Davydd
Well-known member
My 800ah lithium battery bank is maintained at 41 deg. F. and above with 10 amps total of 12V electrical resistant heating pads sandwiched between batteries that turn on and off automatically to maintain that minimum temperature no matter how cold it gets. The heating pads draw power directly from the batteries. If they were on all the time (which never happens) they would draw 240 amps in 24 hours off the batteries. When it is that cold out you aren't likely to sit around a camp site and will be on the move re-charging batteries in under an hour's driving. The batteries are underneath the floor in a minimally insulated fiberglass box. As far as charging them they charge to 99% via shore power, second alternator or solar. When they reach 99% charging from any of those sources are turned off until battery use drops them down to about 90%. They are 4-1/2 years old and still going strong. It is all managed automatically from a touchscreen Silverleaf controller where I can view real-time status of what goes in and out the batteries, temperature of every cell and voltage of every cell.
I'd never consider anything else again and have no fears or qualms about lithium ion.
PS. I've had the luxury of inside heated storage the last two winters but used to store outside plugged into a 20A 120V plug. Most all houses have them by code on the outside.
I'd never consider anything else again and have no fears or qualms about lithium ion.
PS. I've had the luxury of inside heated storage the last two winters but used to store outside plugged into a 20A 120V plug. Most all houses have them by code on the outside.
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