Battleborn LiFePO4 100Ah; straight switch with original Interstate on a 2019 320s?

dno · June 2020

Hi, newbie just setting up for my first excursion with my 2019 Sofitel 320s. My 320 has factory solar with the Victron controller. I'm planning to swap the Interstate my 320 came with for a Battleborn 100Ah, for the available juice on a daily basis, charging flexibility, and to lighten the tongue weight (I moved my spare up there). So my question is, would this be a straight swap, or is there something I need to reset in the controller, and is the original converter ok or do I need a new one? I know there is a lot in here about this subject but after an hour of searching I've yet to find the answer to this specific question. Thanks!

N7SHG_Ham · June 2020

Technically they do take a different charging profile, and that is easy to change in the Victron charge controller for the solar part. No way to change the WFCO settings, so that would be a swap out. Many seem to get by ok with the solar taking up the slack where the stock WFCO falls short, but to do the swap 💯 correctly you would charge out the converter too.

dno · June 2020

@N7SHG_Ham, thanks! Can you point me towards an appropriate converter, or possibly steer me towards a post by someone who has done this?

blueangel · June 2020

I will be picking up a new TAB 320s with two battleborns this week. I plan to let the solar do the job of topping the batteries off. I really don’t think a special charger is needed as is confirmed on the Battleborn site. https://battlebornbatteries.com/charging-battleborn-lifepo4-batteries/

blueangel · June 2020

In the past I have charged banks of deep cell batteries by targeting a specific charging voltage with a power supply like the one in the link below to charge from either a generator or ac outlet directly to the batteries. I will be using Anderson Power Pole connectors to make it easy to hook up the power supply to the batteries. https://powerwerx.com/variable-power-supply-digital-meters-30amp

pthomas745 · June 2020

Here are some threads. Check the one marked "Lithium Compatible Converter."

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&sxsrf=ALeKk02dw2NJqt8jnmXxfqkq3xIUZ1WGfQ:1593367567388&ei=D9z4XvSfF9jbtQbp8J7oBA&q=charge+controller+for+lithium+site:tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com&oq=charge+controller+for+lithium+site:tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQA1CoDVirVGCyWmgAcAB4AIABmwGIAbspkgEEMC40MZgBAKABAaoBB2d3cy13aXo&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwi04-bejKXqAhXYbc0KHWm4B00Q4dUDCAs&uact=5

Marceline · June 2020

dno said:

@N7SHG_Ham, thanks! Can you point me towards an appropriate converter, or possibly steer me towards a post by someone who has done this?

If you mostly boondock and you have factory solar there really isn't much point in switching out the converter since you will mostly be charging the batteries from the solar on the roof.

dno · June 2020

Thanks all, most informative!

N7SHG_Ham · June 2020

@dno check out Progressive Dynamics converters. I believe they have lithium replacement charger sections for the stock WFCO. WFCO may also have them now too?

dsfdogs · July 2020

@N7SHG_Ham in my '18, the WFCO is a 35amp converter. I recently checked both Progressive and WFCO and their lithium replacements are all more than 35 amp. So the question is, how can I know if it's safe and the T@B wiring will accommodate a higher amp converter? nuCamp could/would not say.

N7SHG_Ham · July 2020

Off the top of my head and this may be wrong, I think you would only need to change the wire size between converter and battery? The LiFePo4 battery can take a much higher charge, the rest of the stuff in the camper will use the same power.

AM Solar in Springfield may be a good resource for doing a proper install.

Denny16 · July 2020

That is what I would do, upgrade the cable from the charger to the battery to the correct size for the cable length. On DC circuits, the amperage, and cable length together determine the correct wire gauge. You can find a chart on line.
cheers

1968Healey · July 2020

N7SHG_Ham said:

@dno check out Progressive Dynamics converters. I believe they have lithium replacement charger sections for the stock WFCO. WFCO may also have them now too?

WFCO has come out with their own Lithium lineup of chargers, some are direct swaps, some are built into the power centers from the start.

The Progressive Dynamics converter might actually damage LFP batteries. In the research that I’ve been doing it looks like it never exits absorbtion (14.6V) and basically attempts to over charge the batteries too often. This means you might need to disconnect power when storing your T@B. That isn’t something I want to deal with.

The Victron charges have ‘storage mode’ where they drop the charge voltage way down is they don’t detect a discharge load over 24 hours. Seems like the best solution to me, but they’re quite expensive. The 30amp Phoenix charger is ~500 bucks, the 50amp is $675 or more. The lower powered 25amp Phoenix charger is more reasonable around $300, but then you get a charge rate even lower than the stock WFCO. That might not be much of a problem if you have time to charge once you finally plug in.

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Battleborn LiFePO4 100Ah; straight switch with original Interstate on a 2019 320s?

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