Battery Help

Mako2201 · 09-25-2023, 08:52 AM

I have a 2022 High Country 331RL with a 200watt Solarflex panel with Victron MPPT 75/15 charger with two 100ah lead acid batteries , I want to upgrade to Lifep04 batteries and my question is will my MPPT handle two 200ah lithium batteries?

Cheesehead4Life · 09-25-2023, 04:16 PM

Yes your MPPT charge controller can handle lithium batteries. You’ll have to change the settings in the Victron Connect app to a LiFepo battery rather than lead acid. Will be a slooow charge though at 15amps max.

Mako2201 · 09-26-2023, 06:06 AM

Thank you will probably upgrade to. Mppt 100/30

MrKABC · 09-26-2023, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mako2201

Thank you will probably upgrade to. Mppt 100/30

I did the MPPT 100/30 at first to save money. Then I realized that 200w of Solar wasn't enough and wanted more. Had to then go buy a 100/50.

Go here to access Victron's MPPT calculator, and input the solar panels of what you WANT in the future. Use Amazon to check out the solar panel specs to plug in to the calculator, and it will spit out the product you will want to use.

You'll probably want to map out what you want FIRST before you buy anything - buy once, cry once. Learn from my mistake!

Mako2201 · 09-27-2023, 08:42 AM

Trying to understand the whole battery thing we boondocked one night at truck stop only watched TV for 2 hours refridgerator on and had small fan in bedroom running woke up in the morning with dead batteries , so should I get two 100ah lifepo batteries or one 240ah or 260ah battery ?

LHaven · 09-27-2023, 12:57 PM

You and me both. We had a barely-announced two-hour midnight shore-power outage at a campground recently. When it hit, our total battery load was the CO detector, inCommand, the fridge (which automatically transferred to propane/12V), two charging iPhones, and a CPAP. No TV, computers, WiFi, lights, fans, water heater, etc. Thought we would ride out the outage easily; was amazed when not 5 minutes in, I got a low battery alarm from inCommand. Turning off the CPAP didn't help. Taking both phones off the chargers did the trick. Figured the battery was failing. Got home, load tested it, perfect score. This boondocking thing is trickier than I thought.

Mako2201 · 09-28-2023, 07:59 AM

Thanks for the replays very helpful , have another question if i keep my MPPT 75/15 charger and change out the two 100ah lead acid batteries which would be better for the charger to handle install 2 150ah lifep04 batteries giving me 300ah or install 1 260ah battery ?

Cheesehead4Life · 09-29-2023, 03:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mako2201

Thanks for the replays very helpful , have another question if i keep my MPPT 75/15 charger and change out the two 100ah lead acid batteries which would be better for the charger to handle install 2 150ah lifep04 batteries giving me 300ah or install 1 260ah battery ?

Which battery setup you choose makes no difference to your MPPT. It’s simply providing up to 15 amps of charge to whatever will take it.

With that said I’m one who prefers redundancy in case one fails so I like thought of two batteries which have two BMSs

Something to factor in to the 1 vs 2 thought process is BMS throughput capacity. If each battery in a 2 battery parallel setup can accept 100 amps charge then you can consume and charge at 200 amps. If you buy a single larger capacity battery make sure to see if the BMS has a larger capacity charge/load capacity. Wouldn’t want to have a large battery at only 100 amp capacity. For example, a coffee maker or microwave can pull 115amps if you have an inverter setup, or plan to.

MrKABC · 09-30-2023, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mako2201

Thanks for the replays very helpful , have another question if i keep my MPPT 75/15 charger and change out the two 100ah lead acid batteries which would be better for the charger to handle install 2 150ah lifep04 batteries giving me 300ah or install 1 260ah battery ?

2 150AH LiPos = expensive I am sure. If you want to add capacity you will need to add that exact same battery. A single 260AH LiPo (I will give you an example, a Battle Born "Game Changer" sells for $2499.). If you want to add to that capacity you'd be out another $2500 since you'd need a matching battery to prevent charge/discharge issues due to uneven distribution of the load.

You haven't mentioned any solar panel upgrades? That is key to whether you have the recharging capacity to support battery upgrades.

My former Jayco trailer had 200 watts of solar (100w panel x 2) and MPPT 100/30 controller, and 2 100AH LiPo batteries. Boondocking at Zion in UT for a week allowed the batteries to be used for normal things such as lights, water pump, bathroom fan. Even with the solar the charge was diminishing daily - 100% the first day, 90% the second, 80% the third, and so on. Pretty good compared to the prior Group 24 wet battery I had but it was apparent that 200w solar wasn't enough to maintain a charge.

It's all interconnected when you do a solar build - and planning is important BEFORE you go out and start buying stuff, or you might waste your money.

DrSmart1 · 10-01-2023, 07:19 AM

The MPPT charg controller capacity has to do with the current coming from the solar panels. Not the AH rating of the batteries. If you plan to add solar panels, the current supplied to the MPPT controller will increase. Determine how much current could come from the panels, then choose the charge controller.
Regarding which LiFePO4 batteries to go with, if you choose 2 - 100AH Lithium, in the event that one fails, you can disconnect it and run on the single. With one larger capacity battery, if it fails, you're without battery power.

**JRTJH** · 10-01-2023, 08:31 AM

Additionally, check the specs of the battery you're interested in buying. Many lithium batteries are limited in their amperage output. As an example, the LiTime 100 amp/hr batteries are limited to providing 100 amps maximum output (1280 [email protected] continuous load). If you have a coffee maker that uses 1500 watts (that's 12.5 amps@120VAC but requires 115-125 amps@12VDC into the inverter) you won't be able to run the coffee maker. But, if you have two 50 amp (or two 100 amp batteries) then you would be able to develop enough "AC amperage" to power the coffee maker.

I ran into that issue just recently when considering replacing the FLA batteries in my boat with lithium. There is nothing in the LiTime product list that is capable of being a "starter battery" for my outboard. So I wound up with lithium for the electronics and trolling motor and I'm still using a FLA gp24 marine starting battery for the outboard.

Depending on the specs for the battery or batteries you're installing, the lithium battery BMS may not allow you to obtain enough battery power from a single battery to power your system demands.

Aditionally, according to the LiTime website, they have multiple batteries with the same "200 amp/hr general category"... As examples, their 12volt/200 amp/hr battery BMS limits continuous output to 1280 watts while their 12 volt/200 amp/hr PLUS battery BMS limits continuous output to 2560 watts.

Price difference: The 200 Amp/Hr "regular" is $599 and the 200 Amp/Hr "plus" is $609, as listed on the LiTime website today. Quite a different "output rating for $10.....

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