Ok Lithium gurus

[Underboss]

As many know I have not been big on lithium but the time may be here. I am thinking about a new Newmar coach. The 640ah or 960ah lithionics packages are tempting. While I generally go cg to cg I do boondock overnights as needed. Maybe you will tell me not to bother with lithium stick with AGM's but I doubt that
I know very little about it. So a few questions

The 640ah package you can run one ac when driving and a guess for sometime when boondocking. I would imagine you can get through a hot night with the 960 ah.....does that sound realistic?

I know the Newmar price is higher but I called around and frankly was not that impressed with the quotes of the off brands that I was given since for a few thousand more I have a factory set up.

Thoughts? Things to ponder? Advice? Suggestions?

Thanks

 

[Neal]

Call Solar Energy Systems in Nappanee and ask for Brian. See what he suggests.

 

[Underboss]

Call Solar Energy Systems in Nappanee and ask for Brian. See what he suggests.

I did call them for a quote and thought their price would be a bit better then I was quoted for a no name brand battery. For a few thousand I like the Lithionics system factory installed.
I am curious what your guys real world experience with lithium is and what you are able to run and for how long on the 640 or 960ah systems.

 

[MarkMaxPayne]

I did call them for a quote and thought their price would be a bit better then I was quoted for a no name brand battery. For a few thousand I like the Lithionics system factory installed.
I am curious what your guys real world experience with lithium is and what you are able to run and for how long on the 640 or 960ah systems.

Unfortunately the answer is "it depends". On my rig the 3rd factory battery doesn't change how anything is wired. All three batteries go through a combiner into the Lithionics BMS which then feeds the bus bar as though it was from a single battery source (one positive one negative to their respective bus bars). Inverters and such are all still wired up the same independent of whether it is 2 or 3 batteries. All the 3rd battery did was increase the storage capacity to do the same things longer. For me, that's all I cared about.

Best,
-Mark

 

[Underboss]

Unfortunately the answer is "it depends". On my rig the 3rd factory battery doesn't change how anything is wired. All three batteries go through a combiner into the Lithionics BMS which then feeds the bus bar as though it was from a single battery source (one positive one negative to their respective bus bars). Inverters and such are all still wired up the same independent of whether it is 2 or 3 batteries. All the 3rd battery did was increase the storage capacity to do the same things longer. For me, that's all I cared about.

Best,
-Mark

So can you run the one ac all night on a 80 degree night with the 960?
Thanks

 

[Neal]

Running the AC requires upgraded wiring to the breaker panel (from inverters) which I had done on mine with a dual Victron inverter setup, etc. by SES Indiana. The current wiring is not recommended for the loads the AC(s) require.

With my setup my coach is always in 50A mode so I can run anything off of my LiFePO4 setup now. I have not had much time post install to test these things out such as duration, etc. Mine also is complimented with 10 solar panels on the roof for 1800W of capacity.

 

[Underboss]

Running the AC requires upgraded wiring to the breaker panel (from inverters) which I had done on mine with a dual Victron inverter setup, etc. by SES Indiana. The current wiring is not recommended for the loads the AC(s) require.

With my setup my coach is always in 50A mode so I can run anything off of my LiFePO4 setup now. I have not had much time post install to test these things out such as duration, etc. Mine also is complimented with 10 solar panels on the roof for 1800W of capacity.

Newmar has the setup to run one ac going down the road or for x amount of hours overnight, dependent on the 640 or 960ah and ambient overnight temps
I really do not need solar or so much the lithium but lithium is the future so I am heavily leaning into it.

 

[Neal]

You may want to ask Newmar is they upgrade the wire to support that. Then ask SES their opinion. SES told me it wasn't a sufficient gauge. I wonder if Newmar is saying it's okay because they think it's okay or if from an engineering perspective it's sized properly. My guess is it's not and Newmar is just saying it can be done.

 

[Underboss]

You may want to ask Newmar is they upgrade the wire to support that. Then ask SES their opinion. SES told me it wasn't a sufficient gauge. I wonder if Newmar is saying it's okay because they think it's okay or if from an engineering perspective it's sized properly. My guess is it's not and Newmar is just saying it can be done.

So Newmar adds a second inverter for the one ac. Pardon my lack of knowledge and thats why I am here. Would that answer your question?

 

[Neal]

So Newmar adds a second inverter for the one ac. Pardon my lack of knowledge and thats why I am here. Would that answer your question?

Personally no. Per SES the wire from inverter(s) to breaker panel needed to be sized to handle the load of the AC(s). Again, I'd ping SES and learn from them what is needed per their electrical engineers which they have on staff. I also "thought" and I could be wrong that SES does Newmar's Lithium installs.