LifePO4 batteries

ERNURTRNS

Member
So many options and places to buy from. I'm wondering where all you in Canada are buying yours from. I initially got excited to build jumped the gun and bought 2 6V 170ah AGM batteries to install in my van (I have 300watts of solar). After doing so and reading more and more, I think I may have made a mistake. We don't and won't be living in our van full time, we'll call it more of glorified camping/road tripping. All I'll have running is 8 LED lights, Maxx air fan, 2000watt invertor (mainly for shore power/charging) small water pump and most likely a D2 heater in case we use the van for splitboarding in the winter. I want to have more than enough AH to run all these in case we need to go off grid for a night or two, but from what I gather my already purchased 6v batteries even in series only produce 12v and 170ah. Half of that 170 in which is useable. Is this the case? Am I better spending the money and looking at a higher AH LifePO4?
 

Kevin.Hutch

2011 Mercedes 313 906
You have already spent your money on a good solution so I would stick with and learn what your real needs are.
 

ERNURTRNS

Member
I don't want to seem like money is no object, because it is. But with only 85ah of battery I don't think that is going to meet my needs. But you're right if I leave room for battery expansion/upgrading then a person can always add 2 more 6v or totally switch over to another battery style.
 

45Kevin

Well-known member
I know the feeling of excitement at the beginning of a build.
Fortunately I have only wasted about $75 by jumping the gun.

I got my major electrical components from Renogy. Free shipping, less than a week delivery and prices in CDN$.
There is a thread going on right now about their lack of customer service but I did research on here and knew what I needed and wanted.
 

ERNURTRNS

Member
I know the feeling of excitement at the beginning of a build.
Fortunately I have only wasted about $75 by jumping the gun.

I got my major electrical components from Renogy. Free shipping, less than a week delivery and prices in CDN$.
There is a thread going on right now about their lack of customer service but I did research on here and knew what I needed and wanted.
I picked up what I needed from Renogy as well. The batteries I should have waited on and did more research as it's the only part that kept me at bay. Sad to say it was kind of a costly mistake, but I may run with it for now and upgrade later. Did you buy the Renogy batteries?
 

VanGoSki

Well-known member
Remember that LifePO4 will be damaged if you attempt to charge them in freezing temperatures. A lot of people use AGM in colder climates to avoid this issue. Being in Canada, you will need a solid solution to the temperature issue if you go with LifePO4.
 

borabora

Well-known member
Make sure that all your charging devices (DC-DC, solar, AC) can accommodate LIFEPO4 (that's nearly a given nowadays) and live with your AGM batteries for the time being. Then switch to LIFEPO4 when your AGM batteries die.
Power needs depend on your choice of fridge. Some sip and others use it freely. Personally, I most often use less than 50 ah a day including using a hot water kettle in the morning (could use propane but kettle is easier when you need coffee badly) and an ice maker in the evening. If you have enough solar to replenish what you use then you don't ever run out of power.
 

Winterbagoal

2018 Winnebago Navion 24V on a 2017 Cab Chassis
Anyone have any info on these then?

No, but they look very much like the Relion 2 X RB100-LT batteries I bought in OCT2019. Mine are also self heating, and are good down to 4F/-20C. If the Canbats numbers of -31 are valid, they're a little better at accepting a charge in colder temps. How much power they need to maintain the heat required at those temps might be good to know. Price-wise, they're similar to my Relions.
There are more cold weather options available now than there were when I got started, Relions were it. I think Battle Born has a cold weather offering now, there are probably more. I like my Relions, they do the job, although the border closure has screwed up cross border travel, in any season. Hard to travel in Canada this time of year, but you know that. If it were open, I'd probably be caught in their deep freeze, so it's not as big a deal now. If the border is still closed in June, then it'll be a big deal.
I charge mine with a Zamp Solar ZS-30A charge controller with a lithium setting, 300W of solar on the roof, and a PD9245 converter/charger with the optional Charge Wizard Pendant to manually boost the voltage if I'm plugged in. My alternator doesn't seem to have a problem charging them, and I have no other optional hardware added to my setup. My alternator is a MB 220A model.
 

cbaarch

2016 Unity MB
hi
I went through the research about upgrading 2 FLA golf cart deep cycle 6V - 100 ah batteries that came with a Unity. At the end of the day I came up with a power management plan for the one night that we would not have shore power or could not run a generator and decided to keep the 2 6V FLA batteries as we have found power in most places we went. We have 200W Solar and an LP generator.
Basically something like this:
On the way to a dry camping site or the night before make sure that any device that has a battery is fully charged.
I run the engine when setting up if needed for things like an awning or a slide.
Only turn on the inverter when in use as it uses power when idling
We have a bypass water pump that cycles so only turn it on when needed
We have propane so run stuff off propane instead of DC power
Use blankets instead of cranking up the heat.
We have managed that way using 50% discharge - with your AGM you could discharge to 80% the odd time without doing damage to the battery.
this is a good read where I got a lot of info that allowed me to understand a bit more. https://mortonsonthemove.com/best-rv-battery-test-results/
FYI
We are from the Okanagan and travelled as far as Grassland National Park in SK last fall. We only had 1 night without 30A power.
https://flic.kr/p/2kyLuzw
 

ERNURTRNS

Member
With all your guys info maybe I am best sticking with the AGM for now and seeing how my power needs are met. Being I want to use it once and a while to splitboard the backcountry I think sticking with AGM might be best for now. How do you all run your D2 heater? I have an aux battery under the hood from factory would it be feasible to run it from there? I understand it won't charge unless the van is running but if its the only device attached to it should I have enough power for a couple days? Then again it would be nice to not worry about it if i connect to shore power.
 

firebat45

Well-known member
Edmonton....Just outside actually. Sherwood Park
Hey, I'm in your area (Just North of Sherwood Park).

Lithium is the way to go, 100%. There's difficulties in cold weather, but they are manageable. You can keep them inside the van where it is warmer, you can heat them with the diesel heater or electric pads, you can make the battery removable and keep it indoors when you aren't using the van, and/or you can simply have them shut off when they are too cold.

I've built several batteries for RVs and van conversions. Just finished one for a friend, 280ah 12v LiFePo4 with a total cost of around $750CAD. More than happy to share some knowledge if you're interested.
 
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3Play

Well-known member
I watched lifepos for a long time because $800 to $1k per 100 AH is way too much money when you look at the cell costs.
I also didn't want to build the pack.
Last year the Gyll rack mounted 5100 watt hour battery came out. It is essentially equal to 5 100AH batts, but fit into a 4 space rack mount case with BMSs and temp protection. $1500 for what the others would charge over $4k for and it also only weighs 105lbs. The batt. comes in 24v and 48v, so the install needs to be thought out, but it is also more efficient.
The "Solar Generators" are getting cheaper and larger by the minute and that will be the next easy way to get the entire setup in a box...
 

firebat45

Well-known member
I get that building a pack is intimidating to some people, but if you are doing the rest of your electrical, building a pack isn't a big leap. Especially if you're hooking up several 12v batteries in series or parallel, you're essentially building a pack anyways at that point.

Solar generators are nicely integrated units that are "drag and drop". Perfect if you want to take it out of the van and put it in your boat or trailer. But, just like the prebuilt batteries, you pay for the convenience. It's always bothered me that they are called generators, too.
 
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3Play

Well-known member
Not much point in building one if you can buy a higher capacity, better pack that is lighter and smaller for less...
 

firebat45

Well-known member
Sure, if that was the case. It's not though. While the Gyll battery is great value, $1500 USD for 5.1kwh is nowhere near as good as $600USD for 3.7kwh. It's just about twice the price per kwh ($294 vs $162).

When it comes to "smaller and lighter with higher capacity", I don't see how that's possible when we are taking about the same battery chemistry. With minor variances depending on the exact construction of the enclosure, the energy density is going to be fairly similar across the board.
 

3Play

Well-known member
Try to stuff 5 battleborns in a 4 space rack mount that weighs 105lbs.....
It's also a PIA getting the right BMS's and temp. protection.
There is something to be said for a well engineered product with all the components integrated in a way that minimizes footprint and weight.
This would be next to impossible in a DIY and I lean heavily towards DIY.
If the economy doesn't completely tank, the costs will get better, but those in charge seem hell bent of crashing the dollar, so only time will tell.
 

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