Doing a lithium/solar project ourselves. It's a game changer over leade acid/AGM. We're doing it in phases and will be 24v on the battery bank when all is said and done.
Great video. That was a good test. Very helpful. I'm going with the 410ah also. With 1200 watts of panels on the top of the rig. Should be perfect. Thanks again.
Nice battery. We really enjoyed your video and will be following you on your journey. We're retired FT RVers who love to boondock most of the time (we're boondocking now), so we decided to build our solar/battery system in 2 phases, a 12v phase for our basic 12v needs and a 48v system for our AC high power needs. The main issue we faced is we are retired and living on social security and a small pension, so have to do everything on a tight budget forgoing name brand components like Battleborn and Victron for lesser-known brands and must do all the work ourselves - which keeps getting harder as we age. We just completed the first phase in January, with the addition of a custom built 560ah of LiFePo-4 battery, made with 8, 280ah prismatic cells. We went with a Heltec 350amp BMS, to start the onboard 5,500watt generator in our motorhome, along with a 5a active balancer to keep all the cells synched up. We built our 12v battery with grade "A" LiFePo-4 prismatic cells having a 6,000-cycle manufacturer projected life at 100% DOD. (Redodo projects 4,000-cycles at 100% DOD - which is excellent) This means that if we cycled them 100% every single day, 365 days a year, they would last over 16 years! So, they're obviously going to wear out from age before they wear out from cycling, as who cycles their batteries 100% every day? It only cost us $1,500 to build this 560ah battery, including the high amp BMS. The main reason we chose these cells (other than their price and quality) is that they fit perfectly under the steps of our motorhome where our old pair of GC-2 golf cart batteries used to reside, saving 35lbs while having over 5 times the energy storage capacity. We insulated the battery compartment, cut a 1" hole in our step risers and installed a tiny computer CPU fan to keep this space at close to room temperature, so we don't have to worry about them getting so cold that the BMS stops charging them - or their life being shortened from getting too hot. We started our build 4 years ago with a 620-watt liftable array mounted on the side of our motorhome. It serves as a nice bedroom window awning too. It practically lifts itself to the desired angle with a couple gas struts and it's easy to clean with a windshield squeegee, standing safely on the ground. Lifting an array to the correct angle for latitude and month, produces 25-30% more power than a flat mounted array - more in winter when the sun is low on the horizon. We typically use about 15% of our battery's capacity each day, running a desktop computer and a 55" UHD TV most days till midnight (20% if it's cold and we run our furnace and electric blanket all night). So, 410ah should be more than enough for your needs. Also 709 watts off of 800 watts of flat mounted panels is awesome! You'll be full in no time. We've found ours charge much faster than our old lead acid batteries did and are typically full before 1:00. This first phase, including the liftable array, wiring, breakers, a new Progressive Dynamics 80a Li compatible converter/charger, a 600w PSW inverter, an Epever 50a MPPT charge controller for our solar panels, a Lnex battery monitor/shunt, and a Renogy battery to battery charger (to protect the alternator) cost us around $3,600. By mounting our current solar array on the side of our MH, we left the roof free to rack 8, 460W Bluesun bifacial solar panels down the length of our 35ft Class A. The front side of these is rated at 460 watts with up to 25% additional wattage output from reflected light on the back side, for a total of up to 575 watts, depending on how they are mounted. We will be racking ours about 13" off the roof to clear our front AC shroud and vents. This clearance should conservatively produce another 10% output off the back of these bifacial panels, from sunlight reflected off our white roof - more during off-peak hours and in the winter. It will give us some nice shade too, reducing the heat load on our air conditioners. Our MH is only 11' 9", so we will be able to keep our height to 12". Rather than buying individual components, we will be using a Sungold Power all-in-one 48V, 5,000W, 120V PSW Inverter, 80a MPPT charge controller with a 40a ac battery charger. The reason we chose this all-in-one is because the idle power consumption is only 25 watts - and it's only $800. Our 48v battery bank will use 16, 310ah prismatic cells (15.9Kwh.) So together with our 560ah (7.1 Kwh)12v bank, we will have a total of 23Kwh of batteries onboard - which is a little more than 4, 410ah Redodo batteries. We will be replacing our old rear 13.5k btu rooftop Dometic AC with a super high-efficiency 12k Btu 48v DC mini-split heat pump that only draws 750 watts at peak output and less than 500 watts when it's cooling normally. This second phase will cost about $10k, including the heat pump, as we plan on doing all the work ourselves. Our 2nd phase will provide 24/7 off-grid air conditioning and supplemental heat from the heat pump and allow occasional usage of our front rooftop AC to cool things down for peak afternoon demand, as well as give us whole house 120v ac power. This will give us total off-grid electrical independence, allowing us to keep our generator in reserve for emergency use only. We just sold a pair of Lectric 2.0s to save about 180 lbs (with the hitch) to offset some of the 900lbs our solar/battery system will be adding.
Wow, sounds like you have a really great system going already! Array panels would be nice but so far we have been happy with the flat mounted. Who knows if that'll change haha Thank you for starting to share our journey with us, and very soon we will have a video up from where we test the solar/battery system while dry camping for awhile. Have a great day!
I am checking out the 200 ah Redodo. We are building a cargo conversion for smaller campsites . We boondocked 4 out of 5 months while in Arizona in our 34 ft Winnebago . We have 560 watts of solar and we had 455 amp hours of agm which we could only use half of.
We are heading out west later this year and we love dry camping a lot in the Midwest especially when campgrounds are busier... Non electric are always quieter😁
I try to not let the battery charge to full 100 but once every couple of weeks. Anywhere between 20/30 to 80/90 and just use the power. I will shut panels off if need be. Then every two weeks or so go ahead and let it go through the cycle and let it do a full absorption (as you know .. this will balance the internal cells). This said, the absorption time I use what Battle Born does, 20 minutes per every 100Ah ... If the battery stays and absorbs every day because it is sunny and goes to 100% .. .it is said this shortens the life. Also, with my Redodo 400Ah (4x100Ah (I wanted mobility and still keep power if one goes bad)) ... I had set the float to 14.7 ... within their specs and the 12V lights would do a little flicker ... and I was fully charged. I lowered the absorbiton setting to 14.2 (and will test up to their minimum 14.4) and all the flickering went away. .... So far I am very pleased and thanks for the video.
Great video! I just ordered 2 of the Redodo 200A LiFePO4 batteries. Bigger footprint with 2 batteries, but slightly cheaper than the 410AH battery. The only real advantage is with two, 200A BMS units in parallel, this setup can provide 400A. I don’t need that much to periodically operate a 2500W inverter, but the extra capacity may helpful if multiple heavy loads are applied simultaneously.
Nice... I made a sorta solar generator using a tote thing with wheels, put in a charge controller and inverter.. you need the regular fuzes/ breakers and outlets, but you could use the 200a battery for something like that... Always good vids from you guys!!
If your AC does not have a soft start you may want to put it in one of the AC units. That battery should get you through a weekend especially with you other battery banks.
Great video! :) A really well made and in depth video. Just what someone needs to see before buying a LiFePO4 battery like this. Looks great，I will seriously consider getting one Redodo.Cheers
I have 2banks 48volt, one with 200ah and one with 410ah. I have them connected in parallel no issues. Make sure you calibrate/synchronize them individually with your Vicktron shunt prior to paralleling them. As long as the voltage is the same and the battery chemistry is the same, you can parallel them regardless of the ah differences. The BMS will shot off the smaller cells when they drain and the bigger cells will continue with the load until they are also drained. If both batteries drain 100% and your solar are not producing any juice, BMS will place all cells in offline mode, a small park is required to activate BMS for the cells to come back alive and charge with your solar when the sun is out. Note: the wakeup spake has to be same voltage as you battery bank system!
Just added (5) 100 watt flex panels and a 30A MPPT controller to our 2006 Gulf Stream Endura Super C, but still have to run the Lead Acid batteries for a while, have to save up some more penny's before upgrading the rest of the system, that battery is double the cost of our entire solar system and can provide five times the amp hours of my present battery bank, your setup looks great and should serve you well. We have to wait for the sun to come back out here in northern Indiana so I can do a similar yard camping test. Good Job! LS
It would be convenient to have it wired in especially when we are traveling and don't need the generator for a quick reheat. The rain does indeed love us😂
Mike...great upgrade. You guys are going to be able to up the boondocking game big time. I was wondering about the pronuncation of the name Red ODO. Several other sources pronounce it "red ohdough"....hope you don't mind a constructive tip...other reviews give the products a thumbs up...comany used be called "Zooms". Looking forward to your off grid trips!
Well, the company corrected us from our previous video and said it's pronounced "RedOdio" and sent us this clip😂 th-cam.com/video/kSeAn2uVD8E/w-d-xo.html So it was pronounced correctly in this video lol
You guys did a fantastic job showing how to transition from Lead-acid batteries and adding solar panels in this video and previous videos. I think these lithium and solar videos will last a long time. There are so many RV's out there that need this transition. I just did ours this past year (2014 Tiffin). NOW, I think the battery company will have to change its name from "RED ODO" to "RED ODEO" after watching this video 😂🤪 ( I was waiting for Lynn to correct you....). But seriously, I love watching your adventures and your doggies. Keep sharing your adventures! And, especially the upgrades 😍 You guys are FUN to follow, especially when I miss being out on the road in our RV. -Todd
Thank you! We see that some RVs are coming from the factory with lithium and some have small solar options which is nice to see. Now, on to the company name😜 we were corrected by redodo from our previous video because we were saying it wrong lol it's pronounced "redodio" lol they sent us this link th-cam.com/video/kSeAn2uVD8E/w-d-xo.html Hopefully we will get out there and really put this setup to the test😁 it did great in the backyard at least haha
@@WanderingWagners LOL, That is so funny! I stand- CORRECTED. I guess the battery company wanted it to sound like that, BUT spelled it wrong....LOL Keep up the excellent videos and attention to details 😀
Yes, you should try and run the microwave off of the inverter. It looks like it won't fit in the Wraith's battery tray and but does it have built in low temperature protection? Oh yea, one more thing, I know of a good home for your old battery and we're almost neighbors, kinda, sorta. Keep the good stuff coming guys.
We will need to upgrade the inverter but it's on our list! This battery doesn't self heat but we didn't want that as we always intended on keeping it inside. They do offer self heating batteries though!
Voltage goes up and Amps remain the same in series.. Opposite for parallel. Sweet rig.. $120k..? I have a Jeep too.. Built for flexing and rock crawling while still street legal. It's alot of fun.
Love the Lithium package and I wish I could do this to our Northern lIte truck camper. That's some battery you have there. My computer is on mute so did you mention the price?
On my van I have 1,200 watts of solar panels and 900 amp hours of lithium batteries. In the Summer I run the mini split 24/7 all summer on the economy setting.
percolator coffee is good! With regards to the name... We are saying it correctly in this video. Redodo told us (after our first video with their battery) that is pronounced red-o-di-o and sent us this video: th-cam.com/video/kSeAn2uVD8E/w-d-xo.html
Red o deo? 😉 I am trying to figure out a 45 watt solar panel. Mike is so good at this stuff! And those lite bikes have to be better than the heavier fat tire version. I tried one but folding and lifting one into the camper was a back breaker. We have converted hybrid bikes that roll easy and are lighter.
Yes that's how you pronounce it. The company told us so.👍🏻😊 The lite bikes are still fat tire but they are almost 20lbs lighter than the other versions Lectric has. Very easy to move and load!
200 ah lead acid times 4 is 800 ah divided by 2 is 400. At $110 that's $440. At 2000 discharges, which is easily done, you can do the same for half the cost. I typically utilize my agm batteries for around 10 years. It's simple, discharge to 75 percent then charge. Keep this cycle and they'll last a really long time. I'm not sold on lithium simply because the cost benefit isn't there.
I own a 200 AH Redodo Lithium PO4 battery that I purchased for $649 about a month ago. I was interested in comparing to your battery on a $ per Amp hour basis. The best price I can find on a Redodo 400 AH battery is $1449. So this new battery is slightly more expensive than the 200 AH version. However, the 400AH is quite smaller than 2 200 AH batteries, so you might favor it for that reason as well.❤
Since you have been so informative regarding this high capacity Lithium battery, I want to share with you another TH-cam channel: Emily and clark's adventures, who has created the Bank Manager, which accommodates the different charging profiles of Lead Acid and Lithium batteries. Unlike lead acid, Lithium batteries do not require a float charge to maintain their full charge and can be damaged over time if the charger does so.
I even have my bedroom AC wired to run off the inverter. Absolutely wire your microwave to the Inver. You will hardly notice it doing anything to the batteries.
There's plenty of dry camping around! We enjoy that, only problem is if we are wanting to test solar we don't want so many trees (plus we tend to bring storms and hate camping under big trees to begin with in case they come down haha) luckily we have a few places in mind to try and get some sunny dry camping😁👏🏻
@@WanderingWagners you guys mentioned you didn't have a place to go boondocking dry camping is totally different you can be in somebody's like my yard it's big
@@935frank Boondocking is a place where it is not setup for camping specifically but you camp. Dry camping it's at a campground but without amenities like power etc.
Can you shed some more light on connecting the panels in a way to leave the wire the same? My camper came stock with a 30 amp charge controller which limits my solar upgrade to 600 watts. So the way you connected the panels, do you get the same production, or do you lose anything?
When voltage rises, amps are reduced. I didn't feel like running larger gauge wire so I connected each set of panels in series to raise the voltage and reduce amps, then connected the two sets together in parallel. The downside of running panels in series if one panel gets shaded then the production of all the panels in that string gets reduced.
An Australian guy did a test with BMS on two batteries, same voltage but big difference in amp hours same type of battery LifiPo4 and it discharged and charged proportional to current capacity of the battery. Who told you they had to be equal (other than voltage) in current?
We haven't yet. I disconnected the charge wire that runs from the chassis batteries for the time being. I plan on installing a DC to DC converter soon.
If you have a 3,000+ watt inverter, the 410 AH could run a15K btu aircon if it has easy start installed. Other TH-cam vloggers have done this (not all night long, but for most of it). Aren't you going to invert all your 110 V outlets? Why get all those AmpHrs, if your only use it on your microwave. Keystone and Jayco run the aircon with EasyStart.
We plan on changing out the inverter and hooking it up to all the outlets vs now which is only going to a select few. We aren't concerned with AC as we have on board generator of we need AC for long periods of time.😊 thanks for watching
@@WanderingWagners Thanks for replying to my Comment. I was probably ambiguous. The situation about which I was referring involved saving diesel or propane to run your generator; If you don't want to use up your fuel on the generator running your A/C all night. Then the beauty of the solar powered generator appears. If you have enough amp hours on your lithium battery, you might be able to run your A/C all night. Or in the alternative,one can program your generator to come on when battery amps reach a certain level of discharge. Thanks, again.
How did you handle your engine battery when you installed either of the two lithium batteries? It looks like you removed the chassis battery only. Did you have to change anything with the charge system going to the engine battery? Love your videos!!
We left the engine batteries as is but disconnected the cable that runs to the house batteries. Without a DC to DC converter it would burn up the alternator.
Lately, Redodo batteries are not as advertised. I ordered a 300Ah and it is lighter than their 200Ah I purchased earlier. The 300 and 200 ran appliances for the same duration. This company is deceptive.
Actually you can use 2 different size batteries as long as each one is ran to a bus bar...not series And 40amp vers 60amp controller is for amount of solar panels has nothing to do with batteries..
Ahem.. Mr. WAGNER.. IT'S pronounced REDODO..! lol.. not REDODIO.. I have 4 BB 100Ah lithiums. They're doing great, but wanting to add more capacity. So I'm just passing by collecting info on the bigger 12v lithiums on the market. No inverter.. Get a Victron Multiplus II 12v 3000 120. It's a charger\inverter. It's been snowing and cloudy here.. even snowing for the past 6 days, but 800w or more of solar would recharge one of these in 3 to 5 hrs of good sun .
The company told us it's pronounced "red-o-de-o" specially. They sent us this link: th-cam.com/video/kSeAn2uVD8E/w-d-xo.html We originally thought it was like you said but they corrected us and said no, it's red-o-de-o.
@@WanderingWagners Hey man thx for that swift response. I am okay with being wrong and on this occasion I clearly was. Thx for schooling me and please keep the great videos coming :)
Most people think they need battle born batteries which are $925 for only 100Ah. So this amount of power would run you $3,700+ for 400amp hours, but we think that's extravagant. This is more budget friendly for lithium by FAR.
I asked my marine electrician to update the electrical system on my 1983 sailboat 18 months ago. At that time, current technology was a pair of 100ah AGM batteries. We are now in the middle of a decline in price for Lithium batteries that I believe will continue into the foreseeable future. This decline, along with decreasing prices for solar panels, is going to shake up off grid power signicantly.😅
You could parallel connect the 410 and 200Ah batteries together through a common bus bar arrangement.
Doing a lithium/solar project ourselves. It's a game changer over leade acid/AGM. We're doing it in phases and will be 24v on the battery bank when all is said and done.
Sounds like a great project you've got going on! 👏🏻 Soon we'll both be soaking up the sun for power haha
No kidding that battery is huge. You guys are probably the most handy campers I've seen
Being handy really comes in... Handy😜
We can't wait to put this setup to the true longer test!😊👍🏻
Great video. That was a good test. Very helpful. I'm going with the 410ah also. With 1200 watts of panels on the top of the rig. Should be perfect. Thanks again.
Thank you! Sounds like you'll have everything matched up perfectly😁
Nice battery. We really enjoyed your video and will be following you on your journey. We're retired FT RVers who love to boondock most of the time (we're boondocking now), so we decided to build our solar/battery system in 2 phases, a 12v phase for our basic 12v needs and a 48v system for our AC high power needs. The main issue we faced is we are retired and living on social security and a small pension, so have to do everything on a tight budget forgoing name brand components like Battleborn and Victron for lesser-known brands and must do all the work ourselves - which keeps getting harder as we age.
We just completed the first phase in January, with the addition of a custom built 560ah of LiFePo-4 battery, made with 8, 280ah prismatic cells. We went with a Heltec 350amp BMS, to start the onboard 5,500watt generator in our motorhome, along with a 5a active balancer to keep all the cells synched up. We built our 12v battery with grade "A" LiFePo-4 prismatic cells having a 6,000-cycle manufacturer projected life at 100% DOD. (Redodo projects 4,000-cycles at 100% DOD - which is excellent) This means that if we cycled them 100% every single day, 365 days a year, they would last over 16 years! So, they're obviously going to wear out from age before they wear out from cycling, as who cycles their batteries 100% every day? It only cost us $1,500 to build this 560ah battery, including the high amp BMS. The main reason we chose these cells (other than their price and quality) is that they fit perfectly under the steps of our motorhome where our old pair of GC-2 golf cart batteries used to reside, saving 35lbs while having over 5 times the energy storage capacity.
We insulated the battery compartment, cut a 1" hole in our step risers and installed a tiny computer CPU fan to keep this space at close to room temperature, so we don't have to worry about them getting so cold that the BMS stops charging them - or their life being shortened from getting too hot. We started our build 4 years ago with a 620-watt liftable array mounted on the side of our motorhome. It serves as a nice bedroom window awning too. It practically lifts itself to the desired angle with a couple gas struts and it's easy to clean with a windshield squeegee, standing safely on the ground. Lifting an array to the correct angle for latitude and month, produces 25-30% more power than a flat mounted array - more in winter when the sun is low on the horizon. We typically use about 15% of our battery's capacity each day, running a desktop computer and a 55" UHD TV most days till midnight (20% if it's cold and we run our furnace and electric blanket all night). So, 410ah should be more than enough for your needs. Also 709 watts off of 800 watts of flat mounted panels is awesome! You'll be full in no time. We've found ours charge much faster than our old lead acid batteries did and are typically full before 1:00. This first phase, including the liftable array, wiring, breakers, a new Progressive Dynamics 80a Li compatible converter/charger, a 600w PSW inverter, an Epever 50a MPPT charge controller for our solar panels, a Lnex battery monitor/shunt, and a Renogy battery to battery charger (to protect the alternator) cost us around $3,600.
By mounting our current solar array on the side of our MH, we left the roof free to rack 8, 460W Bluesun bifacial solar panels down the length of our 35ft Class A. The front side of these is rated at 460 watts with up to 25% additional wattage output from reflected light on the back side, for a total of up to 575 watts, depending on how they are mounted. We will be racking ours about 13" off the roof to clear our front AC shroud and vents. This clearance should conservatively produce another 10% output off the back of these bifacial panels, from sunlight reflected off our white roof - more during off-peak hours and in the winter. It will give us some nice shade too, reducing the heat load on our air conditioners. Our MH is only 11' 9", so we will be able to keep our height to 12".
Rather than buying individual components, we will be using a Sungold Power all-in-one 48V, 5,000W, 120V PSW Inverter, 80a MPPT charge controller with a 40a ac battery charger. The reason we chose this all-in-one is because the idle power consumption is only 25 watts - and it's only $800. Our 48v battery bank will use 16, 310ah prismatic cells (15.9Kwh.) So together with our 560ah (7.1 Kwh)12v bank, we will have a total of 23Kwh of batteries onboard - which is a little more than 4, 410ah Redodo batteries. We will be replacing our old rear 13.5k btu rooftop Dometic AC with a super high-efficiency 12k Btu 48v DC mini-split heat pump that only draws 750 watts at peak output and less than 500 watts when it's cooling normally. This second phase will cost about $10k, including the heat pump, as we plan on doing all the work ourselves. Our 2nd phase will provide 24/7 off-grid air conditioning and supplemental heat from the heat pump and allow occasional usage of our front rooftop AC to cool things down for peak afternoon demand, as well as give us whole house 120v ac power. This will give us total off-grid electrical independence, allowing us to keep our generator in reserve for emergency use only. We just sold a pair of Lectric 2.0s to save about 180 lbs (with the hitch) to offset some of the 900lbs our solar/battery system will be adding.
Wow, sounds like you have a really great system going already! Array panels would be nice but so far we have been happy with the flat mounted. Who knows if that'll change haha
Thank you for starting to share our journey with us, and very soon we will have a video up from where we test the solar/battery system while dry camping for awhile. Have a great day!
I am checking out the 200 ah Redodo. We are building a cargo conversion for smaller campsites . We boondocked 4 out of 5 months while in Arizona in our 34 ft Winnebago . We have 560 watts of solar and we had 455 amp hours of agm which we could only use half of.
We are heading out west later this year and we love dry camping a lot in the Midwest especially when campgrounds are busier... Non electric are always quieter😁
I try to not let the battery charge to full 100 but once every couple of weeks. Anywhere between 20/30 to 80/90 and just use the power. I will shut panels off if need be. Then every two weeks or so go ahead and let it go through the cycle and let it do a full absorption (as you know .. this will balance the internal cells). This said, the absorption time I use what Battle Born does, 20 minutes per every 100Ah ... If the battery stays and absorbs every day because it is sunny and goes to 100% .. .it is said this shortens the life. Also, with my Redodo 400Ah (4x100Ah (I wanted mobility and still keep power if one goes bad)) ... I had set the float to 14.7 ... within their specs and the 12V lights would do a little flicker ... and I was fully charged. I lowered the absorbiton setting to 14.2 (and will test up to their minimum 14.4) and all the flickering went away. .... So far I am very pleased and thanks for the video.
Thanks for the comment! We appreciate the info and we are loving the solar so far😁
That was super awesome!!! Nice setup, great work!!!
Thank you very much!😁👏🏻
Doing good and you will have no problem, nice to see you upgraded your controller👍, its nice having 400 AH of lithium 😎
Should have done this controller from the beginning but oh well haha😁 can't wait to use it all more, that is if the sun ever returns
That's one huge battery, wow!
Yes it is!
Very nice job on the project and explanation!
Thank you very much!👏🏻
You can parallel any lithium battery of same voltage. As the BMS controls them.. Just be sure to tap the negative and positive off the largest one...
Thanks for the info!
Great video! I just ordered 2 of the Redodo 200A LiFePO4 batteries. Bigger footprint with 2 batteries, but slightly cheaper than the 410AH battery. The only real advantage is with two, 200A BMS units in parallel, this setup can provide 400A. I don’t need that much to periodically operate a 2500W inverter, but the extra capacity may helpful if multiple heavy loads are applied simultaneously.
Thanks! Hopefully you like your new batteries. We have been very happy with ours still
Nice... I made a sorta solar generator using a tote thing with wheels, put in a charge controller and inverter.. you need the regular fuzes/ breakers and outlets, but you could use the 200a battery for something like that... Always good vids from you guys!!
Now there's an idea haha! We haven't done that yet
If your AC does not have a soft start you may want to put it in one of the AC units. That battery should get you through a weekend especially with you other battery banks.
No we don't have easy starts on this RV to date. We don't plan to run AC off the solar though.
Great video! :) A really well made and in depth video. Just what someone needs to see before buying a LiFePO4 battery like this. Looks great，I will seriously consider getting one Redodo.Cheers
Thank did for that! We wanted to go more into depth but didn't want to bore everyone... We hoped this was the happy medium😁
I have 2banks 48volt, one with 200ah and one with 410ah. I have them connected in parallel no issues.
Make sure you calibrate/synchronize them individually with your Vicktron shunt prior to paralleling them.
As long as the voltage is the same and the battery chemistry is the same, you can parallel them regardless of the ah differences. The BMS will shot off the smaller cells when they drain and the bigger cells will continue with the load until they are also drained.
If both batteries drain 100% and your solar are not producing any juice, BMS will place all cells in offline mode, a small park is required to activate BMS for the cells to come back alive and charge with your solar when the sun is out.
Note: the wakeup spake has to be same voltage as you battery bank system!
We are happy with just our 410Ah battery for now👍🏻
Just added (5) 100 watt flex panels and a 30A MPPT controller to our 2006 Gulf Stream Endura Super C, but still have to run the Lead Acid batteries for a while, have to save up some more penny's before upgrading the rest of the system, that battery is double the cost of our entire solar system and can provide five times the amp hours of my present battery bank, your setup looks great and should serve you well. We have to wait for the sun to come back out here in northern Indiana so I can do a similar yard camping test. Good Job! LS
These batteries can be quite expensive but we have been happy with Redodo and it's a fraction of the cost of some names like battle born.😊
@@WanderingWagners That is very true. we would need low temperature charging - heating style batteries since they are outside on my rig.
@@larryse8749 redodo does offer a few self heating battery options as well
Wire for microwave. It is a main source for cooking. Remember you bring the rain. You need to be able to run everything.
It would be convenient to have it wired in especially when we are traveling and don't need the generator for a quick reheat. The rain does indeed love us😂
Mike...great upgrade. You guys are going to be able to up the boondocking game big time. I was wondering about the pronuncation of the name Red ODO. Several other sources pronounce it "red ohdough"....hope you don't mind a constructive tip...other reviews give the products a thumbs up...comany used be called "Zooms". Looking forward to your off grid trips!
Well, the company corrected us from our previous video and said it's pronounced "RedOdio" and sent us this clip😂 th-cam.com/video/kSeAn2uVD8E/w-d-xo.html
So it was pronounced correctly in this video lol
@@WanderingWagners just between us they don't speak English well anyway...just ask Lynn about trips to the nail shop
...LOL!
@@SFDearing1 when they corrected us, we looked at each other and said well then it's spelled wrong😂
We will be @Mohican this coming weekend. I enjoyed the video
Awesome! We haven't decided where we are going😂 we will probably decide right before we leave
You guys did a fantastic job showing how to transition from Lead-acid batteries and adding solar panels in this video and previous videos. I think these lithium and solar videos will last a long time. There are so many RV's out there that need this transition. I just did ours this past year (2014 Tiffin). NOW, I think the battery company will have to change its name from "RED ODO" to "RED ODEO" after watching this video 😂🤪 ( I was waiting for Lynn to correct you....). But seriously, I love watching your adventures and your doggies. Keep sharing your adventures! And, especially the upgrades 😍 You guys are FUN to follow, especially when I miss being out on the road in our RV. -Todd
Thank you! We see that some RVs are coming from the factory with lithium and some have small solar options which is nice to see.
Now, on to the company name😜 we were corrected by redodo from our previous video because we were saying it wrong lol it's pronounced "redodio" lol they sent us this link th-cam.com/video/kSeAn2uVD8E/w-d-xo.html
Hopefully we will get out there and really put this setup to the test😁 it did great in the backyard at least haha
@@WanderingWagners LOL, That is so funny! I stand- CORRECTED. I guess the battery company wanted it to sound like that, BUT spelled it wrong....LOL Keep up the excellent videos and attention to details 😀
@@twHomeShow we said the same thing... "Well then it's spelled wrong😂"
@@WanderingWagners It will be nice to meet you guys someday when our travels cross paths! 😃
@@twHomeShow agreed😊👍🏻
Yes, you should try and run the microwave off of the inverter. It looks like it won't fit in the Wraith's battery tray and but does it have built in low temperature protection? Oh yea, one more thing, I know of a good home for your old battery and we're almost neighbors, kinda, sorta. Keep the good stuff coming guys.
We will need to upgrade the inverter but it's on our list! This battery doesn't self heat but we didn't want that as we always intended on keeping it inside. They do offer self heating batteries though!
Voltage goes up and Amps remain the same in series.. Opposite for parallel. Sweet rig.. $120k..? I have a Jeep too.. Built for flexing and rock crawling while still street legal. It's alot of fun.
The RV was $140k 4 years ago. Love the jeeps!
Love the Lithium package and I wish I could do this to our Northern lIte truck camper. That's some battery you have there. My computer is on mute so did you mention the price?
$1500 sale price until May 7th. There are links in the description to their site etc.👍🏻
On my van I have 1,200 watts of solar panels and 900 amp hours of lithium batteries. In the Summer I run the mini split 24/7 all summer on the economy setting.
We know others with mini splits and they run them off their solar pretty easily like you mentioned👍🏻👏🏻
We plan to use an old percolator for coffee to save the juice, lol. Nice review though. Just a tip, it’s Re-Do-Do, not re-do-de-o, lol
percolator coffee is good!
With regards to the name... We are saying it correctly in this video. Redodo told us (after our first video with their battery) that is pronounced red-o-di-o and sent us this video: th-cam.com/video/kSeAn2uVD8E/w-d-xo.html
AAAA technology keeps on rolling along...the next 10 years will see a massive advancement in battery technology. Congratulations on the new battery.
We were just talking about that ourselves how before we know it panels and batteries will be more advanced and hopefully easily recyclable!🤞🏻
@@WanderingWagners I have been watching some tech companies that will announce this summer or fall on advances on solar and batteries.
Red o deo? 😉 I am trying to figure out a 45 watt solar panel. Mike is so good at this stuff! And those lite bikes have to be better than the heavier fat tire version. I tried one but folding and lifting one into the camper was a back breaker. We have converted hybrid bikes that roll easy and are lighter.
Yes that's how you pronounce it. The company told us so.👍🏻😊
The lite bikes are still fat tire but they are almost 20lbs lighter than the other versions Lectric has. Very easy to move and load!
That’s cool watching tv 📺 inside the motorhome
Thank you! Pretty great to run it off the solar and battery
Dang! Who’s that Chuck guy who keeps texting while you’re trying to film? Lmao😂😂😂
Seriously though😂😂😂
200 ah lead acid times 4 is 800 ah divided by 2 is 400. At $110 that's $440. At 2000 discharges, which is easily done, you can do the same for half the cost. I typically utilize my agm batteries for around 10 years. It's simple, discharge to 75 percent then charge. Keep this cycle and they'll last a really long time. I'm not sold on lithium simply because the cost benefit isn't there.
Feel free to use whatever type of battery that suits your needs!👍🏻😊
You should set it up to run the microwave. I need someone to show me how and you guys would be good at it.
Thanks for your feedback. This is definitely something we are looking at doing soon
I own a 200 AH Redodo Lithium PO4 battery that I purchased for $649 about a month ago. I was interested in comparing to your battery on a $ per Amp hour basis. The best price I can find on a Redodo 400 AH battery is $1449. So this new battery is slightly more expensive than the 200 AH version. However, the 400AH is quite smaller than 2 200 AH batteries, so you might favor it for that reason as well.❤
We didn't want to have to have 2 batteries so this 410ah fit in the same space as the 200 so it was a win for us!
Since you have been so informative regarding this high capacity Lithium battery, I want to share with you another TH-cam channel: Emily and clark's adventures, who has created the Bank Manager, which accommodates the different charging profiles of Lead Acid and Lithium batteries. Unlike lead acid, Lithium batteries do not require a float charge to maintain their full charge and can be damaged over time if the charger does so.
I even have my bedroom AC wired to run off the inverter. Absolutely wire your microwave to the Inver. You will hardly notice it doing anything to the batteries.
Definitely something we hope to do in the near future!
Super cool.
Thank you!
We have boondocking camping in Michigan in West Branch mi State Forest campground
There's plenty of dry camping around! We enjoy that, only problem is if we are wanting to test solar we don't want so many trees (plus we tend to bring storms and hate camping under big trees to begin with in case they come down haha) luckily we have a few places in mind to try and get some sunny dry camping😁👏🏻
@@WanderingWagners you guys mentioned you didn't have a place to go boondocking dry camping is totally different you can be in somebody's like my yard it's big
@@935frank Boondocking is a place where it is not setup for camping specifically but you camp. Dry camping it's at a campground but without amenities like power etc.
@@WanderingWagners I sent you photos of us boondocking
Just like they do out west
great video guys , I may not have 410 amp hours but I'm pretty happy with my 360 amp hours in my Dodge Grand Caravan lol
That's quite a few amp hours though!
We've been using the heck out of this battery and are very happy with it
@@WanderingWagners I have to have a lot of amp hours because I'm in a power wheelchair and I have to be able to keep that charged.
@@DaveSquibbSr makes sense👍🏻
Can you shed some more light on connecting the panels in a way to leave the wire the same? My camper came stock with a 30 amp charge controller which limits my solar upgrade to 600 watts. So the way you connected the panels, do you get the same production, or do you lose anything?
When voltage rises, amps are reduced. I didn't feel like running larger gauge wire so I connected each set of panels in series to raise the voltage and reduce amps, then connected the two sets together in parallel. The downside of running panels in series if one panel gets shaded then the production of all the panels in that string gets reduced.
An Australian guy did a test with BMS on two batteries, same voltage but big difference in amp hours same type of battery LifiPo4 and it discharged and charged proportional to current capacity of the battery. Who told you they had to be equal (other than voltage) in current?
Says right in their manual
Ok, then i would go with that as he had nothing saying not to do it and they obviously know more about their battery than anybody else would! Thanks
Hi, I was wondering if you made any changes to your alternator setup?
We haven't yet. I disconnected the charge wire that runs from the chassis batteries for the time being. I plan on installing a DC to DC converter soon.
If you have a 3,000+ watt inverter, the 410 AH could run a15K btu aircon if it has easy start installed. Other TH-cam vloggers have done this (not all night long, but for most of it). Aren't you going to invert all your 110 V outlets? Why get all those AmpHrs, if your only use it on your microwave. Keystone and Jayco run the aircon with EasyStart.
We plan on changing out the inverter and hooking it up to all the outlets vs now which is only going to a select few. We aren't concerned with AC as we have on board generator of we need AC for long periods of time.😊 thanks for watching
@@WanderingWagners Thanks for replying to my Comment. I was probably ambiguous. The situation about which I was referring involved saving diesel or propane to run your generator; If you don't want to use up your fuel on the generator running your A/C all night. Then the beauty of the solar powered generator appears. If you have enough amp hours on your lithium battery, you might be able to run your A/C all night. Or in the alternative,one can program your generator to come on when battery amps reach a certain level of discharge. Thanks, again.
Not that I really missed it, but you didn't do the UL/DL Test of the 3 Networks! ~ LoL
They're excellent at Wagner resort!😂
@@WanderingWagners ~ LMAO!
what is the A/C unit you have on the roof of the RV ? Brand/ model
They're both domestic brand
Invert everything 😊
Definitely agree... Need to do another upgrade😜
How is the battery working? Been about 4 months now... Recommend? Any problems with the battery?
We've had 0 issues and would recommend
Old French Expression: "The dead always have the best view." The things I learn from a French wife.
So true too
How did you handle your engine battery when you installed either of the two lithium batteries? It looks like you removed the chassis battery only. Did you have to change anything with the charge system going to the engine battery? Love your videos!!
We left the engine batteries as is but disconnected the cable that runs to the house batteries. Without a DC to DC converter it would burn up the alternator.
What is your inverter
Yes...please! Inquiring minds want to know. I don't believe I have ever found a 12v inverter than could max out that BMS.
Currently we have a Magnum 1200 watt modified sine wave. We are hoping to upgrade it sometime
😄👍Good To Know, Great Tips
Happy to help😎
Where did you purchase the solar panels?
Amazon
Poor Chuck. Getting flicked right off the screen.
Haha don't worry he kept coming back😂
@@WanderingWagners thank gawd he wasn’t all “send nudes”.
@@rabbi6225 no kidding... We would have had to reshoot those clips😂
Hello, what size is your inverter?
1,200 watts
Very Jealous. Nice install and 250 amps draw capability sounds perfect
Thank you! Hopefully this will be the last major solar upgrade for at least a few more months LOL jk this should provide exactly what we need!
When solar comes down to the price I paid for my generator ($350) and puts out 3500 watts, I'll go solar.
We have an on board generator but don't want to have to use it all the time👍🏻
Go for a 3000 watt inverter
That would be awesome!
Lately, Redodo batteries are not as advertised. I ordered a 300Ah and it is lighter than their 200Ah I purchased earlier. The 300 and 200 ran appliances for the same duration. This company is deceptive.
Sorry to hear that... We had the 200ah and now there 410ah battery and both have been and still are great!
Go for two 3000 watt inverters . No need for a diesel geny
We don't plan to ever get rid of the on board diesel generator but with this setup we won't be dependent on it in milder weather
Sweet
Thank you!😁👍🏻
I think we all got a charge out of this video..not as big a reaction as washing the rig though..just sayn ))
Haha maybe if the weather warms up again. After this fluke warm few days it went right back down to 40s highs
😊
Thanks for the comment!👏🏻
Actually you can use 2 different size batteries as long as each one is ran to a bus bar...not series
And 40amp vers 60amp controller is for amount of solar panels has nothing to do with batteries..
ummmmm, where is the second 'e' in the name??? 'redodeo'?
Ask the company. They told us this is the correct pronunciation and sent this video: th-cam.com/video/kSeAn2uVD8E/w-d-xo.htmlsi=VgIsuJWry5ihm4jw
@@WanderingWagners that's nuts! Thank you for sharing.
I NEVER SEEN A DOG RUN SLOW LIKE THAT HOPE ITS OK GOBBLESS
Dogs are great! We filmed it in slow motion to catch piper catching the frisbee👍🏻
@@WanderingWagners O OK ITS CGI
@@lawrenceconstantine nope, it's real. Dogs are actually playing frisbee we just slowed the footage down
Ahem.. Mr. WAGNER.. IT'S pronounced REDODO..! lol.. not REDODIO.. I have 4 BB 100Ah lithiums. They're doing great, but wanting to add more capacity. So I'm just passing by collecting info on the bigger 12v lithiums on the market. No inverter.. Get a Victron Multiplus II 12v 3000 120. It's a charger\inverter. It's been snowing and cloudy here.. even snowing for the past 6 days, but 800w or more of solar would recharge one of these in 3 to 5 hrs of good sun .
No, it's not. The company told us it's pronounced Red-oh-de-oh. They even have this...th-cam.com/video/kSeAn2uVD8E/w-d-xo.htmlsi=7mO-9t424j31y6qb
Nice vid.
I see that Redodo looks similar to the word "rodeo"......but Redodo is not pronounced the same.....it's Re-dodo....cheers
The company told us it's pronounced "red-o-de-o" specially. They sent us this link: th-cam.com/video/kSeAn2uVD8E/w-d-xo.html
We originally thought it was like you said but they corrected us and said no, it's red-o-de-o.
@@WanderingWagners Hey man thx for that swift response. I am okay with being wrong and on this occasion I clearly was. Thx for schooling me and please keep the great videos coming :)
Put an inverter in, it’s only money, lol
We have an inverter in the RV, it's just not the biggest/best/what we would have picked so we would like to change it👍🏻
Wow can you say I’m rich and you’re not,that battery is 1700 dollars and most people don’t have that kind of money!
Most people think they need battle born batteries which are $925 for only 100Ah. So this amount of power would run you $3,700+ for 400amp hours, but we think that's extravagant. This is more budget friendly for lithium by FAR.
I asked my marine electrician to update the electrical system on my 1983 sailboat 18 months ago. At that time, current technology was a pair of 100ah AGM batteries. We are now in the middle of a decline in price for Lithium batteries that I believe will continue into the foreseeable future. This decline, along with decreasing prices for solar panels, is going to shake up off grid power signicantly.😅
I want bikini weather to see how well solar performs.
😂👙 Maybe if the weather gets back to being nice like it was in this video! That was short lived warm front haha
I see no problem with connecting both batteries together.
There would be charging and voltage discrepancies and there's plenty of information out there telling you why not to do this.
Very intresting! However, so is Lynn in her bikini!!
Thanks for watching
She sounds like she’s seen bigger
Guess you'll never know😜 haha
Can we please quit calling everything a "Game Changer?"
No.
@@WanderingWagners then nothing is a game changer.