Converter type. Acid or Lithium

[skip1221]

anyone recommend

LiTime 12V 100Ah Group 24 Deep Cycle Lithium Battery they are reg $460 on for 300 right now.

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[Stircrazy]

anyone recommend

LiTime 12V 100Ah Group 24 Deep Cycle Lithium Battery they are reg $460 on for 300 right now.

​

check out Will Prouse on YouTube, he did a video on them and I think they were decent.

 

[skip1221]

I picked up my camper yesterday FINALLY after a 9 hour drive lol and I found this sticker on the panel so now I know I can switch to Lithium and know it will be charged accordingly. And thank you stircrazy for that price I should pick up two of them and join them,

 

[NH_Bulldog]

I picked up my camper yesterday FINALLY after a 9 hour drive lol and I found this sticker on the panel so now I know I can switch to Lithium and know it will be charged accordingly. And thank you stircrazy for that price I should pick up two of them and join them,

Good luck with that.

If your camper came with a factory SolarFlex, it will conflict with the auto detect "capability" of the converter. You will probably be okay if you don't camp off grid and don't want/need the full capacity of your LiFePO4 batteries. Otherwise, you will have to disable the solar while you are connected to shore power (and remember to turn it back on when you disconnect from shore power) in order for the auto detect to sense the lithium batteries correctly.

 

[Stircrazy]

I picked up my camper yesterday FINALLY after a 9 hour drive lol and I found this sticker on the panel so now I know I can switch to Lithium and know it will be charged accordingly. And thank you stircrazy for that price I should pick up two of them and join them,

just be carful with that one if you decide to put solar on the rv. you will either have to pull the converter and send it in to get it made a permanent LiFePO4 converter, or get them to send you the part and do it yourself, but that voids the warranty if that matters. the problem is another charging source interferes with the auto detect and you won't get the Li charge profile. if you plan to go to solar but not right away, what you could do is use it with LiFePO4 batteries this year and then when you shut down for the winter send it in to get it converter over and then you are good to add what ever you want.

as for the batteries , Watch some of the videos from will, there are several "cheaper" batteries than the Li time that are just as good, the Li time are decent, but price drops and such has put out good sub 200 buck batteries.

 

[skip1221]

Good luck with that.

If your camper came with a factory SolarFlex, it will conflict with the auto detect "capability" of the converter. You will probably be okay if you don't camp off grid and don't want/need the full capacity of your LiFePO4 batteries. Otherwise, you will have to disable the solar while you are connected to shore power (and remember to turn it back on when you disconnect from shore power) in order for the auto detect to sense the lithium batteries correctly.

 

[skip1221]

This stuff is pretty overwhelming to say the least. I think I will just stay with the acid batteries..lol A LOT less wondering and maintenance. It came with 200 solar I changed the controller and added another to make it 400. I would only use boon docking in October when my sister will use the camper for three weeks so .. I thank you all for the information as I would have just installed them and had no clue what to do or expect. Again I thank you all for the reply's.

 

[Stircrazy]

This stuff is pretty overwhelming to say the least. I think I will just stay with the acid batteries..lol A LOT less wondering and maintenance. It came with 200 solar I changed the controller and added another to make it 400. I would only use boon docking in October when my sister will use the camper for three weeks so .. I thank you all for the information as I would have just installed them and had no clue what to do or expect. Again I thank you all for the reply's.

acid batteries are not a lot less maintenance. the only issue you will have is the converter, if your camping with out power and just using the solar you won't have any issues, it is just when they are both feeding, the converter won't "detect" the battery properly when the solar is running. easy fix, one of three options.. send the converter in to get a jumper installed to make it always Li, get them to send you the jumper and install it your self, then you know how if you want to put it back to auto detect if you sell it. and third just put a new converter in it and keep the old one or sell it.

the other benefits of the Lifepo4 is more than just no maintenance, they are about 1/4 the size and 1/3rd the weight for the same usable AH so take my 5th wheel for instance, I replaced four 86lb 6V batteries with two 38lb 100AH batteries and have the same usable AH. they were just a trial and I am making three new batteries for it and relocating them inside. so what this does is free up a ton of space in my front storage and takes about 300lbs off my pin weight. plus if you have a moment and let the batteries go dead while camping as long as you charge them back up right away no harm no foul, were a dead acid battery is a big concern most of the time.

if it was me, I would get the jumper cable sent to me by WFCO and just install it myself, its a couple hours on a nice day.

 

[NH_Bulldog]

This past fall is when I discovered the non auto detect issue. After lengthy conversations with the techs at WFCO and Keystone we determined that the solar charging was messing with the auto detect capability.

I was about to just buy a Progressive Dynamics converter with a manually settable charge profile, but my WFCO converter was only a few months old and it was parked for the winter so I had time to deal with it. WFCO offered to send me the internal jumper and installation instructions, but since the case is riveted closed, doing it myself would void the warranty. I elected to send it back to them to have the jumper installed and the firmware updated and remain in warranty. The turnaround time was less than two weeks. It came back with Firmware v1.21 (old was v1.91) and it had a label that said “jumper installed”.

I put the batteries in last weekend and have been charging only from solar, but will be plugging in to shore power and testing everything.

 

[skip1221]

I will give it this season to see if it is worth it . I always use a power camping spot myself But for the two weeks in the fall I need the solar. So I will see how it goes and if needed I will look into the jumper. Again I do thank you for the information.

 

[NH_Bulldog]

The converter won’t come into play unless you are connected to shore power or relying on a generator. The solar alone is capable of charging the batteries for a period of time. The benefit to lithium is that they will discharge deeper and recharge faster than a lead acid battery.

Here in my yard on solar only, I am in Bulk mode for 1h 30m, Absorption mode for 1m and in Float for the remaining hours of daylight.

 

[JRTJH]

anyone recommend

LiTime 12V 100Ah Group 24 Deep Cycle Lithium Battery they are reg $460 on for 300 right now.

​

If that price is $460 on sale for $300 PER BATTERY, then the price you posted is about $50-75 more PER BATTERY than Amazon. Do a Amazon search for "LiTime Battery" and their entire product line will be listed. They have (I'm guessing) 30-40 different "100 amp lithium batteries" some with heater circuits, some without, some waterproof (for marine use) some that aren't, some in GP 24, GP 27, GP 31 sizes and some in "odd size cases" for other than RV use....

SHOP WISELY !!!! For instance, if your batteries are mounted on the tongue, exposed to cold weather and you'll be charging them when it's cold, the heated batteries are more functional. If you plan to install them in the passthrough, the cheaper "non-heated type" will be all that's needed. If they're going to be "on the tongue" and exposed, the "waterproof version" would likely last longer... So, determine your needs before buying and shop around, there are much better buys for LiTime brand batteries than what you posted.

 

[NH_Bulldog]

John, those are Canadian prices for the batteries. Since they are in Canada, US Amazon prices don’t matter.

 

[JRTJH]

John, those are Canadian prices for the batteries. Since they are in Canada, US Amazon prices don’t matter.

AHHHH My "bad".... We just got electrical power back last night after 16 days of no power due to the "northern Michigan Ice Storm"... There are still about 3000 homes within 10 miles of us that do not have power. After 16 days of running on the generator (at reduced power so limited capability to heat water/pump it at the same time, etc) we're just now returning to "comfort living"... Still no internet, so we're using the Cougar's Verizon MiFi. It's slow as molasses, but beats smoke signals (just barely)... It was super nice to stand in the shower this morning and not be limited to a "navy shower"...

 

[NH_Bulldog]

I went through one of those ice events when I lived in VT. Ten days with no power, no generator and 3 little ones wasn’t pleasant.

 

[JRTJH]

Our "back yard" is about 10 acres of woods that I own on this side of the lake and about 300K acres of state land on the other side of the lake. The tops are broken out of almost every tree back there. All the pines are "broke in half" and there are enough "flying widow makers" still hanging in the trees that every time the wind blows, something else comes crashing down... I want to get out there and use the York rake to pull it out of the way, but I'm reluctant to get on the tractor and head down there even with a hard hat. It's an open station tractor (glass doors cost way too much to operate a tractor in the woods) and "falling arrows/spears" just aren't something I want to face this late in life.... We're still "basking in the comfort of full power capability" LOL

 

[Stircrazy]

John, those are Canadian prices for the batteries. Since they are in Canada, US Amazon prices don’t matter.

for once thanks to your tariffs we can actually get something cheaper in Canada haha

 

[NH_Bulldog]

The same battery is $269.99 US on the LiTime website or $534.58 for a 2-pack with free shipping, or $311.99 and $617.74 CAN also with free shipping. Factoring in the currency exchange rate, you do get a better deal up there!

 

[Stircrazy]

The same battery is $269.99 US on the LiTime website or $534.58 for a 2-pack with free shipping, or $311.99 and $617.74 CAN also with free shipping. Factoring in the currency exchange rate, you do get a better deal up there!

nope with the exchange our battery would be 233.00US. if you don't have the tariff applied yet then you still get a better deal. there isn't much we get a better deal on and if we do its because it is a local product not sold in the US or there are new tariffs on it. solar panels and batteries from China should be getting cheaper to buy up here though..