Another Battery Thread

gspdx

Just looking at Amazon and saw a Renogy 100 AH for $99 and 170 AH for 1500.  Still pretty pricey but that 170 AH battery would be a nice weight savings from the 2 6V AGM batteries and would be a nice gain in usable storage.

I was thinking about adding 2 more of the 6V batteries but this could be a better solution.

Any other thoughts?  Seems the only downside is price?  

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Lithium-Iron-Phosphate-Off-grid-Applications/dp/B075RST4R2/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1IUM7PNV6XJ5V&keywords=renogy+100ah+lithium+battery&qid=1560529972&s=gateway&sprefix=renogy+100+ah%2Caps%2C321&sr=8-2

mreric

there is a few more lithium brand that are cheaper and offer a bit less warranty.   

ADRawli

gspdx said:

Just looking at Amazon and saw a Renogy 100 AH for $99 and 170 AH for 1500.  Still pretty pricey but that 170 AH battery would be a nice weight savings from the 2 6V AGM batteries and would be a nice gain in usable storage.

I was thinking about adding 2 more of the 6V batteries but this could be a better solution.

Any other thoughts?  Seems the only downside is price?  

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Lithium-Iron-Phosphate-Off-grid-Applications/dp/B075RST4R2/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1IUM7PNV6XJ5V&keywords=renogy+100ah+lithium+battery&qid=1560529972&s=gateway&sprefix=renogy+100+ah%2Caps%2C321&sr=8-2

At $99 the 100AH would have been a ridiculous good deal.  I think you meant $899, right?

DigitalSorceress

I've been really drooling over the 100AH BattleBorn ones.. they seem to fit in a Group24 spot.. two of those in parallel would make for a very nice system and likely weigh just a bit more than one standard battery

klenger

The 170 AH looks like a nice solution and you could easily use 150 AH or more of it.  In comparison, two 6 volt golf cart batteries would yield about 225 AH of which you could use 1/2 of that.  Weight and space difference would also be significant. 

FWIW, I have a 100 AH battleborn battery and typically use about 15 AH from dusk to dawn.  Solar takes care of most of the rest of it, and the generator when necessary.  I am extremely pleased with my solution.  I also have a 150 watt sine wave inverter that powers the Apple TV, 19" LCD TV, and Bose sound bar for four hours or more per day. 

gspdx

ADRawli said:

gspdx said:

Just looking at Amazon and saw a Renogy 100 AH for $99 and 170 AH for 1500.  Still pretty pricey but that 170 AH battery would be a nice weight savings from the 2 6V AGM batteries and would be a nice gain in usable storage.

I was thinking about adding 2 more of the 6V batteries but this could be a better solution.

Any other thoughts?  Seems the only downside is price?  

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Lithium-Iron-Phosphate-Off-grid-Applications/dp/B075RST4R2/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1IUM7PNV6XJ5V&keywords=renogy+100ah+lithium+battery&qid=1560529972&s=gateway&sprefix=renogy+100+ah%2Caps%2C321&sr=8-2

At $99 the 100AH would have been a ridiculous good deal.  I think you meant $899, right?

Wishful thinking!

ColoradoJon

gspdx said:

ADRawli said:

gspdx said:

Just looking at Amazon and saw a Renogy 100 AH for $99 and 170 AH for 1500.  Still pretty pricey but that 170 AH battery would be a nice weight savings from the 2 6V AGM batteries and would be a nice gain in usable storage.

I was thinking about adding 2 more of the 6V batteries but this could be a better solution.

Any other thoughts?  Seems the only downside is price?  

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Lithium-Iron-Phosphate-Off-grid-Applications/dp/B075RST4R2/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1IUM7PNV6XJ5V&keywords=renogy+100ah+lithium+battery&qid=1560529972&s=gateway&sprefix=renogy+100+ah%2Caps%2C321&sr=8-2

At $99 the 100AH would have been a ridiculous good deal.  I think you meant $899, right?

Wishful thinking!

At $99 each, I'll take nine of them!

gspdx

klenger said:

The 170 AH looks like a nice solution and you could easily use 150 AH or more of it.  In comparison, two 6 volt golf cart batteries would yield about 225 AH of which you could use 1/2 of that.  Weight and space difference would also be significant. 

FWIW, I have a 100 AH battleborn battery and typically use about 15 AH from dusk to dawn.  Solar takes care of most of the rest of it, and the generator when necessary.  I am extremely pleased with my solution.  I also have a 150 watt sine wave inverter that powers the Apple TV, 19" LCD TV, and Bose sound bar for four hours or more per day. 

Do you have the DC fridge?  Wondering if that is included in the usage.

One of my concerns is living in the pacific NW we spend a lot of our time camping in the deep woods so we probably could go several days without good sunlight to recharge.  I would like to not use a generator if possible.  

On most days the fridge would be the biggest draw.  A few lights and the water pump once it a while.

DigitalSorceress

@gspdx I personally would never use the fridge on DC for camping.. as far as I'm concerned, it's a "keep it cool while driving" thing.. and like many others, I managed to kill my car battery once by leaving it on and forgetting to remove the tow vehicle trailer light cable..

When AC is available, I use the fridge on AC, and when not and camping I'll use the Propane

pthomas745

The two way fridge uses (depending on what thread you read here) about 3.6 amps on 12v.  With a big battery and reasonable sun for solar, it would be do-able.

gspdx

DigitalSorceress said:

@gspdx I personally would never use the fridge on DC for camping.. as far as I'm concerned, it's a "keep it cool while driving" thing.. and like many others, I managed to kill my car battery once by leaving it on and forgetting to remove the tow vehicle trailer light cable..

When AC is available, I use the fridge on AC, and when not and camping I'll use the Propane

The fridge in my T@B 400 is AC/DC only.  No propane.  And we camp quite a bit in places with no hook ups.  So I am a little curious about how it will perform.  

gspdx

For what it's worth - here are the batteries in my T@B 400.  I know there has been some other conversations about what is installed on these.  

Photomom

klenger said:

FWIW, I have a 100 AH battleborn battery and typically use about 15 AH from dusk to dawn.  Solar takes care of most of the rest of it, and the generator when necessary.  I am extremely pleased with my solution.  I also have a 150 watt sine wave inverter that powers the Apple TV, 19" LCD TV, and Bose sound bar for four hours or more per day. 

According to my calculations, we are using 21ah for fridge on propane 24 hrs a day, Alde on propane 10 hours a day for heat only, parasitic draw, and aux fridge fan 24 hours a day. Do you do none of those things?

pthomas745

21AH for a fridge on propane?  or 21 amp hours for all the items you list?  

gspdx

Well - I took the plunge.  Feeling like I kind of lost my mind on this one.  But since we live in the pacific NW and camp in the woods a lot solar isn't always dependable for recharging.  The Renogy Lithium 12 VDC 100AH batteries are on sale 10% off so I bought 2.  Wired in parallel and sold the Harris batteries.  Hoping this will provide a pretty nice upgrade on usable battery power.  Hopefully I only need to do this once.

1968Healey

@gspdx how much did you sell the Harris batteries for and where did you list them?  I'm in Seattle and planning on swapping over to LiFePO4's later this fall.

gspdx

I just listed on Craigslist.  Got a response pretty quickly.  I listed the 2 for $400 and sold for $300.  I think I could have gotten the $400 if I waited but just wanted them out of here.  One issue that created suspicion is that there is no info on the Harris Batteries page about these batteries.  I contacted Harris and got a spec sheet for these batteries.  Will attach it here in a little bit.

BrianZ

gspdx said:

...
  Seems the only downside is price?  

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Lithium-Iron-Phosphate-Off-grid-Applications/dp/B075RST4R2/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1IUM7PNV6XJ5V&keywords=renogy+100ah+lithium+battery&qid=1560529972&s=gateway&sprefix=renogy+100+ah%2Caps%2C321&sr=8-2

Can't charge in freezing temps?

gspdx

Here is the document.  Hope this works.

gspdx

BrianZ said:

gspdx said:

...
  Seems the only downside is price?  

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Lithium-Iron-Phosphate-Off-grid-Applications/dp/B075RST4R2/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1IUM7PNV6XJ5V&keywords=renogy+100ah+lithium+battery&qid=1560529972&s=gateway&sprefix=renogy+100+ah%2Caps%2C321&sr=8-2

Can't charge in freezing temps?

Nope - but the batteries are inside the trailer so as long as it is not too cold out you should be able to charge.  I camp in cold weather but wouldn't camp if it was steady below freezing.  Plus I live in Portland, OR, and don't see much below freezing weather in town.

gspdx

I did get the measurements about the Renogy and Battleborn batteries.  The Renogy 100AH batteries are just a little smaller than the Harris batteries and I just dropped the two in and strapped them in place.  Had to get new interconnect cables since I am wiring in parallel.

The Battleborn 100AH batteries are just a little longer and might not fit right in the battery tray.  Don't know if anyone else has experience with 2 Battleborn batteries in the T@B400.  Would be good info for other nuts who want to change out the batteries.  

N7SHG_Ham

@gspdx I want to upgrade my new 400 too. The stock Harris batteries should be a GC2 and if Battleborn built theirs to industry standards, they should fit. You might be the first to even see the batteries on a 400 let alone do the lithium upgrade. I am in Central Oregon, are you going to the meet-up with TWD next week?

gspdx

I will not be going to the meet up.  But if you want want battleborn batteries they might just fit.  I would recommend popping that cover off and doing some careful measuring.  I certainly could be off.  But I know the renogy batteries fit and based on the dimensions listed from battleborn they are a bit wider.  The tray they sit in looks to be made of the same material as the cover and it has a lip so you will want the check the inside dimension of the tray.  I'm sure there are others here that would like to know for sure.

N7SHG_Ham

@gspdx thanks, when the time comes I will carefully check before buying!

dsfdogs

@N7SHG_Ham I have the Battle Born GC sized battery in a battery box in my tub. This is the one that fits in a group 24 sized battery tray, not the "standard" BB battery, which seems to be a group 27 size. I will gladly show her off this weekend at the campout!

N7SHG_Ham

@dsfdogs thanks, I will definitely take a peek. Without knowing the exact internal dimensions available of the  400 battery cover I will still have more work to do

TNOutback

gspdx said:

Here is the document.  Hope this works.

@gspdx I was trying to find the specs on my Harris batteries and found your PDF.  The model number matches mine, but the terminals are completely different than what is shown on the PDF.  Makes me suspicious that this is the correct data sheet.  Did Harris or Nucamp sent that document to you?

gspdx

@TNOutback I got this spec sheet from Harris.  I called them directly.  But who knows?! 

tphaggerty

@gspdx any pictures of the new battery installation? Was thinking of the same modification since we have similar solar issues here in the northeast, especially for fall camping. Haven’t opened my battery box yet, so pics would be great!

gspdx

@tphaggerty Sorry - I did not take any pictures. 

Remove the screws around the bottom and top of the cover, remove the vent hose, and then just kind of muscle it out of place.  The batteries are strapped in with an adjusting buckle.  Easy to remove but HEAVY!!!  The Renogy 100 Ah batteries dropped right in.  Not sure about the Battle Born batteries.

I did need to get a different jumper cable between the batteries since they are wired in parallel instead of series.