Lithium Batteries
Just downsized from a Class A DP to a Class B+. I got the residential fridge in the new motorhome so power when off the grid is going to be more of an issue that it was before. I’ve been looking at ...
Forum Discussion
Hi Steve,
But the existing alternator is not going to "see" the LI bank. And the existing alternator is controlled by the Chassis ECM.
In the E-450 the OEM house bank charging circuit is fused at 60 amps (for my unit). The 60 amp are hard to find--so I replaced mine with an auto reset circuit breaker rated at 50 amps. I did add a 2nd charging path with a 2nd circuit breaker, direct to the chassis battery. The wire in both circuits is #8.
Back in the old days when I was using double conversion for limiting shore power, the twin 30 amp fuses on the PD (30 amp) converter did "deform" (i.e. quasi melted). They did not, however, fail.
When I tried double conversion on a GFCI circuit that the Magnum would instantly trip, the surge current was such that the reverse polarity fuses went *poof* more or less instantaneously, due to inrush current from the Magnum.
So, I suspect, that an OEM charging system with replacement LI batteries would blow the fuse before the alternator would fail.
But the existing alternator is not going to "see" the LI bank. And the existing alternator is controlled by the Chassis ECM.
In the E-450 the OEM house bank charging circuit is fused at 60 amps (for my unit). The 60 amp are hard to find--so I replaced mine with an auto reset circuit breaker rated at 50 amps. I did add a 2nd charging path with a 2nd circuit breaker, direct to the chassis battery. The wire in both circuits is #8.
Back in the old days when I was using double conversion for limiting shore power, the twin 30 amp fuses on the PD (30 amp) converter did "deform" (i.e. quasi melted). They did not, however, fail.
When I tried double conversion on a GFCI circuit that the Magnum would instantly trip, the surge current was such that the reverse polarity fuses went *poof* more or less instantaneously, due to inrush current from the Magnum.
So, I suspect, that an OEM charging system with replacement LI batteries would blow the fuse before the alternator would fail.
