Lithium batteries what to go for

[garry63]

Hi all
Looking at lithium battery
Got a 110ah lead battery now
If I upgrade is a lithium 230a twice the capacity of the 110ah and a 3000a 3xbetter or does it not work like that?

 

[bigtwin]

A 220Ah battery is twice the capacity of a 110Ah battery; similarly so for a 330Ah battery.

In terms of useable capacity it is even better than that since, in reality, one shouldn’t deplete a lead acid battery below 50% of nominal capacity. That is not a restriction with a LiFePO4 battery.

Ian

 

[headlight]

Hi all
Looking at lithium battery
Got a 110ah lead battery now
If I upgrade is a lithium 230a twice the capacity of the 110ah and a 3000a 3xbetter or does it not work like that?

Of your present 110 LA battery you have about 55 amps usable power as LA's shouldn't be discharged more than 50% .
A lithium can be discharged much lower so a 230 amp lithium will have nearly 4 times the usable capacity.
It can also be discharged and charged at much higher rates than LA.
Obviously you need to make sure that your charging sources have a lithium charge profile as their charging needs are different to LA.

 

[garry63]

Going to irland for 3 weeks of grid with 130w solar so would i be better with a 230 lithium battery

 

[garry63]

Of your present 110 LA battery you have about 55 amps usable power as LA's shouldn't be discharged more than 50% .
A lithium can be discharged much lower so a 230 amp lithium will have nearly 4 times the usable capacity.
It can also be discharged and charged at much higher rates than LA.
Obviously you need to make sure that your charging sources have a lithium charge profile as their charging needs are different to LA.

Fitted a 130w solar panel with mppt controller wich supports lithium so do you just drop battery in and change to lithium on controller

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[funflair]

I would say it depends on how often you drive, whether you have B2B and how much power you use then of course, will the sun shine?

 

[monzer]

Going to irland for 3 weeks of grid with 130w solar so would i be better with a 230 lithium battery

Really depends how much money you want to spend. A 230 lithium will be quite pricey for a 3 week trip.

 

[garry63]

I would say it depends on how often you drive, whether you have B2B and how much power you use then of course, will the sun shine?

Mmm it is irland

 

[funflair]

Mmm it is irland

How often will you be moving?

 

[garry63]

Really depends how much money you want to spend. A 230 lithium will be quite pricey for a 3 week trip.

Not just for 3 weeks we do a lot of weekends away

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[garry63]

How often will you be moving?

Every couple of days

 

[monzer]

Not just for 3 weeks we do a lot of weekends away

I wouldn't say you need lithium but there's no doubt it's a better battery if you don't mind paying a bit extra for it.

 

[headlight]

Fitted a 130w solar panel with mppt controller wich supports lithium so do you just drop battery in and change to lithium on controller

Yes as far as charging from solar you change the MPPT setting to lithium.
If you are going to go on EHU and charge via your onboard mains charger you will need to check if it has a lithium profile setting.
Also depending on your present engine charging set up, and your use, you may need to look at that as well.

 

[funflair]

Every couple of days

So you need a couple of days battery power assuming no solar input then anything you do get will be a bonus then your next issue is how you are getting that charge back in before your next stop.

 

[garry63]

So you need a couple of days battery power assuming no solar input then anything you do get will be a bonus then your next issue is how you are getting that charge back in before your next stop.

I have 130w solar with matt controller lithium compatible

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[funflair]

I have 130w solar with matt controller lithium compatible

Which is no good if the sun doesn't shine so if you do your calculations on that assumption you will not be caught short as I said anything you do get is a bonus.

 

[garry63]

I wouldn't say you need lithium but there's no doubt it's a better battery if you don't mind paying a bit extra for it.

Which is no good if the sun doesn't shine so if you do your calculations on that assumption you will not be caught short as I said anything you do get is a bonus.

Will be going on the odd site for a bit of luxury

 

[funflair]

Will be going on the odd site for a bit of luxury

So you will get a full charge there, you need to work out how much power you use each day so that tells you how long you can stop in one place, then you need to know how long you need to drive to put that power back into your batteries, for example I know that I can use all my 240v toys for 6 days before the batteries need a charge (longer if the sun shines but as I say that is a bonus) then I know that I can charge while driving at a rate of around 90 amps per hour so I need around 6 hours to get a full charge before I can do another 6 days, as I say though the sun is the unknown variable and as the summer approaches it plays a bigger part in you power balance, again for example I know that on a good sunny day we can get 200ah from the solar so a couple of days free power and even an overcast day we are not far off breakeven.

 

[headlight]

Will be going on the odd site for a bit of luxury

This time of year 130 watts of solar won't provide much so your main way of recharging a battery will be from your mains charger when on EHU on site and your alternator when you drive every couple of days so those 2 charging systems will need to be looked at to see if they are compatible with lithium.
TBH if you only need power for a couple of days off grid at a time and don't use heavy electrical drain things like kettles, hair dryers, microwaves etc then 2 lead acid batteries should cope fine.

 

[garry63]

So you will get a full charge there, you need to work out how much power you use each day so that tells you how long you can stop in one place, then you need to know how long you need to drive to put that power back into your batteries, for example I know that I can use all my 240v toys for 6 days before the batteries need a charge (longer if the sun shines but as I say that is a bonus) then I know that I can charge while driving at a rate of around 90 amps per hour so I need around 6 hours to get a full charge before I can do another 6 days, as I say though the sun is the unknown variable and as the summer approaches it plays a bigger part in you power balance, again for example I know that on a good sunny day we can get 200ah from the solar so a couple of days free power and even an overcast day we are not far off breakeven.

What you got on yours to last 6 days?

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[headlight]

garry63 I have 2 x 100AH lead acid leisure batteries.
I am not a heavy electric user and could do 4 days with no charging input at all without taking my batteries below 50% if I want.

 

[bigtwin]

What you got on yours to last 6 days?

Yes, but everything he has is bigger than yours!

Ian

 

[garry63]

Yes, but everything he has is bigger than yours!

Ian

How is it bigger i don't know what he has.
I don't use much in van only 12v off ehu no mwave, hdrier, only 12v tv shower phone charging lights

 

[funflair]

What you got on yours to last 6 days?

640ah Lithium, 90 amp B2B and 520 watts solar, that's 6 days using electric kettle microwave coffee machine etc etc, my point was though that you need to understand what you use and what you have stored and then how you replace it, you don't need what we have for 6 days, you just need to use power according to your capacity, before we doubled the lithium capacity we would use a gas kettle and still OK for 6 days in the winter.

 

[funflair]

How is it bigger i don't know what he has.
I don't use much in van only 12v off ehu no mwave, hdrier, only 12v tv shower phone charging lights

Ian does though it's not what you've got it's what you do with it.

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[suavecarve]

640ah Lithium, 90 amp B2B and 520 watts solar, that's 6 days using electric kettle microwave coffee machine etc etc, my point was though that you need to understand what you use and what you have stored and then how you replace it, you don't need what we have for 6 days, you just need to use power according to your capacity, before we doubled the lithium capacity we would use a gas kettle and still OK for 6 days in the winter.

As a further example I had 220 ah of gel and 120 watts of solar and never ran out in France in the summer, until I got Ebikes.
Now I have 200 ah of Lithium and 370 of solar but will run out if I use the ebikes to capacity and park in a tunnel without moving within 2 days.

 

[headlight]

How is it bigger i don't know what he has.
I don't use much in van only 12v off ehu no mwave, hdrier, only 12v tv shower phone charging lights

Sounds like 2 lead acid leisure batteries would do you rather than going to the cost of lithium.
If that's all the power you are using then depending on how long you have your TV on for, which will be your biggest drain, 2 x 100AH lead acids should give you about 4 days with no charging input.

 

[Tombola]

You will be fine esp if you are using the odd site where you can charge up.

I'd look at another chunk of solar on your return to give that extra bit of charge speed in future.

 

[the1andonly]

Ian does though it's not what you've got it's what you do with it.

Iv'e never seen 6 inches go so far

 

[garry63]

Sounds like 2 lead acid leisure batteries would do you rather than going to the cost of lithium.
If that's all the power you are using then depending on how long you have your TV on for, which will be your biggest drain, 2 x 100AH lead acids should give you about 4 days with no charging input.

Not sure if I can fit another battery in as compartment too small