Lithium battery upgrade and cost
Having long been a fan of lithium iron phosphate batteries for caravan on motor home use and using them in my van for upwards of four years I have been in many an interesting discussion. Biggest argument against them hasalways been cost for some. Good well known brands were typically £600 to £800 for 100 amp 4 years ago. Two years ago it was £400 to £600. Now much lower again.
i currently have a 105 amp battery from FOGSTAR on test. Check it out on their web site. (Some very interesting reading on there). But the important bit. It comes with Blue Tooth and an app to link to your phone. No more guesswork on how much power it has. Built in cold charge protection and best of all fitted heaters so you really can fit and forget, even if your van is in storage with solar working in temperatures below 0 deg
I’ll do the full report later but to get rid of the urban myths.
Yes it fits a standard Bailey underfloor box ( fits upright but even better on its side, which is fine). upright you may need to adapt the webs on the lid by a few mm.takes moments with a Drexel
Yes it works your motor mover
Yes it charges just fine from the standard battery charger and or solar.
Yes it really is about half the weight. 10 kgs
Yes it runs my microwave (through an inverter) just fine.
Yes it does say 10 year warranty.
Yes it is a drop in replacement
Yes stable voltage down to almost flat giving you a huge increase in usable power
Yes no more guess work on how much power is In the tank
i have no connection to this company but it is currently available for £369. And so far has performed faultlessly.
Moderator Comment - Woodsman, whilst I can see why you posted this is the Story Section I suspect far more people will see it in the Discussion Area, so I have moved it to Parts and Accesories.
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Yes it charges just fine from the standard battery charger and or solar.
It may charge but it is not very good for what is still an expensive battery, even if the prices have come down. Lithium batteries need a charging cycle different to your standard charger if you want them to last and to avoid safety issues. It is the one reason I am still using an AGM battery. My charger is just too old and would need replacing if I were to fit a Lithium battery and the cost benefit for me is just not worth it.
peedee
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As I am mostly off grid, I have to disagree. A lithium battery does not need the type pf cycles that a so called intelligent battery charger provides. Innumerable articles on just that. In fact it will charge just fine from a constant voltage. Monitoring my lithium charger (Noco) that is exactly what it supplies. The very early ones did (maybe) but the modern ones BMS takes care of the cell balancing as well as preventing over charging. My Bailey Charger takes it to about 13.8 volts which is as near fully charged as matters. I,.e. about 95 %. My solar takes care of the rest. The last rise in voltage from 13.8 to 14.4 is only a tiny amount of its total capacity. My current Lithium was measured at 100 amps when new 3.5 years ago. It is currently on test for capacity and it is heading for 98 amps or more. I'll know shortly.
Perhaps the best information is on the K.S. Energy web site under 'Lead replacement'. which is repeated on many other responsible sites, such as 'Fogstar' We have many people using them in the Bailey Owners Club without issue. If you want to charge it quicker by all means buy a dedicated / more powerful charger but is is not a necessity.
Add in the weight saving, the fact that for a given amount of solar it charges quicker, and the output voltage stability of the output. If you are always plugged in then use what you like but for us it is a game changer, and usually cheaper when we say to the site owner 'No electric thank you.'
I'm curious as to what safety issues you are referring to ?
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Ok for those who are interested.
My system is standard Bailey Charger/power supply.
Was 100 w solar now upgraded to 200w on the roof. the van is stored in a barn with a 40w solar on the roof to maintain the battery, which it does even in the depth of winter.
Victron 75/15 controller.
70 to 100 nights per year with over 60 % off grid. about 40% plugged into the mains
3yrs 6 months ago I fitted a K.S.Energy 100 amp battery following their advice that no change was needed to the built in charger. Whilst the Fogstar is on test I have done a full discharge and recharge test on the K.S. result still returns over 99 amp capacity so as near new as makes no difference. So I am still waiting for the gloom and doom promised by those who claim you must have a special lithium charger etc.
So far the Fogstar is working equally well and I expect it to continue as such.
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Thanks Woodsman. That’s informative and the Fogstar sells for a good price. Reduced weight which is appealing given our limited payload, better charge/ recharge cycles and immunity from accidental full discharges appeal. We enjoy back to nature sites although mains driven AirCon is on our wish list. As with many things in life, compromises may be called for. Whoever said that caravanning was cheap?
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WM, it is the use of the word standard that is misleading. What exactly is meant by this. Some chargers may well be dangerous when used with a LFP battery especially if the battery has no in built protection against overcharging. However thanks for your subsequent explanation on the use of the charger in your Bailey and the use of the solar panels to finalise charging.
peedee
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There are so many utube videos now where people have charged lithium (fitted with BMS) from standard chargers, solar, even simple constant power supplies, that I wonder how much longer we will have to listen to the mantra 'Must have this or that.'
Good special Lithium chargers do have the forced voltage mode if connected to a flat battery where the BMS has shut it down. All it does is wake up the battery to take a charge. You can achieve the same thing by using a simple battery rig. Not going into details incase somebody does it wrong. But just see for yourself.
Any good quality charger will recognise the requirements and charge away happily, indeed faster than it will a lead acid. If you are using a battery charger that is cheap and nasty then you will get what you asked for. Different of course for 'smart alternators' when you want to charge whilst travelling, you will probably need a battery to battery charger. Or just do what I do and trust to good old solar. After all it works just the same when I'm travelling.
Happy Vanning everyone..
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