Ah...So you have them installed now. :grin:

All charged up but not wired in yet. Gonna mod my existing battery box for them.

Well keep us Posted love to see some pictures of you guys get everything installed I know I'll see your videos ready when you put them online

Thanks Greg. Yea I got my name in the pot with Edward Scissorhands. When Eddie and I were installing the first system on my Cougar it was so much fun. He and I like to pick at each other to begin with us both being NC boys at one time. If all goes well I will get him to install the new batteries in the fall when we get back to NC. I would like to replace them now but I can wait till I get back to NC.

Are you going to be doing any capacity tests on the batteries? It would be interesting to see a fully charged battery go under a decent load, maybe .5C and see how many amps it delivers before the BMS shuts it down. Your trimetric should be able to capture that data.

I was planning on using my little space heater, has a 900-watt setting, so can pretty well max out my 1000 watt inverter. The company says they have should have 90AH usable capacity.

That should be a good test. 90AH? I wonder at what C rate? 900 watts should be roughly 70Ah, maybe a little more. .7C is a pretty good load. At a higher load like this the BMS may shut down the battery due to voltage sag when you get close to 90AH. Another test at .2C or so could be interesting as well.

Looking forward to the next video. :)

One thing I have to do before hooking up the Lion was to charge each individually to 100% first before hooking them together. They arrived at about 60% due to hazmat shipping rules.
Didn't take much time. :) — Ray

Yes, I had to do this with my pair of Lithiums so that the BMS would recognize them properly, when connected in parallel. Did this on my "old" RV before having them transferred to my "new" RV - good thing b/c the "new" RV has the batteries mounted underneath and not easily accessible.

Interesting too that, in low amp discharge scenarios (1 to 3 amps), the BMS only draws from 1 battery. In high amp scenarios, both batteries join the party and discharge equally - it's by design. Wonder if the Lion batteries will behave the same.

Just out of the hospital after surgery so will still be a few more weeks before I can get back out RVing again. Cheers, Steve

Hum, let me think $400 for 4 GC2, or $3,000 for 3 new High Tech batteries.

No brainer for me. I'll be 6 ft under when they're affordable

That is a valid reason since, there's no arguing the initial cost isn't expensive. Today, LIthiums are only financially feasible if retaining them for 10+ years.

I've already transferred my Lithium batteries from my old RV to my new RV during the trade-in … no way, the RV dealer was going to obtain my Lithiums - that would not have made any sense (cents) to me.

I think when they hit around $500 for 100AH that will be the sweet spot and lithium will begin to get a mass market. A $600 dollar lead acid bank like my 4 Interstates could be replaced for a $1000. Starts to look much better.

People already seem to be flocking towards Batteries like the Battleborn at $900.

I think prices will continue to fall. No idea on this particular battery but if the claims are true it is an encouraging price point.

It would be interesting to test some of these $500ish dollar 100AH LFP batteries and see how they perform. I have seen a few in this price range and a couple even cheaper.

$500 100AH Lithium Battery with BMS

In this video, I detail the installation of my new 3 Lion Energy Safari UT 100AH 12V lithium batteries.



First, I show how I charge the battery using my PD9260CV InteliPower charge converter. The new batteries come only partially charged due to shipping regulations.

I needed to charge each to 100% before I could wire them together as a parallel bank. The PD9260 with manual boost mode of 14.4VDC did the job.

Next, after screwing down my Century Plastics battery box, I install the three new Safari UT batteries inside. For wiring, I was able to reuse the 2/0 cabling from my old lead acid 4 battery bank.

I used the foam packaging from the new batteries as insulation and shims to keep the batteries in place and then used a ratchet strap to snug them down.

Finally, I show how I set up my Trimetric Monitor and Bogart Solar Charge Controller combination to properly charge the new lithium battery bank.

Links Mentioned in the video:

Lion Energy Battery Video Playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLp14lzXh07untqLBePms4b-337M031vJn

IOTA IQ-LIFEPO charger - https://www.iotaengineering.com/IQ/#!/detail/IQ-LIFEPO

All Battery Sales and Service - https://allbatterysalesandservice.com/

Lion Energy Website - https://lionenergy.com/collections/portable-power/products/lion-safari-ut

Bogart Engineering Website - http://www.bogartengineering.com/

I sure like your lithium battery install. Great job wiring, nice and clean. Are you going to heat your battery compartment? From what I have read so far on lithium technology does not like charging at low temperature. They shut down at a set temperature. I see a lot of people are installing them inside there coaches or trailers so they don’t get to cold or to hot. I’m thinking of going with Trojan’s new lithium battery 110 ah. Drop in replacement just like yours. Good luck and enjoy all those amp hours.

I'm going to wait and see how it goes. We travel south in the winter and for the most part, avoid any freezing daytime weather. Some times we'll get some colder nights that dip below freezing but the batteries will still discharge to -4F and for sure we never see that. In 8 years of full time RVing the coldest outside has been is in the low 20's F at night. And, that is outside, my front storage bay stays a little warmer than outside since the RV that is being heated next to it.

Our bedroom is right above. I run the RV gas furnace pretty consistently on freezing nights to keep the plumbing from freezing, there is a duct to the enclosed underbelly. Also, the batteries are in a box and they create a little bit of heat of there own. I'll monitor the temps in there versus outside ambient this winter to get a feel for the difference. Worse case, if I'm in sub-freezing temps and my 300 AH lithium bank is severely depleted is to fire my portable generator and run a space heater in the battery compartment.

Just enjoy those wonderful amp hours camping down south.
Safe travels

I recently watched a video bench testing different MPPT vs PWM chargers in different sun conditions. Surprisingly there was very little difference. In some cases the PWM charger was doing better. You may find that your energy harvesting won't improve much with a different charger.

Enjoyed the update. Making me envious.

Seems to work well for us. :)
One thought I had to save money in an upgrade is just add a second SC2030 controller and three more panels. Two controllers can be ganged in tandem and the Trimetric understands it and balances them. Gives a 60 amp max charge current. I think Eddie is running dual Morningstar Tristar PWMs

that would do it. MORE POWER YOU BET!!!!

300 more, that would make a total of 700 on the roof plus 100 on the ground? That along with another charger and LFP batteries you will be loving the power. You might be tempted to upsize your inverter and be able to run the microwave or any other high load appliances.

It never ends :wink:

Yes, 800W total. I'd spit the system 400W to each controller.
This is the controller setup - http://www.bogartengineering.com/wp-content/uploads/docs/SC-2-Kit%20Instructions_Bogart%20Engineering.pdf
The controller is $120 and Renogy 100W panels are currently $113 each. Would be a good bang for the buck upgrade.

Since you are going to run a separate CC for the added panels you might consider going to 2 larger panels rather than 3 smaller ones. Here are 180 watt 12v nom panels that get you under a buck a watt. You would have 360 watts with less cabling, holes in the roof etc. for $330 dollars vs 300 watts for $339.

https://www.continuousresources.com/collections/solar-panels-and-hardware/products/180w-36-cell-12v-nominal-solar-panel
Not sure about shipping to Canada though.

Thanks could be a plan, I'll have to see how my roof spacing works out. I won't bother with the upgrade until I'm south for the winter, maybe a Santa gift. ;)

Ray, that was another great instructional video. Thanks for sharing such an easy to understand install explanation. Love the idea of the weight of the new battery takes everything a guy has to hoist the old ones in and out.

Thanks Dale. I've updated the battery box mod today, beefing things up a bit.

Quick update video showing changes I made to the first mod

Wow, Cadillac batteries and there penthouse. Good idea great security.

Boy oh boy, You sure making my life a little easier. When I get back to NC to have Mobilehomestead Solar Service (our friend Eddie) to upgrade my batteries, my battery box's which you refered me to back in 2015 will work as you've shown. I'll be able to use those hoses somewhere else, like maybe duct some warm air somehow. Boy how you've been such a great help over the yrs. I remember the A/C fix on our ole Cougar, where the water was rerouted with the dicor. Been some great work Ray and we know theres more to come. Thumbs up.

Thanks Rush. :)

I'm excited hear how the Lion option does. I have been holding off on this upgrade hoping for a more affordable option other than BB. Thanks - Bryan