Lithium Battery
We are planning to do several off grid holidays this year, it has been suggested that I replace my 3 year old battery with a Lithium battery , my caravan has a roof fitted solar panel. what would be the advantage of fitting a Lithium battery and would it be considered necessary .Your advice please
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In all honesty the only advantage I can see at the moment is the weight saving. The cost is enormous and you probably need a different charger. I’ve never gone beyond the cost. If we’re me I would keep my hands pretty well in my pocket. By all means get a new conventional battery. Personally I would go for a Varta, but other good makes are available. If you haven’t got one get a battery charger. Lidl currently have a perfectly functional one for £13.99 iirc. You don’t say what size your panel is but, an additional freestanding one might make sense. If you don’t have led lights they also can be a good investment. You could do all that and still have plenty of change from the cost of a battery. Or you could do non of it and still have a great holiday.
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Hi Pageantpete07. I have a Lithium Battery and it was fitted about 7 months ago. It is a 100ah. I am at present on the not so sunny and warm Norfolk Coast - offgrid of course as I always am. I have to say that if you are just wanting a few days off grid here and there, then Boffs comments are, as always, honest and fair. However, if you want to do the offgrid thing like me where you never hook up you will find a Lithium Battery fantastic! It leaves lead acids in the dust in so many ways. It’s lighter as Boff said- about half the weight of a LA. It holds nearly double the usable power of a LA. It will deep cycle thousands of times, it will drive high amperage kit like microwaves and toasters without blinking- (LA can be damaged by high output) A Lithium can be charged quickly without damage and the amount of power they hold is amazing. We have been warm and snug with the battery driving the Alde heating (using Safefill refillables for the LPG) lights, pumps and charging our phones, tablets, toothbrush and on top of that the toaster on a couple of occasions, As Boff did - and many others - they stopped when they saw the price. A Lithium, treated correctly will be a better purchase in the long run as they are said to last 20 - 25 yrs. I have a 135w panel charging mine but I am increasing that soon with the new van. The 135w does fine at recharging but the more solar you have the quicker the charging. My advice would be to contact Roadpro at Daventry and talk to Andy the MD. They have recently released a pamphlet on Lithium Batteries and the advantages you will get. Ring him and have a chat. The other thing you can do is go to YouTube and put into the search engine “ Installing a Lithium Battery in a Bailey Caravan ‘ - you should find a video that might help. Good luck
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I do use a toaster, the microwave, a 240v hand held vacuum and a blender. However, you would need a good Inverter and a controller (mppt) with Lithium cycle and a Battery to Battery charger again with a Lithium cycle. However, once you have bought the required kit, you’ll not have to buy it again unless you increase the solar array substantially in which case you will need a bigger controller. If you buy a large capacity controller , you have spare capacity on it to increase your solar at a later date.
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I agree that a string of bad days will cause problems for off gridders but it’s very rare that the skies are that dark that no charge is available. In fact I’ve not known it. Even here in Norfolk with heavy rain all day the 135w Panel was able to charge 3 or 4% The larger the solar array of course the better chance of capturing any available light. However, and it has never happened yet in 6 years, if I ever get to a stage where I was seriously looking at 10 or even 5% state of charge, I would simply link the tow car and charge with the engine- a Lithium will take charge quickly without damage. Once you’ve had a Lithium, you would have great difficulties going back to a Lead Acid!
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Thank you all for your comments I have a Bailey Unicorn Cadiz which has a 100w solar panel. I will have to shop around for prices and then make a decision.
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It's worth reading about the NCC Verified Leisure Battery Scheme to see if buying a higher quality leisure battery could give you the extra battery life and possibly capacity that may be required for off-grid use.
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This is an alternative view of NCC scheme.
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