spudnutsv
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Re: Thinking about solar
Rv's and boats use Lithium Phosphate (Lifepo4) batteries which do not suffer thermal runaway. The less stable lithiums are of a different chemical makeup such as Lithium Cobalt. Although less stable they do hold more energy per pound/volume. With some shopping and willingness on your end to learn and install I believe you could come close to buying a 400amp Lifepo4 pack and 400 watts of solar for what you would be paying for just the 400w solar option. The suggestion of having them run wires ahead of time is spot on.598Views0likes0CommentsRe: Going Lithium batteries? Charging profile revealed.
Sarcasm activated- Oh My!!! Just realized my rolling home doesn't meet aircraft specs. Time to remove; Complete propane system, all volatile lithium based devices (cell phones, computers, camera's... etc.) All non FAA approved electronics. Pretty sure that fuel tanks gotta go as well. Time to upgrade; Tires, wheels, brakes and for sure most of the existing gauges. Now I'm doubting my 20 year old wiring...Are the seats bolted down to FAA specs? Seat belts? Let's not even start on the fire issue of my furniture materials.. What a can of worms...I'm gonna hire someone with a death wish to drive this thing to the dump right now.. Whew!! dodged a bullet there. Thanks for the heads up. -Sarcasm de-activated On a more serious note my retired military aircraft mechanic friend using Lifepo4 did have a fire in his bus. Luckily he caught it in time. They suffered no injuries and only minor damage to his coach. Problem: Propane fridge connections. Not all new technologies are for everyone, myself included. Lifepo4 based cells are a safe luxury. We have found their greatest benefits to be fast charging, dis-charge strength and the ability to store more amps in a smaller space. If you only boon dock occasionally or if you see no benefit in running your generator less then i would question a persons need to upgrade. It's a poor analogy, but to put it in perspective -Some people go rv'ing without hot water, others use a propane fired water heater and others have a diesel fired boiler system. Different needs/desires and different costs.457Views0likes0CommentsRe: Going Lithium batteries? Charging profile revealed.
Roger that, I've only done it a few times, but the 0-40 mph quickness is silly fast on the e-Golf, waaay more than I'll ever need. 199 ft lbs of torque off a rolling start, right at your big toe, if used, is brutal on tire wear. Probably brutal on the traction battery too. Please share more with us your charging rates /amps /voltage on you your RV with Li FE PO4 cells. Are you charging via solar, generator or combination of both? Would the Fiat 500e or e-Golf possibly make good Toads? Generator feeds (2)-Magnum MS2812 inverter/chargers. As mentioned total charging is 180amps (2x90amps per charger). Solar: (6)- 255 watt 37v panels divided into (2) independent systems. Each system utilizes (3)-panels in series feeding its own Midnite Solar Classic 200. Total charging currently peaks at 97amps here in Quartzsite with panels tilted. Battery: (4)-1250amp cells@3.2v in series yielding 12.8v nominal. Actual operating voltage is usually between 13.10v in the morning to 13.32v after solar charging is completed in the evening. If no solar, generator run time is around (2)-hours a day, which is roughly half the run time when we had AGM's. Charging LithiumPhosphate to 100% is non-issue and we rarely drop below 50% DOD, but if needed I'd take them down to 80% and wouldn't worry. Current ownership is 18 months with 10 of them boondocking. Couple days short of 2 months boondocking running on solar only. 43' power hungry bus w/ residential fridge and (2)-occupants who don't want to have to worry about their power usage. For us an electric vehicle wouldn't work as a toad as we like to take long trips and the range wouldn't work. Additionally charging while boondocking would present a challenge. I'd like one at home though!457Views0likes0CommentsRe: Going Lithium batteries? Charging profile revealed.
The shape of the charge curve for our RV's Lifepo4 (lithium)battery would be similar to your e-golf's. The main difference would be the charge rate as we don't quick charge at that high a rate. Please note that the VW E-golf uses lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) cells from Panasonic, which are not used in any RV's that I am aware of. There are many variants of lithium cell chemistries each with their own pro's and con's. I believe the NMC cells are more energy dense, but also require more management than the LithiumPhosphate based cells that are used by rvr's. Enjoy your golf, we had some fun zipping around in an electric Fiat 500 a few weeks ago, couldn't believe how fast it accelerated.236Views0likes0CommentsRe: RV Parks in the area of Sun Valley ID
The Meadows Rv Park is a few miles south of Ketchum/Sun Valley and is the only RV park in the area. It is basic and average, but its close and on the bike path to SV. If you can live without hookups there are campgrounds and plenty of scenic dispersed camping opportunities.291Views0likes0CommentsRe: What is the best 1 item you ever bought for your camper?
Groover wrote: spudnutsv wrote: Lithium house battery (already had residential fridge) What did you use? How do you charge it? It will be interesting to see if the Tesla Powerwall 7kwh unit can be adapted to RV use. Battery: Balqon 15kwh/1250amp 12v Charging: Solar: (4)-255w panels in series = 140v into Midnight Solar Classic 200 MPPT controller. Full sun = 67+ charging amps. Inverters: (2)-Magnum MS2800. Set to charge at 180amp/hr Alternator: 300 amp/hr regulated by a Balmar MC-614 programable voltage regulator. Set to charge at 180amp/hr.345Views0likes0Comments
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