lithium with solar in RV setup

[trophybug19]

I have been doing research for converting my house batteries to lithium in my 2005 bounder. I now know it is not as easy as switching over batteries. I was wondering if anyone has done this in a Fleetwood or if anyone could look over what I am thinking I will need to accomplish what I want to do. I currently have 200 watts of solar, will be going to 600 for sure but may just need to 400 for now. I do mostly boondocking camping. Longest Trip would be for 2 weeks in Glamis for Thanksgiving. I have an absorption fridge that I plan on converting over to a DC fridge. All I need the battery for is charging phones, the fridge and now my Cpap machine at night. I am trying to get through the night with out running the generator. We usually run it for a hour or 2 after the sun goes down while making dinner.

My goal is to still use the solar but I want to be able to charge the batteries when driving using the alternator. I know I will need a DC to DC charger and I am looking at one with MPPT so that it doubles as the solar controller. It currently charges the house batteries and the chassis battery by going through the battery control center (BCC) that Fleetwood uses. I know I have to disconnect the solenoid in the BCC if I switch to Lithium for the house batteries so that I don't burn out the alternator. With that said I appreciate anyone that could add anything or point out if I am missing or overlooking something. These are the parts I plan on purchasing:

Li time 12v 230amp hour battery
WF-9875-AD convertor. Same size I currently have but now has Lithium charging profile
Renogy DCC50S 12V 50A DC-DC On-Board Battery Charger with MPPT

I am really hoping to get some feedback from someone who has done this. We dont need a big invertor since for the 2 years I have owned the RV we have never used the TV's and I have no issue starting the generator if needed.

 

[LazyLavey]

Following...

 

[trophybug19]

Oh just to add something I forgot. I was thinking of skipping the DC to DC charger since I already have a 40a MPPT charger. I could disconnect the House battery from the BCC that way I wont smoke the alternator and I can just run my main Gen or a 1000watt Gen that I carry with me. But this limits me to 520watts max for solar panels.

 

[Singleton]

I have been doing research for converting my house batteries to lithium in my 2005 bounder. I now know it is not as easy as switching over batteries. I was wondering if anyone has done this in a Fleetwood or if anyone could look over what I am thinking I will need to accomplish what I want to do. I currently have 200 watts of solar, will be going to 600 for sure but may just need to 400 for now. I do mostly boondocking camping. Longest Trip would be for 2 weeks in Glamis for Thanksgiving. I have an absorption fridge that I plan on converting over to a DC fridge. All I need the battery for is charging phones, the fridge and now my Cpap machine at night. I am trying to get through the night with out running the generator. We usually run it for a hour or 2 after the sun goes down while making dinner.

My goal is to still use the solar but I want to be able to charge the batteries when driving using the alternator. I know I will need a DC to DC charger and I am looking at one with MPPT so that it doubles as the solar controller. It currently charges the house batteries and the chassis battery by going through the battery control center (BCC) that Fleetwood uses. I know I have to disconnect the solenoid in the BCC if I switch to Lithium for the house batteries so that I don't burn out the alternator. With that said I appreciate anyone that could add anything or point out if I am missing or overlooking something. These are the parts I plan on purchasing:

Li time 12v 230amp hour battery
WF-9875-AD convertor. Same size I currently have but now has Lithium charging profile
Renogy DCC50S 12V 50A DC-DC On-Board Battery Charger with MPPT

I am really hoping to get some feedback from someone who has done this. We dont need a big invertor since for the 2 years I have owned the RV we have never used the TV's and I have no issue starting the generator if needed.

ask for Paul. His shop designed an entire system for my ToyHauler before we sold it.

adventuresolar.pro |

 

[TimeBandit]

Lots on Youtube, here is one:

 

[trophybug19]

Lots on Youtube, here is one:

Yeah I've watched a million videos on YouTube. Was hoping someone with my exact model and personal cheapness would chime in. Been on the rv forms too. But those are all full with people that have endless money and a real desire to never run a generator. I just want to get through the night without losing power to my fridge and cpap

 

[Flyinbowtie]

Just my experience, and I am not an expert at anything...

I have 200amp hrs of Lithum, a 2000watt inverter/converter, and had 200 watts of solar.
The solar was not enough to bring the battery bank to max on a sunny day in winter in Johnson valley. remember, you lose energy if in shade, when the sun angle is low, etc.
If we pulled the battery down at night to 60% running heat etc in winter I saw the solar take it back to about 75% by the following evening...so generator on to top off.
We just a week or so ago upgraded to 800 watts of solar and a Victron 150/85 MPPT charge controller.
I put a load on the system yesterday and pulled the battery down to 65 again. Due to trees etc we got about 2 hrs of peak solar and I saw 45 amps going into the battery.
It topped the bank in 2hr 20 minutes. Victron controller with a bluetooth readout gives you a ton of info on loads, etc.
I understand what you want to do, I think you need more solar collection to do it year round.
Remember, an engine alternator isn't necessarily designed to repeatedly recharge a deeply discharged battery, and Lithium requires specific charging processes.

Just more for you to think about.

 

[bilz]

Just my experience, and I am not an expert at anything...

I have 200amp hrs of Lithum, a 2000watt inverter/converter, and had 200 watts of solar.
The solar was not enough to bring the battery bank to max on a sunny day in winter in Johnson valley. remember, you lose energy if in shade, when the sun angle is low, etc.
If we pulled the battery down at night to 60% running heat etc in winter I saw the solar take it back to about 75% by the following evening...so generator on to top off.
We just a week or so ago upgraded to 800 watts of solar and a Victron 150/85 MPPT charge controller.
I put a load on the system yesterday and pulled the battery down to 65 again. Due to trees etc we got about 2 hrs of peak solar and I saw 45 amps going into the battery.
It topped the bank in 2hr 20 minutes. Victron controller with a bluetooth readout gives you a ton of info on loads, etc.
I understand what you want to do, I think you need more solar collection to do it year round.
Remember, an engine alternator isn't necessarily designed to repeatedly recharge a deeply discharged battery, and Lithium requires specific charging processes.

Just more for you to think about.

Not to hijack but good info for me. Thanks!

 

[trophybug19]

Alright a little update of what I have done so far. I currently have installed the 230Ah lithium battery. I bought and installed the WFCO 9875-AD (auto detect) converter. Which I have found out is not as good as it seems. The Auto detect is picky. It needs to charge the battery from almost dead to be able to detect if it needs to charge in lithium mode or standard battery mode. It also has issues detecting which mode if it is mounted to far away from the battery, which in a bounder turns out it is about as far away as possible. I am currently considering returning this charger and finding a charger that has a switch so that it would be in lithium mode the whole time. If anyone has a plug in deck converter you recommend I would appreciate it.

After talking with the company that supplies the BCC (battery control center) I found out I can simply remove a fuse in the box that supplies power to the solenoid that connects the house and chassis battery. This way I will be able to separate the batteries and the alternator will not be charging the house lithium when driving and potentially burning out the alternator in the process. I bought a switch that you can plug into the fuse and have the ability to switch power off/on to that circuit. This way I will be able to utilize the solar power I currently have to charge both batteries when parked.

I am going to run this setup for our annual guys trip to Glamis and see how this works out. I imagine it will be fine as I don't use a bunch of power on my own. I am 90% certain I will be buying this dc to dc MPPT controller https://www.renogy.com/dcc50s-12v-50a-dc-dc-on-board-battery-charger-with-mppt/#op=%7B%22id%22%3A1666%2C%22options%22%3A%5B%7B%22optionId%22%3A%222625%22%2C%22value%22%3A%221784%22%7D%5D%7D
This is to insure I can charge house and chassis battery when driving and not have to worry about burning up the alternator. I am just waiting on the monitor to come back into stock.

 

[trophybug19]

On a side note. If anyone is interested in buying 2, currently 11 month old Costco golf cart batteries for $100 plus cores. or $150 if you have no cores hit me up. I am in Long Beach. They were in good condition when pulled out of coach.