Lithium Upgrade

[rutranger]

My old lead acid battery was giving me problems so I decided to upgrade to a lithium battery. I figured this would give me more power when traveling so I could just pull off the road and stay overnight without any power issues. I installed a Li Time 400ah lithium battery, but it seems to be having a problem charging correctly. When I first installed it I checked it with a meter and it showed 13.46 volts. Recently after arriving at a campground in Quartzite I checked the battery and it only showed 11.24 volts and this is after a 3 hour trip to get there. I figured it would be fully charged so we could go meet up with some friends out near Dome Rock and stay a couple of days, but it actually went down. Now that's after being installed in my 5th wheel for a couple of months plugged into a 50amps pedestal.

I could use some guidance on what hardware I may need or possible issues I may be having.

I have a 2020 Bighorn Traveler 32GK and am pulling it with a 2017 F450 with the 6.7 Power Stroke.

 

[Bogie]

Did you check/change your converter?

Not all converters are able to fully charge Lithium batteries. For Lithium, the converter need to be able to output 14.6 volts in order for the battery to fully charge. For a lead/acid battery, the normal output for a converter would be 13.6 volts. So if your converter is at 13.6 volts, the lithium batteries would never fully charge.

A 2020 RV would likely have a converter with the ability to change the output, but you would have to check the converter itself to be sure.

While a 400 AH battery is significant, it's still dependent on what you are powering and what the total draw is. Do you have a residential fridge? That may require a significant amount of power and the inverter used to operate it would be on all the time (additional draw) when not connected to shore power.

On edit....changed the converter output for lithium to 14.6 volts.

 

[rutranger]

Thanks Bogie. I just checked my email and according to Heartland Support my Bighorn Traveler 32GK should have an WF-9865-AD Converter Charger installed and the charger has the ability with the microprocessor-driven technology that will recognize lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries and adjust the charging profile to match the battery type. The Support Team also gave me the location of my Converter Charger so I'm going to open up my panel to verify that I have the correct Converter Charger and that it is actually functioning properly.

We have an residential refrigerator, but that was the only thing running on our Inverter while we traveled 4 hours to Quartzite Arizona so it is a little odd that the battery was so low on voltage after our travel day.

Thanks again for your assistance it is truly appreciated. Safe travels...

 

[cipwood]

Also you might check the charge/converter to see if it has a switch that must be set for lithium, mine did. It's tiny little switch and is hard to find/see. The newer chargers have auto detect but the year of your rig is in the grey area where it might have the switch or not.

 

[Bogie]

According to WFCO web site, the WF9865-AD has what they call "Auto Detect" technology. In other words, it is suppose to be able to detect the type of battery and automatically adjust the charging profile for lead/acid or lithium. But, it takes one discharge/charge cycle to make the determination. Check the link below. It has video's on the WFCO site. The two you are interested in are at the bottom.

https://www.wfcotech.com/support/supportvideos/

Once you confirm you in fact have a WF9865-AD and you are sure you have had one charge/discharge cycle, if the converter isn't putting out 14.6 volts, you may have to give WFCO a call and ask for technical support.

 

[rutranger]

Thank you. I was able to confirm this with Heartland. Thank you all for your assistance it was truly appreciated.

 

[NewHopians]

My old lead acid battery was giving me problems so I decided to upgrade to a lithium battery. I figured this would give me more power when traveling so I could just pull off the road and stay overnight without any power issues. I installed a Li Time 400ah lithium battery, but it seems to be having a problem charging correctly. When I first installed it I checked it with a meter and it showed 13.46 volts. Recently after arriving at a campground in Quartzite I checked the battery and it only showed 11.24 volts and this is after a 3 hour trip to get there. I figured it would be fully charged so we could go meet up with some friends out near Dome Rock and stay a couple of days, but it actually went down. Now that's after being installed in my 5th wheel for a couple of months plugged into a 50amps pedestal.

I could use some guidance on what hardware I may need or possible issues I may be having.

I have a 2020 Bighorn Traveler 32GK and am pulling it with a 2017 F450 with the 6.7 Power Stroke.

Being three hours from Quartzsite where do you live? We are about the same distance and are in Prescott AZ area

 

[rutranger]

SoCal, why?

 

[WireEd]

With shore power hooked up and on, and the battery connected (and charging) can you provide the voltage at the battery terminals?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MRees]

Thanks Bogie. I just checked my email and according to Heartland Support my Bighorn Traveler 32GK should have an WF-9865-AD Converter Charger installed and the charger has the ability with the microprocessor-driven technology that will recognize lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries and adjust the charging profile to match the battery type. The Support Team also gave me the location of my Converter Charger so I'm going to open up my panel to verify that I have the correct Converter Charger and that it is actually functioning properly.

We have an residential refrigerator, but that was the only thing running on our Inverter while we traveled 4 hours to Quartzite Arizona so it is a little odd that the battery was so low on voltage after our travel day.

Thanks again for your assistance it is truly appreciated. Safe travels...

Yeah I wouldn’t go buy what Heartland tells you I was supposed to have an auto detect one as well, but guess what I didn’t. If I was you I would look behind your electrical panel at your converter and see what model it actually is. And from what I’ve been told about lithium batteries. The alternator on a vehicle will not charge a lithium battery. I’ve actually been told you can damage your alternator.

 

[rutranger]

I don't think my alternator charged the battery and there may have been a problem with the pedestal power where we stayed. Currently since we've been staying where were at we haven't had any problems. I just installed the Victron 500 amp shunt today and the battery is at 100% which tells me that the pedestal has been keeping the battery charged. When I turned my pedestal power off I watched through the app on my phone as things changed as I turned things on and off to see how much power I was consuming.

On another note I don't believe what Heartland told me is 100% true and I have plans on hunting down my converter to see what I actually have. Its not behind my Electrical panel because I've already looked there and it wasn't there. I think its behind a panel in my underbelly right below my power panel, but I haven't had the chance to take everything out to see if its there. As soon as I do I will post it here.

Thanks for your responses...

 

[rutranger]

Did you check/change your converter?

Not all converters are able to fully charge Lithium batteries. For Lithium, the converter need to be able to output 14.6 volts in order for the battery to fully charge. For a lead/acid battery, the normal output for a converter would be 13.6 volts. So if your converter is at 13.6 volts, the lithium batteries would never fully charge.

A 2020 RV would likely have a converter with the ability to change the output, but you would have to check the converter itself to be sure.

While a 400 AH battery is significant, it's still dependent on what you are powering and what the total draw is. Do you have a residential fridge? That may require a significant amount of power and the inverter used to operate it would be on all the time (additional draw) when not connected to shore power.

On edit....changed the converter output for lithium to 14.6 volts.

I installed a Victron 500 amp shunt today and with my 1000 watt inverter running my residential refrigerator and some lights it tells me that I'm good for a little over 3 days. I'm going to purchase a Honda 2200 watt inverter generator to charge the battery when needed. Thanks again...

 

[djwheels2000]

Thank you. I was able to confirm this with Heartland. Thank you all for your assistance it was truly appreciated.

My little Mallard M210RB... I installed four 200watt solar panels (800 watts total) with 3000 watt inverter and 60a Solar Controller with 400a Li Batteries. I wired it to main 30a shore power panel in camper BUT I have to turn off converter breaker. That will drain the Li since it was trying to take my inverter 12VDC to 110VAC back to 12VDC! LOL. I went 6 days straight at Daytona 500 until the need for a generator charge 6 hrs because weather was bad for 2 days and no sun. But hey 1.5 gallons of gas was only used and the entire camper (AC, Fridge, Heater, Microwave, Coffee Pot) and other stuff worked the entire time. Go Solar! Also get a SoftstartRV for your AC units! It will save your AC unit from pulling 20a-30a on start up to only 12.4a Just wired my brothers Coleman AC unit with it and he can now power his AC with a 2200 Honda. Before he has to use the companions of two. Generator will use less gas too!

 

[ksucats]

I haven't taken the plunge to lithium yet but in reading up on things, it seems that the power being fed by way of the 7-pin plug is not sufficient to charge the lithium batteries while traveling, and being used for a residential refrigerator while on the road. Lots of posts indicating people are installing DC to DC charge lines and parts to take care of this. Still have to do more research on this last part but it seems logical and not all that expensive. Lithium is the way to go - just dragging my feet at the cost though while my Lead-Acid batteries as still doing their job

 

[CoveredWagon]

Your tow vehicle thinks the RV is trying to charge the truck and it will electrically disconnect. In other words the truck is not charging the RV. The service rep from Dexter Axle explained all of this at the Michigan rally. Depending on the age of the truck (new GM vehicles) he said you could have other brake issues.

 

[NewHopians]

SoCal, why?

Our kids are in the Antelope Valley. Palmdale/Lancaster area.

 

[rutranger]

Our kids are in the Antelope Valley. Palmdale/Lancaster area.

That's not to far from where we frequently stay. We're Elks members so a lot of times we stay at a lodge and then make trips out of wherever whichever lodge were at.

 

[rutranger]

Your tow vehicle thinks the RV is trying to charge the truck and it will electrically disconnect. In other words the truck is not charging the RV. The service rep from Dexter Axle explained all of this at the Michigan rally. Depending on the age of the truck (new GM vehicles) he said you could have other brake issues.

Thanks for the input. Everything seems to be working correctly now. When my wife and I travel it has been charging the battery.