NIRVC-Atlanta | Motorhome Upgrade | Lithionics 960 Ah Lithium | Victron Controls | Part 1/3 | EP294

[@Corvette8284]

This type conversion from AGM to Lithium batteries will be eye opening to people who have been on the fence about doing this type of battery upgrade. You are taking 10 year old technology and replacing it with a modern day system that will change your day to day RV life style travels. No more worries about AGM battery limits while running off the inverter. A reduction of weight on the front driver side tire is a big plus also. I know your not big time Boondocker’s and being plugged into a 50 amp service is your power of choice, but this conversion makes planning trips a bit more flexible. I can only imagine that people are going to want to see the completed upgrade and will have tons of questions. As you know you were luck having the NIRVC team doing the upgrade. Having Justin and Jim with their years of knowledge, brings so much insurance that it will be done correctly. I have not meet Matt but if Justin and Jim have him on your battery upgrade he must be very knowledgeable about the system being installed. I am one of those people who can not wait to this this battery upgrade. I think I remember that you said as soon as the upgrades are completed you will be heading to Florida. You need to figure out the Lithium battery upgrade Coach tour so people can see it and how it works. Safe travel my friends..

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

Wow! What a well crafted comment! I would say that anyone that is thinking about doing this Lithionics Lithium Battery upgrade to their MH should stop by the NIRVC AIM Club Tent Event dinner on "Most" of the evenings during the 2024 Florida RV Super Show to talk to us about it. Anyone interested in the Motorhome RV Living experience is invited,......FREE. Food, drinks, entertainment and RV Industry executives are all their for your enjoyment & education. This will also give you the opportunity to not only meet Sue & I, but the REAL Rockstars of the Motorhome Industry, NIRVC CEO Brett Davis and NIRVC Director of Sales Angie Morell.

[@SevenBears1]

Your rig is now the Star of all Dutch Stars !!! Thanks OJM

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

Wow, thanks guys!

[@nealdavis350]

Thanks Mark and Sue! Congratulations! Boy! Lithionics batteries!?! You certainly did not skimp! Enjoy! Safe travels and have a wonderfully blessed 2024! :-)

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

Thanks! You too! I sort of did skimp,........I pu a socket in for 4 batteries and only bought 3!

[@walltonmcmillan2989]

Mark, as usual, it is an outstanding informational video; I can't wait for the remaining parts! You and Sue are really a great team. I can't wait to see you guys in Tampa. Safe travels!

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

Keep your expectations down low Walt so your not disappointed. Sue always delivers, but many times I have a bad hat day in combination with a bad hair day,.....then it's all downhill from there.

[@georgewheeler3731]

Happy New Year, Enjoying your videos...

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

Thanks for stopping by George.

[@dianeoczkowski4808]

Mark and Sue, another educational masterpiece. If I were NIRVC, I would hire you in a minute to provide ongoing videos of this nature. Your observations and lessons help a host of Rvers who would appreciate them as much as we do. Thanks. Happy New Year!

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

Wow, thank you! NIRVC already has a master at making fantastic videos. Angie Morell is the gold standard of motorhome experience and knowledge.

[@johnstanczak5075]

Great video, great to watch on New Years Day....I can see why you needed to break this job up. Done in your usual complete manner. I am glad that National Indoor allowed you to film this. Happy New Year and looking forward to another year of great video...Thank you Mark and Sue...

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

We also are happy NIRVC lets us film the "secret sauce" required to produce consistently great results. I can assure you if a repair doesn't go right the first time, they are prepared to steep up big-time to get it done right. We never plan our stays at NIRVC too tight. We never book stays too soon after a repair appointment. Parts availability is EVERYONE'S achilles heel! Weekends & Holidays are for RV Tech's to enjoy too! We plan to be at ANY repair place we go for as long as it takes so we can have a solid, quality repair. Only then will we resume to plan our travels again,.........but that's just us,......and it's working.

[@WilHershberger]

Wow, this is quite the project. Amazing how nicely Jim finished out the compartment in preparation for the batteries and electronics. We love these project episodes. Thank you for sharing.

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

Glad you enjoyed it. You will like next weeks more detailed look at the construction that Jim did in its entirety.

[@iwasthere1390]

Happy New Year to both of you and may 2024 be the best year for you both. 🎉

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

My goal is to RV more, and do repairs less.

[@LiveTomorrowNow]

Great video and this is all very interesting. Lots to learn about and thanks for sharing!! Happy New Year to you both!!❤Zack & Linda

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

Happy new year guys!

[@thomaspope8813]

Looking forward to parts 2 and 3 This system your adding is what I had seen in a video and asked you your thoughts on in an email a while back I hope it works great

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

Coming soon! We will be wrapping up the final install this week.

[@creativelivingbygillgillia6826]

You're all professionals. This Video is definitely a game changer for me. i see the excellence the Pros are doing, including you! HAPPY NEW YEAR, to You and Sue. You guys are Living a Dream. :)

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

Glad it was helpful! We are wrapping up the install this week, and will start our real life testing!

[@joebudde3302]

You excel at these service related episodes Mark, much thanks to you and your video assistant.

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

Glad you like them Joe! If it helps anyone to make a decision to do something one way or the other, that is our goal!

[@billtorrence8102]

awesome job.

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

Thanks for checking it out,....

[@gman77gas]

Man with a plan! Mighty expensive😂😂

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

Yes,........this one is taking a bite out of "the ole weasel sack!"

[@allanwarmflash4440]

very cool teck upgrades

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

Thanks Allan,......wish I was 20 years younger,..........I would have tried it myself!

[@Rob0319]

Great job with the intro/teaser video. I'm looking forward to the next two episodes to see how it all comes together. Santa has been good to Myles this year.

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

Working on the second episode in this series today as we speak! Thanks for stopping by,.....

[@roadhog6603]

Good stuff. We had the two Victron Multiplus-II 3kVA 2x120 units tucked in between the chassis rails (same location as your OEM Magna inverter) to optimize space in the battery compartment. It was a game changer for us. I suspect you got this done in time for the 2023 30% tax credit.

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

I don't know anything about a tax credit. Usually credits don't aply to RVs. Can you refer me to any web links to study up on this, and maybe us it?

[@roadhog6603]

@@OurJourneyInMylesjust sent you a PM with a link. The total cost of your solar install should qualify for a 30% tax credit. It’s a heck of a deal. A quick Google search for RV solar installation tax credits will give you some insight on this matter. Check with your accountant. One Victron Multiplus-II unit will get you just south of 25 amps. A 2nd unit will get you close to 50 amps for more maneuverability. But either way, it’s a great upgrade. Thanks for sharing.👍

[@WILDEBILL308]

Happy New Year!!

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

And a Happy New Year to you as well!

[@WILDEBILL308]

You might like RV America Y'all channel did a big Lithium upgrade to.@@OurJourneyInMyles

[@piushorning4869]

Boy I don't know what happened to me this week. I thought Sunday was Saturday and was surprised to see you had posted at mid night sunday night, then it hit me, I was late. SO, Happy New Year kids. Maybe next week will work out better for me. LOL

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

As long as you're watching Pius we don't care how it happens. Happy New Year!

[@jeffsteele1295]

Thanks so much Mark I'm really enjoying this video. I will be studying the features of the Victron Multiplus - II 12/3000/120-50 2X120V unit until next week. I really want to understand every wire and reason of the installation. I'm really into this video thanks so much . So many question already but 1st to understand the system at hand. I feel before this is over all the questions will be address. This is right down my road lol .

[@jeffsteele1295]

Just thought of something Mark . I have a friend he and his wife quite often live off grid for several days. He has now 8 battle born 100ah batteries. He has been using this system for a good while. He has stated that he wish his system had 8 more 100ah batteries. If you are going to ever be at a point where you want to be totally off grid for a whole day or several days this is something you might want to talk about as well. When I put my system in I will put in between 1200 to 1600 ah batteries myself. This is something that you also might want to address later if you decide to do more off grid type RVing as well. Just trying to help if I can I love your videos look forward to each new one . After talking to my friend he had stated that off grid he could run his air conditioner for approximately 9 hours off the 8-100ah battle born batteries. He had solar on top but even with that his limit was 9 hours a day. Again to some this might be enough so I do not know anything else but that. I wish it was my own system and I could tell you that I have experienced this myself. I feel like this person is trust worthy and would have no reason to mislead me in anyway. Again its what someone has told me so I do not know what else to say.. If I knew all the solar being produced and the total amount of power being used then yes I could give better information. Have a good New Year to you and Sue. Mark just saw a video on another site here on KZbin " Greatful *******" did not want to say there name. Seems on there Victron installation there Hughes Watchdog would not work with there system . So they used another type that did work . Please let me know if you have this problem as well. I really like my Hughes autoformer and Watchdog units . Do not think they had the Autoformer so thinking no problem there .

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

We haven't gotten to much real life testing yet, but so far my TWO Hughes EMS units AND the Autoformer are still in place and work find. I will talk about costs better in video #3 or video #4. We did a "minimum" upgrade to an old luxury coach in an OEM way. We made room to add one more battery if needed. We already had 1200 watt solar on the roof. We did not change the old functionality at all. Our mission on this rebuild was to replace our batteries because they were old. We decided to put the much more usable Lithiums in. We did not add a second inverter. We did not run wires to a new sub-panel. We can not run any A/C. We only improved from 2800 watts to 3000 watts when we replaced our 10 year old inverter. We still can only run the things that the OEM setup allowed on inverter only power. Our usable went from 440 Ah to 90% of 960 Ah = 864 Ah We have made provisions for the 4th battery if we decide we like boondocking more. We love our 10k diesel generator and want to run it when needed. We realize our needs and desires are not the norm.

[@jeffsteele1295]

Super Mark I just saw where these other people were having problems using there Hughes Watchdog with there Victron unit. Did not mean to mislead in anyway. I love my Hughes system thanks to you . @@OurJourneyInMyles

[@curtisnikel6427]

I suspect every RV’r will appreciate knowing more about converting to lithium. Very enjoyable first video, please add a fourth to the series updating us on your experience with lithium and compare it to your AGM’s. Thank you and Happy New Year!

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

We will most certainly add numerous other videos along the way showing how things are working out. The upgrade isn't even done yet and I can already tell it will be a game changer.

[@sherriweber7105]

Wow! Those guys have a lot of work cut for them. But they are doing an excellent job! It’s nice to see how how this is being put together. Thank you Mark for these videos. Can’t wait too see more on how the rest of it comes together. Hope you and Sue have a Happy New Year! 🎊 🥂

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

These guys didn't fool around. I love the quality work they have done on this project.

[@sherriweber7105]

@@OurJourneyInMyles I’m so glad that we have sone reliable people to work on rvs. Thank you so much Mark for a video like this. I can tell this news to my friends who live in their rvs. As well.

[@lr3661]

Seems like the upgrade to Lithium is well worth it. Enjoyed the video, thanks for posting!

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

Thanks for watching! We will keep folks informed as we learn to use the system to its fullest!

[@Adam_Gray]

960Ah = 12Kw system + the existing solar will be very useful on your planned Alaska trip! I too, wish to give the folks at NIRVC a huge shoutout for granting Mark the opportunity to video document the upgrade process! As the 2023 year comes to a close, I want to wish OJIM & Everyone watching a Happy, Healthy and Safe New Year! Cheers 🥂 to another year of adventures and laughter 🎉!

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

I can tell you this Adam. I am going to work more at enjoying the RV Travel Life that doing projects anymore!

[@Adam_Gray]

❤@@OurJourneyInMyles

[@van101]

Video is masterfully edited and produced. Can't wait for the next two episodes! Thanks so much for doing this!

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

Glad you enjoyed it buddy! Just reporting the facts & the process,.....fingers crossed.

[@FotoMatt]

I would never have guessed I could be so teased by lithium batteries!! Can’t wait for the next episodes! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

We love folks that comment like that!

[@jimmartinson4280]

Super duper video! Impressive remod. Can't wait to see the final product.

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

You and me both Jim! I need to leave soon for the Florida RV Show!

[@4LowRocks]

Mark, that is looking fantastic. I have to agree with you that going to the pros to have this done is the right way to do it. It'll likely last you a very long time and be trouble free over the life of the components. Looking forward to seeing more. Happy New Year to you and Sue!

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

Thanks 👍 guys,....

[@SuperSushidog]

Wow, that is a nice off grid system for sure, with premium components like Lithionics and Victron that should give you over a decade of trouble-free use. Congrats. We're retired FTers who discovered we love to boondock, so do so most of the time. We're living this lifestyle on social security and a small pension, so this helps stretch our budget too. We had to skip the name brand components and professional install on our build, as our budget won't permit it. The one thing we do have plenty of is time to design and build a system that's both affordable and meets our FT boondocking needs. We quickly learned the advantages of solar and decided to build our solar/battery system in 2 phases, a 12v system for our basic 12v DC needs and a 48v system for our 110v A/C needs. We started by designing and constructing a 620-watt liftable solar array mounted on the side of our motorhome. We lift the array to the exact angle needed based on month and latitude to optimize its output. It serves as a nice bedroom window awning too, practically lifting itself with a couple gas struts, and it's easy to clean with a windshield squeegee, standing safely on the ground. We finished the 12v part of our build last January, with the addition of a 560ah LiFePo-4 battery that we built with 8, 280ah "A" grade prismatic cells. We use a Heltec 350amp BMS, and a 5a active balancer to keep the cells synched up. It cost us less than $1,500 to build this 560ah 12v (7.1Kwh) battery, including the high amp BMS and balancer. We chose these cells rather than a pre-built battery because they fit perfectly under the steps of our MH where our old pair of GC-2 golf cart batteries used to reside, saving 35lbs too. We insulated the battery compartment, cut a 1" hole in our step risers and installed a tiny computer CPU fan to keep this space at close to room temperature, so we don't have to worry about the BMS shutting down charging if they get too cold - or their life reduced from getting too hot. We use an 80A Progressive Dynamics LFP converter/charger, a 1,000w Renogy Inverter, an Epever 50a MPPT charge controller and a Lnex battery monitor. This entire 12v system cost us under $3,500 to build and takes care of all of our basic off-grid needs except for air conditioning and microwave use. By mounting our solar array on the side of our MH, we left the roof free to rack 8, 550W Sungold Power solar panels (4,400 watts) down the length of our MH about 15" off our roof, above our AC, vents, etc. They will cover the entire roof, providing some nice shade with plenty of cooling air underneath, further increasing solar output and reducing the heat load on the air conditioners too. We got them for only 51 cents/watt shipped to our door! We're in the middle of this build now, but we're taking our time to get everything in and installed over the winter, as we're old, slow and doing the work ourselves. We bought our aluminum racking material in Yuma, where we're wintering over this year, for under $400. Our solar panels, wiring breakers and Sungold Power all-in-one 48V, 5,000W, Inverter/100A charge controller/battery charger arrived about a week before Christmas. Our 48v battery bank uses 16, 320ah grade A prismatic cells which only cost us $1,726 from EEL batteries. This is the same capacity as 4 Lithionic 320ah 12v batteries wired in series. We will be using a 200amp Heltec 16s BMS on this 48v battery. So together with our 560ah 12v bank, we will have a total of 23.5 kwh of batteries onboard - kept charged by over 5,000 watts of solar. We removed our old rear 13.5k btu rooftop Dometic AC and put a powered roof vent in its hole. We will be installing an EG4 28.5 seer-2 plug and play 12k btu mini-split heat pump on the upper rear of our MH with the head unit mounted in the bedroom, blowing down the hall to the front. This second phase will provide 24/7 off-grid air conditioning, supplemental heat from the heat pump and allow occasional usage of our rooftop mounted high-efficiency Furrion AC in the front of our MH to cool things down quickly during peak afternoon hours, as well as give us whole house 120v ac power. We'll soon have total off-grid electrical independence on a budget we can afford, reserving our onboard generator for back-up use only. Take care, we hope to see you down the road!

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

Wow! You are one handy and talented guy. I think the electrical engineers, electricians and ex-mechanics really have the upper hand in projects like this. I decided very quickly that this project was outside my physical ability and knowledge scope! Congrats on sending us the LONGEST comment reply in the history of OJiM!

[@grayfox9911]

Thanks for this! NNTR

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

You bet!

[@TimNadaud]

Great video. What was the cost?

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

This is a pilot project that I volunteered for at NIRVC. When episode #3 is done, I will hope to have all our BALL-PARK costs rolled up as a guideline for folks to us. Remember,........realistically EVERY coach is different,....they ALL have challenges to major changes and projects like this, Everyones Motorhome Upgrade will require a FORMAL Quote to be worked up to get an accurate number. As the customer you should be clear on what you are trying to achieve in terms of what you want to operate "off grid" and for how long. These are things that the Service Manager Justin Townley will talk to you about when he is learning about the particulars of your rig, and current setup.

[@jamestreanor182]

960ah is no where near enough for a Class-A. We have similar in our Boldt (a b-van with one aircon) and we can only do one night with aircon running (which is perfect for us). I would think you need at least double the capacity to really enjoy lithium. I would add a couple more batteries, it wont inflate your total cost that much and you will notice it. For our lifestyle, we like to stop a truck stops and rest areas while in route, and our goal is to have enough power during that whole stay to not have to run our engine (which we can use to charge the system when it gets low, akin to a generator).

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

Our mission on this rebuild was to replace our batteries because they were old. We decided to put the much more usable Lithiums in. We did not add a second inverter. We did not run wires to a new sub-panel. We can not run any A/C. We only improved from 2800 watts to 3000 watts when we replaced our 10 year old inverter. We still can only run the things that the OEM setup allowed on inverter only power. Our usable went from 440 Ah to 90% of 960 Ah = 864 Ah We have made provisions for the 4th battery if we decide we like boondocking more. We love our 10k diesel generator and want to run it when needed. We realize our needs and desires are not the norm.

[@jamestreanor182]

@@OurJourneyInMyles Ah, I didnt understand that if you wanted to run AC it would require a much larger coach rewiring. I think once you get a taste of lithium you will want more, maybe one of your ACs on a battery circuit if that makes sense in your rig). In a modern lithium install the whole coach is designed to run off lithium, but that may be too much from a retrofit perspective. A single AC on inverter (even if you cant run the hair dryer or microwave at the same time) is still amazing depending how you travel (it is amazing for us).

[@tjshaw4441]

So where is the persons A1C?

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

The big picture: monitoring treatment This relatively simple blood test can tell you a lot. The test results give you a picture of your average blood glucose (blood sugar) level over the past two to three months. The higher the levels, the greater your risk of developing diabetes complications. Your doctor will tell you how often you need the A1C test, but usually you’ll have the test at least twice a year if you’re meeting your treatment goals. If you're not meeting your goals or you change treatments, you may need to get an A1C test more often. So, what do the numbers mean? When it comes to the numbers, there's no one-size-fits-all target. A1C target levels can vary by each person's age and other factors, and your target may be different from someone else's. The goal for most adults with diabetes is an A1C that is less than 7%. A1C test results are reported as a percentage. The higher the percentage, the higher your blood glucose levels over the past two to three months.

[@dougconn670]

What are your thoughts on Solar? If you did not already have solar on your roof, would you have it installed?

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

Absolutely not. I wish I had a clear roof without holes. I think getting enough battery capacity to last between power pole plug in, and/or starting the generator,.......which we or you may already own,...... is the key. If a person is looking for long term "off grid' that is MAYBE a different story. You need an ENTIRE rooftop of solar, or its just a toy. We have 1200w from previous guy. Most folks are just trying to get power for the one or two day Harvest Host, roadside type thing. Once you throw running A/C into the formula,.......costs skyrocket.

[@marktwain5306]

How much were the tanks to get installed?

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

I probably replied somewhere else in the comments, so I am going by memory now. It was 65 hours of labor and about $2500 in parts.

[@mnmandthegang]

Great video, did you purchase the batteries and Victron equipment from NIRVC, or are they just installing it for you? Looking forward to seeing the rest of your install. Happy New Year!

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

NIRVC is a certified Lithionics supplier. Lithionics is a certified Victron supplier, and supplied the Victron Equipment to NIRVC. The batteries I bought are UL Tested & Listed, and the goal is to make the installation a UL design. The new Winnebago & Newmar product lines that offer lithium are using Lithionics because of the superior design, reliability, safety and overall quality. That is why Winnebago bought Lithionics in March of 2023 to capture that market advantage.

[@AmericanMX]

Hey y’all couple questions. I’m working on replacing my batteries also. 1 what is the investment for this switch? Mine is a little different. Silverleaf said one of my control boxes firmware has to be updated. I have a newer inverter2020. But im thinking it’s a 10k upgrade at least. 2. Do they offer or can you install lithium fire retardant material in that bay? If one of those batteries run away your coach is gone. Teslas take around 6000 gallons of water to put out. Thats my sticking point. Agm battery goes bad no biggie but if a lithium goes bad you lose everything. Cool upgrade. Your gonna have a brand new coach by the time your done. 😎👍

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

I will talk about costs better in video #3 or video #4. We did a "minimum" upgrade to an old luxury coach in an OEM way. We made room to add one more battery if needed. We already had 1200 watt solar on the roof. We did not change the old functionality at all. Our mission on this rebuild was to replace our batteries because they were old. We decided to put the much more usable Lithiums in. We did not add a second inverter. We did not run wires to a new sub-panel. We can not run any A/C. We only improved from 2800 watts to 3000 watts when we replaced our 10 year old inverter. We still can only run the things that the OEM setup allowed on inverter only power. Our usable went from 440 Ah to 90% of 960 Ah = 864 Ah We have made provisions for the 4th battery if we decide we like boondocking more. We love our 10k diesel generator and want to run it when needed. We realize our needs and desires are not the norm.

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

This is the exact reason why we went with Lithionics. If anyone studies the Lithionics website they will come away impressed by the product. I HIGHLY SUGGEST that folks dive into ALL the video episodes that James did about Lithionics from the KZbin Channel "The Fit RV". You will learn that these batteries are the GOLD standard for safety. Check out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2i6ZKFrn61sY5osi=lMynaQHzghiDmE7h

[@RickandDarcirvadventures]

Will the price of this be in some video?

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

I am going to talk about it in the last video if we finally have all the data. This is a learning and training job at this point. NIRVC is getting ready to rock!

[@RickandDarcirvadventures]

@@OurJourneyInMyles we can’t wait to buy from them and have our service done with them. Thank you for all of these NIRVC videos

[@randyshay7280]

Mark, looks like you and Sue are going to be boondocking more now? Take care!

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

YES! Our style of boondocking is harvest Host,...

[@randyshay7280]

Y’all might be falling apart but not breaking up! Lol

[@OurJourneyInMyles]

You got that! Sue has been the sunshine in all of my days since we have met,.....