Venting Batteries in 5er Basement?
Our new-to-us 5er has one group 24 battery in a front side compartment with the hydraulics for the slide mechanisms. It's in a vented box with a hose that exits the front of the camper. In our pr...
Forum Discussion
dougrainer wrote:I have very little hands-on experience charging an AGM, but do have a bit of experience charging lifepo4's.
When going to AGM or Lithium batteries. You need to VERIFY that your RV Power Converter or Inverter/Charger can charge AGM or Lithium batteries correctly. NOT doing that and if NOT capable of correctly charging AGM/Lithium batteries will result in failed batteries and you have wasted Hundreds of dollar's on batteries. Doug
One of the things we've discovered after building/using/testing a few lifepo4 cell packs over the last year, is that most any quality, late model 3-stage 13.2v/13.6v/14.4v lead cell converter will charge a 12v lifepo4 battery/pack safely, with zero downsides.
There's nothing special about most "lithium approved" converter/chargers except the slightly higher bulk charge voltage (typically 14.6v). So what's the advantage to charging a 12v lifepo4 at a slightly higher voltage (=> 14.6v) vs. 14.4v? Surprisingly, there's very little to no advantage. It's common knowledge that 12v lifepo4 batteries suffer negative effects when subjected to =>14.6v when at 100% SOC for long periods of time. Why risk it. In fact, this is exactly what single-stage 14.6v lithium converters/chargers can potentially do, since they do not, cannot, drop to a lower float/absorption voltage. They subject a 12v lifepo4 battery to 14.6v indefinitely. This can potentially overcharge (and permanently damage) a 12v lifepo4 battery. No such risk with a 3-stage 14.4v lead-cell converter/charger: 1) they have a safer, lower bulk charge voltage, and 2) they will drop into 13.2v/13.6v float/absorption mode once max. SOC has been reached at 14.4v
For those who would prefer to upgrade to a lithium approved converter/charger, I'd suggest staying away from any single-stage lithium converter/charger. A multi-stage lithium converter/charger (and 3-stage lead-cell converter/charger) is a much safer choice because they both drop to a lower float/absorption voltage (typically 13.6v) after the 12v lifepo4 battery has reached 100% SOC---no chance of overcharging.
