Lithium battery recommendations

[TheMachMan]

With so many brands and ever improving technology, does anyone have any recommendations for something about 300Ah that fits under front rotating seat? Offgrid Power Solutions have one for less than £900 which seems good value but not a recognised brand.

 

[hja]

Ours is an Ecotree 230 ah under seat battery. Seems good to us.

 

[RogerIvy]

With so many brands and ever improving technology, does anyone have any recommendations for something about 300Ah that fits under front rotating seat? Offgrid Power Solutions have one for less than £900 which seems good value but not a recognised brand.

We sell both the OPS range and FogStar Drift.
In particular you'll find that many Funsters have bought a FogStar Drift. They pretty much have become a "brand" and quite well known. Very good quality and support.
A named brand such as Victron is another good choice. Bit pricey though.

 

[Guigsy]

The standard FogStar 280Ah just about squeezed under my Ducato seat base when on its side (which is safe).

 

[stewartwebr]

I have 3 x 340ah SuperBs’ which I have found to be excellent in operation and customer support. However, you won’t get one anywhere near £900 and they are very big so unlikely to fit under a seat. But a highly recommended product.

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[Lenny HB]

I have 3 x 340ah SuperBs’ which I have found to be excellent in operation and customer support. However, you won’t get one anywhere near £900 and they are very big so unlikely to fit under a seat. But a highly recommended product.

A single 100ah is nearly £2k now, excellent batteries but at a very premium price.

 

[Lenny HB]

The standard FogStar 280Ah just about squeezed under my Ducato seat base when on its side (which is safe).

Fogstar now do a 230ah underseat battery.

 

[jumar]

Roamer do underseat types...our 160ah standard fitting one bought from them has been worth the money..
With solar and DC2DC to maintain it no need for hook up..

 

[thegronows]

Roamer’s underseat is 230Ah. For our van we opted for 2x160Ah Roamer Smart 3s, one underseat and one in battery locker. Linked up to 2x150w solar and B2B and VanBitz Battery Master and no issues to date. They offer 320 and 460Ah variants in ‘usual battery shape’. IMHO App is not the best but ok, but get all the data I need from a Victron app combo off the 100/30 solar controller and SmartShunt. Appear top quality, decent VFM and good customer service. HTH.

 

[TheMachMan]

Appreciate the advice. Currently have 110Ah + 80Ah lead gel. In the winter lasts about 2-3 days max. Only one 100W solar panel, could probably squeeze another 80W max. Not looking for more than a weeks worth of power so what would people recommend on amount of Ah.

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[Guigsy]

Appreciate the advice. Currently have 110Ah + 80Ah lead gel. In the winter lasts about 2-3 days max. Only one 100W solar panel, could probably squeeze another 80W max. Not looking for more than a weeks worth of power so what would people recommend on amount of Ah.

In the winter in the UK, you can't count on solar at all. You might get the occasional day with a good bit of yield, but most of the time it may as well not be there.

 

[TheMachMan]

In the winter in the UK, you can't count on solar at all. You might get the occasional day with a good bit of yield, but most of the time it may as well not be there.

Agree, so really just want a mild upgrade that gives us about a weeks worth of charge. If our combined is 190Ah, then does going for a total of 400Ah on Li sound sensible or is that overkill?

 

[Guigsy]

Agree, so really just want a mild upgrade that gives us about a weeks worth of charge. If our combined is 190Ah, then does going for a total of 400Ah on Li sound sensible or is that overkill?

I can last +5 days in winter on my 280Ah lithium. But we're pretty low energy use. No inverter, fridge on gas, no TV. All tablets and laptops running off USB C PD via 12v.

 

[jumar]

Appreciate the advice. Currently have 110Ah + 80Ah lead gel. In the winter lasts about 2-3 days max. Only one 100W solar panel, could probably squeeze another 80W max. Not looking for more than a weeks worth of power so what would people recommend on amount of Ah.

We manage with 160ah Lithium....200w Solar...150w folding solar as back-up...we manage fine....

 

[TheMachMan]

We have a Victron mppt 75 10 solar charger, but no idea about how the batteries are charged whilst driving or on EHU. So what changes do I need to make switching to Li?

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[Guigsy]

There are 3 ways hab batteries are charged:
-via a mains EHU AC charger
-while you drive, power from the alternator, either directly or via a B2B DC charger
-from a solar charger

In theory, all 3 chargers need to be lithium aware. I've disabled the AC charger in my van and installed a Victron IP22 charger. I switched my Victron solar charger to lithium mode. I saw these two as most important as they are on for extended periods.

I've purchased, but not installed a B2B charger. My (non smart) alternator seems to provide about 17 amps. Not ideal. I'll get around to the wiring at some point...

 

[TheMachMan]

Bit more to think about there then.
Managed to get to the passenger side battery and seen that’s it’s also 80Ah. So both the same making a total of 160Ah Gel.

 

[Lenny HB]

We manage with 160ah Lithium....200w Solar...150w folding solar as back-up...we manage fine....

You forgot to mention that you live in sunny Spain.

 

[Ian_H]

Agree, so really just want a mild upgrade that gives us about a weeks worth of charge. If our combined is 190Ah, then does going for a total of 400Ah on Li sound sensible or is that overkill?

Is that a week without any driving? Depending on the b2b you fit an hour of driving could give you another day's charge.
We've just had a 230Ah fogstar underseat battery fitted along with 250W solar. Only had a couple of weekends away but came back with more charge than when we left.....

 

[Raul]

With so many brands and ever improving technology, does anyone have any recommendations for something about 300Ah that fits under front rotating seat? Offgrid Power Solutions have one for less than £900 which seems good value but not a recognised brand.

You mean a reseller name on the box? Rest assured all cells come from same factory, it’s just a importer resale stick their name on in.
Let the Offgrid Power Solution build you a custom one, it will be much better than a imported one, and it will fit nicely your needs,

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[Bessy765]

We had 2 x 100 amp Transporter batteries ten year warranty around three years ago they were then £1000 each, others have come on since then but we find them excellent good low temp use and with 700 watts of solar meet our needs

 

[jumar]

You forgot to mention that you live in sunny Spain.

Of course Lenny..how silly of me...
and a part of Spain that can claim to have 300 days a year, wall to wall sunshine...

 

[the1andonly]

Of course Lenny..how silly of me...
and a part of Spain that can claim to have 300 days a year, wall to wall sunshine...

I live in a part of England that can claim to have 370 days a year, wall to wall sunshine. Me stretch the lie , never.

 

[cyberyacht]

The UK has 365 days of sunshine. The problem is the clouds that get in the way.

 

[TheMachMan]

Is that a week without any driving? Depending on the b2b you fit an hour of driving could give you another day's charge.
We've just had a 230Ah fogstar underseat battery fitted along with 250W solar. Only had a couple of weekends away but came back with more charge than when we left.....

We would expect to do a little driving between stopovers, but might only be say 30 minutes. I read in our handbook that van charging will only give you a max of 75% which I don’t understand.

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[Lenny HB]

Looking at your avatar you appear to have either a Possl or Malibu PVC.
If it has a smart alternator I would expect it to have a B2B but probably only a 25 amp one. So 30 min driving will only get 10-12 ah back into the battery. In winter you could be using over 60ah a day.

 

[daash]

Good afternoon all.
I have a potential new motorhome on order (Benimar Primero 202 with a Fiat Ducato Base). The supplied AGM leisure battery is under the front seat and I would like to replace it with my existing LiFePO4 (Renogy 200A H: 219mm, L: 522mm W: 240). My question is, what are the maximum dimensions that will fit under the seat please?
Update: I often curse people who don't check previous posts first. I did - but obviously not well enough. Taken from a previous post by stevel
"My 2022 Ducato seat base available space is 380mm wide, 340mm front to back and 190mm high.
A 190mm high standard DIN size battery will go in upright, most aftermarket lithiums will have to go in on the side."
So thank you Funsters.