Lithionics battery install in Essex

[Coral]

Originally Posted by joes2901

Coral, that is a very neat installation.
It seems that Lithium batteries will not yet be happy in the Southwestern US where the temps get 110+ and humidity down to 9 percent. For me that means Lifeline L16s AGMs at 730 pounds or 960 pounds and a RV with 3,000 to 4,000 pounds of free cargo capacity on the front axle if I ever upgrade my RV.

I was going to go the Lifeline L16 route too but I decided to go high-tech as I'm a techie. I would be getting out 110+ weather not for the batteries for for me...melting.. lol

[Coral]

Originally Posted by georgeaz

I will start by saying the Lithionics look like a quality kit. Well made and support looks to be good as well. As was pointed out, they play nice with Silver Leaf which is a big selling point. I do now remember one big item that tipped me to Battle Born. I live AZ, and the summer temps are crazy. BB batteries stop charging and discharge at 135 degrees vs Lithionics at 131 for discharge but 113 for charge. Thats a big difference for me. I hope this help for the other folks in the South West.

https://battlebornbatteries.com/wp-c...orn-Manual.pdf

https://lithionicsbattery.com/produc...h-5dr-battery/


G

[mod edit]


I considered Battleborn batteries but I decided I wanted something more robust and heavy duty. I also wanted integration with my SilverLeaf system which only Lithionics offers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmWeF1yQvoE

[georgeaz]

Originally Posted by Coral

Please do not hijack this thread with your battery is better than my battery BS.



I considered Battleborn batteries but I decided I wanted something more robust and heavy duty. I also wanted integration with my SilverLeaf system which only Lithionics offers.

[mod edit] There is so little useful info on Lithium installs that I would think people would want to know that you can install them even if you live in hot weather. As I said in a prior post, I probably would have gotten the Lithionics had I known there was much better integration with Silver Leaf.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Coral

RVgeeks system is Xantrex and the OEM for Xantrex Lithium batteries is Lithionics.

Did not know! Thanks!

[Coral]

I just got some interesting news from Lithionics regarding there temperatures ranges. The ultra conservative range they use is to give maximum life to the batteries. But if you are willing to sacrifice battery life they will open up the temperature operating range of the BMS to a higher range. All you need to do is order that extended range at time of ordering. You have a choice.



I have to admit I like the simplicity of of two large batteries compared to getting 8 smaller ones.

[honico]

Hey Coral
Thanks for posting the article and being willing to 'go first'. We rely heavily on our users being adventurous, trying new things and requesting the things we haven't employed yet.

What most folks also need to know is that this isn't suddenly the 'state of the art'. That is, we developed the Lithionics software based on a single OEMs need. And, it in theory can be used in this way--your way; its new yet leaves us with many more questions than we started out with.

Do you know this to be true: Lithionics are the OEM for Xantrex?

[Coral]

Originally Posted by honico

Hey Coral
Thanks for posting the article and being willing to 'go first'. We rely heavily on our users being adventurous, trying new things and requesting the things we haven't employed yet.

What most folks also need to know is that this isn't suddenly the 'state of the art'. That is, we developed the Lithionics software based on a single OEMs need. And, it in theory can be used in this way--your way; its new yet leaves us with many more questions than we started out with.

Do you know this to be true: Lithionics are the OEM for Xantrex?

Based on videos I saw they were clearly using Lithionics. Here is the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX1QhgwJqDU

[BCMountain Aire]

Originally Posted by Coral

I just replaced my eight OEM Discovery batteries with two 400 ah Lithionics batteries. Massive weight loss and substantial increase in power. I also gained some addition space in the compartment. I still need to install some Lexan sheeting for protection of the fuse block area. Cost of project under 10K.

SilverLeaf now supports Lithionics in their latest firmware. You have to update the TM102, VMS350 and 2 HMS365, SilverLeaf charges $60 a module to update plus return shipping.

The Lithionics BMS connects to the RV-C network and feeds all the vital information into SilverLeaf for monitoring and control. I will provide screen shots at a later time. Also has Bluetooth for IOS and Android apps.


Here is the BMS I'm using > https://lithionicsbattery.com/produc...ingle-channel/


Here is the battery I'm using >https://lithionicsbattery.com/produc...0ah-5d-module/

Coral

We recently did a similar upgrade to our New Aire. We used 2, 600 ah Lithionics batteries. Additionally, we added 1,120 watts of solar to the roof and Victron 250/100 MPPT solar charge controller. We then rewired the living room ac to run off of the Xantrex inverter. We installed a soft start kit on the ac compressor to allow the inverter to handle start up. This allows us to run the living room ac without running the generator. In 5 days of Midwest driving with temps in the low 80s, the lowest SOC at the end of the day was 20% and the highest was 60%.

Xantrex, Lithionics, Victron, and Silverleaf were all involved in this project. They were/are very interested in helping to make everything integrate together. The designer and installer is Tim Klenk at Master Tech RV in Elkhart, IN. Tim and his team have been great to work with.

The last piece that we are working on is the alternator. Since we are already running the main engine, upgrading the existing alternator, or adding a second one seems to make sense. The solar helps, but when running the ac, refrigerator, and basement beer cooler, the stock alternator and solar can’t keep up. The worst case, we can slow down the discharge. The best case, we arrive at our destination with the batteries fully charged. Stay tuned.

[SteveUpp]

Originally Posted by Coral

[mod edit]


..... I also wanted integration with my SilverLeaf system which only Lithionics offers.

Coral, what features or functions are enabled with integration to the Silverleaf system?



I've got a New Aire with Silverleaf and I can see that there are several battery choices including Lithionics in the menu but I don't know what information is being communicated between Silverleaf and the BMS via RV-C. It would be fantastic if you could capture a few screen shots of the Silverleaf screens.

[SteveUpp]

Originally Posted by BCNewAire

Coral

We recently did a similar upgrade to our New Aire. We used 2, 600 ah Lithionics batteries. Additionally, we added 1,120 watts of solar to the roof and Victron 250/100 MPPT solar charge controller. We then rewired the living room ac to run off of the Xantrex inverter. We installed a soft start kit on the ac compressor to allow the inverter to handle start up. This allows us to run the living room ac without running the generator.

A few more questions
What do you observe when you run the front AC when you are not running the engine? My ACs are the 15,000 BTU Dometic Penguin IIs and they appear to use about 1700W when the compressor is active. I also have a background coach load of approximately 300W. So that total battery power required is about 2000W/160A@12.9V DC. What has been your experience with your New Aire?


1200Ah is really an amazing amount of power. Can you post some pictures of your battery bay?

[Coral]

Originally Posted by SteveUpp

Coral, what features or functions are enabled with integration to the Silverleaf system?



I've got a New Aire with Silverleaf and I can see that there are several battery choices including Lithionics in the menu but I don't know what information is being communicated between Silverleaf and the BMS via RV-C. It would be fantastic if you could capture a few screen shots of the Silverleaf screens.

here are a few screen shots, notice that SOC is now in percentage:

[Trapper2022]

Originally Posted by Coral

I just replaced my eight OEM Discovery batteries with two 400 ah Lithionics batteries. Massive weight loss and substantial increase in power. I also gained some addition space in the compartment. I still need to install some Lexan sheeting for protection of the fuse block area. Cost of project under 10K.

SilverLeaf now supports Lithionics in their latest firmware. You have to update the TM102, VMS350 and 2 HMS365, SilverLeaf charges $60 a module to update plus return shipping.

The Lithionics BMS connects to the RV-C network and feeds all the vital information into SilverLeaf for monitoring and control. I will provide screen shots at a later time. Also has Bluetooth for IOS and Android apps.




Here is the BMS I'm using > https://lithionicsbattery.com/produc...ingle-channel/


Here is the battery I'm using >https://lithionicsbattery.com/produc...0ah-5d-module/

The install looks very well done. But why did you do it? In our all electric Essex replacing the 8 batteries with Trojans and add a watering system cost me $1500. Rig is way to big to boondock for any significant time so no savings in camp ground fees when going lithium. Being retired I get stuck looking at return on investment for all out going $. Down sizing to class c and again looking at options to get more battery capacity but lithium just does not show any reasonable roi. Interested in why you went this route . Thanks for feedback.

Enjoy the journey

[Coral]

Originally Posted by Trapperbob11

The install looks very well done. But why did you do it? In our all electric Essex replacing the 8 batteries with Trojans and add a watering system cost me $1500. Rig is way to big to boondock for any significant time so no savings in camp ground fees when going lithium. Being retired I get stuck looking at return on investment for all out going $. Down sizing to class c and again looking at options to get more battery capacity but lithium just does not show any reasonable roi. Interested in why you went this route . Thanks for feedback.

Enjoy the journey

I did it because my original 8 OEM AGMs needed to be replaced. I also like to be on the cutting edge of technology and love projects. I am retired too, and luckily I do not have to worry about the $$.



I have room for one more 400 ah battery IF I need it and that will give me 1200 ah.



At a later date I will be adding 160 amps more of charging that will bring down my generator run time to about 3 hours to recharge.

[PeterFTH]

I gutted my battery compartment 3 years ago and replaced the 4 golf cart 6v and the two 12v engine start batteries with two 8D AGM maintenance free batteries 250 amp hours each. The first pair lasted about 30 months - about $700 each. I also cleaned up the wiring mess in the battery compartment and installed a marine 1/2/both/off switch and a 400 amp fuse for everything but the starter circuit. The LIon batteries would have cost me $5,000 plus apparently some sort of module - writer might have been more clear about the projected lifespan, what the other parts were and their cost. The one morning I woke up without sufficient voltage to start the generator (to then start the engine) I was parked under a tree so the solar took a few hours (500 watts) to bring the bank up enough to get going so took that as my cue to replace the 8D's - with new/serviceable batteries never had an issue waking up without sufficient charge to get started.