Community Forums

Unicorn Driver · 06-04-2018, 06:38 PM

Hi Smitty,

It sure is about having a fun time :-)

I spoke with Randy at Best Convertor ans when I told him I was going for Lifeline Agm's he reckoned this was the best not :-)

My wifes biggest concern about dry camping is having enough battery power to run the furnace and couple of LED's

:-)

JGrosman · 06-04-2018, 07:01 PM

To everyone scared of switching to Lithium. Lithium will last 20+ years and have twice the usable power. Never water them. Half the weight. Can be put anywhere even inside. I replaced 4 Sams batteries with 2 Lithium and love them. Half as long to charge.

Unicorn Driver · 06-04-2018, 07:42 PM

Thats great to know.

I am not at all scared of Lithium, my issue is the 3000$ to get 300ah of which 240ah is useable.

For 1200$ I can get 220ah usable of Lifeline Agm.

I will definitely be looking at Lithium in the future.

JGrosman · 06-05-2018, 11:14 AM

Please learn about usable amps. With standard batteries you have to quit at 12.4 or you hurt the battery. With Lithium the voltage stays higher and you get to use all 100 of the amps not 60 out of wet cell batteries. With Lithium you do not have to overcharge them to get 100% charge.

Unicorn Driver · 06-05-2018, 11:20 AM

My 240ah figure came from 80% of 300ah as a Lithium battery can only be discharged to 20% Soc.

As mentioned I do not have the money for Lithium. Even the 1200$ for AGM is a big stretch on my budget.

twinboat · 06-05-2018, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JGrosman

To everyone scared of switching to Lithium. Lithium will last 20+ years and have twice the usable power. Never water them. Half the weight. Can be put anywhere even inside. I replaced 4 Sams batteries with 2 Lithium and love them. Half as long to charge.

How old are your lithuims ?
How many cycles have you used ?
Do you draw the down to 20% SOC ?

If you have 300 AH, you have 300 AH of usable power, regardless of the chemistry. All battery manufactures recommend only drawing down to 20% SOC as a cushion.

glennwest · 06-05-2018, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1stmh

My 240ah figure came from 80% of 300ah as a Lithium battery can only be discharged to 20% Soc.

As mentioned I do not have the money for Lithium. Even the 1200$ for AGM is a big stretch on my budget.

Have you priced batteries taken from a Chevy Volt? Very completive with AGM and much more ump out of them. Basically 500 watt Lithium is equal to 1000w AGM. You get more than twice the energy out of them on a full charge.

twinboat · 06-05-2018, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JGrosman

Please learn about usable amps. With standard batteries you have to quit at 12.4 or you hurt the battery. With Lithium the voltage stays higher and you get to use all 100 of the amps not 60 out of wet cell batteries. With Lithium you do not have to overcharge them to get 100% charge.

You don't " hurt the battery " you cycle the battery. You can use 100% of its capacity and that's 1 cycle. At that rate, you will get about 500 cycles. As a cushion, only 80% DOD is recommended.

If you use 1/2 a cycle, 50% DOD, you can get 1000+ cycles. 25% DOD and they last even longer.
Just like lithiums, you are using them up with every discharge.

Lithums have their benefits, faster recharge and many more cycles, but tried and true, lead acid batteries are an economical choice.

You really should study up on lead acid batteries before condemning there use. Lifeline has an excellent AGM battery technical manual.

Unicorn Driver · 06-05-2018, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glennwest

Have you priced batteries taken from a Chevy Volt? Very completive with AGM and much more ump out of them. Basically 500 watt Lithium is equal to 1000w AGM. You get more than twice the energy out of them on a full charge.

I have not done so.