Battery Question

Bottom line is, if you don't use much power you don't have to store or generate much.

Microwaves and Air Conditioners use AC power which is usually supplied by ether "shore power" or a generator. Granted enough solar and battery capacity can be added/installed to run them but it gets pretty costly.

Most of the other power needs in a camper/RV are +12VDC which is usually supplied by a converter/charger when plugged into "shore power" or running off the generator. When both of these are not available campers/RV's get their +12VDC from batteries.

How much battery capacity one needs depends on the owners power use patterns. For example in the dead of winter the camper/RV furnace could be running more than not and using a bunch of +12VDC as compared to in the summer time.

For any installed battery capacity the owner of a camper/RV could camp for more days in the summer as compared to the winter based solely on the power draw of the camper/RV's furnace.

Add or subtract different +12VDC power draws and you'll subtract or add days of camping in a camper/RV.

Many of us add solar as a quiet power source to charge our camper/RV batteries without having to carry or run a generator. How much power that can be harvested by any given solar panel depends largely on how much sun it gets. As you could imagine, in the summer months there is more sun then in winter months.

Simply put it all starts with figuring out how long your camping trip is, how much power you think you want and what time of year you plan on doing it.


- Mark0.

Some people are full-timing in their campers, so they have different needs.
Where I camp I need AC almost every night, so it is either generator, or shore power.
Generator is close to 20 years old, so don't have to worry about its amortization, when I spend in the range of $25 per season for generator gasoline.
My house batteries come from boat and sedan, so are free as well.
Why would I spend over $10,000 on big solar and bank of lithium?

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.

I agree that it's hard to justify the cost but here are some reasons.
Flooded may only last you 3 to 5 years, Lithium is sometimes warrantied for 10 years and may last longer. Lithium is lighter weight which is important in a TC. Lithium can pack more power into the same space, not everyone has lots of room for lots of batteries.
Many people use a lot more power than what you have. I'm guessing your just one person using a TC. If we were talking about a family of 5 in a 35' RV where you can't get your kids to ever turn the lights off it's a different story. CPAP machines seem to be quite common. Some people can't go a few hours without internet and a flat screen satellite TV picture. Many larger RVs now have electric only refrigerators and yours is propane.

For me - Lithium equals NO MAINTENANCE. I bought Battleborns for my TT. THen I abruptly decided to sell the TT, then I later sold my camper and upgraded to a newer, bigger one so I moved the BB's to my AF 992.

Here's my Battleborn upgrade

kenkorona wrote:
Hi,

I have a bunch of questions about batteries, invertors, charging, solar panels, etc. So I'll start off with batteries...

I am sure others will chime in but below is good info... it gets in the weeds but might help in some aspects of what you are seeking. It is a great resource. Perhaps you might find it useful:

The 12volt Side of Life (Part 1).

The 12 volt Side of Life Part 2.

kenkorona wrote:
So I hear about people buying not just 2, but maybe 4 or more Lithium batteries at a cost of over $1000 each and I'm wondering why.

They have a lot better capacity and can be run down to a lower level without damage and have more cycles.. Solar is great if you have sun, what if it rains a few days? Sure, you can run a generator, but somepeople don’t want to carry one.

But, I don’t need them for my use either. Btw, this is a fair summary even though it’s from a Lithium battery manufacturer.

https://battlebornbatteries.com/lead-acid-vs-lithium-ion-batteries/