Lithium battery?

[ferret50]

Just to dig this up again, we are sat at Dieppe waiting for the ferry after a 3k miles trip to the Algarve.

Fridge has remained on with no issues using the battery fitted so can only recommend based on my experience.

[fly by wire]

Just to add to this...

I have a diesel Bongo and my 100ah leisure battery on split charger will run my fridge and Phone chargers no probs.

I have 2 NOCO GB70 2000 amp power packs for a 12v tv, laptop and 12v night heaters should I need them, they've never run flat and are easily charged via cigarette lighter sockets when the engine's running.

As the Bongo's an auto they're vital if I ever run down the starter battery, they'll start just about anything 12v.

Well worth the price, I did the NC500 a few years ago in Nov/Dec and they were a godsend.

@around £180 + £30 for a hard storage case, only paid for one but that's another story

[Spuffington]

Good to hear, OP.

I'm just in the process of replacing the 2x95aH AGM batteries in my new (to me) motorhome and swapping them out for an underseat 230aH Ecotree LifePO4. Just in difference of weight alone, I'm saving 30kg!!

As part of it, I'm having the mains & solar chargers changed out with Victron modules to cope with the lithium charging profile.

[Steve Kimberley]

Spuffington said:

Good to hear, OP.

I'm just in the process of replacing the 2x95aH AGM batteries in my new (to me) motorhome and swapping them out for an underseat 230aH Ecotree LifePO4. Just in difference of weight alone, I'm saving 30kg!!

As part of it, I'm having the mains & solar chargers changed out with Victron modules to cope with the lithium charging profile.

Saving 30kg, but wasting a couple of hundred quid?
Have a look at Fogstar Drift's equivalent 230ah under-seat before you decide.
Great kit at really good prices.

[stevemcs]

I’m getting closer to buying the 105a Fogstar, although there are some slightly cheaper ones on Amazon that get good reviews but seem to lack Bluetooth and heating.

[ferret50]

We have almost completed our winter warmer trip to the Algarve.

Have a ferry booked out of Dieppe early Tuesday and we have returned this trip via Gibraltar (underwelmed!), Andorra, (cheap gin and Pasitis!) and are currently sat at Chartres for the weekend, we could run over to Dieppe today and try for an earlier ferry but it's sunny here and I have given in to temptation at a LeClerc hypermarket and bought 6 bottles of Gigondas for £64.14! Used to buy this in Calais pre-brexit for about 3 or 4 euros a bottle, a real indicator of French inflation and French following the UK alcohol taxation, perhaps.

I digress, sorry!

Checked battery state this morning when I put the overnight pottie away to see the aux battery sat at 71% charged, just checked again and it's at 80%, so my solar panel is more than capable without the BtoB charger....but I do prefer the belt and braces approach!

[ferret50]

Currently on the Algarve......

My battery appears to be buggered, with the engine running I can measure 14.2v into the B2B charger but only 11.4v out.
Engine off I can measure just 1.54v at the leisure battery terminals, any thoughts, please?

In other clues, the solar panel 'slow burn' fuse was found to have failed, replacement lasted less than five minutes....
Could the solar charger also be fubar?

[ferret50]

Further update...

After taking the 'do nothing and see what happens' approach I monitored the leisure battery over several weeks of short trips for shopping and one a little longer to visit friends, on this trip I missed the junction off the A20 so had to double back and increasing time by half an hour or so.

Next check of the habitation battery showed 12.6v, this held overnight so the battery issue seems fixed, but I have disconnected the solar panel and it's controller until I can check through it's wiring and required fuse values.

So we will have fridge/heat/light for the return trip next month.

Happy days!

[Spuffington]

So just wanting to check here with users of LifePo4 batteries.

I've just taken delivery (about 8wks ago) of a brand new Dethleffs Globetrotter XLi. It was sitting around for about 18months before I bought it and I think that may have damaged the batteries.

It has Hymer Group's Smart Block Lithium/AGM hybrid setup. It has the bulk of its power coming from a LifePo4 setup of around 250aH as far as I can tell, with another 80aH or thereabouts coming from an AGM. The point being, the AGM is quick to absorb a charge and is able to prep for the LifePo4 being charged and each battery type plays to its own strenghts. Anyway, in total I have (allegedly) 330aH at my disposal.

I can monitor all this from the Dethleffs Connect app. Since getting the van initially, I've kept an eye on the battery levels whilst it's in the storage yard. Without anything turned on and 12v switch turned off, the van can loose 10% of charge per day - so around 30aH. When I've monitored it locally, I see a parasitic draw of around 0.2amp so struggling to see how I'm ripping through all that capacity without there being an issue with one of the battery cells.

Previous LifePo4 setups I've had have held their charge over months.

Unsurprisingly, the retailer has gone quiet which was the same experience I had when I bought the last van and had problems with them.

Before I ramp things up, just wanted to check what others think?

[mart 63]

I was losing charge on my Mastervolt lithium system when the van wasn't in use. I found out that the inverter was still on, that was causing the problem.

[Steve Kimberley]

As Mart says, definitely check for the inverter being on, as that would cause a very significant drain.
I've had various lifep04 setups, and none have drained for no real reason while the vehicle is inactive.

[Scrump]

My previous campervan had two 105ah AGM leisure batteries which were just about sufficient for my needs.
My new camper due for delivery next month comes with a single 100ah lithium battery, it also has a much larger compressor fridge, a smaller solar panel and generally more gadgets!
It has battery places for two batteries so although the supplied battery should be okay for me I am thinking about adding another one.
The brand supplied is Super B which are very expensive so am thinking of adding a fogstar or similar rather than another Super B. As each battery has a BMS I am led to believe this would be okay.
Any views?

[DirtyHands]

Scrump said:

My previous campervan had two 105ah AGM leisure batteries which were just about sufficient for my needs.
My new camper due for delivery next month comes with a single 100ah lithium battery, it also has a much larger compressor fridge, a smaller solar panel and generally more gadgets!
It has battery places for two batteries so although the supplied battery should be okay for me I am thinking about adding another one.
The brand supplied is Super B which are very expensive so am thinking of adding a fogstar or similar rather than another Super B. As each battery has a BMS I am led to believe this would be okay.
Any views?

I’d not recommend mixing batteries. It’s always best to run a matching pair. I’d recommend a pair of Fogstars (or a single 230ah seatbase) or we’ve also never had an issue with off grid batteries sold by road pro.

What’s the new van you’ve bought?

[Scrump]

DirtyHands said:

I d not recommend mixing batteries. It s always best to run a matching pair. I d recommend a pair of Fogstars (or a single 230ah seatbase) or we ve also never had an issue with off grid batteries sold by road pro.

What s the new van you ve bought?

New van is a Rapido V62 65th anniversary. 6.36m Ducato with rear side bed.
I know not to mix lead acid batteries but have seen a number of tests and feedback that mixing different lithium batteries is not an issue. I would buy a second Super B but they seem to be over a £1000 for 100ah!

[ferret50]

ferret50 said:

Further update...

After taking the 'do nothing and see what happens' approach I monitored the leisure battery over several weeks of short trips for shopping and one a little longer to visit friends, on this trip I missed the junction off the A20 so had to double back and increasing time by half an hour or so.

Next check of the habitation battery showed 12.6v, this held overnight so the battery issue seems fixed, but I have disconnected the solar panel and it's controller until I can check through it's wiring and required fuse values.

So we will have fridge/heat/light for the return trip next month.

Happy days!

Finally got to the bottom of my habitation power supply issues a week or two back.

1 Replaced the solar charger with a bigger one that also charges the front battery and is clever enough to tell the difference between lead acid and lipo batteries.
Still had intermittent power issues at the fridge...
2 Swapped the fridge.
Still had intermitent power issues at the new fridge.
3 Tested every earth return and remade a number of connections/replaced cables.
Still intermitent power at the fridge.
4 Went through the live side and again found a number of poor connectors, being old I now appear to not have the hand strength to make yellow crimp on connectors so bought this....https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/306305361338 ...and a selection of fittings. I sometimes need to put one arm on the floor and use both hands on the other arm but it gives me a perfect connection every time!
5 The most difficult to access cable is the lipo live to master switch, tested fine on the camper but on the bench the battery end was not clamping properly so was remade.

Got there in the end but it cost far more than it should.....if anyone wants an elderly Domotec 50 fridge let me know!