Lithium upgrade battery compartment enclosure

[flyfishidaho]

Planning out the upgrade to lithium and was wondering if anyone has done this them selves? I read the great post here on something similar but I am going to do this myself and was looking for others that had to learn from their experience.

[jcussen]

Originally Posted by flyfishidaho

Planning out the upgrade to lithium and was wondering if anyone has done this them selves? I read the great post here on something similar but I am going to do this myself and was looking for others that had to learn from their experience.

Just have to take into consideration temps. I have a small thermostatically controlled heater, and a vent fan on a thermostat, in my battery bay.

[flyfishidaho]

Originally Posted by jcussen

Just have to take into consideration temps. I have a small thermostatically controlled heater, and a vent fan on a thermostat, in my battery bay.

Yea, totally true. My problem is that my batt compartment is back by the engine and after a long run down the road on a hot day I've seen my lead acid's temp above 100 degrees. I'm going to use some radiant blocking sheathing and an 1" of foam insulation in the lithium compartment to help protect from that heat. Plus an exhaust fan that is thermostatically controlled and reversible. My inverter is in the bay next door and I am going to exhaust into that bay, it has it's own exhaust system, and when it is cold exhaust the inverter heat into the battery box to keep them warm. I am rarely in temps below 25 and that is the LCO for the batts but never say never.

[Dizzee2020]

TR, does your Dutch Star have the large 6 battery (2 chassis and 4 house) tray at the back door side corner? If so, the RV Geeks show what they did to minimize the engine heat in that area on their 2005 MADP. It's part of their lithium upgrade series. That could help you if your question is only about the battery compartment.

I am curious about the battery(ies) you're going to use. Battleborn? Lithionics? Are you upgrading the inverter/charger?

Inquiring minds want to know.

[augerdogger]

I looked at upgrading to LiIon and my concern was cold temperatures. LiIon do not like freezing temperatures and will shutdown. If you charge without heating a 32F or colder battery you will ruin the batteries. We frequently use our RV during the winter and have seen temperatures as cold as -20F. I would have to find a way to heat the battery compartment. If you don't winter camp LiIon are a great upgrade. Try leaving your cell phone out for an extended time in weather below freezing or put it in your freezer

[Golfer Guy]

This is a write up of the install done on the coach I just bought. Gary did a fantastic job on this install and put together a very good write up as to how to do a large solar and lithium setup.

Take a look and see if this helps.

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f103/sola...ll-421015.html

[jcussen]

Originally Posted by flyfishidaho

Yea, totally true. My problem is that my batt compartment is back by the engine and after a long run down the road on a hot day I've seen my lead acid's temp above 100 degrees. I'm going to use some radiant blocking sheathing and an 1" of foam insulation in the lithium compartment to help protect from that heat. Plus an exhaust fan that is thermostatically controlled and reversible. My inverter is in the bay next door and I am going to exhaust into that bay, it has it's own exhaust system, and when it is cold exhaust the inverter heat into the battery box to keep them warm. I am rarely in temps below 25 and that is the LCO for the batts but never say never.

Sounds like you have it under control. My vent fan also vents into inverter compartment, which has it own blower which vents outside when temps rise. Haven't been in real cold weather yet, but if my cube heater cannot do the job in real cold weather, I have a 12 volt thermostatic mattress pad that draws about 72 watts. I know it used to keep me fairly comfortable in 0 f temps in my truck camper. Might be able to keep batteries above 25 f if placed under them.

[flyfishidaho]

Originally Posted by Dizzee2020

TR, does your Dutch Star have the large 6 battery (2 chassis and 4 house) tray at the back door side corner? If so, the RV Geeks show what they did to minimize the engine heat in that area on their 2005 MADP. It's part of their lithium upgrade series. That could help you if your question is only about the battery compartment.

I am curious about the battery(ies) you're going to use. Battleborn? Lithionics? Are you upgrading the inverter/charger?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Yes it does have the 6 batt tray. I am going to remove the tray and rebuild the compartment so I can climate control the lithium side. I've watched that series and actually considered going with the Xantrex battery pack. It's pretty expensive so I am DIY'ing it because I can and save a few bucks.

I have the 3012 pure sine inverter that I installed in 2016 when my Magnum finally failed. I am going with Battleborn 12 volt 100ah. I like that the battery has it's battery management built in.

I looked at pretty much all the lithiums out there and although the Lithionics is a little bit cheaper the Battleborn has a 10 year warranty and that swayed my decision towards them.

[flyfishidaho]

Originally Posted by augerdogger

I looked at upgrading to LiIon and my concern was cold temperatures. LiIon do not like freezing temperatures and will shutdown. If you charge without heating a 32F or colder battery you will ruin the batteries. We frequently use our RV during the winter and have seen temperatures as cold as -20F. I would have to find a way to heat the battery compartment. If you don't winter camp LiIon are a great upgrade. Try leaving your cell phone out for an extended time in weather below freezing or put it in your freezer

Yep I try and avoid cold as much as possible but you are correct. The low temp cutoff on the Battleborn batts I am going to use is 25 degrees.

[flyfishidaho]

Originally Posted by Golfer Guy

This is a write up of the install done on the coach I just bought. Gary did a fantastic job on this install and put together a very good write up as to how to do a large solar and lithium setup.

Take a look and see if this helps.

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f103/sola...ll-421015.html

Hi. I actually read your post and really liked the write up. Excellent job and I did pick up a few pointers. I've been working towards this final phase of my project for a couple of years now. I have a Xantrex 3012 pure sign inverter that I installed in 2016 when the old Magnum I had died. Last year I replaced the roof and added 1800 watts of solar and a Victron 150/100, 100 amp solar charge controller and now this year the Lithium batts. I'll be doing a video of the process for my YouTube channel and I'll come back here to IRV2 with an update.

[Dizzee2020]

Looking forward to seeing the finished product! You did a good job explaining your residential refrigerator upgrade in your videos. Thank you for showing your work. I am contemplating several upgrades for our 2004 MADP including batteries, inverter/charger and residential refrigerator.

[Dan McMartin]

Originally Posted by flyfishidaho

Yep I try and avoid cold as much as possible but you are correct. The low temp cutoff on the Battleborn batts I am going to use is 25 degrees.

They won't charge below 24 F degrees but they will discharge down to -4 F. They also shut down over 135 F. All that is handled by the BMS.

We're going to upgrade to Battle Born's this spring. Our battery tray is up front behind the propane tank on the driver's side. I'm going to install the batteries in the compartment next to that since the tray is open to the elements. I've already got the negatives on a buss bar and will do the same with the positives. I'll only have two fat wires going to the batteries. Already have the bay ready since that's where the shunt for my battery monitor is.

I'll probably get a heat pad or blanket for the batteries though if it's 24 degrees in the bays, I'm dead 'cause otherwise I would have driven somewhere warm Should be a quick install since I've already got 12 volt batteries so the cables should be just right. Then the battery travel will become my portable propane tank tray.

I assume you're going to provide a highly detailed and informative video at some point, TR.

[flyfishidaho]

Originally Posted by Dan McMartin

They won't charge below 24 F degrees but they will discharge down to -4 F. They also shut down over 135 F. All that is handled by the BMS.

We're going to upgrade to Battle Born's this spring. Our battery tray is up front behind the propane tank on the driver's side. I'm going to install the batteries in the compartment next to that since the tray is open to the elements. I've already got the negatives on a buss bar and will do the same with the positives. I'll only have two fat wires going to the batteries. Already have the bay ready since that's where the shunt for my battery monitor is.

I'll probably get a heat pad or blanket for the batteries though if it's 24 degrees in the bays, I'm dead 'cause otherwise I would have driven somewhere warm Should be a quick install since I've already got 12 volt batteries so the cables should be just right. Then the battery travel will become my portable propane tank tray.

I assume you're going to provide a highly detailed and informative video at some point, TR.

Yes, already started the video of the design phase. Been modeling the compartment and batts with an 15 year old copy of Autocad I bought when I was doing a bunch of house plans as a side hustle. My surprise was that my old laptop with that software on it still runs, slowly, but it is enough to make sure I have it all worked out. Here is a section and solid drawing of the remodeled compartment.

[flyfishidaho]

Originally Posted by Dizzee2020

Looking forward to seeing the finished product! You did a good job explaining your residential refrigerator upgrade in your videos. Thank you for showing your work. I am contemplating several upgrades for our 2004 MADP including batteries, inverter/charger and residential refrigerator.

Thanks. Yea much of what I am doing is applicable to your rig. I'll be doing a complete tour of my system in the future.