lithium batteries

[F450]

Has anyone ever heard about using lithium batteries in a RV?

[camperdave]

Me Again wrote:
Might want to call Boeing engineers and get their take on the subject! As Boeing is finding out what all of us RC car, truck and airplane owners have known for a number of years, they need a lot of respect! Then there are the laptop fires also.

http://www.all-battery.com/lifepo4battery.aspx

I transport my LiPo's in an ammo can and charge them in a ceramic lined vault!

Here is why!

LiFe batteries are reported to be much safer.

Chris

there is a difference between the Lipo's in your RC stuff, and the LifePo4's.

Fwiw, I plan on using this BMS when I put my cells in my trailer. It has cell level over and under voltage protection, and will add about $150 to the pack cost. With the high voltage cutoff relay, you can use any old charger that you already have. When any individual cell reaches 3.6v, it kills power to the charger. LifePo4's are actually much easier to manage from a charging point of view than lead acid.

I use their other BMS right now in my car, and have been very happy with it.

[filthy_beast]

Me Again wrote:
Might want to call Boeing engineers and get their take on the subject! As Boeing is finding out what all of us RC car, truck and airplane owners have known for a number of years, they need a lot of respect! Then there are the laptop fires also.

http://www.all-battery.com/lifepo4battery.aspx

I transport my LiPo's in an ammo can and charge them in a ceramic lined vault!

Here is why!

LiFe batteries are reported to be much safer.

Chris

X2

I saw some of the videos of testing Lithium batteries and the thermal runaway can be a disaster waiting to happen.

[Me_Again]

Might want to call Boeing engineers and get their take on the subject! As Boeing is finding out what all of us RC car, truck and airplane owners have known for a number of years, they need a lot of respect! Then there are the laptop fires also.

http://www.all-battery.com/lifepo4battery.aspx

I transport my LiPo's in an ammo can and charge them in a ceramic lined vault!

Here is why!

LiFe batteries are reported to be much safer.

Chris

[wa8yxm]

There have been a few threads in the forums about Lithum batteris.

The cost (Well over $1K) is currently prohibitive.. but I suspect it will come down over time.

[georgelesley]

Advanced-rv.com

[SCVJeff]

Found it: American RV'er

Show #58. The GUI is very poor, but once you get to it and have Quicktime installed, it'll play

[Dtaylor]

Professional anglers have been using them in bass boats for trolling motors for several years. They are light weight, recharge fast and last considerably longer. Last price I saw was about $1200 each. Not sure of recent pricing

[SCVJeff]

I saw a podcast with a guy that has them and is the beta test for the manufacturer. Very interesting idea, but there are lots of fail-safes that need to be installed because their discharge curve falls off so quickly that by the time you notice it, the batter is stone dead. But it's amazingly small for the capacity. Price hadnt been worked out at the time of the interview.

[mlts22]

Roadtrek has them as an option for a few of their models. They are not cheap, and they require a special charge controller designed for them for best results.

[Dakzuki]

Yes, and if you add up the lifetime costs Lithiums are beginning to get in the ball park of being cost effective if you dry camp a lot. They can be charged very fast and can be drawn down a whole bunch. There are companies making them so they only draw down to a safe level but leave enough left to start an engine.

That and they don't weigh squat. My 2 AGMs weight 65 lbs each.

There is one person I know of with lithiums in a View/Navion.

[camperdave]

I've been thinking about it! I have 8 130ah 3.2v cells (that makes 260ah @ 12v) that I've pulled out of my electric car. These cells no longer support the current I need in the car (500a or so), but are more than adequate for the 5-10a that I need in my trailer. It's sort of a longer term project for me since I have more important things at the moment, but I will be installing them eventually. 🙂

These cells cost me over $1000 when I bought them, so obviously it would not be cost effective in this application. But since I already have them now... why not experiment?

btw, they weigh 9.7 pounds each, so 260ah @ 12v would weigh under 80 pounds. And that's about 200 usable ah's, none of this 50% discharge limit stuff. The equivalent of 200 usable ah's in lead would be more like 240 pounds (four T-105's).

(edited cause I had some of my numbers wrong from memory)

[harold1946]

The couple camped next to us now have two lithium 12 volt 300 AH deep cycles. Price tag for the two was $6,998.

[C_Duck]

Check out aboutrving.com, Ron installed those batts. in his
Dynasty about 1-2years ago and has some write ups on his experiences.

[Fishinghat]

No.

The first problem that comes to mind is cost vs available amperage. While lithium batteries are efficient and light, to get the storage capacity we need, the old fashioned lead/acid batteries work just fine and are a whole lot cheaper.