LiFePO4 and Float charging

[Neal]

Interesting video - hard to tell what mine do due to demands but interesting nonetheless.

 

[sheridany]

Lithium is an interesting venture. Are you plugged in at storage? Is managing the battery health the same process as before?

 

[Neal]

I am on shore power. It is an interesting learning process and look forward to hitting the road next year to see how this works on normal camping usage. It's very different. I'm logging in at times to VRM to see how things are going and watching it work.

 

[sheridany]

I presume you will do more off grid type living? I only know of one Marathon owner who had their bus built with a lithium setup and he told me unless you are a serious boondocker don’t bother upgrading to it. He said they can run A/C (he didn’t say how many or how long) for two days before starting the generator.

 

[Neal]

...he told me unless you are a serious boondocker don’t bother upgrading to it

I'm not sure I agree with that. Depending on your setup you may need more than just batteries to do it right. I learned of some downfalls that pushed me towards going all Victron and of course the "do it right" mentality if do it at all.

Yes, I love boondocking but with a 40ft coach it takes very careful planning so as not to get yourself in trouble, as you know. Will I do more? Hopefully, having invested in this I intend to but like I've mentioned, even my investment in solar I do not believe was really worth it other than 1) the learning experience of it 2) I was in storage without power and could find myself in that situation another day 3) service centers sitting in lots for a period of time.

With AGM's (the typical battery in use) you can easily kill them if not managed correctly as we've heard of. They are a simpler swap and more cost effective but the lifetime of those are subject, could be 3 years, could be 5, who knows. LiFePO4's are typically warrantied 10 years, Victron is 5 but with a sealed setup, properly maintained, I expect to never have to replace these batteries. So look at the TCO aspect. The amount of power available from a LiFePO4 such as cutoff at 20% typically (I think 10% is red line) vs. 50% on a AGM so you have more power available and faster charge rates as "lead" batteries take a lot of "horsepower" to recharge.

Yes, we have a GEN which negates...just as LiFePO4 negates GEN. I'll still use my GEN as it needs to be used. I have nearly 800 hours already and won't stop using it.

LiFePO4 is the battery of today and beyond, and if able, when time to change batteries, it is what I would recommend going to. I could have easily dropped in AGM's but there is a lot to gain in LiFePO4's from weight savings (front axle limits?) more storage space as the compartment is not volatile like lead acid and also AGM's (they still gas off).

No remorse or regrets, and Elli's food is getting really tasty - gravy is key!

 

[sheridany]

I have been told that a switch to a full lithium setup is around $40k at Marathon. These buses are incredibly complex and I woukd not have anyone but Marathon do it. Horror stories are out there where an owner circumvented using Marathon and one customer ended up paying Marathon $20k to fix the install. My salient point would be I don’t see myself doing this forever. Probably another three years Is my SWAG. I can’t justify spending that against my timeline. If it was a simple swap out of AGM for lithium with minor changes, sure I’d be all over it. By the same token, I am not much of a boondocker and I can’t see taking a 55k lb bus out on to BLM land. I am too much of a fraidy cat for that. I still live with image of the guy who took his brand new marathon to the beach burnished in my brain. I have posted the video here on the forum getting him out. I’ll stick with pavement for now. When my house batteries have to be replaced I’ll ask the question about lithium as an option.

 

[Neal]

I would trust SES and you’re passing them by. Just sayin..and we really need to think about inheritance and hand me downs. I mean, last I got was…yeah.