Choosing Between Roamer and Fogstar Lithium Batteries for Seat Base

[WESTY66]

So, supposing I go with the fogstar, I then need to switch out the B2B (old Sterling with no lithium setting) is the renogy 60a a good viable B2B? The epever MPPT then need to be switched out for a victron 100/30 MPPT and swap out my crappy shunt for a victron shunt (do I really need a shunt)?
Does this sound like a viable set up?

Lenny HB autorouter ? Anyone?

 

[stevec]

Someone cut the handles off for it to fit in their van.

That was me. I checked with Fogstar to make sure it didn't void any warranty . They said it was ok to do so. I also told them their publicity showed the wrong dimensions and I hope they have amended them now.

 

[Lenny HB]

The battery I received last week was only at 9%, I asked Fogstar this morning what they usually ship at and how low can you take the battery. I got a prompt reply that they normally ship between 30-50% and it's not advisable to discharge it more than 80%, I then sent another email explaining how I received mine including a screenshot, since then there has been a deathly silence

Maybe just the BMS needs syncing up which it will probably do after a full charge.
What voltage was the battery reading, that is with a meter not the BMS reading?

 

[Lenny HB]

So, supposing I go with the fogstar, I then need to switch out the B2B (old Sterling with no lithium setting) is the renogy 60a a good viable B2B? The epever MPPT then need to be switched out for a victron 100/30 MPPT and swap out my crappy shunt for a victron shunt (do I really need a shunt)?
Does this sound like a viable set up?

Lenny HB autorouter ? Anyone?

Probably better to fit a decent B2B like a Votronic after spending all that money on a battery.
A decent shunt is good if you are nerdy, I wouldn't be without one but the info from the battery will probably be enough for you, a shunt will just confuse you.

 

[WESTY66]

Probably better to fit a decent B2B like a Votronic after spending all that money on a battery.
A decent shunt is good if you are nerdy, I wouldn't be without one but the info from the battery will probably be enough for you, a shunt will just confuse you.

Renogy no good?

More than one battery confuses me

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[Al n Val]

So, supposing I go with the fogstar, I then need to switch out the B2B (old Sterling with no lithium setting) is the renogy 60a a good viable B2B? The epever MPPT then need to be switched out for a victron 100/30 MPPT and swap out my crappy shunt for a victron shunt (do I really need a shunt)?
Does this sound like a viable set up?

Lenny HB autorouter ? Anyone?

hi Ade

I have an almost new, (used 3 weeks) Victron 12/12/30ah B2B for sale and a battery master, please lmk if you might be interested, this has the correct lithium profile needed for Fogstar batteries.

Al

 

[Lenny HB]

Renogy no good?

Appears to be mixed feelings on them, they are just drop shippers no UK support.

 

[WESTY66]

hi Ade

I have an almost new, (used 3 weeks) Victron 12/12/30ah B2B for sale and a battery master, please lmk if you might be interested, this has the correct lithium profile needed for Fogstar batteries.

Al

Would a 30a put enough electricity thingys back in the battery? Everyone seems fixated on 60a, the old one I’ve got in is 50a and seems to be well on top of the job for the gels

 

[Lenny HB]

Would a 30a put enough electricity thingys back in the battery? Everyone seems fixated on 60a, the old one I’ve got in is 50a and seems to be well on top of the job for the gels

Depends on the size of battery you are fitting, if more than 150ah a 50 amp or above B2B would be better.

 

[Al n Val]

Would a 30a put enough electricity thingys back in the battery? Everyone seems fixated on 60a, the old one I’ve got in is 50a and seems to be well on top of the job for the gels

if i'm honest Ade it always topped up my batteries from point A to B no issues, obviously will take longer than a 60ah charger but whats the rush, we've never arrived anywhere and not had 100% full batteries

Having the battery master as well, this also distributes charge to the hab/cab batteries when and where its needed, a clever piece of kit tbh, the only reason its for sale is my new Rapido came with it all fitted and the dealer didn't know so failed to tell me, otherwise it'd be going nowhere

Maybe this isn't so relevant but i'd have thought less of a strain on your alternator as well

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[MichaelT]

KS Energy also do a seatbase battery, I have had one for about 2 years with no issues. I can't tell you much about the difference between the Roamer & Fogstar, to my knowledge they both use prismatic cells, whereas the KS Energy seatbase battery has always used cylindrical cells... that said, since ownership of KS has changed they are now using prismatic cells in some of their new range of batteries, but as far as I know the seatbase battery is still cylindrical.
My personal choice is to use cylindrical celled batteries but they are getting more difficult to find now days and they are generally more expensive.
The only cylindrical cell batteries that I can think of now are Battleborn (Transporter ), Polinovel and KS energy..

We also have the 200a underseat KS Energy, fitted 18 odd months ago and no issues. I'm not au fait with what type of cells it has or what ones are better but it does have over charge, short circuit and heat protection on the BMS. The app is not the prettiest thing but it tells you all you need to know such as SOC , charge or discharge amount and any protection. They are now cheaper than when I bought it but not sure how cheap compared to others. We have no B2B only changed the votronic solar to lithium setting and main charger to gel but not often hooked up its the solar that does most work, get about 20a when driving. We use inverter a lot for cooking and even in Germany during winter it never went below 50%.

 

[bigtree]

Maybe just the BMS needs syncing up which it will probably do after a full charge.
What voltage was the battery reading, that is with a meter not the BMS reading?

I didn’t check with my meter but it was showing 12.8v on the app.

 

[bigtree]

So, supposing I go with the fogstar, I then need to switch out the B2B (old Sterling with no lithium setting) is the renogy 60a a good viable B2B? The epever MPPT then need to be switched out for a victron 100/30 MPPT and swap out my crappy shunt for a victron shunt (do I really need a shunt)?
Does this sound like a viable set up?

Lenny HB autorouter ? Anyone?

There’s a blog post on the Fogstar website that says you don’t need a dedicated lithium charger, they say to match it whatever runs closest to 14.4v , gel setting.

 

[Al n Val]

bigtree it took me 2 days to charge each one of my 280ah‘s to 50%

 

[bigtree]

That was me. I checked with Fogstar to make sure it didn't void any warranty . They said it was ok to do so. I also told them their publicity showed the wrong dimensions and I hope they have amended them now.

I could always change mine by doing that but there was plenty space to fit it lengthwise.

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[bigtree]

bigtree it took me 2 days to charge each one of my 280ah‘s to 50%

View attachment 783770

Mine charged overnight on mains.
I take it that was using solar ?

 

[Al n Val]

Mine charged overnight on mains.

I just used a Cteck conditioner and set to 4.5ah so steady away

 

[bigtree]

I just used a Cteck conditioner and set to 4.5ah so steady away

Mine started off at this and when I checked a few hours later it was down to 20a.

 

[Guigsy]

Please correct if this is wrong. My understanding with lithium chargers is...

Through most of the charge cycle, you'll be current limited. So the charger will be throwing in their maximum rated amps while the voltage hovers around 13-13.5v.

Once the voltage reaches a threshold, the charger will switch to voltage limit mode. It'll supply with a fixed voltage of roughly 14.2v and push in whatever current is required to maintain this, which will slowly decrease to nothing as the battery reaches full.

 

[Raul]

Please correct if this is wrong. My understanding with lithium chargers is...

Through most of the charge cycle, you'll be current limited. So the charger will be throwing in their maximum rated amps while the voltage hovers around 13-13.5v.

Once the voltage reaches a threshold, the charger will switch to voltage limit mode. It'll supply with a fixed voltage of roughly 14.2v and push in whatever current is required to maintain this, which will slowly decrease to nothing as the battery reaches full.

Correct, as the current drops off, normally the charger should stop, or decrease the voltage hold to 13.4-13.5v, to prevent anymore current flowing to the battery.
Thats why a lead charger its not good, it holds absorb to high for to long, and float is to high.

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[roger ball]

Another vote for Fogstar, I build my own, bought 8 X 280Ah EVE cells from them beginning of the year and wired them to Daly 150A BMS.

Six months on living full time in the van they've never missed a beat. Even their ready made batteries are considerably cheaper than roamer, ecotree and victron.

Would've had ready mades from them as the Daly softwares can be a pain but didn't have any in stock at the time.

Fwiw their grade A EVE cells are the cheapest on the net so no real point ordering direct from Aliexpress and then waiting three months for them like I did a couple of years back.........

 

[AnthonyA]

So far my 2 x 280ah Fogstar drift batteries are performing superbly, I had high hopes for them and they are fulfilling all my expectations.

Roamer didn’t seem to want to engage with me and not want me to go and pick them up, whereas Fogstar were completely the opposite.

The icing on the cake was going the Fogstar route I gained 100ah and saved a grand, no brainer and certainly no regrets.

How do you find charging 560AH. That's a lot of AH to maintain. What charging system do you have.

 

[Al n Val]

How do you find charging 560AH. What charging system do you have.

I have 450 watt solar, a Redarc 40a B2B and the inbuilt mains charger

I’m about a 4/5 weeks in and cannot fault them, i’ve yet to get them less than 80% and that’s using a kettle 12/15 times a day (honestly), air fryer, toaster, induction hob, 2 tv’s, all the lights and as of this morning a nice Epson projector

 

[Guigsy]

I have 450 watt solar, a Redarc 40a B2B and the inbuilt mains charger

I’m about a 4/5 weeks in and cannot fault them, i’ve yet to get them less than 80% and that’s using a kettle 12/15 times a day (honestly), air fryer, toaster, induction hob, 2 tv’s, all the lights and as of this morning a nice Epson projector

That's a lot of safety factor!

 

[Al n Val]

That's a lot of safety factor!

i’m hopeful that’s gonna allow me to not need an hookup cable when abroad, tbh i’ve not hooked up since being back in the UK 6th April and we’ve used this new moho a lot.

If staying in the UK over winter possibly but we won’t be here hopefully

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[roger ball]

How do you find charging 560AH. What charging system do you have.

I have 600w of solar on the roof, a 3kw victron inverter charger and a victron 12/12-30 b2b charger.

I prioritized solar on the roof over hatches and vents as I wanted to be as energy independent as possible.

The solar panels blow me away more than the inverter charger. For example I've just come back from a few weeks up in the Lake District which was cloudy/rainy/sunny but mainly overcast most of the time and the charge going into the system was no less than 170w, giving around 70% each day in the batteries.

On a truly sunny day I get minimum 350w, highest I've recorded is 528w. The week I installed a washing machine and tumble dryer in the back of the van a couple of months back I was on a pitch with no electric and ran both machines no problem.

The downside is cost, that picture above of my electric install is around £5k, the solar panels and frame about £1k.

At the expense of sounding like a twat, the victron stuff just works, the most I get involved with with my electrical install is once a month remove the bunk lids and cushions and hoover up the dust and crumbs, blow out the vent fans and replace the lids and cushions.

That said, for 7 years I lived in the van when contracting up and down the country for work, relying on the below system to charge tool batteries, phones, run a mini 17L fridge, microwave, lights and a laptop:

Fwiw I've yet to blow any fuses big or small, I run the day today stuff off my phone and the inverter on my laptop.

I bought an explorist life wiring diagram to build my victron system, got a sparky mate of mine to check it over when I got finished then took my van to the blue fix lads to optimise all the victron settings.

Hope that helps

 

[AnthonyA]

I have 600w of solar on the roof, a 3kw victron inverter charger and a victron 12/12-30 b2b charger.

View attachment 784425
View attachment 784426

I prioritized solar on the roof over hatches and vents as I wanted to be as energy independent as possible.

The solar panels blow me away more than the inverter charger. For example I've just come back from a few weeks up in the Lake District which was cloudy/rainy/sunny but mainly overcast most of the time and the charge going into the system was no less than 170w, giving around 70% each day in the batteries.

On a truly sunny day I get minimum 350w, highest I've recorded is 528w. The week I installed a washing machine and tumble dryer in the back of the van a couple of months back I was on a pitch with no electric and ran both machines no problem.

The downside is cost, that picture above of my electric install is around £5k, the solar panels and frame about £1k.

At the expense of sounding like a twat, the victron stuff just works, the most I get involved with with my electrical install is once a month remove the bunk lids and cushions and hoover up the dust and crumbs, blow out the vent fans and replace the lids and cushions.

That said, for 7 years I lived in the van when contracting up and down the country for work, relying on the below system to charge tool batteries, phones, run a mini 17L fridge, microwave, lights and a laptop:

View attachment 784430

Fwiw I've yet to blow any fuses big or small, I run the day today stuff off my phone and the inverter on my laptop.

I bought an explorist life wiring diagram to build my victron system, got a sparky mate of mine to check it over when I got finished then took my van to the blue fix lads to optimise all the victron settings.

Hope that helps

How do you find the Multiplus II when on hook up. How loud is it when charging. Do you find it intrusive.

 

[roger ball]

How do you find the Multiplus II when on hook up. How loud is it when charging. Do you find it intrusive.

No not really, on hook up once batteries are charged no noise, it only gets marginal when charging or using the inverter for power needs.

 

[Silver-Fox]

I've squeezed a FogStar 280Ah standard battery into a Ducato seat base. It's a very tight fit, it's not going anywhere! The issue is the handles on the sides are a few mm wider than the gap. But with enough swearing and wiggling at odd angles, it slots (scrapes!) in.

Out of interest, if you cut the handles off could you then put two lots of seat belt material around it.

This would be at 90 degrees to the original handles to lift it out?