Lithium ion batteries
I'm thinking of switching to Lithium-ion batteries on my trailer. I was warned that they could damage your vehicle's alternator because they suck a lot of power from it, more than lead acid batteries would. Fact or fiction?
Forum Discussion
your charge line is fused, you will blow the fuse before you ever damage your alternator. the fuse is sized to protect the wire between the alternator and your 7 way plug so in theory the only thing that would happen if your wire was capable of supplying more power than it is rated for is the fuse should blow. if it doesn't, your not hurting anything as that is normally a 30 amp fuse (I have seen 40amp) and is engineered by the manufacture to be able to put out that much with out excessive strain on the alternator.
This is a very important detail: lithium ion batteries are NOT the ones to get for an RV. They are not the same as lithium iron phosphate batteries, which are the ones you would want.
Lithium ion batteries are the ones that are especially flammable. Lithium iron phosphate batteries are much safer, as they are not particularly flammable.
this post is quite old, but just to straiten out your post a bit, Lithium ion is a class of batteries, not a specific type of battery. LiFePO4 is a type of Lithium Ion battery, so yes a LiFePO4 is a Lithium Ion battery, the lon/s that is/are bonded to the lithium Cathode is what sets the properties so in this case, they bind the Iron Phosphate Ion to the lithium in the cathode.
to expans on Time2rollagain's post. most of the "myth" that a LifePO4 will destroy your altanator came from a video of a guy runing a altanator on a test bench and it was destroyed by a LifePo4 battery. but it was set up for that to happen, small output altanator larger capacity battery, large wiring and no fuses so the battery would be able to take all the power the altanator could give it. so it was a rigged test. in yor truck if your using the factory harness you will be luckey to ever see the full rates amps the power supply is fused for. the battery can only take what the system can give it, it can't draw anymore than the system design. plus LiFePo4 batteries don't accept a magical amount of current only a little more than a regular battery, due to txhe lower internal resistance though more is used to charge the battery rather than being turned into heat energy. the biggest difference is the shorter adsobtion period, they stay at bulk for almost the whole charge.
Mostly fiction for a trailer. First the longish wire will self regulate the current. Second the charge circuit in the vehicle has a fuse that would protect the electrical system.
With any luck you will see 10 to 15 amps into the new battery compared to 5 to 10 amps into the lead-acid.
Motorhome could present some issues but not a trailer. And yes my old F150 has been charging the lithium battery in my trailer just fine for several thousand miles over the last three years. No issues.
