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Old 03-05-2021, 11:50 AM   #1
Kevin J
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Costco Lion Energy Lithium..........

Seems a reasonable price.....
https://www.costco.com/lion-energy-s...100663833.html
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Old 03-05-2021, 12:49 PM   #2
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Unless you're a Costco member you won't see a price, so hard to tell if it's reasonable.
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Old 03-05-2021, 12:57 PM   #3
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Sorry, didn't realise that.
Click on photos..............
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Old 03-05-2021, 01:28 PM   #4
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Here's 100amp hour lithium for $799

https://www.renogy.com/12v-100ah-sma...QaAi1UEALw_wcB
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Old 03-05-2021, 01:46 PM   #5
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Sorry, didn't realise that.
Click on photos..............
Holy crap!
That's $1400 American for 1 battery?????
Does it come with the rv?
Even the $799 seems very expensive for a 12 volt battery.
But also we never boondocked, never stayed at a Walmart/Cracker Barrel campground, never spent the night at a rest area or truck stop, didn't own a generator, so a $300 pair of FLA batteries were all we needed.
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Old 03-05-2021, 02:30 PM   #6
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Holy crap!
That's $1400 American for 1 battery?????
Does it come with the rv?
Even the $799 seems very expensive for a 12 volt battery.
But also we never boondocked, never stayed at a Walmart/Cracker Barrel campground, never spent the night at a rest area or truck stop, didn't own a generator, so a $300 pair of FLA batteries were all we needed.
That's $1399.99 for a 2 pack of batteries, so "only" <cough/cough> "only" $700 each.....
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Old 03-05-2021, 09:58 PM   #7
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Pretty sure all lithium cells come from China. On Amazon a 200ah battery is selling $800-$900 now

Even Battle Born is made with Chinese parts assembled in USA.

It’s the cobalt that makes them spendy. Super rare earth mineral. Very few mines.
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Old 03-06-2021, 06:23 AM   #8
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Too rich for my blood... I’m still enjoying the two Costco GC2 batteries I bought 6 years ago at $85 a piece
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Old 03-06-2021, 08:12 AM   #9
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WOW such a deal! I think I'll rush down and buy a few. LOL
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Old 03-06-2021, 08:36 AM   #10
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I have several Ryobi 18 volt tools, which I really like, & 1 DeWalt 18 volt saw, all use lithium batteries, the issue with them is the power doesn't slow as the battery runs down, no warning, they just stop......DONE til recharged.
With that said, what happens in your rv when suddenly without warning you have no 12 volt? Yes I know fire up the genny. But at least with the FLA batteries you would notice the lights dimming or the jacks wouldn't work, there would be some sort of noticeable warning.
I'm overthinking this I'm sure, but to spend $1400 on a couple batteries & then be dead in the water would really piss me off.
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Old 03-06-2021, 03:17 PM   #11
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I would think someone paying that sort of money for batteries would have some solar panels or at least spring for a decent battery monitoring panel.
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Old 03-06-2021, 03:28 PM   #12
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I would think someone paying that sort of money for batteries would have some solar panels or at least spring for a decent battery monitoring panel.
And don’t forget you need a new charger/inverter as the normal ones only get to around 12v and lithium run around 14v and have a way different charge pattern. Can fry them also if you charge them when it’s freezing out, so got to keep them warm.
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Old 03-07-2021, 07:53 AM   #13
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Too rich for my blood... I’m still enjoying the two Costco GC2 batteries I bought 6 years ago at $85 a piece
This is the way I am leaning too. I just wish it wasn't 120lbs worth of weight.
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Old 03-07-2021, 08:56 AM   #14
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Lithium ion batteries excell when used for boondocking. A well designed solar charging system an inverter complete the setup. The price quoted in the Costco ad is not in like with current offerings. Will Prowse on YouTube has many videos posted comparing prices, features, side by side rear downs of competitor’s batteries etc. Prowse videos are the best source of information about solar and lithium batteries. Basically, a 100 amp hour lithium battery performs like 2 golf cart batteries and recharges in 1/2 the time. The weight is about 22 lbs compared to 160 lbs. Big Battery sells a lithium battery technology that is not affected by the usual low temps. Prowse tested this battery and gave superior ratings. After watching many hours of Will’s videos, I’ve decided to take the plunge. I ordered 2 batteries will tested from Alibaba in Singapore. They are 280 amp hours each for a total of 560 amp hours. Total weight is 88 lbs and are equivalent to 12 golf cart batteries. Each battery was $425 with shipping, and a BMS controller $175. One misconception is that a new voltage converter must be purchased to fully charge the lithium batteries. The old voltage converter will charge lithium batteries to 90% state of charge. An advantage to doing that is the lifetime number of charge cycles is greatly increased.
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Old 03-07-2021, 05:49 PM   #15
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Lithium ion batteries excell when used for boondocking. A well designed solar charging system an inverter complete the setup. The price quoted in the Costco ad is not in like with current offerings. Will Prowse on YouTube has many videos posted comparing prices, features, side by side rear downs of competitor’s batteries etc. Prowse videos are the best source of information about solar and lithium batteries. Basically, a 100 amp hour lithium battery performs like 2 golf cart batteries and recharges in 1/2 the time. The weight is about 22 lbs compared to 160 lbs. Big Battery sells a lithium battery technology that is not affected by the usual low temps. Prowse tested this battery and gave superior ratings. After watching many hours of Will’s videos, I’ve decided to take the plunge. I ordered 2 batteries will tested from Alibaba in Singapore. They are 280 amp hours each for a total of 560 amp hours. Total weight is 88 lbs and are equivalent to 12 golf cart batteries. Each battery was $425 with shipping, and a BMS controller $175. One misconception is that a new voltage converter must be purchased to fully charge the lithium batteries. The old voltage converter will charge lithium batteries to 90% state of charge. An advantage to doing that is the lifetime number of charge cycles is greatly increased.
While I’m no expert by any means, it was my understanding that the rate of charge and the “float” of a conventional converter were not optimized for lithium.

The advantages of lithium are negated somewhat, as you mentioned 1, 90% of charge. So 560ah is around 504ah not a big deal.

The other is the lithium can be charged much faster than lead acid. You can have more to use, less time. Lithium doesn’t need to float like lead acid.

Much of this is mute if you are using solar exclusively, as the converter is for shore power. You can get a separate charger just for the batteries, cheaper, and leave the converter for powering 12 volt when on shore power.

Again, I’m just learning myself. There is a ton of info and opinions out there. While I understand some, not sure I would tackle the solar side without help.
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Old 03-10-2021, 08:12 AM   #16
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I have several Ryobi 18 volt tools, which I really like, & 1 DeWalt 18 volt saw, all use lithium batteries, the issue with them is the power doesn't slow as the battery runs down, no warning, they just stop......DONE til recharged.
With that said, what happens in your rv when suddenly without warning you have no 12 volt? Yes I know fire up the genny. But at least with the FLA batteries you would notice the lights dimming or the jacks wouldn't work, there would be some sort of noticeable warning.
I'm overthinking this I'm sure, but to spend $1400 on a couple batteries & then be dead in the water would really piss me off.
That's why you have a battery monitor or should have anyway. Even if your using FLA batteries if you pull them down below 50% SOC your lowering the life cycles of the batteries. With LIFEPO4 batteries you can use 80-95% (depending on manufacturer) of their capacity and they weight 80% less. For a drop in replacement these are excellent batteries and a little research will show you at that price that's a pretty sweet deal. If you mainly are plugged into a pedestal probably not a great deal for you but, if you dry camp these are the way to go!
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Old 03-17-2021, 02:12 PM   #17
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One misconception is that a new voltage converter must be purchased to fully charge the lithium batteries. The old voltage converter will charge lithium batteries to 90% state of charge. An advantage to doing that is the lifetime number of charge cycles is greatly increased.
Firestation, I have read in a couple of places what you have said about the 90% charge. But the charge can be MUCH slower with a charger that does not have charge profiles specific to LiFePO batteries (due to lower charging voltages). Keep an eye out for that if you keep your existing converter/charger.
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Old 03-17-2021, 06:54 PM   #18
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{Quote}
Firestation12, I have read in a couple of places what you have said about the 90% charge. But the charge can be MUCH slower with a charger that does not have charge profiles specific to LiFePO batteries (due to lower charging voltages). Keep an eye out for that if you keep your existing converter/charger.



Thanks for the heads up! I'm installing the lithium batteries for use while dry camping. The voltage converter will not be of much use unless plugged into a power source. The Solar charge controller will be the primary source for keeping the batteries fully charged, and will have the added advantage of topping off the batteries above and beyond what the voltage converter does whenever the shore power is plugged in. In the past, the lithium battery system has been utilized to run the microwave, televisions, and bathroom hair dryer whenever we are confined to a 30 amp pedestal. This allows for the 30 amp to run an a/c, water heater and absorption fridge, minimizing the need to use propane.
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Old 03-21-2021, 09:57 AM   #19
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Good batteries

The answer is yes that is a good price. To charge them properly you would want a new charger at least eventually. Depending what your current charger is some will work with lithium just not optimally. You will have to research your charger. Lithium’s are better than other options but come with a large price. Lions have good reviews.
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Old 03-21-2021, 10:53 AM   #20
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Two years ago, I bought 2 Lion Safari batteries UT1200 100 ah. We make several camping trips around Yellowstone or at high elevations, and the temperature will drop below freezing at night very often. The UT1200 has outperformed the two AGM batteries I previously had. For this year, I added two more UT 1300 105 ah with a Vitron MPPT 100/50 along with the BMV 712. The Go Power PWM battery controller that came with my 2021 Silverback 31IK works pretty well, but if you want the most out of your charge controller, I felt I needed to upgrade to an MPPT controller.

All Lithium batteries are expensive, and it really depends on how you camp. We will start camping soon, and it's supposed to snow when we are boondocking, so the batteries and keeping them charged is very important.

The UT 1300 I just purchased was $750.00 Each, and the two purchased two years ago were $699.00 each. The UT 1300 was changed a little the battery post has been beefed up.

The Safari UT batteries have a lifetime warranty and weigh 23 pounds. I have contacted Lion Energy several times while upgrading the 12-volt side of the RV. I have never dealt with a company that has been so responsive to my text, emails, and phone calls. Their customer support is excellent.

So that is a good price at Costco.
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