i installed batlle born batteries and upgraded my solar controller and converter charger and have been very happy with them. And, Battle Born has a veteran's discount. And, great technical support. Excellent company. Thanks for the video.
Putting together my camper now. I already decided on lithium despite the price. I will not be replacing batteries every couple years. When I retire, I will be living in my trailer. I’ve always been a investment type guy. Thanks for the video. It helped confirm even more that I’m doing right. I’m still not 100% on how much solar to get and if (2) 100 watt lithium batts will be enough. I will not be running much. I could run all electric and forget propane for cooking, heat, and hot water if I had MORE! LOL!
Great video.. Another thing to mention is the charge rate. Lithium batteries can be charge at a 1/4 of the time it takes to charge lead acid batteries. You can also add to your battery bank at any time with no issues.
Great video ! I have 2 x 100Ah BB lithium on my travel trailer since August 2017 (with 600 watts of solar). They have been fantastic since we switched from 2 6v Lead Acid Golf Cart batteries. One thing that I didn't hear in your video (sorry if I missed it) was about the difference in off-gassing between lead/agm vs lithium. For our tiny trailer this means we can have our batteries inside (nice for keeping out of the elements, temperature regulation and security) and we don't have to worry about the battery gases. Just bringing this up to help others with their decision making process. This is especially folks who might have a smaller rig and are worried about overall rig/tongue weight as well as lack of storage compartments.
Dang it! You're right, I should have called that out in the video for sure. Thanks for bringing that up and hopefully folks will see your comment and understand the zero gassing of Lithium.
Hi Jim, thanks for putting in the work to quantify the "value" of the BB batteries. Nice-looking install too. This should help convince the Mrs regarding the big purchase. Last year I upgraded to 2 6V batteries at 430 Ah or so, but I found that even after a full charge in the day time, we'd be at or near 50% state of charge in the wee hours after running the furnace, as it does get cold in AZ. Adding more solar and a couple of the BB 100 Ah batts should allow us full-time boon docking here in AZ. That freedom in priceless.
Great video. I just finished doing an install in my trailer. 2 Battle Born batteries, Victron 100/50 charge controller, Xantrex XC2000 Inverter/Charger and 6 75 watts Miasole CIGS panels. The biggest advantage of the CIGS panels is the performance in less than ideal lighting conditions. At 5PM on a hazy day I can pull in 250 watts with those panels.
I just did the leap from AGM to one of these Battle Borns. Looking forward to the extra discharge ability and the faster recharge. HUGE upfront cost but should be cheaper in the long run.
I'm doing the same thing and I am so looking forward to this improvement. Like you, I only need one as I'm in a Sprinter Class B. Doing a couple of other electrical upgrades including a Victron BMV-712 monitor and a Victron Orion 121230 DC to DC converter for charging off the alternator to regulate the charge current to 30A, protecting the alternator and being a little gentler on the battery.
@@alan.macrae Cool. I just have mine hooked to a solar panel via a victron 75/15 charge controller. I am thinking of going to a 160w panel though now that I have some extra juice to work with.
We were in the situation you spoke about with the residential fridge. Our power went out at our house and we always are plugged into a 110 outlet from the garage, long story short the inverter kicked in and drained the battery down to 2.86 volts before we knew it. I was originally thinking 1 or 2 BB's just so if it happened again we wouldn't loose everything in the fridge but now thinking 5 batteries, some new Victron inverter and a Victron 712 monitor and eventually solar panels but yikes! 7k without the panels.
Post Winter Update... One more reason I LOVE my Battle Born Batteries. To winterize these batteries, Sean (Battle Born CEO) told me all I had to do was fully charge them and remove the outgoing POS and NEG connection. I could leave the interconnections in tack!! No need to bring them out of the RV and store at home (my RV is stored away from home). Just went there today to reconnect batteries and solar and OMG!! they are still at 13.19v. Woohoo!!
Great video and information !! Thank you very much for taking the time to help us out with this confusing and aggravating issue of why we get the early morning wake up call from our refrigerator Hahaha !!
Love the 2 BB system I put in our class C jayco last year! Nice work on this vid, thx for all the work putting the info together. The cost is pretty steep but the pay back is worth it and I would never go back to any type of lead acid battery again... and for the conspiracy types, I'm not sponsored by Battle born. But I wish I was. Ha 😊
I bought a pair of Duralast 100Ah marine deep cycle AGMs. Once those are done I might look into a 100ah lithium. Hopefully by then they will be a little cheaper. BTW Duralast sells their 100ah deep cycles for $100 each.
Another nice thing with the Li batteries you mentioned is the charge time is 4x faster. It’s nice because if you have to use your generator to charge them, they charge very fast and you can turn the generator off. Great if you run out of power at night or if it has been rainy/cloudy for days.
Very Helpful video, I can't wait to ditch the weight of three Optima Blue Tops I've had for ten years they served their purpose. But now it's Time to upgrade and replace them with three Battle Born 100 ah asap. ---mww
Glad to hear that...you will LOVE them. If you want to help my channel, you can click here before buying from BB. The price will be EXACTLY the same, but I get a referral fee. battlebornbatteries.com?afmc=rvt_01
Just a thought. Your buddy's refrigerator should keep everything cold provided they keep the door shut for at least a day. He shouldn't even need to run power to it. They tell you that in times of power outages to do that. Not sure he needs to upgrade and spend more money.
Oh OK you never know these days,, so many sponsored videos that you cannot trust they are an independent review. I wish you all the best in your expeditions
Great information & Video. I just think it's all getting a bit crazy now. I thought the idea of camping was to get away from all the mod cons & back to nature. I remember as a kid here in England going off in the caravan with my mum & dad with just a gas cooker & heater, I know that wouldn't cut it these days. But we all had fantastic times & never stopped laughing, we never had the time for using gadgets, we were too busy enjoying ourselves. Thanks for sharing though😎👍
Great presentation! I love your setup, where all your wiring is neat and tidy, and fortunately we're seeing more of that with many setups these days. Now, my situation is with our 2008 Tiffin Phaeton motorhome, which does have a residential fridge...so yes, I know what you mean about the 3 or 4 o'clock wake up call via the fridge chime! So, I pulled my four 225AH Interstates out, and now have 'three' (to start with) Battle Borns. Unfortunately, because of the year of our rig, our Xantrex Inverter/charger doesn't have a specific 'Lithium' settings, as I purchased the Victron BMV-712 now and I go by what I see on my iPhone now. I'm unsure of your 'charging' setup, but my charger doesn't seem to be capable to charging (with current settings) to the 14.4V - 14.6V, as it takes the Battle Borns to float state of 13.44V and it just sits there all the time. On the graph I was sent by BB, that's not a full 100% charge, and I'm assuming that's because I'm not getting the full mid 14's volts charge? I do have a stand-alone small battery charger I use for our vehicles, which does have a 'Lithium' setting, and I left it on overnight last night, and when I checked in the morning the batteries where sitting at 13.33V. So, any help on getting these batteries to charge would be appreciated. I have contacted BB, as they asked for me to forward them a screenshot of all my settings, which I've done, but I've not yet heard back from them. Came across your channel via a Google search on this issue. Thanks, again great video on this topic!
I am sure you will hear back from BB soon....they were amazing with all my questions when making this video. Can you see if your converter is putting out 14v by testing with ohm meter? If its output is only 13.33...then you might have to swap. Can you adjust your charger settings at all? You will want to probably move to AGM and also (if you can) stop any equalization stage charging. Bulk charging should get you to 14v. Have you tried contacting Xantrex? BTW...my wife and I LOVE LOVE LOVE Tiffin motorhomes. That will be our next RV, once we decide we need a new RV.
Ordered some Battle Borns yesterday for our DP motorhome, and it will be nice to shed some pounds from the lead/acid to the BB's! I 'was' going to ask if I would need to make any changes to our Xantrex inverter/convertor, but I noticed someone else had a similar question, and you mentioned to contact Battle born with the brand and model #. One fellow did mention to switch it from the lead/acid setting, to AGM...so if that's the case, I'll have to figure out how to do that. I like the 'drop-in' feature, but I haven't done much electrical before, so I may be all thumbs, but I'll be careful, and I did ask a friend much more capable, so it should go fine. We have a residential fridge, and as you mentioned in your video, it's woken us up in the middle of the morning 'twice'...so, hopefully that is done with! Thanks for the video, and hopefully we'll see an 'update video' at some point, where you have times in how long you can go without additional support from the generator or shore power. We where going to go with solar...so we may try a couple hundred watts of 'suitcase solar' next spring! BTW- yes, cost is the troublesome part...especially for us Canadians that have to add another 35% because of the difference in the $$, then another tax burden when we get to the border...so, over 40% more than most, living in the U.S. Takes longer to recoup the $$ from the batteries, but should make life a little easier no doubt.
Nice clean layout. Why did you put your emergency battery disconnect....in the battery compartment, behind the batteries? You'll never get to that switch when one of those lithium cells goes off.
To be honest, I never considered the switch as an emergency cut off, I always thought of it as simply a way to cutoff power while the RV is in storage.
Hey, I liked your video. Just one thing, it is a common misconception that you should make your connections a certain way to 'drain' one battery before another. That just is not the case with batteries that are all connected together. That's why Battle Born describes just removing the connection in storage, but not all connections. Just think of interconnected batteries as "A Single Battery"; electrically that is the physics of batteries. When you consider that one Battle Born Battery (in the case) is made up of multiple 'cells', the same rules of physics apply. That set of cells in the case is 'A Battery'. Once all the wires are connected, you cannot measure a voltage difference between any one negative connection and any other positive connection. It's all one electrical thing.
Hi, Jim. i saw where TH-camrs ' Morton on the GO in there GO North Ep 4 were using BB batteries on there trucker camper . Tom who is a electrical engineer used one of the truck alternator to recharge the BB as they drive . Check it out . Also thank you for this Ep it was very informative. Have a good day.
@RV With The Tanners - Some of these points are debatable. In a vehicle, you have the alternator charging system so you would not have to drain AGMs down to 50% SoC. With the engine running and a load (let's say 1000 watts each), there is NO discharge of the batteries. They would only be acting as a buffer at that point. You could (in theory) use that buffered system for the service life of the batteries (5 to 10 years perhaps) since you are not cycling them. More realistically, you could use a combination of alternator and solar charging, and run the batteries down at night some (but now below 50% SoC). Very simple stuff. Also, if you are worried about voltage dip for say a 48V system, the solution is easy, just replace one of the 6V batteries with an 8V so then you have 50V nominal, so even when it is at 50% SoC, it will be 50V or slightly higher at rest. Then all you have to is adjust your charge controller to charge the 50V bank properly. I have a little $30 solar charge controller that can easily do that, in fact I currently have it set for a 6 battery system (72V rated) at about 82V max. It works well. This could easily be done on a 48V golf cart, bumping it up to 50V, putting a 200 watt solar panel on it that has a Vcc of 40V, and using a boost solar charge controller that bumps the charge voltage up to 60V (20% over nominal voltage for bulk charging, and 57V which is 14% over nominal voltage for trickle charging / maintaining). Note that a 50V nominal AGM system, under normal load, should still linger around the 48V mark. The drawback there is if your low voltage protection is looking for 42V, it will allow the batteries to drain too low. You would also have to set that to 2V higher which is 44V. If that cannot be done, then just monitor it manually for 44V under typical load (while driving the golf cart). If it dips below that for more than a few seconds, get it on the charger quickly.
As you can see, we do not have a motorhome. However, I can debate your debate....I see you're talking about using power while engine is running, so I will assume you are driving. You will be using minimum power while driving with exception to RV residential refrig. I would also argue your engine (alternator) can NOT keep up with the power being pulled from battery bank, by inverter to power residential frig. The instant you turn off your engine...you are pulling from battery and dropping your SOC. If you go from engine to shore power all the time, then AGM's are fine. If you boondock (like we do 80% of the time) you need powerful batteries and solar or generator.
So, there's basically only two downsides as compared to lead batteries, since they should be even somewhat cheaper in the long run. The upright cost and the fact that they are easier (lighter) and much more lucrative to steal.
Thanks for the video - Very informative! As an aside, I have been told that in mobile, RV applications, residential refrigerators have trouble working properly and won't last long. They are supposedly, more finicky about being kept level so the refrigeration fluid flows properly. Also, the mounting of the compressor, condenser, etc. is supposedly weaker and more prone to fatigue. I have no idea if either of these are true.
Why would that impact the life of the batteries? Configuration was recommended by Battle Born, so I dont think there is any issue. Plus, they have a 10 year warranty..
RV With The Tanners well, maybe BB has some special sauce in their BMS, but I’ve always been told that lithium does not like to be in parallel. I don’t understand why BB doesn’t offer higher Ah options. I would think you would be better off with a 24v system with only 3 in parallel (2s3p).
Thank you for the informative video. Question: How close can the positive and negative battery terminals be to each other without the risk of a short? It might’ve been the camera angle but some of the lugs and terminals in your (impressive) battery bank looked dangerously close. I ask this not to criticize but to learn. Thank you again.
Not sure if there is a "close" factor for battery terminals. I am not sure if they can arc over...but I have never had any problems with this setup and I know other folks who do the exact same with their BB batteries.
Thanks so much for the reply. I’m getting up to speed on solar and battery setups and wasn’t sure. So, from what I can tell, unless the battery terminals touch (not “come close to touching”, but actually contact each other), then terminal proximity isn’t a concern. I really appreciate your reply, channel and content. Thank you again.
DC electrical connections can be really close. AC connections, depends upon the frequency and the voltage. With DC, there is a 'steady state' and no 'splashing', with AC, a current can be inducted between posts of different potential. DC is very safe that way. I wouldn't want to put the conductors so closely together that they could vibrate into each other, or that I couldn't shove a battery a 1/4" or so, but you should have no problem even if they are 1/4 inch apart. Now, getting a wrench on them without shorting across, that could be a problem!
Enjoyed your video very much. I have a generator, so I don’t need a large bank of batteries, so I bought two Battle Born batteries two years ago and love them. I had one go bad and no questions asked they replaced it. My question is about your GoPower IC 2000. I also have one of those for nighttime CPAP use. What kind of experience have you had with your IC-2000 Inverter? I did have intermittent power shutdowns, yes, totally black at what appeared to me random times, while hooked up to shore power. (50amp). Since that time, I found some data suggesting you should not have a surge protector in front of the Inverter while on shore power. I have since removed the built in surge protector in the rig, but have not had enough RV time to test the Inverter. Ring any bells? Any unexplained shutdowns? Thanks for your help.
I don't think it is your IC2000...I think it is your EMS, shutting down power (as it should) if/when it detects a problem. Question...do you leave the inverter function of the IC2000 on, while on shore power? I don't, but that could solve your question of where the problem is coming from, as the IC2000 would kick in if your EMS shut down incoming shore power. I know a lot of people with the IC200 and IC3000, and I have never heard of any situation like you're having. Did you do the install or a professional? I have you called GoPower support? Finally...I do have my EMS in front of my IC2000.
Thank you. Great explanation of cost. It's time for us to replace our batteries. I think I need to look at the lithium option a little closer. Do I need to change anything out in my RV to go from lead acid to lithium?
Battle Born Batteries are "drop in ready" so you shouldn't have to change anything. I would however recommend you call them with your converter model number. That way they can confirm.
Great Video,I bought the Go Power ic2000 after watching your video. I am now thinking of buying 4 Battle born batteries. Since our setups are pretty similar, I was wondering if you are able to use your AC with your setup? ( I forgot to mention I also have 700 watt solar)
I have not tried. I'm guessing the initial start up for our either one of our 15k AC units would be too much. I thought about adding a "soft start" but here in PNW, there isn't much need for AC, so I haven't pursued that. Now, I have a small Yamaha EF2000i generator that I carry around "just in case" (it hasn't been out of truck in 2 years) and I know I can start the AC on L1 of my panel with the IC2000 and generator, using the GoPower Ic2000's "Power Assist" feature.
Great video thanks. I am just wondering about the converter/charger. I assume my basic OEM converter/charger might work for lithium but not great and would take a long time to charge.
Best option is to get your converter make/model number and call Battle Born. Older converters might not have a profile for lithium and might not fully charge lithium.
Good video, just bough a van and starting to kit it out, had a ? on winterizing , you mentioned that you disconnect the POS & NEG, you have a switch on the POS could you add another one on the NEG side, to make super easy. Would you recommend or is it necessary to add a disconnect switch to the POS on the split charger ? Not planning on using the van all that much, so most of the time will be parked and live in TX so not to worried about super cold temp. Thanks
Note...I used the wrong Excel file (Battle Born gave me the correct info...I failed to update my file) when I created this video. The correct Percentage of Charge with Voltage for their Lithium Batteries is as follows Percent Charge Voltage 100 13.4 90 13.3 80 13.3 70 13.2 60 13.2 50 13.2 40 13.1 30 13.0 20 12.9 10 12.0
I have just installed a similar system and had a few questions about the load balancing you mentioned while explaining the contact points on the battery bank. I was also wondering why you used switches instead of circuit breakers for the solar controller. It is recommended by Victron to have a circuit breaker between the controller and the battery bank and it can double as a service disconnect by simply pushing it to the off position. I did see the wiring diagram and also noticed that the emergency brake that is labeled always hot has two circuit breakers and a switch so it could accidentally be shut off. Wouldn't it be safer to run it directly to the battery bank? It wouldn't have any draw on the battery even during the winter with everything else disconnected but you can pick up your camper from storage and drive it without making any connections and still have that safety feature enabled. Just my 2 cents. Great video and I love my system for boondocking thanks to informative videos like yours. P.S. I have been able to use my air conditioner during peak sun since I also added the EZ start!!
the fuses for solar are there, I just don't show them (or put them in the diagram). My brake controller is always hot, you can use those cutoff switches to stop power on one leg and have power still passing through on another leg....pretty cool device.
@@tannerjim I knew you were smarter than the average bear. Thanks for the response. What is the cutoff device you are using. The emergency brake was a challenge since it was originally inches away from the battery and I put my battery bank under my couch inside. I was able to use the wire for the slide and run a new one to the slide since it's close to the battery bank. Thanks again for the videos, they are well done and informative.
Seems like you can get at least 10x the kWh from LiFePo4 compared to lead (AGM) during the batterys life. Buying 10 AGM batteries for each LiFePo4 battery will cost at least 1.5x more. This is a VERY conservative estimate. After 2000 cycles of 100% discharge (empty) LiFePo4 will have about 70% capacity left. I seriously doubt AGM will have as much capacity left after 500 cycles of 40% discharge. And if you discharge any deeper, it will lose capacity much faster, as stated. And, ja if the charge rate (% of Ah) is consederably higher with LiFePo4, it will take much less time (and fuel) to charge with your vehicles alternator.
Great video I really appreciate all the information you provided in the hard work you put into it. You mentioned in the video that you had as a wiring diagram or schematic but I wasn't able to find it is at something on your website or can you provide a link thank you very much.
Great video but I did have a laugh. You said you haven’t seen a soul in so long but at 6:12 there’s like an rv and a couple trailers lol great video though. I plan on putting two in my camper trailer when I order the thing next year sometime. I want to be able to be off grid longer. Battleborn seems the way to go
The power of video editing. You see...the first part was in camp...nobody for miles. I needed additional footage, so what you see at 6:02 mark is a shot of our RV, while in storage.
If I get this correct - You replaced 6 6v batteries with 6 12v batteries? So you could have replaced those 6 6v with 3 12v? But with the 6 12v batteries, you double your volume AND get better efficiency?
@@tannerjim I understand. I have 6 6v Batteries in my Class A DP. I will need more research on what my Motor Home has in terms of electronics. You made a very convincing presentation with this video.
your forgetting a few bonus points to LiFePO4 chem batteries. 1. give yourself a baseline minimum cut off when discharging of 20% of total capacity. Now your expensive batteries will be good for 5000+ cycles 2. LiFePO4 batteries are one of the only batteries that do not suffer degradation when bulk charged to, stored at, transported at 100% state of charge (this is why your shiny new phones and other gadgets never come with a full charge, the chemistry of other batteries is not fully stable at 100%) 3. They dont off-gas when charging or spontaneously combust, 2 large bonus's no matter what walk of life you are from. 4. whilst, on a similar par to other batteries, you cannot charge them at or below 0 degrees C, they can be operational down to -20 degrees c, and stored down to -40 degrees c. 5. Most people, yourself included, when doing these comparisons always work on the presumption of 50% Depth of discharge, which is true, what you all fail to factor into the equation is the top 15% that rarely ever gets charged when using renewable technology for charging source. YES i know it IS possible to charge that last 15 percent, but there just are not enough sunlight hours in a day to charge anything more than the bulk charge cycle. So lead acid, realistically in an off grid situation, you only have 35% of the total capacity to play with, and that is on a good sunny day whilst the batteries are new. LiFePO4 on the other hand, can utilise every amp of the solar production until they are 100% full. (reduce that down to 95% if you would like a couple of extra thousand charge cycles out of them) all in all LiFePO4 are far and away the more economical answer to off grid power storage and utilisation. regardless of the initial purchase price.
BB adds extra capacity in their batteries and the AVAILABLE amp hours are what they advertise. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone just used the available amp hours to rate their batteries?
I know this is an older video, but hopefully you get a message about my question. I see where the negative cables go from one row of three batteries and then jump to the other row of three batteries tying them together in parallel. However, and this may be the camera angle, I can't see where the positive cables ties in the two rows of three batteries together in the same manner. Do you have a wiring diagram of where you made the jump between rows? I am only going with four and am trying to sort out the best battery layout for cable configuration that will fit in my small existing battery tray.
at 18:34 mark, you will see a red cable laying horizontal. That connects battery 3 (in front row) to battery 4 (in back row), then I started the vertical loops again..connecting the back row of batteries.
great vid! I have heard so much about Battle born batteries! I have a class C...26ft...place for 2 coach batteries...1000 watt inverter and 160W solar...wondering if this would be worth it for me to replace my 2 batteries with lithium BB batteries? thanks for the video!
I think you will be very happy. The 160w of solar seems a bit light, but it might be just right for you, depending on how much power you use. The good news, is the BB will charge up to 4x faster, so maybe the 160w will be fine. :)
We have 550 watts on the roof and a Go Power 120 watt portable panel. Truth is...the portable solar did the lions share of the work, due to all the trees around us. I just have to move the portable panel a few times a day to ensure direct sunlight.
The BMS will not allow you to discharge the battery to 100%. It will stop the discharge of the battery at around 20%. So the 100% discharge rate is misleading.
That all depends on how you interpret the 100 amp hours. At 100% discharge (100 amp hours used) the BMS will indeed turn the battery off. However, the batteries have more that 100 amp hours, so there is still power in the battery, just not available to the user. So, you can indeed discharge them to 100%, assuming your 100% is the available 100 amp hours. Your comment appears to say the will only offer the user 80 amp hours, which is not true.
Are you monitoring the IR (internal resistance) on these batteries? Does one of your sensors do that? I would think it would be extremely important to identify faulty batteries and each batteries remaining life?
Could you elaborate on the charging on one side and drawing from the other? He has several points of contact from his solar panels, inverter charger etc. and mentions load balancing but doesn't go into detail. Perhaps you can explain or connect me to a link explaining the concept. Thanks 😁
Hello thank you for this video. I am getting ready to buy a conversion Van to live in full time this summer, alone. I am wondering how many batteries I would need? My plan is to go with a smallish dometic fridge, max air fan, water pump,3 lights and phone charging. I don't have any cameras or equipment, laptops or elecktronicks other than cell phone. So that makes me believe that I have very small electricity compared to people that have to edit videos, charge cameras, drones, laptops ect. I realize you cannot give me exact details. But do you think I could get away with 2 of these batteries? One other thing I don't know if you mentioned but I wondered if these batteries can charge from car while driving?
The biggest draw will be from your fridge. The first step in this process is to really figure out how much power you need/use. I installed a Victron BMV-712 (linked below to Amazon) that monitors all my battery usages....both outgoing and incoming power. Once you get the Van, get the Victron BMV so you can see all info on phone/tablet. One you have the Victron installed, you'll know exactly how much power you are consuming. This is great to have, regardless of how many batteries you have. :) I would start out with 2 batteries. You can always add additional batteries if needed. Unlike Flooded or AGM batteries, you can add more BB batteries at different times, with no performance impact. Yes...your van will be able to charge the BB batteries, but at a slower rate than the converter that will be in your van. amzn.to/2tfm1Qv
A Dometic, (or most any other "RV" refrigerator), will use a lot more power than an apartment-sized Energy Star-rated refrigerator. I use one, and am living off grid. I would LOVE to be able to afford one or two BB batteries, as I will need to replace my old 6V Lead-acid batterys soon!
@@tannerjim If she installs even 400W of solar power through a decent MPPT solar controller, she shouldn't need to try to charge off the van power at all. ;)
FINALLY somebody who gets a real setup. Can we get an update on the performance? 600ah is what I projected for just myself. I'd live in San Diego so I'd only run a/c now and then. Do you find it runs and charges your appliances fine?
Nicholas....the performance was better than my expectations! We were at that site for 21 days and and the batteries CRANKED out the power. We used everything we had except for AC (didn't need it).... 600amp hour is a lot, and only needed if you dry camp a lot. For casual dry camping, I'd say start with 300 amp hours. BTW...if you'd like to join my new Facebook group about Boondocking (dry camping) and solar, please feel free to join. facebook.com/groups/solarpoweredrvsandboondocking/
@@tannerjim That's so exciting!! Please post an in depth update talking about what your daily electrical needs are and how the batteries meet those needs. I'm ready to make the $10k investment in my own batteries and panels in the near future
@@tannerjim Don't charge them when the temp is below freezing. If you do, you will destroy your batteries. You can use the power contained within, but unless you have a reliable way to keep them at about 45-50F, don't charge them until you're in warmer climes. Myself, I'm allergic to cold (I really break out in hives) so we stay where it's mostly temperate weather. SW Arizona in the winter time, we tend to get out of Arizona around May Day (Hey, I AM a communist, after all) and we head up to Idaho/Montana in the summer time (free camping and awesome trout fishing makes me happy). I know how to fish the streams up there, without fly fishing (never was any good at that) but I use a four-foot, ultra-light rig (four pound line) and use a fast retrieve in rocky places (still lose lures but not that many) but I've had some delicious dinners by catching the fish early, and getting them into our smoker. Smoked trout is to *die* for. Sorry for the thread creep. I'm a creep (ask my sweetie) but I know what I know. I like warm weather. AND...(as if this weren't enough), Puerto Penasco, BCN, is a lovely beach town nice place to curl up with my iPad and read more about solar and batteries.
Are you planning to use them or in storage. What temperature range? Will you have power other than batteries? If so, a small light bulb (not LED) can help provide heat in a small areas to keep above freezing.
Luckily the BMS will prevent them from being charged below freezing which would damage them. They can be used in cold temperatures just not charged. They did just introduce a heating pad that sticks onto the battery and connects directly to the battery if you want to keep it warm enough to accept a charge in cold climates. The downside is that they are $220! I've heard of some people using heating pads used for pets like lizards or snakes which might be more economical but battle born did mention that other heating pads could warp the plastic and damage the batteries but I would think the pet friendly ones wouldn't get that hot. Just my 2 cents😁
@@tannerjim Gerard I'm so glad you asked that. First I'm not an RVer but since there are so many people using RVs they develop a lot of really useful real world experience. Some, like friend Tanner here, even go so far as to share that experience with the rest of us who are using batteries for our power storage needs. [My uncle used a rather large pond on the high end of his property for his energy storage but we don't need to push the big ugly green button so I can rant about how envious that made me.] I'm an Emergency Communications (EMCOM) volunteer. Batteries provide my instantaneous back up power so that I can keep the radios running after a power failure. (Our local Electrical Utility is infamous for it's lack of reliability.) Additionally EMCOM volunteers are in the operate under bad conditions business so independent power is a necessity anyway. I have 2 of the Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) Sealed Lead Acid (SLA) batteries which are valve regulated (VRSLA). Each one is 100 Ah. and each weighs 80 pounds. That works very well in my primary station which is; you guessed it; stationary. The maximum instantaneous load is 35 Amperes. (I suppose that to give a full picture I should point out that I have individual Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) on my communications control computer and a separate one on my Internet Service Provider (ISP) Customer Service Unit (CSU). Both of those batteries were replaced with "drop in" LiFePH4 Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries when they wore out. Since I just replaced the AGM VRSLA batteries, without modifying the UPS units, I probably did not gain any capacity. I base that on the assumption that the UPS units have some sort of low voltage shut off that is set to prevent damage to the original AGM batteries.) [If anyone knows some way around that challenge please don't be shy about sharing it.] That combination gives me enough time to do the manual changeover to generator power for my house or failing that to the smaller generator for just my radios, operational lighting, computer, and Internet. I have been studying up on how to make the radio station far more transportable. (In EMCOM "transportable means that it is easily moved about. Portable; also in EMCOM, means you can operate it on the move while carrying the entire equipment set manually.) That is why I have been searching for information on the costs and the operating characteristics of LiFePh4 batteries. 160 pounds of AGM batteries is not really an effective answer to the battery portion of a transportable EMCOM station. Naturally a transportable station has to be separated into manageable sub assemblies before it can be moved and one of the heaviest assemblies is likely to be the batteries. So the batteries would be in their own transport case. Your question answers my concern about how much care the separate battery sub assembly would require. Thanks again. -- Tom Horne W3TDH
I have a very similar setup as yours, I am using the ic2000 inverter/charger , 600watt solar setup with a victron battery monitor and a 100/50 MPPT victron solar charger and 2 Battle Born Bateries. My problem is that the ic2000 doesn't seem to put out the 100amps in bulk charge, I called up Go Power and was told to put the "FINAL CHARGE" into Float Charge. The problem is it only delivers 25amp to charge the batteries. They have no solution for this because their charger isnt meant for lithium batteries. I was wondering if you are having the same problem? I am thinking of switching my Inverter/charger to a victron now
Send me an email and I'll send to the document, showing how to change settings on IC2000. Mine now sends 85 amps to our battery bank. send to rvwiththetanners@gmail.com
I have not built out myVan yet but I know IAm getting lithium batteries. Whether Your information is onpoint or a bit off, any result seems moor favourable with lithium than agm... done. lol IAm wondering if You think the price of lithium batteries will drop much over the next year or so? or maybe because moor people are switching the price will probably remain the same??? Thankhz so much for sharing... Wholeness n Love ((-;
@@tannerjim You are so welcome... IAm probably going to just dive and buy... reading 2many comments can cloud One's brain but I need to get moving. IAm sure the price is not going to drop over the next several months. lol So many don't like the price, or this or that; but if the price is the only reason why someone isn't buying lithium batteries that ends up on the positive, pro's list. It says, they would if they could. lol Congratulations on Your lithium battery upgrade. Wholeness n Love ((-;
If you buy, and you're OK with it, use my link below before you buy...the cost to you is exactly the same. I get a 2% commission, which I use to pay my domain name and all the costs to run these crazy pages. No big deal if you don't...:) battlebornbatteries.com/?afmc=rvt_01
Very informative. However I think expecting to get 100% amp-hours out of the battery is wishful thinking unless you want to shorten their life. 90% discharge will keep the batteries in healthier state and still at about 2000 cycles.
You are correct, however the Battle Born batteries actually have more than 100 amp hours, but the BMS cuts it off at 100 used, so we can in fact use "100%" of 100 amps.
No issue for us, as it hardly gets below freezing here in Oregon where I live. Of course, if the RV was in a location where it is below freezing, then you need to take additional precautions, like a heater or heating blanket (see link) battlebornbatteries.com/shop/heat-pad-for-bb10012/?afmc=rvt_01
On average, on 6 BBBs, with a 5th wheel, dual AC units, using every appliance on board that requires electrical power, (tv, fridge, etc...) how many days usage are you talking about?
Without knowing your solar setup or how you can add power to the batteries....I'd say even with 6 BBB, you won't make it even a day running both AC units.....perhaps you'd make it 6 hours? Those AC units pull a LOT LOT LOT of amps.
Thanks for this great video with all your math! It really shows the value of this and seems the best way to go. I'm a newbie with a 2002 keystone cougar fifth wheel (29'). I will be full timing it, and usually staying at full hookups through Thousand trails system, but may want to boondock with "the girls" somewhere in the desert for up to three nights about 4 times per year. How many of these batteries would you suggest I get?
Depends on how much power "the girls" will require, while Boondocking. Will you be using an inverter? How about the furnace (that uses a lot of power to run the fan). Do you have a residential refrig or one that also works on propane? If you're simply boondocking and not using an inverter....I'm guessing you'll be fine with 2 batteries. One thing you could try is purchase one Battle Born and go camping in a park that HAS power hookups, but don't use them. Then camp like normal, and see how well one battery works for you. Worst case...you have to plug in to charge battery....then you'll know you need two. If not...then you just saved $1000...sweet!!! :)
@@tannerjim Thanks for the reply! I have a 8cubic ft. propane/elec frig, and maybe would need the heat too, or could use the Big Buddy Propane heater if needed. Definately need lights, but I don't think we would be using the microwave. thats it. I like your idea of going to the hookup park just to try it out, so I'd have backup electricity. "The girls" are low maintenance, yay!
@@sandys2672 Your RV has a "Converter" which converts AC power to DC for the RV and to charge the batteries. An "Inverter" will take DC (from batteries) and make AC power.
I can and have.. The GoPower IC2000 (they now have IC3000) will run one of our two AC units. We only did it for a few hours...but it works! I also carry a small Yamaha Generator that I could use as well...then the IC2000 will provide additional power as needed. Great stuff!! :)
I installed my GoPower IC-2000 before they had a 3000. It can supply all the power we need, other than AC. Here in Oregon, we don't have a big need for AC.
Real life of LiFoPO4 is 2000 cycles with 80% DOD. It is good to get a warranty on those since inside you have BMS and separate elements that will fail at some point. Your safe range of voltage is 12.0V = 0% and 13.2V = 100% can be charged up to 14.6V and can wistand a discharge down to 10V. Your table is wrong, you really can draw down your batteries to 20% and I would say this 20% mark is around 13.0V . Your 90% is right ar 13.2V but your 100% must be 14.6V. In any case voltage will never inform you on the state of charge since this is very flat, LiFePO4 is very resilient to over chage and over dischage, my car battery went to 0V and I managed to get it back to life, and I charged each elements to 3.65V and it works, no heat or anything worrying. LiFePO4 wants to me charged into heat, ideal charging temperature is around 60°C (like under a hood next to an engine)
Not knowing the amp hours of your Interstate, I would guess 2 BB's would cover your needs. If not, you can always add a 3rd down the road. Start with two...you will be thrilled with them!!!
If you're asking about the 12v busbar (with plastic cover) it is from Blue Sea. Busbar is here - amzn.to/2BULANW Cover is here - amzn.to/2Np2nKd The cover is a bit expensive for a plastic cover, but I really liked the ability to "knock out" the specific areas I needed, in order to route in cables.
The answer is yes, if you drain a cell to 0 volts, it should not be recharged. However, in Battle Born Batteries, the “0 SOC” is not actually 0 volts. Their BMS cuts you off at around 10 volts. By that time you have accessed the full 100Ah. So it is not possible to drain Battle Born batteries to 0 volts because of the internal BMS. Isn't that awesome!!!
@@tannerjim i am starting to understand the value a little more. I was going to put in 4 AGM'S , but i believe 3 lithium Battle Born would be over twice the Storage.
@@tannerjim , Thank you. Looking at duplicating what you have done with the exception of solar. Solar is not in our plans just yet. The batteries, inverter and the metering has all been purchased and now just waiting for all to show up. Thanks again.
I have a question I can't seem to find the answer to. If I buy me a 12V solar setup of around 1000 watts worth of solar panels, a 3000Watt power inverter and all the other misc cables/components but only 1 lithium battle born @ 100AMP hours would I over charge my battery? would that ruin anything? because my budget doesn't allow me to get all the batteries at once so I plan on buying them slowly I'm hoping to get at least 6 eventually. but could only buy one right now. can someone please advise me?
I just added the exact system you are starting but with all the batteries. The Battle Born battery itself has protection from over charging so I wouldn't be worried about that. The solar controller and inverter/charger will also bring the voltage down appropriately as the battery approaches capacity. I would be most concerned about too many amps from the solar panels going to just one battery. While lithium batteries can handle a lot, I remember 50 amps being the recommended limit for one battery. 1000 watts could produce 69 amps at 14.4v but more realistic 62.5 amps (90% efficiency of the panels). I would suggest not hooking up one of the panels so you don't damage the one battery. You should definitely call Battle Born, they will have the answer and be able to do any of the programming of the solar controller and inverter. Perhaps there's a setting that could limit the output to 50 amps until you add more batteries. Good luck 😁👍
How much are they worth after the three year warranty expires and the complicated BMS circuit goes belly up? Anybody have long term information on the on board BMS reliability? Plus.. if the batteries have a 10 year life if you are kind to them at 80% draw down why only a three year warranty?
Battle Born updated their warranty to 10 years, retro active on all batteries, regardless of when they were purchased. Guessing if there was a chance of problems after 3 years, they would not have updated their warranty. So, I think I'm fine.
@@tannerjim That's good to hear...now with more data on BMS reliability and more production for a lower price we are talking.. Wonder where the tech will be on other battery technologies going forward....hopefully the battery world will turn into the PC, laptop, cell phone world progress over the past 30 years....
![เปิดบ้าน พี่ตูน Bodyslam หลังใหม่คนแรก ที่ภูเก็ต l [Nickynachat]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/flFwcmyDQSk/mqdefault.jpg)
i installed batlle born batteries and upgraded my solar controller and converter charger and have been very happy with them. And, Battle Born has a veteran's discount. And, great technical support. Excellent company. Thanks for the video.
How do you apply a veteran discount??
Putting together my camper now. I already decided on lithium despite the price. I will not be replacing batteries every couple years. When I retire, I will be living in my trailer. I’ve always been a investment type guy. Thanks for the video. It helped confirm even more that I’m doing right. I’m still not 100% on how much solar to get and if (2) 100 watt lithium batts will be enough. I will not be running much. I could run all electric and forget propane for cooking, heat, and hot water if I had MORE! LOL!
actually, that's 100 AMP hours !
Great video.. Another thing to mention is the charge rate. Lithium batteries can be charge at a 1/4 of the time it takes to charge lead acid batteries. You can also add to your battery bank at any time with no issues.
Great video ! I have 2 x 100Ah BB lithium on my travel trailer since August 2017 (with 600 watts of solar). They have been fantastic since we switched from 2 6v Lead Acid Golf Cart batteries. One thing that I didn't hear in your video (sorry if I missed it) was about the difference in off-gassing between lead/agm vs lithium. For our tiny trailer this means we can have our batteries inside (nice for keeping out of the elements, temperature regulation and security) and we don't have to worry about the battery gases. Just bringing this up to help others with their decision making process. This is especially folks who might have a smaller rig and are worried about overall rig/tongue weight as well as lack of storage compartments.
Dang it! You're right, I should have called that out in the video for sure. Thanks for bringing that up and hopefully folks will see your comment and understand the zero gassing of Lithium.
Lets not forget about security by storing them inside. I would hate to have them stolen sitting on the rack outside.
Hi Jim, thanks for putting in the work to quantify the "value" of the BB batteries. Nice-looking install too. This should help convince the Mrs regarding the big purchase. Last year I upgraded to 2 6V batteries at 430 Ah or so, but I found that even after a full charge in the day time, we'd be at or near 50% state of charge in the wee hours after running the furnace, as it does get cold in AZ. Adding more solar and a couple of the BB 100 Ah batts should allow us full-time boon docking here in AZ. That freedom in priceless.
Great video.
I just finished doing an install in my trailer.
2 Battle Born batteries, Victron 100/50 charge controller, Xantrex XC2000 Inverter/Charger and 6 75 watts Miasole CIGS panels.
The biggest advantage of the CIGS panels is the performance in less than ideal lighting conditions. At 5PM on a hazy day I can pull in 250 watts with those panels.
$$$$
I love the two I installed in my Roadtrek . You have done an great job explaining the value of Lithiums!
Best video about lithium batteries I have seen. In the spring I plan on putting them in my RV. Also love your bighorn, we also have one. Thanks Keith
I just did the leap from AGM to one of these Battle Borns. Looking forward to the extra discharge ability and the faster recharge. HUGE upfront cost but should be cheaper in the long run.
I'm doing the same thing and I am so looking forward to this improvement. Like you, I only need one as I'm in a Sprinter Class B. Doing a couple of other electrical upgrades including a Victron BMV-712 monitor and a Victron Orion 121230 DC to DC converter for charging off the alternator to regulate the charge current to 30A, protecting the alternator and being a little gentler on the battery.
@@alan.macrae Cool. I just have mine hooked to a solar panel via a victron 75/15 charge controller. I am thinking of going to a 160w panel though now that I have some extra juice to work with.
We were in the situation you spoke about with the residential fridge. Our power went out at our house and we always are plugged into a 110 outlet from the garage, long story short the inverter kicked in and drained the battery down to 2.86 volts before we knew it. I was originally thinking 1 or 2 BB's just so if it happened again we wouldn't loose everything in the fridge but now thinking 5 batteries, some new Victron inverter and a Victron 712 monitor and eventually solar panels but yikes! 7k without the panels.
Post Winter Update... One more reason I LOVE my Battle Born Batteries. To winterize these batteries, Sean (Battle Born CEO) told me all I had to do was fully charge them and remove the outgoing POS and NEG connection. I could leave the interconnections in tack!! No need to bring them out of the RV and store at home (my RV is stored away from home). Just went there today to reconnect batteries and solar and OMG!! they are still at 13.19v. Woohoo!!
One of the most informative, well organized videos I have seen on YT, thank you
Hey Jim, you’ve got some great videos. Thanks for sharing. Hope to talk soon.
Great video and information !! Thank you very much for taking the time to help us out with this confusing and aggravating issue of why we get the early morning wake up call from our refrigerator Hahaha !!
Love the 2 BB system I put in our class C jayco last year! Nice work on this vid, thx for all the work putting the info together. The cost is pretty steep but the pay back is worth it and I would never go back to any type of lead acid battery again... and for the conspiracy types, I'm not sponsored by Battle born. But I wish I was. Ha 😊
I have 4 of the battleborn batteries in a large tool box 400 amp hr 12 volt system solar generator, love thses batteries!
I bought a pair of Duralast 100Ah marine deep cycle AGMs. Once those are done I might look into a 100ah lithium. Hopefully by then they will be a little cheaper. BTW Duralast sells their 100ah deep cycles for $100 each.
Another nice thing with the Li batteries you mentioned is the charge time is 4x faster. It’s nice because if you have to use your generator to charge them, they charge very fast and you can turn the generator off. Great if you run out of power at night or if it has been rainy/cloudy for days.
Very Helpful video, I can't wait to ditch the weight of three Optima Blue Tops I've had for ten years they served their purpose. But now it's Time to upgrade and replace them with three Battle Born 100 ah asap. ---mww
Glad to hear that...you will LOVE them. If you want to help my channel, you can click here before buying from BB. The price will be EXACTLY the same, but I get a referral fee. battlebornbatteries.com?afmc=rvt_01
Just a thought. Your buddy's refrigerator should keep everything cold provided they keep the door shut for at least a day. He shouldn't even need to run power to it. They tell you that in times of power outages to do that. Not sure he needs to upgrade and spend more money.
I just ran across your blog, it was very informative. i also see the ford nice rig and trailer !! happy camping
If you discharge lithium to 20% you would probably get 5000 cycles and you can use power below 32degrees but can’t charge below 32
Oh OK you never know these days,, so many sponsored videos that you cannot trust they are an independent review. I wish you all the best in your expeditions
@TheTanners, Do you mind posting a electrical one-line diagram of your setup and components? Its perfect, bravo!
Try this link.... photos.app.goo.gl/jXW38Gn7eSsmmkzQ9/
RV With The Tanners thanks for your great info. The diagram link doesn’t contain anything. Could you repost, please? Thanks again.
Thomas Keyes n
HI thanks for the great video, just purchased 4 for our MH.
Great... You will love them.....
Very smart! Well worth the extra the extra upfront cost that you will get back vs lead acid.
Cheers
Great content, sir. Thank you!
Great information & Video. I just think it's all getting a bit crazy now. I thought the idea of camping was to get away from all the mod cons & back to nature. I remember as a kid here in England going off in the caravan with my mum & dad with just a gas cooker & heater, I know that wouldn't cut it these days. But we all had fantastic times & never stopped laughing, we never had the time for using gadgets, we were too busy enjoying ourselves. Thanks for sharing though😎👍
Great presentation! I love your setup, where all your wiring is neat and tidy, and fortunately we're seeing more of that with many setups these days. Now, my situation is with our 2008 Tiffin Phaeton motorhome, which does have a residential fridge...so yes, I know what you mean about the 3 or 4 o'clock wake up call via the fridge chime! So, I pulled my four 225AH Interstates out, and now have 'three' (to start with) Battle Borns. Unfortunately, because of the year of our rig, our Xantrex Inverter/charger doesn't have a specific 'Lithium' settings, as I purchased the Victron BMV-712 now and I go by what I see on my iPhone now. I'm unsure of your 'charging' setup, but my charger doesn't seem to be capable to charging (with current settings) to the 14.4V - 14.6V, as it takes the Battle Borns to float state of 13.44V and it just sits there all the time. On the graph I was sent by BB, that's not a full 100% charge, and I'm assuming that's because I'm not getting the full mid 14's volts charge? I do have a stand-alone small battery charger I use for our vehicles, which does have a 'Lithium' setting, and I left it on overnight last night, and when I checked in the morning the batteries where sitting at 13.33V. So, any help on getting these batteries to charge would be appreciated. I have contacted BB, as they asked for me to forward them a screenshot of all my settings, which I've done, but I've not yet heard back from them. Came across your channel via a Google search on this issue. Thanks, again great video on this topic!
I am sure you will hear back from BB soon....they were amazing with all my questions when making this video. Can you see if your converter is putting out 14v by testing with ohm meter? If its output is only 13.33...then you might have to swap. Can you adjust your charger settings at all? You will want to probably move to AGM and also (if you can) stop any equalization stage charging. Bulk charging should get you to 14v. Have you tried contacting Xantrex? BTW...my wife and I LOVE LOVE LOVE Tiffin motorhomes. That will be our next RV, once we decide we need a new RV.
Cool humming bird in the background!
We have been camping in that location for years, and within 30 mins of our arrival, they appear. We get the feeder out as quickly as possible. :)
Ordered some Battle Borns yesterday for our DP motorhome, and it will be nice to shed some pounds from the lead/acid to the BB's! I 'was' going to ask if I would need to make any changes to our Xantrex inverter/convertor, but I noticed someone else had a similar question, and you mentioned to contact Battle born with the brand and model #. One fellow did mention to switch it from the lead/acid setting, to AGM...so if that's the case, I'll have to figure out how to do that. I like the 'drop-in' feature, but I haven't done much electrical before, so I may be all thumbs, but I'll be careful, and I did ask a friend much more capable, so it should go fine. We have a residential fridge, and as you mentioned in your video, it's woken us up in the middle of the morning 'twice'...so, hopefully that is done with! Thanks for the video, and hopefully we'll see an 'update video' at some point, where you have times in how long you can go without additional support from the generator or shore power. We where going to go with solar...so we may try a couple hundred watts of 'suitcase solar' next spring! BTW- yes, cost is the troublesome part...especially for us Canadians that have to add another 35% because of the difference in the $$, then another tax burden when we get to the border...so, over 40% more than most, living in the U.S. Takes longer to recoup the $$ from the batteries, but should make life a little easier no doubt.
Nice clean layout. Why did you put your emergency battery disconnect....in the battery compartment, behind the batteries? You'll never get to that switch when one of those lithium cells goes off.
To be honest, I never considered the switch as an emergency cut off, I always thought of it as simply a way to cutoff power while the RV is in storage.
Very good explanation, it helped me the things together nicely, Thankyou.
Hey, I liked your video. Just one thing, it is a common misconception that you should make your connections a certain way to 'drain' one battery before another. That just is not the case with batteries that are all connected together. That's why Battle Born describes just removing the connection in storage, but not all connections. Just think of interconnected batteries as "A Single Battery"; electrically that is the physics of batteries. When you consider that one Battle Born Battery (in the case) is made up of multiple 'cells', the same rules of physics apply. That set of cells in the case is 'A Battery'. Once all the wires are connected, you cannot measure a voltage difference between any one negative connection and any other positive connection. It's all one electrical thing.
Great feedback. I WISH WISH WISH Google would allow me to update my video with new/relevant info...but I can't. ☹
Hi, Jim. i saw where TH-camrs ' Morton on the GO in there GO North Ep 4 were using BB batteries on there trucker camper . Tom who is a electrical engineer used one of the truck alternator to recharge the BB as they drive . Check it out . Also thank you for this Ep it was very informative. Have a good day.
@RV With The Tanners - Some of these points are debatable. In a vehicle, you have the alternator charging system so you would not have to drain AGMs down to 50% SoC. With the engine running and a load (let's say 1000 watts each), there is NO discharge of the batteries. They would only be acting as a buffer at that point. You could (in theory) use that buffered system for the service life of the batteries (5 to 10 years perhaps) since you are not cycling them. More realistically, you could use a combination of alternator and solar charging, and run the batteries down at night some (but now below 50% SoC). Very simple stuff.
Also, if you are worried about voltage dip for say a 48V system, the solution is easy, just replace one of the 6V batteries with an 8V so then you have 50V nominal, so even when it is at 50% SoC, it will be 50V or slightly higher at rest. Then all you have to is adjust your charge controller to charge the 50V bank properly. I have a little $30 solar charge controller that can easily do that, in fact I currently have it set for a 6 battery system (72V rated) at about 82V max. It works well. This could easily be done on a 48V golf cart, bumping it up to 50V, putting a 200 watt solar panel on it that has a Vcc of 40V, and using a boost solar charge controller that bumps the charge voltage up to 60V (20% over nominal voltage for bulk charging, and 57V which is 14% over nominal voltage for trickle charging / maintaining).
Note that a 50V nominal AGM system, under normal load, should still linger around the 48V mark. The drawback there is if your low voltage protection is looking for 42V, it will allow the batteries to drain too low. You would also have to set that to 2V higher which is 44V. If that cannot be done, then just monitor it manually for 44V under typical load (while driving the golf cart). If it dips below that for more than a few seconds, get it on the charger quickly.
As you can see, we do not have a motorhome. However, I can debate your debate....I see you're talking about using power while engine is running, so I will assume you are driving. You will be using minimum power while driving with exception to RV residential refrig. I would also argue your engine (alternator) can NOT keep up with the power being pulled from battery bank, by inverter to power residential frig. The instant you turn off your engine...you are pulling from battery and dropping your SOC. If you go from engine to shore power all the time, then AGM's are fine. If you boondock (like we do 80% of the time) you need powerful batteries and solar or generator.
So, there's basically only two downsides as compared to lead batteries, since they should be even somewhat cheaper in the long run. The upright cost and the fact that they are easier (lighter) and much more lucrative to steal.
Thanks for the video - Very informative!
As an aside, I have been told that in mobile, RV applications, residential refrigerators have trouble working properly and won't last long. They are supposedly, more finicky about being kept level so the refrigeration fluid flows properly. Also, the mounting of the compressor, condenser, etc. is supposedly weaker and more prone to fatigue. I have no idea if either of these are true.
Hey bud, you sir just sold me on these batteries!
That’s a lot of batteries in parallel! It will be interesting to see how long they last.
Why would that impact the life of the batteries? Configuration was recommended by Battle Born, so I dont think there is any issue. Plus, they have a 10 year warranty..
RV With The Tanners well, maybe BB has some special sauce in their BMS, but I’ve always been told that lithium does not like to be in parallel. I don’t understand why BB doesn’t offer higher Ah options. I would think you would be better off with a 24v system with only 3 in parallel (2s3p).
Thank you for the informative video. Question: How close can the positive and negative battery terminals be to each other without the risk of a short? It might’ve been the camera angle but some of the lugs and terminals in your (impressive) battery bank looked dangerously close. I ask this not to criticize but to learn. Thank you again.
Not sure if there is a "close" factor for battery terminals. I am not sure if they can arc over...but I have never had any problems with this setup and I know other folks who do the exact same with their BB batteries.
Thanks so much for the reply. I’m getting up to speed on solar and battery setups and wasn’t sure.
So, from what I can tell, unless the battery terminals touch (not “come close to touching”, but actually contact each other), then terminal proximity isn’t a concern.
I really appreciate your reply, channel and content. Thank you again.
DC electrical connections can be really close. AC connections, depends upon the frequency and the voltage. With DC, there is a 'steady state' and no 'splashing', with AC, a current can be inducted between posts of different potential. DC is very safe that way. I wouldn't want to put the conductors so closely together that they could vibrate into each other, or that I couldn't shove a battery a 1/4" or so, but you should have no problem even if they are 1/4 inch apart. Now, getting a wrench on them without shorting across, that could be a problem!
Great! Sounds wonderful
Enjoyed your video very much. I have a generator, so I don’t need a large bank of batteries, so I bought two Battle Born batteries two years ago and love them. I had one go bad and no questions asked they replaced it.
My question is about your GoPower IC 2000. I also have one of those for nighttime CPAP use. What kind of experience have you had with your IC-2000 Inverter?
I did have intermittent power shutdowns, yes, totally black at what appeared to me random times, while hooked up to shore power. (50amp). Since that time, I found some data suggesting you should not have a surge protector in front of the Inverter while on shore power. I have since removed the built in surge protector in the rig, but have not had enough RV time to test the Inverter. Ring any bells? Any unexplained shutdowns?
Thanks for your help.
I don't think it is your IC2000...I think it is your EMS, shutting down power (as it should) if/when it detects a problem. Question...do you leave the inverter function of the IC2000 on, while on shore power? I don't, but that could solve your question of where the problem is coming from, as the IC2000 would kick in if your EMS shut down incoming shore power. I know a lot of people with the IC200 and IC3000, and I have never heard of any situation like you're having. Did you do the install or a professional? I have you called GoPower support? Finally...I do have my EMS in front of my IC2000.
Good information - I am at a decision point right now. Still shocked on the prices but I "believe" they will be cost effective.
Thank you. Great explanation of cost. It's time for us to replace our batteries. I think I need to look at the lithium option a little closer. Do I need to change anything out in my RV to go from lead acid to lithium?
Battle Born Batteries are "drop in ready" so you shouldn't have to change anything. I would however recommend you call them with your converter model number. That way they can confirm.
Great Video,I bought the Go Power ic2000 after watching your video. I am now thinking of buying 4 Battle born batteries. Since our setups are pretty similar, I was wondering if you are able to use your AC with your setup? ( I forgot to mention I also have 700 watt solar)
I have not tried. I'm guessing the initial start up for our either one of our 15k AC units would be too much. I thought about adding a "soft start" but here in PNW, there isn't much need for AC, so I haven't pursued that. Now, I have a small Yamaha EF2000i generator that I carry around "just in case" (it hasn't been out of truck in 2 years) and I know I can start the AC on L1 of my panel with the IC2000 and generator, using the GoPower Ic2000's "Power Assist" feature.
Great video thanks. I am just wondering about the converter/charger. I assume my basic OEM converter/charger might work for lithium but not great and would take a long time to charge.
Best option is to get your converter make/model number and call Battle Born. Older converters might not have a profile for lithium and might not fully charge lithium.
Good video, just bough a van and starting to kit it out, had a ? on winterizing , you mentioned that you disconnect the POS & NEG, you have a switch on the POS could you add another one on the NEG side, to make super easy. Would you recommend or is it necessary to add a disconnect switch to the POS on the split charger ? Not planning on using the van all that much, so most of the time will be parked and live in TX so not to worried about super cold temp. Thanks
Yes...that method also works. Make sure you have the disconnect switch on both sides. 😋
Note...I used the wrong Excel file (Battle Born gave me the correct info...I failed to update my file) when I created this video. The correct Percentage of Charge with Voltage for their Lithium Batteries is as follows
Percent Charge Voltage
100 13.4
90 13.3
80 13.3
70 13.2
60 13.2
50 13.2
40 13.1
30 13.0
20 12.9
10 12.0
All still equal to or greater than 12V!
I just wanted to ask about that when saw this comment!)) Great comparison, love that "facts and numbers" style!
Great video! all WE need is $10,000 to start with 600AH of BBB. Why does no one talk about 24V and solar?
If you count all of them volts together and divide by 10, you get 13,06V. I think it's safe to say LiFePo4 gives at least 1V more that lead battery.
Very clean set up and great video. What gauge wire did you use? Thanks on advance.
Battery bank is connected via 2/0 wire. In my next video with Battle born batteries (3x270amp hour) I moved to 4/0.
Thanks for the quick response! I look forward to your next video. Liked & Subscribed.
BEAUTIFUL INSTALL!
I have just installed a similar system and had a few questions about the load balancing you mentioned while explaining the contact points on the battery bank. I was also wondering why you used switches instead of circuit breakers for the solar controller. It is recommended by Victron to have a circuit breaker between the controller and the battery bank and it can double as a service disconnect by simply pushing it to the off position. I did see the wiring diagram and also noticed that the emergency brake that is labeled always hot has two circuit breakers and a switch so it could accidentally be shut off. Wouldn't it be safer to run it directly to the battery bank? It wouldn't have any draw on the battery even during the winter with everything else disconnected but you can pick up your camper from storage and drive it without making any connections and still have that safety feature enabled. Just my 2 cents. Great video and I love my system for boondocking thanks to informative videos like yours. P.S. I have been able to use my air conditioner during peak sun since I also added the EZ start!!
the fuses for solar are there, I just don't show them (or put them in the diagram). My brake controller is always hot, you can use those cutoff switches to stop power on one leg and have power still passing through on another leg....pretty cool device.
@@tannerjim I knew you were smarter than the average bear. Thanks for the response. What is the cutoff device you are using. The emergency brake was a challenge since it was originally inches away from the battery and I put my battery bank under my couch inside. I was able to use the wire for the slide and run a new one to the slide since it's close to the battery bank. Thanks again for the videos, they are well done and informative.
Thanks so much for the info.
Seems like you can get at least 10x the kWh from LiFePo4 compared to lead (AGM) during the batterys life. Buying 10 AGM batteries for each LiFePo4 battery will cost at least 1.5x more. This is a VERY conservative estimate. After 2000 cycles of 100% discharge (empty) LiFePo4 will have about 70% capacity left. I seriously doubt AGM will have as much capacity left after 500 cycles of 40% discharge. And if you discharge any deeper, it will lose capacity much faster, as stated. And, ja if the charge rate (% of Ah) is consederably higher with LiFePo4, it will take much less time (and fuel) to charge with your vehicles alternator.
Great video I really appreciate all the information you provided in the hard work you put into it. You mentioned in the video that you had as a wiring diagram or schematic but I wasn't able to find it is at something on your website or can you provide a link thank you very much.
Send me an email and I'll send it to you. Use rvwiththetanners@gmail.com
Great video but I did have a laugh. You said you haven’t seen a soul in so long but at 6:12 there’s like an rv and a couple trailers lol great video though. I plan on putting two in my camper trailer when I order the thing next year sometime. I want to be able to be off grid longer. Battleborn seems the way to go
The power of video editing. You see...the first part was in camp...nobody for miles. I needed additional footage, so what you see at 6:02 mark is a shot of our RV, while in storage.
RV With The Tanners LoL thanx for explaining that brother. Happy thanksgiving to you and your family! I subbed, looking forward to more great videos!
How is your power system holding up? Maybe you have done a video on that. I will go look.
If I get this correct - You replaced 6 6v batteries with 6 12v batteries? So you could have replaced those 6 6v with 3 12v? But with the 6 12v batteries, you double your volume AND get better efficiency?
No, I had 3 12v Trojan Flooded batteries. I move from those to 6 Battle Born batteries.
@@tannerjim I understand. I have 6 6v Batteries in my Class A DP. I will need more research on what my Motor Home has in terms of electronics. You made a very convincing presentation with this video.
your forgetting a few bonus points to LiFePO4 chem batteries.
1. give yourself a baseline minimum cut off when discharging of 20% of total capacity. Now your expensive batteries will be good for 5000+ cycles
2. LiFePO4 batteries are one of the only batteries that do not suffer degradation when bulk charged to, stored at, transported at 100% state of charge (this is why your shiny new phones and other gadgets never come with a full charge, the chemistry of other batteries is not fully stable at 100%)
3. They dont off-gas when charging or spontaneously combust, 2 large bonus's no matter what walk of life you are from.
4. whilst, on a similar par to other batteries, you cannot charge them at or below 0 degrees C, they can be operational down to -20 degrees c, and stored down to -40 degrees c.
5. Most people, yourself included, when doing these comparisons always work on the presumption of 50% Depth of discharge, which is true, what you all fail to factor into the equation is the top 15% that rarely ever gets charged when using renewable technology for charging source. YES i know it IS possible to charge that last 15 percent, but there just are not enough sunlight hours in a day to charge anything more than the bulk charge cycle. So lead acid, realistically in an off grid situation, you only have 35% of the total capacity to play with, and that is on a good sunny day whilst the batteries are new. LiFePO4 on the other hand, can utilise every amp of the solar production until they are 100% full. (reduce that down to 95% if you would like a couple of extra thousand charge cycles out of them)
all in all LiFePO4 are far and away the more economical answer to off grid power storage and utilisation. regardless of the initial purchase price.
Great Review Thanks We are New to TH-cam.
Good video. I have always heard that lithium DoD is more like 80% rather than. 100%.
Not per the information I got directly from Battle Born's CEO (Sean). These things are simply amazing!
Time for some BattleBorn Batteries... Sean at BB say 100% = 100%
BB adds extra capacity in their batteries and the AVAILABLE amp hours are what they advertise. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone just used the available amp hours to rate their batteries?
I know this is an older video, but hopefully you get a message about my question. I see where the negative cables go from one row of three batteries and then jump to the other row of three batteries tying them together in parallel. However, and this may be the camera angle, I can't see where the positive cables ties in the two rows of three batteries together in the same manner. Do you have a wiring diagram of where you made the jump between rows? I am only going with four and am trying to sort out the best battery layout for cable configuration that will fit in my small existing battery tray.
at 18:34 mark, you will see a red cable laying horizontal. That connects battery 3 (in front row) to battery 4 (in back row), then I started the vertical loops again..connecting the back row of batteries.
@@tannerjim 18:34 is the end but I will look again based on your description.
@@bobt1931 ...sorry...correct time is 4:41
@@tannerjim Thanks, I think I understand. The red wire isn't well lit so was difficult to make out. Are those 2/0 cables or did you go larger?
@@bobt1931 On this install I used 2/0. When I upgraded to 3x 270amp hour batteries from Battle Born I moved to 4/0
great vid! I have heard so much about Battle born batteries! I have a class C...26ft...place for 2 coach batteries...1000 watt inverter and 160W solar...wondering if this would be worth it for me to replace my 2 batteries with lithium BB batteries? thanks for the video!
I think you will be very happy. The 160w of solar seems a bit light, but it might be just right for you, depending on how much power you use. The good news, is the BB will charge up to 4x faster, so maybe the 160w will be fine. :)
Thanks for the video. We're looking to upgrade to lithium. How much solar do you have?
We have 550 watts on the roof and a Go Power 120 watt portable panel. Truth is...the portable solar did the lions share of the work, due to all the trees around us. I just have to move the portable panel a few times a day to ensure direct sunlight.
The BMS will not allow you to discharge the battery to 100%. It will stop the discharge of the battery at around 20%. So the 100% discharge rate is misleading.
That all depends on how you interpret the 100 amp hours. At 100% discharge (100 amp hours used) the BMS will indeed turn the battery off. However, the batteries have more that 100 amp hours, so there is still power in the battery, just not available to the user. So, you can indeed discharge them to 100%, assuming your 100% is the available 100 amp hours. Your comment appears to say the will only offer the user 80 amp hours, which is not true.
Are you monitoring the IR (internal resistance) on these batteries? Does one of your sensors do that? I would think it would be extremely important to identify faulty batteries and each batteries remaining life?
Fantastic video.
Good vid one thing you should charge at one end of batt string and pull from the othe side.no charge in the middle.
Could you elaborate on the charging on one side and drawing from the other? He has several points of contact from his solar panels, inverter charger etc. and mentions load balancing but doesn't go into detail. Perhaps you can explain or connect me to a link explaining the concept. Thanks 😁
Hello thank you for this video. I am getting ready to buy a conversion Van to live in full time this summer, alone.
I am wondering how many batteries I would need? My plan is to go with a smallish dometic fridge, max air fan, water pump,3 lights and phone charging. I don't have any cameras or equipment, laptops or elecktronicks other than cell phone. So that makes me believe that I have very small electricity compared to people that have to edit videos, charge cameras, drones, laptops ect. I realize you cannot give me exact details. But do you think I could get away with 2 of these batteries?
One other thing I don't know if you mentioned but I wondered if these batteries can charge from car while driving?
The biggest draw will be from your fridge. The first step in this process is to really figure out how much power you need/use. I installed a Victron BMV-712 (linked below to Amazon) that monitors all my battery usages....both outgoing and incoming power. Once you get the Van, get the Victron BMV so you can see all info on phone/tablet.
One you have the Victron installed, you'll know exactly how much power you are consuming. This is great to have, regardless of how many batteries you have. :)
I would start out with 2 batteries. You can always add additional batteries if needed. Unlike Flooded or AGM batteries, you can add more BB batteries at different times, with no performance impact.
Yes...your van will be able to charge the BB batteries, but at a slower rate than the converter that will be in your van.
amzn.to/2tfm1Qv
@@tannerjim Thank you it's on my Amazon wish list
A Dometic, (or most any other "RV" refrigerator), will use a lot more power than an apartment-sized Energy Star-rated refrigerator. I use one, and am living off grid. I would LOVE to be able to afford one or two BB batteries, as I will need to replace my old 6V Lead-acid batterys soon!
@@tannerjim If she installs even 400W of solar power through a decent MPPT solar controller, she shouldn't need to try to charge off the van power at all. ;)
FINALLY somebody who gets a real setup. Can we get an update on the performance? 600ah is what I projected for just myself. I'd live in San Diego so I'd only run a/c now and then. Do you find it runs and charges your appliances fine?
Nicholas....the performance was better than my expectations! We were at that site for 21 days and and the batteries CRANKED out the power. We used everything we had except for AC (didn't need it).... 600amp hour is a lot, and only needed if you dry camp a lot. For casual dry camping, I'd say start with 300 amp hours. BTW...if you'd like to join my new Facebook group about Boondocking (dry camping) and solar, please feel free to join. facebook.com/groups/solarpoweredrvsandboondocking/
@@tannerjim That's so exciting!! Please post an in depth update talking about what your daily electrical needs are and how the batteries meet those needs. I'm ready to make the $10k investment in my own batteries and panels in the near future
Can you please place the camera in the next state when showing your setup... I could still differentiate components... thanks anyway
Very informative thanks. Where is that area you all are parked and riding?
Just outside La Pine Oregon. Are you familiar with the area?
Lots of good information,one thing you never talked about,I heard when it’s to cold you can’t charge a lithium batteries,any knowledge or experience ?
I don't have any experience yet, as I just installed them this summer. However, at 14:07 in the video, I talk about using them in the Winter.
@@tannerjim Don't charge them when the temp is below freezing. If you do, you will destroy your batteries. You can use the power contained within, but unless you have a reliable way to keep them at about 45-50F, don't charge them until you're in warmer climes. Myself, I'm allergic to cold (I really break out in hives) so we stay where it's mostly temperate weather. SW Arizona in the winter time, we tend to get out of Arizona around May Day (Hey, I AM a communist, after all) and we head up to Idaho/Montana in the summer time (free camping and awesome trout fishing makes me happy). I know how to fish the streams up there, without fly fishing (never was any good at that) but I use a four-foot, ultra-light rig (four pound line) and use a fast retrieve in rocky places (still lose lures but not that many) but I've had some delicious dinners by catching the fish early, and getting them into our smoker. Smoked trout is to *die* for. Sorry for the thread creep. I'm a creep (ask my sweetie) but I know what I know. I like warm weather. AND...(as if this weren't enough), Puerto Penasco, BCN, is a lovely beach town nice place to curl up with my iPad and read more about solar and batteries.
During freezing temperatures could you place insulation with a protective layer, on and around your batteries and not have to disconnect them?
Are you planning to use them or in storage. What temperature range? Will you have power other than batteries? If so, a small light bulb (not LED) can help provide heat in a small areas to keep above freezing.
Luckily the BMS will prevent them from being charged below freezing which would damage them. They can be used in cold temperatures just not charged. They did just introduce a heating pad that sticks onto the battery and connects directly to the battery if you want to keep it warm enough to accept a charge in cold climates. The downside is that they are $220! I've heard of some people using heating pads used for pets like lizards or snakes which might be more economical but battle born did mention that other heating pads could warp the plastic and damage the batteries but I would think the pet friendly ones wouldn't get that hot. Just my 2 cents😁
Can you just use your cut off switches instead of disconnecting cables when you winterize?
Absolutely! A battery cutoff switch is all you need. (on both POS and NEG)
@@tannerjim Gerard
I'm so glad you asked that. First I'm not an RVer but since there are so many people using RVs they develop a lot of really useful real world experience. Some, like friend Tanner here, even go so far as to share that experience with the rest of us who are using batteries for our power storage needs. [My uncle used a rather large pond on the high end of his property for his energy storage but we don't need to push the big ugly green button so I can rant about how envious that made me.] I'm an Emergency Communications (EMCOM) volunteer. Batteries provide my instantaneous back up power so that I can keep the radios running after a power failure. (Our local Electrical Utility is infamous for it's lack of reliability.) Additionally EMCOM volunteers are in the operate under bad conditions business so independent power is a necessity anyway.
I have 2 of the Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) Sealed Lead Acid (SLA) batteries which are valve regulated (VRSLA). Each one is 100 Ah. and each weighs 80 pounds. That works very well in my primary station which is; you guessed it; stationary. The maximum instantaneous load is 35 Amperes. (I suppose that to give a full picture I should point out that I have individual Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) on my communications control computer and a separate one on my Internet Service Provider (ISP) Customer Service Unit (CSU). Both of those batteries were replaced with "drop in" LiFePH4 Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries when they wore out. Since I just replaced the AGM VRSLA batteries, without modifying the UPS units, I probably did not gain any capacity. I base that on the assumption that the UPS units have some sort of low voltage shut off that is set to prevent damage to the original AGM batteries.) [If anyone knows some way around that challenge please don't be shy about sharing it.] That combination gives me enough time to do the manual changeover to generator power for my house or failing that to the smaller generator for just my radios, operational lighting, computer, and Internet.
I have been studying up on how to make the radio station far more transportable. (In EMCOM "transportable means that it is easily moved about. Portable; also in EMCOM, means you can operate it on the move while carrying the entire equipment set manually.) That is why I have been searching for information on the costs and the operating characteristics of LiFePh4 batteries. 160 pounds of AGM batteries is not really an effective answer to the battery portion of a transportable EMCOM station. Naturally a transportable station has to be separated into manageable sub assemblies before it can be moved and one of the heaviest assemblies is likely to be the batteries. So the batteries would be in their own transport case. Your question answers my concern about how much care the separate battery sub assembly would require. Thanks again.
--
Tom Horne W3TDH
I have a very similar setup as yours, I am using the ic2000 inverter/charger , 600watt solar setup with a victron battery monitor and a 100/50 MPPT victron solar charger and 2 Battle Born Bateries. My problem is that the ic2000 doesn't seem to put out the 100amps in bulk charge, I called up Go Power and was told to put the "FINAL CHARGE" into Float Charge. The problem is it only delivers 25amp to charge the batteries. They have no solution for this because their charger isnt meant for lithium batteries. I was wondering if you are having the same problem? I am thinking of switching my Inverter/charger to a victron now
Send me an email and I'll send to the document, showing how to change settings on IC2000. Mine now sends 85 amps to our battery bank. send to rvwiththetanners@gmail.com
Are you using poly panels
Yes, I have 4x Unisolar
PVL-136 panel on my roof and 2 x GoPower 100w portable panels for times when RV is parked in shade.
I have not built out myVan yet but I know IAm getting lithium batteries. Whether Your information is onpoint or a bit off, any result seems moor favourable with lithium than agm... done. lol IAm wondering if You think the price of lithium batteries will drop much over the next year or so? or maybe because moor people are switching the price will probably remain the same??? Thankhz so much for sharing... Wholeness n Love ((-;
Thanks! I wish I knew if price was dropping in near future.... But as with most things, they probably will drop some over next few years.
@@tannerjim You are so welcome... IAm probably going to just dive and buy... reading 2many comments can cloud One's brain but I need to get moving. IAm sure the price is not going to drop over the next several months. lol So many don't like the price, or this or that; but if the price is the only reason why someone isn't buying lithium batteries that ends up on the positive, pro's list. It says, they would if they could. lol Congratulations on Your lithium battery upgrade. Wholeness n Love ((-;
If you buy, and you're OK with it, use my link below before you buy...the cost to you is exactly the same. I get a 2% commission, which I use to pay my domain name and all the costs to run these crazy pages. No big deal if you don't...:)
battlebornbatteries.com/?afmc=rvt_01
Great math!
Wouldn't you need 6 (not 4) AGM batteries to give you an equivalent 300 AH through a full cycle?
4x150=600amp hours. Using 50% rule of thumb for AGM.... 4 is correct. 🙂👌
Do you have to do anything else different with these batteries for maintenance?
Yes, I talk about what to do for cold (below freezing) and extreme heat. Or...are you asking about day-to-day maintenance?
Very informative. However I think expecting to get 100% amp-hours out of the battery is wishful thinking unless you want to shorten their life. 90% discharge will keep the batteries in healthier state and still at about 2000 cycles.
You are correct, however the Battle Born batteries actually have more than 100 amp hours, but the BMS cuts it off at 100 used, so we can in fact use "100%" of 100 amps.
How are those batteries in winter conditions with no installation in that front compartment?
No issue for us, as it hardly gets below freezing here in Oregon where I live. Of course, if the RV was in a location where it is below freezing, then you need to take additional precautions, like a heater or heating blanket (see link)
battlebornbatteries.com/shop/heat-pad-for-bb10012/?afmc=rvt_01
On average, on 6 BBBs, with a 5th wheel, dual AC units, using every appliance on board that requires electrical power, (tv, fridge, etc...) how many days usage are you talking about?
Without knowing your solar setup or how you can add power to the batteries....I'd say even with 6 BBB, you won't make it even a day running both AC units.....perhaps you'd make it 6 hours? Those AC units pull a LOT LOT LOT of amps.
@@tannerjim thank you for your honesty and reply.
Thanks for this great video with all your math! It really shows the value of this and seems the best way to go. I'm a newbie with a 2002 keystone cougar fifth wheel (29'). I will be full timing it, and usually staying at full hookups through Thousand trails system, but may want to boondock with "the girls" somewhere in the desert for up to three nights about 4 times per year. How many of these batteries would you suggest I get?
Depends on how much power "the girls" will require, while Boondocking. Will you be using an inverter? How about the furnace (that uses a lot of power to run the fan). Do you have a residential refrig or one that also works on propane? If you're simply boondocking and not using an inverter....I'm guessing you'll be fine with 2 batteries. One thing you could try is purchase one Battle Born and go camping in a park that HAS power hookups, but don't use them. Then camp like normal, and see how well one battery works for you. Worst case...you have to plug in to charge battery....then you'll know you need two. If not...then you just saved $1000...sweet!!! :)
@@tannerjim Thanks for the reply! I have a 8cubic ft. propane/elec frig, and maybe would need the heat too, or could use the Big Buddy Propane heater if needed. Definately need lights, but I don't think we would be using the microwave. thats it. I like your idea of going to the hookup park just to try it out, so I'd have backup electricity. "The girls" are low maintenance, yay!
@@tannerjim one more thing, i don't know what an inverter is - yikes!
@@sandys2672 Your RV has a "Converter" which converts AC power to DC for the RV and to charge the batteries. An "Inverter" will take DC (from batteries) and make AC power.
@@tannerjim Oh okay,. I would need an inverter to use the house type plugs then? (AC?)
Like the battle born batteries but they cannot be used in series, have to stay at 12 volts.
Can you run your AC in full sunlight with these 6 batteries and 2000 watt inverter?
I can and have.. The GoPower IC2000 (they now have IC3000) will run one of our two AC units. We only did it for a few hours...but it works! I also carry a small Yamaha Generator that I could use as well...then the IC2000 will provide additional power as needed. Great stuff!! :)
I wander what impact on the environment the lithium batteries will have when they do die.What do you do with them as far as recycling.! Any Idea.?
No clue...I plan on having these for 10 years....that is the warranty period.
@@tannerjim Thank you.! Trying to see the real implication of mass production long term .!
Wish I had the money to do this. surprised you don't have a 6000 watt split phase inverter so you can power the whole RV at 50 amp service.
I installed my GoPower IC-2000 before they had a 3000. It can supply all the power we need, other than AC. Here in Oregon, we don't have a big need for AC.
Real life of LiFoPO4 is 2000 cycles with 80% DOD. It is good to get a warranty on those since inside you have BMS and separate elements that will fail at some point. Your safe range of voltage is 12.0V = 0% and 13.2V = 100% can be charged up to 14.6V and can wistand a discharge down to 10V. Your table is wrong, you really can draw down your batteries to 20% and I would say this 20% mark is around 13.0V . Your 90% is right ar 13.2V but your 100% must be 14.6V. In any case voltage will never inform you on the state of charge since this is very flat, LiFePO4 is very resilient to over chage and over dischage, my car battery went to 0V and I managed to get it back to life, and I charged each elements to 3.65V and it works, no heat or anything worrying. LiFePO4 wants to me charged into heat, ideal charging temperature is around 60°C (like under a hood next to an engine)
If i currently have three interstate 27 class batteries could i get away with just two battle borne 100 amp batteries?
Not knowing the amp hours of your Interstate, I would guess 2 BB's would cover your needs. If not, you can always add a 3rd down the road. Start with two...you will be thrilled with them!!!
Great video👍🏻
Where to you go to buy them?
Karen...the info in the video description, but here is the link to Battle Born's web page.
battlebornbatteries.com/?afmc=rvt_01
Good job 👍
who makes that distribution bus?
If you're asking about the 12v busbar (with plastic cover) it is from Blue Sea.
Busbar is here - amzn.to/2BULANW
Cover is here - amzn.to/2Np2nKd
The cover is a bit expensive for a plastic cover, but I really liked the ability to "knock out" the specific areas I needed, in order to route in cables.
Thanks mate
Is it true ,that if you run the lithium down to 0 their ruined?
The answer is yes, if you drain a cell to 0 volts, it should not be recharged. However, in Battle Born Batteries, the “0 SOC” is not actually 0 volts. Their BMS cuts you off at around 10 volts. By that time you have accessed the full 100Ah. So it is not possible to drain Battle Born batteries to 0 volts because of the internal BMS. Isn't that awesome!!!
@@tannerjim i am starting to understand the value a little more. I was going to put in 4 AGM'S , but i believe 3 lithium Battle Born would be over twice the Storage.
@@randym148 ..and 1/3 the weight. :)
What size wire is on the batteries?
1/0 cable used between batteries
@@tannerjim , Thank you. Looking at duplicating what you have done with the exception of solar. Solar is not in our plans just yet. The batteries, inverter and the metering has all been purchased and now just waiting for all to show up. Thanks again.
I have a question I can't seem to find the answer to. If I buy me a 12V solar setup of around 1000 watts worth of solar panels, a 3000Watt power inverter and all the other misc cables/components but only 1 lithium battle born @ 100AMP hours would I over charge my battery? would that ruin anything? because my budget doesn't allow me to get all the batteries at once so I plan on buying them slowly I'm hoping to get at least 6 eventually. but could only buy one right now. can someone please advise me?
I just added the exact system you are starting but with all the batteries. The Battle Born battery itself has protection from over charging so I wouldn't be worried about that. The solar controller and inverter/charger will also bring the voltage down appropriately as the battery approaches capacity. I would be most concerned about too many amps from the solar panels going to just one battery. While lithium batteries can handle a lot, I remember 50 amps being the recommended limit for one battery. 1000 watts could produce 69 amps at 14.4v but more realistic 62.5 amps (90% efficiency of the panels). I would suggest not hooking up one of the panels so you don't damage the one battery. You should definitely call Battle Born, they will have the answer and be able to do any of the programming of the solar controller and inverter. Perhaps there's a setting that could limit the output to 50 amps until you add more batteries. Good luck 😁👍
@@chachi5975 thanks for the advice. really appreciate the help. i guess maybe I won't connect all the solar panels like you suggested
6 grand in batteries alone! Holy cow.
How much are they worth after the three year warranty expires and the complicated BMS circuit goes belly up? Anybody have long term information on the on board BMS reliability? Plus.. if the batteries have a 10 year life if you are kind to them at 80% draw down why only a three year warranty?
Battle Born updated their warranty to 10 years, retro active on all batteries, regardless of when they were purchased. Guessing if there was a chance of problems after 3 years, they would not have updated their warranty. So, I think I'm fine.
@@tannerjim That's good to hear...now with more data on BMS reliability and more production for a lower price we are talking.. Wonder where the tech will be on other battery technologies going forward....hopefully the battery world will turn into the PC, laptop, cell phone world progress over the past 30 years....