Anybody upgraded to Battle Born LiFePO4 Deep Cycle Batteries

[Dave11]

[QUOTE=dennish2024;4583066]

Originally Posted by MarkMaxPayne

The Batteries+ that came with it are junk.

I have a 2019 Wayfarer built in June 2018 (not ordered) it has the Duracell deep cycle batteries. I now have to go over every other day to storage and check on them. I can have them topped off at 100%, the next day it's down to 90% and so on. I have turned of the battery switch by the door and even have switched off the 30A breaker no difference. I thought Duracell batteries would be better. I certainly don't feel comfortable doing any dry camping this spring.

More than likely you have some draws on the batteries. You might try a test, fully charge the batteries then disconect the ground. In a few days test with the volt meter. If still charged (most likely) then you will need to hunt down where the current is going.

[dennish2024]

I'm seriously considering the Battle Born batteries but not sure what else I need to buy with them. My 2019 Wayfarer came from Tiffin with a solar panel installed. Do I need anything else or will it bolt up including charging system. as Mark said I will need a longer neg. cable. Not sure about a monitoring system if they are so good/reliable. My storage is about 3-4 minutes away, easy to get to.

[mricet1005]

[QUOTE=dennish2024;4583066]

Originally Posted by MarkMaxPayne

The Batteries+ that came with it are junk.



I have a 2019 Wayfarer built in June 2018 (not ordered) it has the Duracell deep cycle batteries. I now have to go over every other day to storage and check on them. I can have them topped off at 100%, the next day it's down to 90% and so on. I have turned of the battery switch by the door and even have switched off the 30A breaker no difference. I thought Duracell batteries would be better. I certainly don't feel comfortable doing any dry camping this spring.

I have no experience with the Wayfarer so this suggestion may not apply, but on my Tiffin Phaeton the inverter is a big phantom draw. My 6 batteries only last days in storage. If I turn off the inverter it will last more than a month. And the battery disconnect doesn’t help because the inverter is wired directly to the batteries bypassing the master disconnect switch in the battery compartment.

[MarkMaxPayne]

Originally Posted by dennish2024

I'm seriously considering the Battle Born batteries but not sure what else I need to buy with them. My 2019 Wayfarer came from Tiffin with a solar panel installed. Do I need anything else or will it bolt up including charging system. as Mark said I will need a longer neg. cable. Not sure about a monitoring system if they are so good/reliable. My storage is about 3-4 minutes away, easy to get to.

The solar controller on my rig is a Zamp unit installed by the dealer (Tiffin was only doing "solar ready" or "wired for solar" back when my rig was being built). All I had to do was change the battery type setting to LiFePO4. I don't know what solar controller Tiffin installs now that they do full solar installs vs only run the wires. I'd break out the instructions for it. Also, if you call Battle Born and tell them the make and model of your solar controller I've heard they will tell you what's what about it and how to change the settings.

Best,
-Mark

[jcussen]

Originally Posted by MarkMaxPayne

The solar controller on my rig is a Zamp unit installed by the dealer (Tiffin was only doing "solar ready" or "wired for solar" back when my rig was being built). All I had to do was change the battery type setting to LiFePO4. I don't know what solar controller Tiffin installs now that they do full solar installs vs only run the wires. I'd break out the instructions for it. Also, if you call Battle Born and tell them the make and model of your solar controller I've heard they will tell you what's what about it and how to change the settings.

Best,
-Mark

Fully agree.

[dennish2024]

Tiffin installed the GP electric "Go Power" Solar controller in the Wayfarer.

[apocalypseb7]

Originally Posted by cruizerEd

I did LifeBlue not battle born they appear to be very similar in specs, make me wonder if they don't share internals.

I charge mine about 95% of the time with solar using BlueSky charge controllers.

My research indicates that it is important to stop charging the batteries based upon current and voltage to avoid shortening the life due to overcharging. The BlueSky charge controllers can be setup with a current limit for acceptance. My A/C charger is a Magnum 2800 and it does not have this ability so I monitor it manual on the few occasions I use it to charge. Since this is always a generator run it isn't an inconvenience to keep an eye on things. The Magnum also starts up in float and sometimes the current isn't very high so I have to bump the float setting voltage up to save on generator time. Finally I have to set the Magnum to 90% charge rate because if I let it run wide open it will over heat even on cold days. Then it rolls back the current so I find it better to let it run at 90% which give me a stead 110A or so instead of trying to get the full 120A.

Here are some links to papers about LiFePO4 batteries that I found informative.

Marine lithium batteries in operation | Nordkyn Design

Lithium batteries fundamentals | Nordkyn Design

CruizerEd, are LifeBlue batteries able to be used for house battery or just engine batteries?

[jpstakun]

It is more important not to drain lithium batteries below 25 percent of their capacity, otherwise battery life will suffer to some degree.

[jcussen]

Originally Posted by jpstakun

It is more important not to drain lithium batteries below 25 percent of their capacity, otherwise battery life will suffer to some degree.

https://battlebornbatteries.com/dept...cle-batteries/

[twinboat]

Only getting 25% more DOD over flooded batteries wouldn't make them worth it.

You can buy lots if flooded batteries and draw them down to 25% SOC.

Installing lithium batteries with almost 10 years of daily full cycles in them will probably benefit the next owner more then me.

[MarkMaxPayne]

Originally Posted by twinboat

Only getting 25% more DOD over flooded batteries wouldn't make them worth it.

You can buy lots if flooded batteries and draw them down to 25% SOC.

Installing lithium batteries with almost 10 years of daily full cycles in them will probably benefit the next owner more then me.

FYI: The 25% number quoted earlier was from a competitor. Battle Born has bpms built into the batteries and can be taken down 100% over and over again without damaging the battery or impacting charge cycles: https://battlebornbatteries.com/dept...cle-batteries/

To me one goes with whatever meets their individual needs.

Best,
-Mark

[CoreyinWP]

I’m with you Mark!

[jcussen]

Mark, you will be happy, Battery monitor said I was down about 150 amp hours so lit off gen, and between the 120 amp charger and solar was up to 100% SOC in less than an hour. Try doing that with lead acid batteries.
Cory, very clean installation.

[MarkMaxPayne]

Originally Posted by jcussen

Mark, you will be happy.

Lol. Just glad others are seeing similar results as I am. I swear I have nothing to do with Battle Born, I paid full retail, etc. Just experiencing the upsides albeit at a high up front cost and sharing.

Speaking of sharing... This YouTube video popped up last night in my recommended feed. Interview with President of Battele Born and he talks about cycling their batteries down to 0% thousands of times. Also touches on why some others can't go below 20%-25% as somebody mentioned earlier in this thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIr6HYwoH_E&t=617s

Best,
-Mark