New Battery Secret?

[Mudhiker]

Haven't been able to find if this has been discussed here yet,


Anybody have ideas what the new Lithium option that Karl mentioned in several of the videos? Maybe it's one of the BattleBorn bigger 200+ batteries? I see they have a 270ah 8D unit.

[Vermilye]

I suspect it is far more likely it is the GoPower now owned by Dometic 250 amp hour lithium battery.

[7Gentex]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

I suspect it is far more likely it is the GoPower now owned by Dometic 250 amp hour lithium battery.

Shows to be 80 lbs.


I was told, by a little bird:


"..the new Lithium choice is that it is a different brand and apparently has a smaller/lighter size."

[Brian B-P]

80 pounds is roughly typical for a LiFePO4 (LFP) 250 Ah 12 V battery. Volume will vary very little between brands unless one has a particularly inefficient internal packaging arrangement, since most use generic prismatic cells and even the cylindrical cells (used for Battle Born batteries) are the same chemistry and comparable in energy density.

While a single battery of this capacity was a great discovery a few months ago, now every two-bit company house-branding LFP batteries from China offers something of about this capacity now, often in something close to the 8D format. This size and format seems like a good choice to me, if it suits the available space and installation of a single box of this weight is manageable.

[Mudhiker]

Are there advantages to one of these vs. two 100's? Other than the more than double capacity, are there also rundown and charging properties that are better?

[7Gentex]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

80 pounds is roughly typical for a LiFePO4 (LFP) 250 Ah 12 V battery. ................. This size and format seems like a good choice to me, if it suits the available space and installation of a single box of this weight is manageable.

Just indicating that the 250Ah GoPower does not fit the comments I got regarding "the secret".


Though I don't want an 80 lbs battery myself.


I just had to replace a 60 lbs 8H AGM mounted in the trunk of my wife's car. That was heavy enough.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Mudhiker

Are there advantages to one of these vs. two 100's? Other than the more than double capacity, are there also rundown and charging properties that are better?

By being in one box with one battery management system (BMS) it's a better-coordinated system than two boxes with independently operating BMS. The single BMS is also more cost-effective, since some components (such as disconnect devices) are not unnecessarily duplicated. One 12 V 200 Ah unit avoids a parallel connection of two 12 V 100 Ah units, avoiding issues with the two units unequally sharing the load and charging.

The only clear disadvantage of putting all 200 Ah in one box is that is it heavier to install than two boxes each half the weight.

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by Mudhiker

Are there advantages to one of these vs. two 100's? Other than the more than double capacity, are there also rundown and charging properties that are better?

Be sure to check the maximum current the BMS allows if you have an inverter. Some 200+ amp hour batteries only have a 100 amp maximum capacity. An advantage of individual 100 amp hour batteries is the maximum current adds, ie 2 100 amp hour 100 amp maximum batteries can provide 200 amps.

[John in Santa Cruz]

I just installed a pair of the SOK Battery 12V 206AH, they are excellent. really well built, see Will Prouses teardown videos.



(yes, thats still the stock 8 AWG battery wire, I'm going to replace it with 4 AWG, and I haven't yet secured the battery, waiting for more parts and stuff)

[oldwave]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

I just installed a pair of the SOK Battery 12V 206AH, they are excellent. really well built, see Will Prouses teardown videos.



(yes, thats still the stock 8 AWG battery wire, I'm going to replace it with 4 AWG, and I haven't yet secured the battery, waiting for more parts and stuff)

Nice. Install, I’m looking at those batteries for my upcoming trailer

[oldwave]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

Be sure to check the maximum current the BMS allows if you have an inverter. Some 200+ amp hour batteries only have a 100 amp maximum capacity. An advantage of individual 100 amp hour batteries is the maximum current adds, ie 2 100 amp hour 100 amp maximum batteries can provide 200 amps.

Will Prouse recently reviewed AOLithium 100 amp hour battery that has double that discharge rate for running an inverter, slightly more expensive than SOK, but Bluetooth enabled. He tested their claims and was impressed with the internal build quality. Two are on my short list.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

I just installed a pair of the SOK Battery 12V 206AH, they are excellent. really well built, see Will Prouses teardown videos.

Love those videos. Really held my breath after I'd bought a couple of Renogy batteries and then watched his video tearing one apart. He seemed to like it fortunately and now I know what's inside the black box.

Ron

[alanmalk]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

Love those videos. Really held my breath after I'd bought a couple of Renogy batteries and then watched his video tearing one apart. He seemed to like it fortunately and now I know what's inside the black box.
Ron

I recently purchased a pair of Renogy batteries (off of Ebay). They are sitting in the trailer with the primary fuse pulled so no input or output. Testing on hold until camping weather arrives. But I do like their ability to talk to each other for balancing purposes A short $2 Ethernet cable connects the pair. They also have an On/Off switch for the BMS circuit which supposedly reduces the internal parasitic drain to a minimum.

[alanmalk]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

Love those videos.
...

I just watched one and will second your recommendation.

The video I just watched was titled "$350 Weize 12V 100Ah LiFePO4: Ripoff??"

Will said specifically "this is the first cheap battery that he has found with an actual low temperature cutoff". He also liked virtually everything else inside the case. A worthwhile competitor to BattleBorn perhaps?

[John in Santa Cruz]

2 x 200AH translates to like 5200 watt*hours of power. thats a heck of a lot, and even with 360 watts theoretical solar, I figure if I manage to mostly discharge them it would take a week of sunshine to fully recharge them. But, they should run my new jumbo compressor fridge for up to 10 days with no solar, no power.

[marsman]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

I suspect it is far more likely it is the GoPower now owned by Dometic 250 amp hour lithium battery.

Hey Jon, that's a nice looking battery and I can purchase it for about $2600 CDN here in Ontario. Please forgive my ignorance but as I have the stock dual AGM batteries in my 2019 5.0, would I need to change out some parts? like the controller for example? Cheers

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by marsman

Hey Jon, that's a nice looking battery and I can purchase it for about $2600 CDN here in Ontario. Please forgive my ignorance but as I have the stock dual AGM batteries in my 2019 5.0, would I need to change out some parts? like the controller for example? Cheers

lithium works OK but not great with lead-acid chargers. it charges much faster with dedicated Lithium chargers that output a constant 14.4-14.6 volts, instead of the multistage lead-acid charge cycle.

replacing your WFCO's converter module with a PD4655LI will greatly speed up charging, and upgrading the wire gauge from the power center to the battery will help too. you'll need a Lithium compatible solar controller for most efficient solar charging. and many folks add a 15 or 20 amp DC-DC charger module inline with the power coming from the tow vehicle so that your lithium batteries don't try and discharge themselves into the tow vehicles lead acid

[lostskier]

I installed the BattleBorn 270ah, 12v in my E19 in the front dinette. It was a tight squeeze, but I got it in place. Have only used for one trip in Wyoming in October but it was wonderful having that much power after struggling along with the two 6v lead batteries. I did not upgrade my solar charger as the GoPower unit charges up to 14.6volts on AGM setting if I remember correctly? And I have not installed a DC-DC to the tow vehicle. I'll just charge using solar, and if needed, periodically hook up to AC to top it off.

[cpaharley2008]

Any pictures, lostskier?

[lostskier]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Any pictures, lostskier?

Unfortunately no. Battery is out of the trailer for the winter and the Escape is hibernating under shelter.