Community Forums

mikekohut · 02-22-2022, 04:05 PM

The Harris 6v golf cart batteries on my 2020 New Aire are about shot and I think they have been bad almost since the coach was new. I am thinking about replacing them with 3 SOK 200 AH Lithium batteries. The 600 AH bank should give me more power that I am currently getting (200 AH) from my 840 AH bank. I have talked with Xantrex and they said it wouldn't be a problem as long as I set up the battery perimeters in the Custom Battery Type menu that the battery manufacturer recommends and turn off the Float Stage.

Has anyone converted a New Aire to Lithium batteries? Any caveats that I should be aware of? The New Aire is loaded with electronics and control boards and modules. I don't want to do any damage to them or the new batteries.

ExRiveter · 02-22-2022, 06:55 PM

I have considered the same change for my 2020 NA. I watched the review of the SOK batteries by William Prowse and liked what I saw. I’m looking at a solar / lithium conversion in next year. I will be following this thread.
Good luck with your conversion
Bob

tom chelbana · 02-22-2022, 07:01 PM

We were in the end of Jan. in Quartzsite for the Newmar Gathering and our 18 LA up graded with lithium batteries for both the chassis and coach along with Vitron inverter plus 1260 watts of solar. The other Newmar owner next to us had the same work done to his New Aire. Solar Energy Systems out of Namannee Indiana was there and did the work. A couple of the workers had been employed by Newmar and did a great job. With this up grade we can do both run the center AC running down the road with gen. plus run 3 AC's on 30AMP service. A lot of work, parts and expense but we feel the improvements are worth it. SES is the one to contact for your Newmar up grade.
Newman Man

mikekohut · 02-23-2022, 05:57 AM

Thanks Tom and Teri for the info on SES in Nappanee. Right now we are looking to just replace the house batteries. A solar upgrade may be in the future if we start to do more boondocking. Mike

corvetteSS · 02-23-2022, 06:30 AM

So if the chassis battery is changed to lithium, does that mean that you cannot ever travel or park in below freezing temps? If the battery goes dead (for any number of reasons) and everything gets cold, how can you jump start it or star the generator when this battery cannot be given eneryy in the cold? Just wondering how that would work.

mikekohut · 02-23-2022, 07:24 AM

Some of the batteries come with a built-in heater that would warm the battery up to a temperature that would allow it to charge. Or you could put a small heater in the battery compartment. Living in the Florida Keys, it is not an issue for us.

truk4u · 02-23-2022, 07:43 AM

We were in the end of Jan. in Quartzsite for the Newmar Gathering and our 18 LA up graded with lithium batteries for both the chassis and coach along with Vitron inverter plus 1260 watts of solar.

Tom - Any idea of the type or brand Lithium they used for start batteries? Curious how they met the required CCA for staring.

tom chelbana · 02-23-2022, 10:03 AM

The lithium batteries are Relion3. RB100 HP, 12.8 V 100AH Group 31 P/N 100HP. With the X-15 starter turning over faster then original Spartan chassis batteries must have equal or higher CCA.
Newmar Man

weird · 02-23-2022, 10:14 AM

From my research you may need to upgrade the battery isolator or risk burning out the alternator. Lithium batteries have a lower resistance to charging and can draw more amps. "Smart" battery isolators periodically disable charging while driving to allow the alternator to cool.

The preferred option according to others however is to use a DC-to-DC charger.

Again this is based on what I've researched, not actual experience. (I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night however

)

mikekohut · 02-23-2022, 10:32 AM

I was concerned with the alternator charging the house batteries. I will have to check with Silver Leaf and see if their any resting periods built into their control modules.

corvetteSS · 02-23-2022, 12:13 PM

So after looking at the data sheet for that battery, there is no heating elements built in. So if it were today in Minnesota (@ -7F), and you had it sitting in storage outside, and the battery was dead, you had better not hit the "jump start button" or you will damage the battery. You would need to remove it to warm it up before hitting it with a charger. Just something to know.

weird · 02-23-2022, 03:41 PM

Many aftermarket Lithium batteries have battery management systems in them that won't allow charging in subfreezing temperatures.

mikekohut · 05-10-2022, 05:05 PM

I have given up my desire to convert the house batteries to Li. The issue is charging them from the alternator. I could put on a DC-DC charger, but that would only give me a 30 amp charge and if the batteries were half down, 300 amp/hours, it would take 10 hours to charge it back to full. Very few days do we run 10 hours. I think the secret is to convert the entire coach to Li with a solar package, all done by a professional that stands behind their work.

I ended up replacing all 8 batteries with 8 Crown AGM 6v golf cart batteries bought at Batteries +. I looked at the Duracell AGM 6v golf cart batteries sold at Sam's club and built by East Penn. The Crown specs are a little better and I couldn't find a Sam's Club with 8 batteries of all the same date in stock. Not a lot of choices in the Florida Keys. I did find that NAPA offers the same batteries as the Duracell, but they are over $100 each more expensive.

Some interesting tidbits I discovered is that the New Aire coach draws almost 6 amp just to keep the internal electronics powered up. Turn on the inverter with nothing powered except the microwave clock and another LED clock and there is about an 11 amp draw. That means if you leave your coach unplugged for 40 hours, your 880 amp/hour batteries are drained down to half. Leave it any longer and you are starting to cause damage to the batteries and will shorten their life.

Thanks to all the replied with suggestions.

truk4u · 05-10-2022, 05:22 PM

Good move, there is still no such thing as a drop in Lithium. Which Crown 6v did you buy? There are two amp hour choices, the 220 amp with me are 294.00 each and the 260 amp are 456.00 each, no tax or core, but plus shipping. Crown does a good job, OEM for many manufacturers. Lifeline 4CT’s are still 6 to 8 weeks out.