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Old 01-10-2022, 02:13 PM   #1
Sjscrio
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Upgrade to lithium ion batteries

We recently purchased a beautiful 2013 keystone Montana 3100rl .
This Montana was only used 6 month before going into storage .
We really want to upgrade to at least two lithium batteries.
I know I’ll have to upgrade the factory converter.
Any advice or suggestions would be helpful on where to start?
Sal
 
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Old 01-10-2022, 03:38 PM   #2
AZ Traveler
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Salvatore,

First - welcome to the forum!

The lithium batteries with an integrated battery management system (BMS) are pretty much plug and play. An updated converter, an inverter/charger or solar will charge them properly. If you are camping when it is cold you may want battery heaters or batteries with integrated heaters.

Plenty of threads here to get smarter on lithium.
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Old 01-10-2022, 03:40 PM   #3
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Give the folks over at Battleborn a call. Very knowledgeable and very helpful. Tell them what power center / converter you currently have in your rig and they will tell you exactly what you need to upgrade.
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Old 01-10-2022, 03:44 PM   #4
Daryles
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Unless you boondock a lot, lithium cost a lot for what you get. If you are always connected to shore power, a good deep cycle battery will be just fine.
If you do boondock a lot, they charge WAY faster and you can discharge them down to 10% without damage. FLA batteries can only be Discharged to 50%.
Here's a good article on lithium battery care.
How to find happiness with lithium batteries
https://www.solacity.com/how-to-keep...tteries-happy/

I put two 1" layers of styrofoam board insulation in the battery compartment. Also made my own 12vdc battery heaters for them when boondocking. I also put a 120vac 75w battery warmer up on edge along the front floor of that compartment for when we are on shore power. Keeps the chill out. I also put one in the basement to keep the pipes warm.
I have 552Ah of lithium. 2000W (4000w surge) inverter. Installed SoftStartRV on the bedroom air conditioner. Yes I can run the front AC on batteries. Tested it for 15 minutes, not sure how long it would run for.
I have 400W of solar panels. It did well last year when we dry camped on Ocracoke Island OBX NC for 5 days. Batteries were charged by noon everyday. I also installed a DC-DC charger for cloudy days.
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Old 01-10-2022, 04:47 PM   #5
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Thanks Zach and Donna !
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Old 01-10-2022, 04:48 PM   #6
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Thanks
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Old 01-10-2022, 04:49 PM   #7
Sjscrio
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Thanks guys
We will take it into consideration.
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Old 01-10-2022, 06:18 PM   #8
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I respectfully disagree. Over the life of the batteries LiFePO4 costs less than PbSO4...even drop ins which are the far more costly than DIY cells are less over their entire life. Yes there is no getting around the fact that the initial outlay if frankly much more but you won't be purchasing replacement battieries over the life of your coach. Let that sink in a minute. There are bargains to be found like "Black Friday" sales, Costco road specials, Amazon Chins. Only the OP can determine if his/her usage will warrant the expenditure. Who knows perhaps with the added battery life they will take to boondocking like a labrador to water. Don't fall for the old argument about the price being the cost.
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Old 01-19-2022, 04:49 PM   #9
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My batteries were getting old so I upgraded to LifePO4 batteries. We from 2 105 AH 6 volt golf cart betteries to 2 200 AH 12 volt betteries. Built my own betteries (ordered from China, used BMS for each battery). Solved the problem of keeping them warm in cold weather by moving the batteries into the heated storage area. Installed a 250 amp circuit brake that also works as a battery disconnect. Used the converter that came with the trailer (had to play with it to get it to work). Also installed a 2000 watt pure sin wave inverter because a residentual refrigerator had been installed. Works great.
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Old 01-20-2022, 08:36 AM   #10
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Personally, I can't see me getting Lithium batteries until the price goes down, as it will, in the future. Recently I swapped out a set of AGM deep cycles...they lasted eight years...with the same type batteries.
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Old 01-20-2022, 08:51 AM   #11
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As with most things on the forum, we all believe what we have is the best. In reality, it is the best “for us”. We re currently in Quartzsite. I am using about 400 ah/day. I would be using my generators every day to recharge for 4 to 6 hours with my 4 golf cart batteries in the old rig. With 1200 watts of solar, I have run generators two hours over 3 days to top off my batteries. The lithiums charge much quicker than the lead acid/AGM batteries. It all depends on your usage. If we used our rig on shore power, I would definitely be on lead acid batteries. But, this trip we are boondocking over 50% of the time. Lithium with solar just makes more sense, in my opinion for us.
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Old 01-20-2022, 09:07 AM   #12
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I went with LifePO4 batteries for the higher capacity. I had 2 6 volt golf cart batteries (105 AH at 12 volt) and 1 100 AH AGM (12 volt). Total useable capacity (down to 50%) 102.5 AH. The LifePO4 are 200 AH each (12 volt) which gives me 320 AH (20% charge level). I like to stay at Harvest Hosts location if I can and want good batteries. I even run the TV and surround sound off of the inverter. In cold weather the heater runs a lot. Each of the LifePO4 batteries cost me about $600. Much better than a Battleborn 100 AH battery at $800+. The last time I let my lead acid battery get old (I thought it was still good) I ran out of battery in the middle of the night. We were at Quartzsite in a cold period and left early. These batteries just work better for us. The BMS with bluetooth let me keep track of the battery charge.
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Old 01-20-2022, 03:31 PM   #13
R.S.O'Donnell
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sjscrio View Post
We recently purchased a beautiful 2013 keystone Montana 3100rl .
This Montana was only used 6 month before going into storage .
We really want to upgrade to at least two lithium batteries.
I know I’ll have to upgrade the factory converter.
Any advice or suggestions would be helpful on where to start?
Sal
Here is an excellent video on that very subject:

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