Lithium Upgrade 2022 sequence

[lmichel]

Originally Posted by holtcg

Just a note about generator starting. If you go with a single 100ah (100amp) battery or even a 200ah (100amp) battery, vs 2 or more in series, you may have trouble starting your generator off the batteries alone. These batteries have a capacity rating in Amp Hours (ah) but the Battery Management System (BMS) determines the current output. I swapped a single 100ah battery in to replace my flooded battery and found that I could often not start the (diesel) generator without starting the engine.
I've purchased, but not yet installed 2 Renogy 100ah smart lithium batteries and will run them in parallel to get 200 amps continuous and probably 400 short term. This will allow a lot of capacity and the short term current to get that genny rolling when it comes to it.
There are other reasons I went with the Renogy smart batteries. First is that they are Group 24 size and two will fit under the step (battery tray is about 24 inches long) Many of these LiFePo4 batteries are 13 inches and wouldn't fit. Also Renogy smart batteries have ethernet ports on them. These two batteries can be connected together to keep them balanced, and Renogy sells an inexpensive monitor panel that can be hooked to the last battery and monitor them all. Voltage, State of Charge and current. They also have a storage mode for very low self discharge and you can initiate that with the included "pigtail" button, or from the connected monitor panel. (if you have solar, make sure and disconnect your panels before disconnecting the battery or putting it in storage mode)
Just thought I'd share my personal experience since you mentioned starting the generator.

Yes, this is another reason why my LifePo bank is completely isolated from the original bank, which is connected to the generator.
Essentially, I was able to leave the Thor stock system completely in place and just build a second source of LifePo/Solar energy. The only physical connection between the two is an AGM smart charger that is plugged into the secondary inverter connected to the LifePo battery set. This is in case I ever want to charge the AGMs from the LifePo's - which turns out, is far more often than I expected

[holtcg]

Originally Posted by lmichel

Yes, this is another reason why my LifePo bank is completely isolated from the original bank, which is connected to the generator.
Essentially, I was able to leave the Thor stock system completely in place and just build a second source of LifePo/Solar energy. The only physical connection between the two is an AGM smart charger that is plugged into the secondary inverter connected to the LifePo battery set. This is in case I ever want to charge the AGMs from the LifePo's - which turns out, is far more often than I expected

Sounds like a very flexible setup. Sprinter chassis is making me get creative. Any upgrades are going to be replacements, and if I can save space/weight in the process, so much better. As an alternative I've considered replacing the generator with a battery bank, and later down the road, that might just happen. Drop the deisel, add a bay, bigger inverter and I'll see how creative I can get with panels on our precious roof space. I'm thinking flexible panels on the front cap.

[GlennC]

Just got back from my first long week in a new Thor Tellaro with the 200 AH Lithium reliable system. Couple of quick thoughts. Only ran my 20 amp ac for 3 hours with my dog Charlie in the RV while out to dinner than everything that was not 12 volt shut down. Keep in mind 200 amp hours has a cut off of about 50%-75% to preserve the Lithium packs. So I ran about 60 amp hours before it shut the system off. I guess using that logic if your fridge was 3 amps maybe you could get about 20 hours off the Thor Reliable 200 AH System. If you were to start the RV it could recharge the System fairly quickly while in park ( I believe)

[holtcg]

Originally Posted by GlennC

Just got back from my first long week in a new Thor Tellaro with the 200 AH Lithium reliable system. Couple of quick thoughts. Only ran my 20 amp ac for 3 hours with my dog Charlie in the RV while out to dinner than everything that was not 12 volt shut down. Keep in mind 200 amp hours has a cut off of about 50%-75% to preserve the Lithium packs. So I ran about 60 amp hours before it shut the system off. I guess using that logic if your fridge was 3 amps maybe you could get about 20 hours off the Thor Reliable 200 AH System. If you were to start the RV it could recharge the System fairly quickly while in park ( I believe)

I don't know about those particular batteries, but even at 80% depth of discharge most LiFePo4 will give 5000 cycles and even then they should still have 80% capacity (say 160ah for your bank) Even being conservative that is 12 or 13 years of daily use and I'll wager you aren't doing deep discharges daily. 50% is a good number for AGM, but in my estimation way too little for LiFePo4. At current pricing even if you went with high end batteries that's like $1600 to replace after what? 15, 16 years? I don't have plans to limit my DOD on any system ever, just allow the real world use.

[GlennC]

The 200 AH Reliable system came with my New Thor Tellaro from Thor. I think the Lithium is certainly the way to go and you are absolutely correct that the batteries will certainly outlast standard type batteries and will be cost effective in the long run even if you spend $1,500 to $2,000 for the 10 year life. I was just trying to point out the limitation when running a 20 amp ac. I also have a seperate Ballamar Altenator on my engine for the system to recharge as well as solar panels but the system still has limitations..

[Bill Johnson]

Originally Posted by GlennC

Just got back from my first long week in a new Thor Tellaro with the 200 AH Lithium reliable system. Couple of quick thoughts. Only ran my 20 amp ac for 3 hours with my dog Charlie in the RV while out to dinner than everything that was not 12 volt shut down. Keep in mind 200 amp hours has a cut off of about 50%-75% to preserve the Lithium packs. So I ran about 60 amp hours before it shut the system off. I guess using that logic if your fridge was 3 amps maybe you could get about 20 hours off the Thor Reliable 200 AH System. If you were to start the RV it could recharge the System fairly quickly while in park ( I believe)

Wouldn't it use 100 amps before turning off/50%? Normally ac doesn't run continuously it turns off and on as needed so it wouldn't pull 20 amps all the time.

[GlennC]

It was kind of a hot day so it might have been running the whole time. It indicated that the system was fully charged when I parked. I know I read somewhere that it will shutoff entirely if it drops below a certain percentage, I think 25% or 50% to preserve the Lithium packs. The 200 AH Reliable Lithium System is a smaller battery option (Opposed to Thors Normal 800 AH Lithium package). Most of the other equipment is the same. They had to start to include the option at no additional cost (instead of $25,000 upgrade) because of supply chain shortages on Onan Generators, so I can't complain. You do get some benefit off of the solar panel but not enough recharge more than small computer, lights, and refrigerator use. The big AMP eater is the AC and than probably the microwave when you are using it. It is nice to not have to run a noisy generator when you go into a Crackerbarrel for a meal with your pet in the car or to just pull over and grab a 1-2 hour nap on a long trip. If you drive the Balamar generator will recharge the entire system in like 15 minutes or you could idle the engine for 15 minutes if you were dry camping.

[Bill Johnson]

Originally Posted by GlennC

It was kind of a hot day so it might have been running the whole time. It indicated that the system was fully charged when I parked. I know I read somewhere that it will shutoff entirely if it drops below a certain percentage, I think 25% or 50% to preserve the Lithium packs. The 200 AH Reliable Lithium System is a smaller battery option (Opposed to Thors Normal 800 AH Lithium package). Most of the other equipment is the same. They had to start to include the option at no additional cost (instead of $25,000 upgrade) because of supply chain shortages on Onan Generators, so I can't complain. You do get some benefit off of the solar panel but not enough recharge more than small computer, lights, and refrigerator use. The big AMP eater is the AC and than probably the microwave when you are using it. It is nice to not have to run a noisy generator when you go into a Crackerbarrel for a meal with your pet in the car or to just pull over and grab a 1-2 hour nap on a long trip. If you drive the Balamar generator will recharge the entire system in like 15 minutes or you could idle the engine for 15 minutes if you were dry camping.

Sounds like a nice setup. I can't figure out why they can't make a generator as quiet as a car engine, then anyone could run the generator at any time. If they could run the generator exhaust through the motorhome exhaust and fully insulate the generator compartment, it would probably be very quiet. Just thinking they make those amp/voltage meters that many people put on their motorhomes, it tells you how many amps you are pulling and for how long. They are as low as 17 dollars. It could be mounted anywhere, by your other gages or even by the batteries