Lithium Leisure Battery

[rollercoaster]

As I have two underseat leisure batteries, both dead,
and its the second time I have killed them..
My guess is its lack of use, with a slow drain.

I am wondering about replacing with Lithium.
My reasoning is that they will not get killed by the discharge.

Now theres bound to be other problems involved..
Has anyone done this, or can tell me about the pitfalls.

Thanks

[rollercoaster]

This seems to indicate its all very simple,
without any problems..

https://www.ksenergy.co.uk/lead-replace ... gm%20types.

[sarran1955]

Hello,

I have recently fitted a 100 AH lithium iron phosphate to my van.

So far no problems, it runs my diesel heater all night with no issues.

I have not fitted a fancy charger, as the leisure feed is by split charge relay. I have 200 watts of solar power through a WMP basic controller.

The only advantage of a fancy charger is that it will charge the battery to 100%, whereas the ordinary charging system gives 85% max charge.

The battery is 1/2 the weight of the old one, but taller with 8mm stainless bolt terminals.

Cordialement,

[Cecil]

• 
  QUOTE
  
  

The only advantage of a fancy charger is that it will charge the battery to 100%, whereas the ordinary charging system gives 85% max charge.






Brickwerks offer a 14.5 volt alternator regulator so would that bring the charging of lithium to 100% ?


[/quote]

[Cecil]

Fairly big single lithium leisure battery might fit on the diesel battery tray ,be equivalent to 2 lead acid batteries under front seats and be nice and close to the alternator for minimal loss of voltage in the charging circuit . Maybe relocate starter battery to under front seat.

Also to consider is the suitability of other charging sources if you have them eg solar controller / mains charger

[sarran1955]

 

Brickwerks offer a 14.5 volt alternator regulator so would that bring the charging of lithium to 100% ?

Hello,
As I understand it you should not charge a lithium battery directly from an alternator and regulator. I have a 'smart' split charge relay which is the power feed to the entire leisure system including the dashboard. The solar and shore power transformer feed the starter battery.
Most alternators put out 14.6 volts, the only simple way to get 100% charge is to fit a Lithium specific charger. However I understand that charging to full all the time.. especially when driving all day is not the best regime for these batteries...

Also it states clearly on the battery casing that it will not accept a charge at -5 c. The diesel heater ducting goes through the leisure battery compartment.

The leisure battery has a key operated isolater switch, I have not noticed any phantom drain yet, with the battery showing 13.6 volts when switched on.

Cordialement,



 

[Mocki]

It’s not as simple as a 14.5v charge voltage, lithium needs a three stage charge to maximise the advantages .
However with 200w of solar, you really will not need to mess with the split charge anyway, remember lithium charges three times faster than lead acid .
Also, dont get sucked into the “it wont discharge “ thing , if you have a drain, it will still discharge them , it must be a big drain if the solar cannot keep up tho ????

I have been looking at these https://uk.eco-worthy.com/collections/l ... te-battery , just browsing , as i have 235a of traction battery which is only three years old and still working well , but looking all the same .

I dont have split charge connected, and dont have any mains installed in my camper , it charges solely by solar and my 235a will happily run my fridge , heater and lighting ect for weeks at a time , even this time of year its good for over a week
I do plug into a maintainer 3 stage charger when its parked up in my workshop , because no solar inside

[keynsham1]

As I have two underseat leisure batteries, both dead,
and its the second time I have killed them..
My guess is its lack of use, with a slow drain.

How long did the batteries last before they died?

[Cecil]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224322414580 ... R7LQnpaZYw

Most lithium seem to be tall but i Think this battery would fit under a t3 front seat . Maybe there are others available too.

[cobblers]

remember you can put lithium batteries on their side, or run a few smaller ones in parallel.

I wouldn't recommend charging one direct from an alternator through a relay - their charge curve voltages etc are just too different to lead and you would end up in situations where one battery would be totally hogging the charge current. I've tried it a few times and it caused a lot of weirdness with the voltage sensing relays cycling in and out even without the engine running.

Lithium batteries don't need anything fancy to charge them, just any source of 14.5V or greater. They all have an internal BMS which will cut off the charge if the voltage is too high, so a 14.8V setting on any lead acid solar charger etc) is absolutely fine. They will take every bit of current you can throw at them up until they get to about 14.3V, then the current will taper to zero by 14.45 ish.

[Stesaw]

https://uk.eco-worthy.com/products/life ... te-battery

sale on. No idea if the batteries are any good but use their 130w solar panel with no issues

[cobblers]

If possible I'd go with Titan batteries. They're the only people who I know of that have an established UK based company and specialise in batteries. There's also Fogstar and Roamer, but they are a Vape shop and camper van converters

[shepster]

If possible I'd go with Titan batteries. They're the only people who I know of that have an established UK based company and specialise in batteries. There's also Fogstar and Roamer, but they are a Vape shop and camper van converters

I've got a Fogstar Drift 105ah battery and so far seems pretty good, didn't see anything about 'vapes' on their website though?

Wholesale battery supplier across the UK | Fogstar UK

[Cecil]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374248798548 ... BMxs6gqZlj


I have this battery which I paid £600 for about a year ago. I have a Chinese energy monitor in circuit to my boat trolling motor. I have found that starting from 100% charge to an indicated 0% charge I get 1560 watt hours of energy whilst the battery specs claim 1920 watt hours.This seems to be confirmed by a bit less run time than I was expecting. I suspect this is in part due to the bms not allowing discharge as far as it might . None the less the battery is big improvement on lead acid.