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
On the battery temperature thing... It certainly is an issue but I think one thing about the industry is that most campers were/are designed for Lead Acid batteries that need to be able to breath and hence battery compartments are often placed outside of the camper. This means they will be more exposed to the cold elements than is optimal for Lithium batteries. Generally they still discharge until the 20s or lower (depends battery to battery), they just wont charge until they reach the high 30s. Additionally, that battery compartment if shaded will stay pretty cold for a while after sunrise and the battery thermal mass will stay cold for an hour or two after sunrise thus reducing the amount of early morning charge time you might get.
Lithium batteries don't vent and so can be placed inside the camper. While many newer LiFePo4 batteries are coming with internal resistance heaters and insulation, it still takes power to run that heater. If you put the battery inside where it will stay warmer be default, you save that much power. Additionally, it will be able to be charged through solar, generator or the truck immediately regardless of outside temperature.
So... long story short, if the battery compartment comes factory heated, great, you might be fine. If it isn't factory heated, consider moving the battery inside the camper somewhere if possible.
Lithium batteries don't vent and so can be placed inside the camper. While many newer LiFePo4 batteries are coming with internal resistance heaters and insulation, it still takes power to run that heater. If you put the battery inside where it will stay warmer be default, you save that much power. Additionally, it will be able to be charged through solar, generator or the truck immediately regardless of outside temperature.
So... long story short, if the battery compartment comes factory heated, great, you might be fine. If it isn't factory heated, consider moving the battery inside the camper somewhere if possible.
