Replacing House Batteries

davidin92004

New member
I own a 2013 Legend EX and it's about time to replace my house batteries.

Wondering what other GW owners have done.

Replaced with new AGMs? Recommendations?

Is switching to lithium possible, or practical?

Anything else I should be thinking about while I'm doing this?

Thx.
 

davidin92004

New member
Fascinating stuff, Mark. Regretfully, all of us are not quite so talented. But you've given me some ideas to think about once I get past these batteries.
Thx.
 

bcislander

'07 Mercedes-badged Dodge
I replaced mine with 'deep cycle' FLA batteries from Costco since the originals were also FLA.
 

marklg

Well-known member
Fascinating stuff, Mark. Regretfully, all of us are not quite so talented. But you've given me some ideas to think about once I get past these batteries.
Thx.
I only consider myself moderately talented compared to some others on this forum.

You certainly can replace the house batteries with Lithiums. The ones I chose will drop right in and include internal protection and bluetooth monitoring. For Lithiums especially, protection from charging and discharging mistakes and monitoring is very important.

You can add external monitors to any battery system, but it is more complicated and more work. There are some very good examples on this forum though, mainly in the Sprinter RV's & Conversions Talk and Write-Ups areas where the folks that start from scratch hang out. There are also lots of battery discussions there and they apply to all vehicles including the GW.

Do you have two or four battery wells?

One thing I found is the battery cables were pretty undersized and I replaced them all with the big cables you see on my pages.

If you are not looking to spend as much as Lithiums cost, AGMs are a decent choice. In the long run, Lithiums will last much longer though, so they are now cost effective as you don't have to replace them as often.

Regards,

Mark
 

davidin92004

New member
I have 4 battery wells -- 4 6v AGMs at 100w each.

I'm open to the lithiums but I'm not sure what other mods would be needed if I put them in.

After reading up on the lithiums, they seem like a better way to go if they won't create the need to replace a lot of existing components.

I'll check out the battery discussions you referenced and see if that helps me figure this out.

Again, thx.
 

WinnieView1

Well-known member
One consideration is whether or not your converter/charger was designed to maintain lithium batteries (if applicable).
 

marklg

Well-known member
I have 4 battery wells -- 4 6v AGMs at 100w each.

I'm open to the lithiums but I'm not sure what other mods would be needed if I put them in.

After reading up on the lithiums, they seem like a better way to go if they won't create the need to replace a lot of existing components.

I'll check out the battery discussions you referenced and see if that helps me figure this out.

Again, thx.
If you have four 6V batteries, are they wired with two each in series and then the two groups in parallel? Lithiums in 6V are not that common. You would have to rewire to use 12V or switch to a 24V system. That would mean changing other stuff. Rewiring may not be that hard if the wires are already easily accessible.

Can you provide a full list of electrical stuff you have? Converter / Inverter / Charger / Solar / Relay to the Starter battery / etc.? That would help with suggestions. It really helps to look at what you have and draw up an interconnect diagram. Then you can look into what changes can be made and how hard they are to accomplish.

My 2007 only has two wells with 12V batteries, so I added the two in the center storage area. With four 100 Ah batteries, I have plenty of power for about three days even if I can't charge and I have lots of ways to charge. We spent a week boondocking and I did not have to use the generator once.

Batteries are usually rated in Amp Hours (Ah). A 100 Ah Lithium can actually provide 100 Ah. A 100 Ah lead acid can only provide about 50 Ah, discharge it more than that and it's life is reduced. So, in real world use, my four 100 Ah Lithiums are equal to eight 100 Ah lead acids.

Regards,

Mark
 

davidin92004

New member
If you have four 6V batteries, are they wired with two each in series and then the two groups in parallel? Lithiums in 6V are not that common. You would have to rewire to use 12V or switch to a 24V system. That would mean changing other stuff. Rewiring may not be that hard if the wires are already easily accessible.

Can you provide a full list of electrical stuff you have? Converter / Inverter / Charger / Solar / Relay to the Starter battery / etc.? That would help with suggestions. It really helps to look at what you have and draw up an interconnect diagram. Then you can look into what changes can be made and how hard they are to accomplish.

My 2007 only has two wells with 12V batteries, so I added the two in the center storage area. With four 100 Ah batteries, I have plenty of power for about three days even if I can't charge and I have lots of ways to charge. We spent a week boondocking and I did not have to use the generator once.

Batteries are usually rated in Amp Hours (Ah). A 100 Ah Lithium can actually provide 100 Ah. A 100 Ah lead acid can only provide about 50 Ah, discharge it more than that and it's life is reduced. So, in real world use, my four 100 Ah Lithiums are equal to eight 100 Ah lead acids.

Regards,

Mark

I'm 100 miles away from my RV right now, so I won't have the info you asked for, Mark, for several days. But I think you've pretty much identified where I'm going to have issues. This will not be work I do myself. I'm sure someone will do anything I want ... for a price. I'm happy I at least have AGMs now. Lithiums would make life easier.
 

marklg

Well-known member
I'm 100 miles away from my RV right now, so I won't have the info you asked for, Mark, for several days. But I think you've pretty much identified where I'm going to have issues. This will not be work I do myself. I'm sure someone will do anything I want ... for a price. I'm happy I at least have AGMs now. Lithiums would make life easier.
There are several people in the business of doing such updates. They often post on the other forums I listed. When you get a list and a diagram together, try posting it there and see what they say. Many seem to be in CA too.

Regards,

Mark
 

davidin92004

New member
There are several people in the business of doing such updates. They often post on the other forums I listed. When you get a list and a diagram together, try posting it there and see what they say. Many seem to be in CA too.

Regards,

Mark

Thank you, Mark.
 

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