Battery Question
Hi, I have a bunch of questions about batteries, invertors, charging, solar panels, etc. So I'll start off with batteries... My TC came equipped with 2 Interstate Marine/RV Deep Cycle SRM-27 b...
Forum Discussion
How much electricity you use is very much a function of how you live and work. You don’t have to use a microwave or a tv or a laptop computer or an electric coffee maker or popcorn popper or hair drier or more than one light or a heater, fan, etc. But the more of them you want, the more power you will use. Captain Obvious, I know.
But you asked about batteries, so let me explain. Your pair of inexpensive lead acid batteries afford you around 300-500 charge discharge cycles provided you never discharge them more than 50%. A typical lithium iron phosphate battery will go around 10 times as many cycles at 80% discharge. That $125 flooded cell battery of which you wrote has only about 80 amp hours capacity, and the pair will allow you to draw only 80 AH before needing a recharge. A single 100 AH LiFePO4 costing that $1000 will also easily give you 80 AH. To cover the same total lifespan of the lithium battery using the batteries you have will cost at least $2500. I say at least because they will not be cheaper in the future when you will be buying the second through tenth pair. That is a big reason people are buying lithium. The other is weight. Those two batteries you have probably weigh around 150 lbs. The lithium battery tops the scales in the 20-30 lb range.
So if you were someone who found themselves burning through enough electricity to warrant a half dozen batteries, the advantage in long term cost and weight would be significant.
But you asked about batteries, so let me explain. Your pair of inexpensive lead acid batteries afford you around 300-500 charge discharge cycles provided you never discharge them more than 50%. A typical lithium iron phosphate battery will go around 10 times as many cycles at 80% discharge. That $125 flooded cell battery of which you wrote has only about 80 amp hours capacity, and the pair will allow you to draw only 80 AH before needing a recharge. A single 100 AH LiFePO4 costing that $1000 will also easily give you 80 AH. To cover the same total lifespan of the lithium battery using the batteries you have will cost at least $2500. I say at least because they will not be cheaper in the future when you will be buying the second through tenth pair. That is a big reason people are buying lithium. The other is weight. Those two batteries you have probably weigh around 150 lbs. The lithium battery tops the scales in the 20-30 lb range.
So if you were someone who found themselves burning through enough electricity to warrant a half dozen batteries, the advantage in long term cost and weight would be significant.
