Upgraded to 6 Lithium Batteries

[Oregon_Camper]

Most of you know we like to boondock vs RV resort camping, so battery power is top of the list of important things.

I was lucky enough to run into a few Heartland folks 2 weeks ago and they got a sneak peek at our battery setup. The Blog and YouTube video are now complete and posted.


Let me know if you have any questions.

YouTube - https://youtu.be/08u7VRPeJD4

Blog - https://www.rvwiththetanners.com/si...ery-Upgrade---6-Battle-Born-Lithium-Batteries

 

[KenandKK]

Great video. Now I'm a believer...

 

[gslabbert5119]

Thanks Jim ...

 

[SLO]

Pro: Very nicely done argument for Lithium’s.
Con: Now I’m looking at Lithium’s.


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[Jesstruckn/Jesstalkn]

Great video Jim, glad I got to see it in person. I haven't called them yet but its on my tado list.
Thanks again for all of that information on the video. It's a no brainer for me.
I'm going to start with two for now and see how it goes.

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[Squirlee]

That is awesome. Being I am doing my electrical you have me thinking of putting 2 of these in my trailer for our residential fridge. What are you using for a converter? I presume the inverter is ok but I would need to change the converter.

 

[Oregon_Camper]

That is awesome. Being I am doing my electrical you have me thinking of putting 2 of these in my trailer for our residential fridge. What are you using for a converter? I presume the inverter is ok but I would need to change the converter.

Your inverter will have no issue with the Lithium batteries. It will simply put power from them, as it would from any battery.

Battle Born claims "drop in compatible". I would figure out the model of your converter, then call them. They are amazing to work with.

I removed my factory converter and now use the Go Power IC2000 as my converter and inverter. It does an amazing job and even support 50 amp on both legs..so the entire RV has power. Click here to open the YouTube video I did for the Go Power IC2000 (they have an IC3000 now)

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Great video Jim, glad I got to see it in person. I haven't called them yet but its on my tado list.
Thanks again for all of that information on the video. It's a no brainer for me.
I'm going to start with two for now and see how it goes.

...plus they will work well in the Tiffin you were talking about. Melinda and I have been looking HARD at the Tiffin Phaeton lineup.

 

[gslabbert5119]

I hate you Jim 🤪, I am leaning heavily to purchasing 3 Battle Born batteries.

They are so superior on many levels, and the 30% solar rebate lowers the exposure somewhat.
Still for me $2850 is going to break the bank.

Three of these suckers had better be enough


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[Oregon_Camper]

I hate you Jim 🤪, I am leaning heavily to purchasing 3 Battle Born batteries.

They are so superior on many levels, and the 30% solar rebate lowers the exposure somewhat.
Still for me $2850 is going to break the bank.

Three of these suckers had better be enough

Ah...it's only money...right?

I was hoping you'd decide on moving to Lithium batteries. After our phone call, I was pretty sure you would.

Remember to look into the Victron BMV-712 as well. It will provide you EVERYTHING you need to know about your batteries.

You might start with just 2 batteries and monitor it for a month or so with the Victron. I'm guessing you will be surprised at the amount of energy you'll get from these batteries. You can always add the 3rd on later.

 

[dee004]

Awesome video Jim. I just picked up 6 175watt solar panels with a 65amp mppt charge controller. You sure have given some good food for thought. Now if I can manage to put together the funds to go lithium over flooded batteries it would be a bonus. Cheers. Don

 

[porthole]

LiFEBlue is a BattelBorn competitor and offers a couple of advantages. Capacity, Bluetooth monitoring and warranty for example.

 

[Jesstruckn/Jesstalkn]

Good to know. I'll check them out
Thanks

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[Jesstruckn/Jesstalkn]

I was researching the Lifeblue website and see this quote..

Can I use LiFeBlue Battery to start my engine?
No. LiFeBlue Battery is designed for deep cycle use only. It is not designed to start any kind of engine.



So I wonder if that would mean the Onan 5500 Gen too ?

I call them this week.

 

[LBR]

I was researching the Lifeblue website and see this quote..

Can I use LiFeBlue Battery to start my engine?
No. LiFeBlue Battery is designed for deep cycle use only. It is not designed to start any kind of engine.



So I wonder if that would mean the Onan 5500 Gen too ?

I call them this week.

I'm sure they will be side-steping that "not designed to start any kind of engine" when you do....lol..."Wellllll, we meant an automotive engine!"

 

[CarterKraft]

I was researching the Lifeblue website and see this quote..

Can I use LiFeBlue Battery to start my engine?
No. LiFeBlue Battery is designed for deep cycle use only. It is not designed to start any kind of engine.



So I wonder if that would mean the Onan 5500 Gen too ?

I call them this week.

I think your slide/level-up hydraulic system will be much harder on the batteries than the Onan.

 

[Jesstruckn/Jesstalkn]

I called them this morning about starting the Gen.
He said it might work, or it might not. If it works great, if it doesn't you'll have to run a lead acid battery for the gen only.
If it works, great. You will NOT void the warranty.

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[porthole]

Pretty much the standard reply for any of the batteries when questioning between deep cycle or starting battery.

 

[CarterKraft]

Pretty much the standard reply for any of the batteries when questioning between deep cycle or starting battery.

I think with the lithium batteries specifically the Cranking Amps CA are much lower than a lead acid.
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]LifeBlue 100Ah Discharge Current: 100A continuous, 300A for 3 seconds[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Even so if you had three of those that would be 300A continuous and 900A surge, that should start your truck let alone a 25 hp lawnmower engine...[/FONT]

 

[Oregon_Camper]

I reached out to Battle Born about the points brought up with LifeBlue....here is the response from their CEO. Something about getting a response directly from the CEO, makes me think I picked the correct supplier for my Lithium needs.

In any case, we decided early on to not put Bluetooth internally because, 1) you can monitor cycles, SOC, V, current, etc externally using Victron equipment among others, 2) we were concerned that the battery would last longer than the Bluetooth version since that changes rapidly, and 3) we did not want to include something internally that could break over time when we find it not completely necessary.​

​

But the main issue with the LifeBlue battery is their choice of prismatic cells – which are cheaper, but did not last as long in our cycle tests. The reason they don’t last as long is that, since they are more massive than the smaller cylindrical cells, they cannot dissipate heat as well. They are also harder to capacity match, because capacity variations are much larger. By contrast, smaller cells may be matched individually, and then matched again as modules. That is what we do. And finally, cylindrical cells are encased in stainless steel and are much less susceptible to moisture contamination, which can also cause capacity degradation.​

 

[TexasTraveler2017]

I’ve been running 3 of the 100AH Battleborn batteries since April and have absolutely loved them. We’ve been boondocking outside of the Badlands for the last week and our 600 watts of solar and Battle Born batteries have kept our residential fridge running without any problem. We’ve also been able to keep computers charged for work and school using the 1000 watt inverter. We’ve only needed to run our Onan 6500 LP for times that we needed power for the Instant Pot or AC on Sunday when it was 90 degrees.

I’m really thinking about adding a 4th since I have room for one more under our dresser where I installed the other 3. I’m also looking at adding the go power IC3000 so that we can power other things in the rig. My victron 100/50 charge controller can handle one more panel, so I think I will do that as well.

We don’t exclusively boondock, but I love not having to worry about the fridge running out of battery on travel days. And I love not needing to run the generator all the time, but it’s nice to have it when we need it.

Also...I haven’t had any issue starting the onan using the lithium batteries.


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