Question/Advice

[Rollin Ollen]

It's time to upgrade to Lithium. I have a friend that suggested I use two 200 Amp Hour REDODO Batteries. I have very little knowledge about manufacturer quality. Any comments re this battery?

Redodo 12V 200Ah Plus Lithium Ion Battery | Deep Cycle Power

Get the reliable 12V 200Ah deep cycle battery for camping, solar systems, and boats. It's the perfect 200Ah lithium ion battery. Long-lasting power you can trust!

ca.redodopower.com

I have done a little research on my own, but again, my knowledge is very limited. I have looked at Renogy Core Series 12 - 200 Amp Hour and discovered that there are features that I think will be useful because we summer in Canada where temps can be pretty cool no matter what month it is plus it is Blue Tooth capable for monitoring.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0...200Ah_20Core_20Battery_UM_A0.pdf?v=1751943170

The price difference is $531 for the Redodo and $699 Cdn for the Renogy. I'm okay with either price as long as the quality is there.

I have 4 roof mounted (tiltable) panels. Two 150 watt and two 200 watt so 700 watts total. I have one controller that is a Victron MPPT 100/30. I believe it is capable of handling Lithium. My coach runs on 50 Amps. Should I upgrade the controller to a Victron 100/50? The company that installed the two 200 watt panels for me installed the 100/30 controller without letting me know a 50 was available. And now I am confused. I also have a Samlex Solar SCC30AB mounted on a wall that came with the coach when I purchased it. It controlled the original two 150 watt panels. The coach came prewired for two sets of panels. Both are being used.

30 Amp Solar Charge Controller | SCC-30AB | Samlex America

Surely I don't need two controllers do I? The one mounted on the wall gives me readings and the one mounter in the battery compartment is also lit up. See pics I built a cage for the Victron as it is mounted in the battery compartment. I also keep my leveling blocks in there so I just added some protection.

I also know that I will need a DC to DC charger. Renogy list one with MPPT. and Redodo list one as well. I strongly suspect the charger is not compatible with other batteries so one would go with the one built by the battery manufacturer.

Any suggestions will be appreciated. Just an FYI I will not be doing the installation. I will have someone a little more savy than me do it.

Thanks in advance

 

[Neal]

Will's forum here is a good source of knowledge for Lithium's. Some here have installed on their own, I used Solar Energy Systems in Nappanee, IN to do mine.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

You definitely need the two controllers.

A 30a controller is good for 360w of panel, so one needs to be a 40a minum.

One controller for different rated panels, will work,but in a negative manner. The only way it could be configured would mean upgrading both controllers. Doing controller to at least a 60a controller could make one controller function, but only in a serial/ parallel configuration.

I personally would use 2 controllers.

As far as lithium? Look up Will's channel on YouTube for what he has reviewed. I no longer comment on that battery type.

 

[MV Intrigue]

A recent post on one of the Facebook forums appeared to indicate the Redodo likely has what is known as "Full Charge Protection". It can be quite a nuisance that leads to uneven discharge and early charge mosfet shut down.

My recommendation is to stick with a battery that contains the tried and true JBD BMS. One giveaway is that any battery with the JBD BMS can connect to the OverKill Solar app. The OKS app is a well known app that allows more detail into battery activity as well as the ability to change settings. Although I suggest you dont.

Batteries that have the JBD BMS are Vatrer, Epoch Essentials series, Chins, Eco-Worthy, SFK and quite a few others.

Other brands that are make by Topband that have a propriety BMS are SOK, Volthium, Blue Heron and the Epoch Pro series. These batteries work well.

There is another class of battery that contains certain BMS functions such as the dreaded Full Charge Protection like Redodo, LiTime, the old Epoch V1 and many others (although the Epoch V1 can be programmed out of the way via password)

I personally would stick with anything with the JBD BMS.

One battery I have not used is the Renogy. The Renogy reputation wasnt very good. But it is getting better IMO.