2016 RV is likely not to be compatible with a lithium battery because the maximum voltage of older converters is about 12.7 volts. A lithium battery requires 14.4 volts. So a converter that doesn't have the ability to switch to a higher voltage will never fully charge a lithium battery (reduces the capacity). Newer converters usually have the ability to be set to the voltage required for the type of battery you are using.
You will have to get the model number of your converter and look up it's specifications before making a change to lithium.
david-steph2018
Well-known member
As mentioned, the converter more than likely will need to be upgraded. You mentioned a single 12VDC lithium battery, but didn't say what size.
There are different sizes of the "single" lithium battery. There are 100-AH, 120-AH, 200-AH, 280-AH, I have seen a 400-AH battery.
We have 8-120-AH Elevations lithium batteries.
So what size were you talking about?
wdk450
Well-known member
All the lithium battery fires that are nearly impossible to put out until they burn themselves out of fuel scares me for RV use. Lithium fires are different in that they produce their own oxygen. One of the best ways to stop their damage is to bury the battery (or entire vehicle) in sand until it burns itself out. Does anyone make a solid metal battery box to contain these batteries, and isolate possible damage to just the battery?
Considering all the misinformation found on the internet these days I thought I'd just post, "Lithium Iron Phosphate ((LiFePO4 or LFP)) batteries are incombustible, meaning they will not burn when exposed to fire or when mishandled during rapid charges and discharges or when there are short circuit issues."
Regular lithium ion, not so much.
Regular lithium ion, not so much.
wdk450
Well-known member
Thanks for setting us straight. I used to live in the Sacramento area and read about the recent Tesla semi fire up on I-80 going in the Sierra Nevada mountains, in which 50,000 gallons of trucked in water was dumped on the fire, it finally burned out by itself, and I had even heard that there was a aerial firefighting tanker retardant drop on the surrounding forest trees to stop any possible wildfires. all from 1 vehicle fire.
I guess the term "Lithium Battery Fire" paints with too broad a brush.
I guess the term "Lithium Battery Fire" paints with too broad a brush.
taskswap
Well-known member
LiFePO4 are a bit heavier, too (because of the iron). That's why they haven't made their way into consumer electronics. When you see "lithium battery fire" videos online it's nearly always a cell phone or car. But while we care about weight in campers, they're still lighter than old-school lead-acids so it's a win anyway.
