profdant139 wrote:
Capacity: I'm satisfied with the capacity of a group 31 -- it's nominally at 110 amp/hours, which means I can get about 55 amp/hours from the battery without risk of damage to the battery. Am I correct in concluding that if I were to get a lithium battery with 100 amp/hour capacity, I could use almost all of that capacity?
I would say you are optimistic about the capacity of your lead acid batteries if you want the maximum life.
"Almost all" is a good way to say what the maximum capacity of lithium batteries are.
profdant139 wrote:
Cold weather: What does one do about charging a lithium battery when camping in sub-freezing weather? We really like snow camping -- is that a deal killer? We are almost never subjected to temps below ten degrees. And the daytime usually warms up to around 30 or so.
So if your cold weather camping and concerned about battery charging, then you are getting your power from the sun or a generator. If power from your source is not an issue they sell heaters you install under the battery. You can also install the batteries inside a heated RV as they do NOT let off any gases.
Discharging does generate some heat but if you stored them "outside", I would want a well insulated box with heaters. Heaters usually draw power from the battery so you will lose a fair amount of capacity.
Unless you are DIYing your own battery pack, make certain that the internal charge controller will shut down charging during cold operation. Not all have this feature.
