msmith1199
Reno, NV
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After a recent extended trip without hookups, and a lot of research, I decided I need more battery capacity! But I have no room for another battery. About two years ago I bought two Battle Born 100 AH Lipo4 batteries. I downsized my motorhome to a smaller Class C and there isn’t room in the battery compartment and no nearby location to put another. But BattleBorn does make 270ah battery that will fit in the existing compartment. If I was buying now I’d definitely get that one over the two 100AH batteries. And I still may get it anyway. But it is $2400! I may go ahead and do it if I thought I could sell my two year old batteries. Is there a market for used LiPo4 batteries? I think I paid about $900 each for them and they are $950 each now. If I could get half that I’d pull the trigger and get the bigger battery.
2021 Nexus Viper 27V. Class B+
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Cptnvideo
Arizona - most of the time
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SOK 206 ah batteries are just over $1000 on Amazon. And they are the size of a typical car battery.
Bill & Linda
Arizona
2019 Dodge Ram Laramie 3500 dually 4x4 diesel
Hensley Trailer Saver BD5 hitch
2022 Grand Design Solitude 378MBS
1600 watts solar, Victron 150/100 MPPT controller, GoPower 3kw inverter/charger, 5 SOK 206AH LiFePo4 batteries for 1030 ah
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wa8yxm
Davison Michigan (East of Flint)
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Somoething to think about when comparing batteries
Lead acid come in flavors some of them even using 20% of the rated capacity is not recommended (GC batteries are DEEP CYCLE meaning 50% is the recommended minimum SOC.. MARINE/deep cycle around 75-80% minimum SOC (meaning a 100 AH battery you can only use 20-25 AH) Starting 80 or more (Do not use more than 20%)
LiFePO4...You can use like 99% of the capacity. and over 90 before you notice voltage drop.
Home was where I park it. but alas the.
2005 Damon Intruder 377 Alas declared a total loss
after a semi "nicked" it. Still have the radios
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Grit dog
Black Diamond, WA
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Couple things to consider.
1. There IS room somewhere. Especially if going with more LI power. It’s low amp draw you don’t need welding leads to hook them up. Even if the supplemental batteries are 10’ or a bit more away from the connection point to your DC panel or existing battery box.
2. You could improve your quiet charging (presume solar because if you had a generator you likely wouldn’t have the same query).
3. You could add a big DC DC charger and use the Moho as a generator.
4. You could get a small quality inverter generator or even a cheapo bigger inverter genny for far less $ than what you’ll lose on selling and re-purchasing Battleborns. Probably be money ahead even if you purchase additional LI battery power frugally. Maybe even $0 cost if you find a nice used Honda or Yami genny at a decent price. The used Honda I bought 10 years ago is still worth what I paid for it. (Likely more…FJB)
5. You overpaid once for batteries. Taking a 50% hit on those to overpay again (Battleborn) is doubly silly.
6. If you really think adding only 25% capacity (200 vs 270A) will do the trick (seems like you’d be asking the same question again next year though…) then options 2,3 or 4 are easy solutions that may or will yield better results.
7. What do you “really” need? Your post alludes to a single trip that (idk what “after lots of research” means) presumably you either went lights out and the beer n burgers got warm or you had to curtail your power use to make it the whole time with cold beer.
You’re planning on this being a more regular occurrence in the future? If so, options 1 or 2 are your best bet. If not, see option #6.
In all cases option #5 is a very poor choice IMO unless you like showing off your trick overpriced batteries…..
Which brings about #8, which is actually a spin on #1. You could showcase your Grunt Style, military inspired high tech power supply in the camper. A little plexiglass cased 12V ottoman with quick disconnects comes to mind. Or maybe a Battleborn night stand?
And I almost forgot. Option #9, wholly endorsed but never sponsored by our very own expert @pianotuna. Scrap it all and go 24, 36, or 48V. On the upside you could likely do it for the same or less $ than that one new Battleborn big boy battery!
And finally option #10, serious about this one. Use your Moho start battery in a pinch and keep one of those little LI jump packs in the event you need cold beer a bit more than an engine that doesn’t need a jump start. You could even upgrade your start battery for not alot of money (in battle born dollars) and maybe only use the jump pack as a beer coaster.
* This post was
edited 08/11/23 09:46am by Grit dog *
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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Hi,
Have you switched lighting to led technology?
If you have an inverter make sure it is NOT left on between uses.
Add solar generation to your bag of tricks? It is far cheaper than replacing the battery bank.
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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theoldwizard1
SE MI
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IMHO, Battle Born batteries are Way over priced !
Search online. There are several other companies offering similar batteries for much less money.
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Chum lee
Albuquerque, NM
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msmith1199 wrote:After a recent extended trip without hookups, and a lot of research, I decided I need more battery capacity! But I have no room for another battery. If I could get half that I’d pull the trigger and get the bigger battery.
IMO, you are beating a dead horse. Eventually, you will realize (given your specific application) that you can't run your RV off batteries alone, . . . . you need some other form of power. With the space you have, current battery technology simply can't store enough electricity to meet your current needs. It doesn't matter if you decide to use solar, wind, a gas generator, or just plug into a pedestal somewhere, batteries alone just aren't going to get the job done.
Chum lee
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msmith1199
Reno, NV
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Joined: 10/07/2001
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wa8yxm wrote:Somoething to think about when comparing batteries
Lead acid come in flavors some of them even using 20% of the rated capacity is not recommended (GC batteries are DEEP CYCLE meaning 50% is the recommended minimum SOC.. MARINE/deep cycle around 75-80% minimum SOC (meaning a 100 AH battery you can only use 20-25 AH) Starting 80 or more (Do not use more than 20%)
LiFePO4...You can use like 99% of the capacity. and over 90 before you notice voltage drop.
??? Not changing from Lithium just looking for more AH.
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msmith1199
Reno, NV
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Joined: 10/07/2001
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Chum lee wrote:msmith1199 wrote:After a recent extended trip without hookups, and a lot of research, I decided I need more battery capacity! But I have no room for another battery. If I could get half that I’d pull the trigger and get the bigger battery.
IMO, you are beating a dead horse. Eventually, you will realize (given your specific application) that you can't run your RV off batteries alone, . . . . you need some other form of power. With the space you have, current battery technology simply can't store enough electricity to meet your current needs. It doesn't matter if you decide to use solar, wind, a gas generator, or just plug into a pedestal somewhere, batteries alone just aren't going to get the job done.
Chum lee
And another answer I don’t quite understand. Didn’t say I didn’t have a generator. I just want more AH out of my battery bank. And yes, more AH will satisfy my needs.
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wa8yxm
Davison Michigan (East of Flint)
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theoldwizard1 wrote:IMHO, Battle Born batteries are Way over priced !
Search online. There are several other companies offering similar batteries for much less money.
No argument there but ... some of those discount batteries are way over rated.
For example one was sliced and diced and inspected by a Video blogger
he found their claim of "Low temp protection" was totally false.
But I mentioned Battle Born only because of their deal with Progressive Dynamics.. PD helps to pay for my lifestyle as they are a Michigan Company and the state pays me a retirement pension.
(You might say I'm pro-Michigan Companies).
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