stevemorris
ontario
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i need a new battery for our 26ft tt, the old lead/acid rv/marine battery is virtually dead after 10 years of service.
is it worthwhile to upgrade to a 100 Ah li battery and the necessary new charger?
we do boondock occasionally and probably would do more with a better battery capacity. the old lead/acid battery was rarely adequete for more than one night boondocking running the usual lights, fridge and water heater controls.
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Boomerweps
Hills of PA
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Short answer. YES. Bonus, just 23# each vs. SLA @ 65#, double the useable capacity, and can be installed almost ANYWHERE.
You can get a battery with Bluetooth monitoring so it’s even easier to track usage.
I replaced my battery and bought a $20 plug in charger to top off and equalize my battery occasionally. Not paying for a converter charger upgrade, parts alone were about $270.
The stock converter charger, even if non Lithium capable, will charge the battery to about 90% on the average. So far, mine seems to be keeping them (bought two batteries) at 100%.
You can also use solar to top them off if you get into that.
The ONLY downside to consider is LiFePO4 batteries can be damaged if charging is attempted below freezing. So if you want to leave it mounted year round in cold climates, you’ll need one with low temperature protection in its Battery Management System (BMS), or take other actions. My 2nd battery’s manual (yes, it has one) states to not store it under 14*F. My 2nd battery was bought cheaply and doesn’t have all the same BMS as my 1st one.
* This post was
edited 06/10/23 07:51am by Boomerweps *
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Second Chance
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In addition to what was said above, you really only get about 50% of the rated amp hours out of a lead acid battery - and if drained too low, it's toast. With LiFePO4, nearly 100% of the rated amp hours are available and they have 1,000s of charge cycles in them over their lifetime. One caution: with a travel trailer and the battery stored on the tongue, you'll need to be careful about the battery charging in very cold temps. To get around this, you can buy a heated battery, put a thermostatically controlled heating pad around it, remove the battery during the winter, or move it inside the trailer (they don't need to be vented). We have four 100 AH Battle Born batteries in our fifth wheel to operate the residential refrigerator (via an inverter) while traveling or during power outages and they are great. We love them.
Rob
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corvettekent
Marysville, WA
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Yes, but you are going to need more than one 100 ah battery. You will also need a shunt-based battery monitor.
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stevemorris
ontario
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thanks for the replies.
charging when cold would not be an issue, we have always removed the battery from the trailer and stored it in my heated garage with a trickle charger.
the additional usable capacity is the biggest bonus plus it doesn't need to sit on the a frame, i would mount it inside somewhere and lighter is always a bonus!
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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stevemorris wrote:i need a new battery for our 26ft tt, the old lead/acid rv/marine battery is virtually dead after 10 years of service.
is it worthwhile to upgrade to a 100 Ah li battery and the necessary new charger?
we do boondock occasionally and probably would do more with a better battery capacity. the old lead/acid battery was rarely adequete for more than one night boondocking running the usual lights, fridge and water heater controls.
Hi
If you live in the cold white north Li may become an issue.
https://www.canbat.com/how-to-charge-lifepo4-batteries/
You may not need a new charger. Be aware that battery management systems on LiFePo4 may limit demand to 1C. That may be an issue if there is a large inverter in use.
My next batteries will be SiO2 which can be charged at -40. But I do live where I boondock at -37 C. There is a Canadian Dealer.
Regards, Don
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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stevemorris wrote:thanks for the replies.
charging when cold would not be an issue, we have always removed the battery from the trailer and stored it in my heated garage with a trickle charger.
the additional usable capacity is the biggest bonus plus it doesn't need to sit on the a frame, i would mount it inside somewhere and lighter is always a bonus!
Li should be stored at 50% state of charge. Don't trickle them.
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stevemorris
ontario
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good to know about the storage state of charge, thx.
-10 C is the coldest it gets here in SW ontario! boon docking at -37 C is not in my future!
i see ads for lifeso4 batteries all over my facebook feed now of course.
so i'm looking for a trusted well known supplier
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wa8yxm
Davison Michigan (East of Flint)
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I'll go with the YES folks too.. However one caution
Li batteries do not like to be charged if freezing (Below 0C or 32F)
Of course. That is not a problem for most folks
Advantage 100 AH of Lead acid MARINE/deep cycle is about 25 Ah of power
100 AH of True Deep cycle is perhaps 50 AH of power
100 AH of LiFePO4 is like 99 amp hours of power.
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stevemorris
ontario
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suggested suppliers?
renogy has a big presence on amazon canada, there are others too though
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