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JonMN · 09-24-2022, 03:24 PM

Greetings from Minnesota! I am considering replacing my AGM house battery with a Lithium. Physical dimensions are almost identical.

But the AGM is mounted on a rack under the RV near the passenger wheel. I think this applies to all Beyonds and perhaps the Gallerias too. The lithium instructions frown on this location. But I am not really up to moving to a different location.

So, if any of you made the switch, where did you put your battery?

PS: Looking at the LifeBlue Model LB12300D-LT; a 300AH hour model that has built in heating for low-temp charging.

Rocinante440 · 09-25-2022, 03:00 PM

Don't know whether your Beyond has room inside, but that's where you are going to want to put a battery like that.

JonMN · 09-26-2022, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rocinante440

Don't know whether your Beyond has room inside, but that's where you are going to want to put a battery like that.

Thanks for the reply! In the ideal world I would agree. But there is more cabling to reroute in this case than I am willing to tackle.

However, there are a couple lithium batteries that are the right size with pretty impressive IP ratings. The Ingress Protection rating for Ionic, for example, is 56, which is described as "Dust Protected.Limited ingress of dust permitted. Will not interfere with operation of the equipment." and "Protected against high pressure water jets from any direction."

This Ionic also has internal heating, which would be great up here in MN . . .

Rocinante440 · 09-26-2022, 09:36 AM

That might work, who knows? I know that when we had our Airstream Interstate professionally upgraded to lithium, etc., they put the batteries inside the van under the rear lounge. The pair of AGM batteries the van had before lived under the van in open cages, exposed to whatever came by. They didn't want to do that with our lithiums. Of course, we also went from a pair of 100Ah AGM batteries to a pair of 200Ah LifeBlue lithium batteries that would not have fit down there anyway. And you're right - significant rewiring of the coach was done, in part to accommodate the batteries and the new 3kW hybrid inverter / charger.

JonMN · 09-26-2022, 03:28 PM

^^^ Thanks for the details. If there was a dealer around here that would be willing to do an installation I would be thrilled! I do think I have enough room under one of our bench seat/beds. But I am not up to rerouting the wiring myself. MN gets so cold in January that perhaps AGM are the better bet anyway. Or I might just try the chassis tray location and see what happens. . .

Rocinante440 · 10-02-2022, 11:15 AM

One thought: If you hire someone to do the upgrade for you, do NOT hire an RV dealer. For them this kind of thing is a side-business they don't do all that often and they will mess it up all the while charging you premium dealer mechanic rates.

Find someone who specializes in this kind of thing, and hire them. We've done that twice now (once on each of two RVs) and we have never regretted it once we recovered from the sting to our wallet. If we're gonna pay someone, it might as well be someone who does this kind of thing all the time and won't mess up the job.

Here's one example of an outfit that absolutely knows what they're doing. They won't be the cheapest, but it will be done right. https://amsolar.com/

Also, this page might prove interesting if you're not (or won't be) close to their shop in Oregon: https://amsolar.com/rv-solar-installers

dmb496 · 10-03-2022, 09:42 AM

We have a 2020 Galleria 24A. I used 25% of the storage area and installed a box that holds 12 batteries.

JonMN · 10-03-2022, 12:49 PM

^^^ Wow!

geoffbrowne · 10-03-2022, 02:49 PM

JonMN,

I recently had a PW sprinter and wanted a larger battery than supplied. Under the passenger side ottoman you will find a huge unused area where I put an 8D
battery with 260Ah of power. It was a 12V sealed battery. And maybe two Lithiums would fit there. If you have a class B with the bed in the rear, you're in great shape for that retrofit!!! Try it and enjoy.
Geoff

dmb496 · 10-03-2022, 06:04 PM

More bank for the buck if you can fit 2 of these. If I were building my system now, I'd choose this battery.

https://www.us.sokbattery.com/produc...ed-plastic-box

JonMN · 10-03-2022, 06:53 PM

Thanks all for the replies. Wow, some impressive improvements.

This is our first RV. Our main plan at the moment is to use the Class B for LONG drives across the US, where one of us can relax while the other drives. (And Kipper, our Cavalier, can walk around as he wishes). The 330ah AGM is not bad--it can keep the NovaKool refrigerator going for a week, and we can make breakfast and lunch just using the inverter. A/C for any period of time requires the generator, of course. A side note is that, living in Minnesota, we need to survive at -20F in January for a few days a year--another plus for AGM. Since our A/C is DC powered, we can run it as we drive if needed and the alternator keeps up with the charge.

I really do not know of anyone locally that I could trust for this project. While I am comfortable with electronics, re-routing cables without have access to a lift for the van makes the project pretty daunting.

If I do decide to go ahead, I am really leaning towards this 300 AH Ionic battery LINK. It has heating for winter charging, bluetooth BMS, and, most important for me, the size and terminals are set for a direct replacement. The water and dust ratings are really impressive, so it should(might) handle the under chassis mount of the current AGM. (worst case I would screw up the new battery and just revert to the AGM)

I would probably replace the BIM160 with a Victron Orion-Tr Smart DC-DC Non-Isolated Charger.

Thanks again--it's fun to hear and see the setups you come up with.

Here’s a photo of our first overnight . . .