Forum Discussion
adamis
Jun 17, 2019Nomad II
I have gone down the original poster's steps part way at least...
I bought my BattleBorn LiFePo4 100AH battery last Fall to replace two 6v Lifelines. That alone saved me almost 130 lbs in weight. It includes a BMS system that has already saved my investment multiple times already. The battery even comes with a 10 year warranty which is fantastic. I think many people already understand it but for those that don't, 100AH AGMs only have about 50AH of useful capacity. 100AH LiFePo4 have close to 100AH of capacity. You don't need the same amount of battery AH because you get the actual rated capacity without concern of damaging it by drawing it down too far.
I also just installed 200w of solar on to the rough (with the ability to add another 200 watts without much trouble). The panels I purchased are the Renogy 100w flexible panels designed for RV roofs. I attached them using Eternabond tape around the edges of the panels. Made it 300 miles without any problems so far and no additional hole penetrations into my roof. I am however keeping a close eye on them until I'm confident.
I am now in the mess of switching over to LiFePo4 chargers since my old chargers were designed for AGMs. Unfortunately the camper and truck went into storage so I haven't gotten to fully debug the system.
That being said, my impressions are that 200w on a 100AH battery for most typical usage is a LOT of power to work with. Using the compressor fridge does increase your power draw. 3 Tons (member on the forum) just texted me today about helping a neighbor do a cargo trailer build and he reported 40AH of draw over a 24 hour period with a 7.4 cubic foot compressor fridge. This is in high dessert country with high temps so might be a good baseline for extreme situations. A single 100AH BattleBorn would be able to handle this draw and 200w of Solar could likely keep up on sunny days but it is probably cutting it closer then you want. I think the 200AH you are looking at (2 Battleborns) and 300w to 400w of solar is probably your ideal situation.
That being said, it is a large investment up front for that much solar and battery. If you just go with a Propane fridge, your power usage goes to almost nothing and you have 100AH of reserve to power everything else. I know compressor fridges have their benefits but once you learn how the Propane fridges work, and understand it's limitations, they are pretty darn bullet proof and require almost no electricity.
Anyway, my 2 cents for what it's worth...
I bought my BattleBorn LiFePo4 100AH battery last Fall to replace two 6v Lifelines. That alone saved me almost 130 lbs in weight. It includes a BMS system that has already saved my investment multiple times already. The battery even comes with a 10 year warranty which is fantastic. I think many people already understand it but for those that don't, 100AH AGMs only have about 50AH of useful capacity. 100AH LiFePo4 have close to 100AH of capacity. You don't need the same amount of battery AH because you get the actual rated capacity without concern of damaging it by drawing it down too far.
I also just installed 200w of solar on to the rough (with the ability to add another 200 watts without much trouble). The panels I purchased are the Renogy 100w flexible panels designed for RV roofs. I attached them using Eternabond tape around the edges of the panels. Made it 300 miles without any problems so far and no additional hole penetrations into my roof. I am however keeping a close eye on them until I'm confident.
I am now in the mess of switching over to LiFePo4 chargers since my old chargers were designed for AGMs. Unfortunately the camper and truck went into storage so I haven't gotten to fully debug the system.
That being said, my impressions are that 200w on a 100AH battery for most typical usage is a LOT of power to work with. Using the compressor fridge does increase your power draw. 3 Tons (member on the forum) just texted me today about helping a neighbor do a cargo trailer build and he reported 40AH of draw over a 24 hour period with a 7.4 cubic foot compressor fridge. This is in high dessert country with high temps so might be a good baseline for extreme situations. A single 100AH BattleBorn would be able to handle this draw and 200w of Solar could likely keep up on sunny days but it is probably cutting it closer then you want. I think the 200AH you are looking at (2 Battleborns) and 300w to 400w of solar is probably your ideal situation.
That being said, it is a large investment up front for that much solar and battery. If you just go with a Propane fridge, your power usage goes to almost nothing and you have 100AH of reserve to power everything else. I know compressor fridges have their benefits but once you learn how the Propane fridges work, and understand it's limitations, they are pretty darn bullet proof and require almost no electricity.
Anyway, my 2 cents for what it's worth...
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