Positive and negative issues about lithium batteries for RV's

www.lifebluebattery.com/rv-boa...
BIM is at: battlebornbatteries.com/shop/...

[@alsantos5518]

Jerry I glad I run into this vlog and made me understand RV batteries as a noob, thanks

[@Rickbass2481]

Thanks so much for your video about batteries. I purchased this same brand because of your information and they have been an RV dream. I especially love the built in Bluetooth monitoring. That has saved me hundreds of dollars on battery monitoring equipment. I did have to upgrade my battery charger to fully enjoy the fast charging capabilities of lithium batteries.

[@carjack69]

Jerry you job in this video is awesome.....I respect all the RV people say about the BB batteries....but I see you research between the money/power/life of the batteries and is an awesome research.

[@SolarPowerMyRV]

Great video. Lifeblue batteries are great

[@alanpetersen4615]

Wow! What a great video! You are greatly informative, thank you

[@RubenLakeSide]

Jerry, great video and content but would have preferred a two or three part video. That’s said, excellent content and you covered more ground with more facts than any other Li battery review that I’ve watched. I do have one comment relating to the zero charge comment. At least in my case I don’t think that is possible. I have BB Li batteries and it is my experience that if you run the batteries really low they simply shutdown. The onboard battery control module simply shuts down the battery to prevent damage. I have had this occur on two occasions and it was never my intent to do a full drain, but stuff happens. There is, however, the next problem in that your charger sees nothing to charge so you need to jump your batteries with an appropriate voltage source to trigger the charger to start charging.

[@jamesmashinske3198]

Jerry, great video and content. I was wondering about your BIM 225, I have a Thor Chateau 24f it has a factory installed BIM with a emergency switch that you can use your house battery to start engine if needed.(don't care if the emergency part works or not, but how did you wire your new BIM? did you have a factory installed one to replace with the new 225? I have everything upgraded except the BIM am a little gun shy on this part. Any help would help. Thanks Jim

[@tonyg7184]

Great job!!

[@haroldfitz5146]

Jerry, I think you know as much about batteries as anyone does. That was definitely a thumbs up presentation. - Hal

[@howardgoldstein7867]

Jerry, did you get the alternator adapter installed and is it working like you expected? Thanks

[@ianwilliams1688]

Well explained

[@TheChadWork2001]

Jerry, that extra battery in your bedroom, does that indicate that the 600 AHrs you already have weren't enough? Are you going to get another LifeBlue coach battery to replace the temporary one in the bedroom?

[@legaleagleandpaws8198]

No link for the BIM alt charger???

[@johnevans4080]

Thanks for your video--very helpful. How do you charge the 100ah in the bedroom? Thinking about doing the same thing with an inverter to run some 110v small items like cpap. Thanks.

[@KhoaLe-zy2mq]

Great video, I am more of a fan of USA made products

[@donkeykong516]

Only difference is the big hole in your wallet

[@StringerNews1]

There are several distinctly different lithium chemistries, and the kind that we see used most often for automotive applications is lithium iron phosphate, because 4 LiFePO4 cells make a battery of similar voltage as a 6-cell lead acid battery. In the home the need to have "12V" isn't as necessary, so you'll see other types for solar and backup power. Some LiFePO4 vendors advertise their batteries as "drop-in replacements" for lead acid, and while that can work to some extent, you really should charge them with a charger made specifically for LiFePO4 batteries. Lead acid batteries have three or four phases to charging: the first being constant current, the second being constant voltage, and finally a float charge to top them off because self-discharge is a major issue with them. In addition to that, many lead acid chargers have a desulfation program that tries to remove plate sulfation with high voltage. In reality, once a lead battery is sulfated, it cannot be reversed, so this is a wasted effort and a potential to do great harm to lithium batteries. Lithium cells have no water, so they do not freeze at 32 degrees. The number that I see quoted most often for LiFePO4 is 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Below that, trying to charge them can do damage. Lead acid chemistry should be charged with one or more temperature sensors to limit charge current as battery temperature approaches freezing, and if the battery becomes overheated. When switching to lithium, you need a charger with temperature sensors and charge settings for lithium, not lead, or the lifetime will be cut short. This is a must to protect your investment! No, direct alternator charging is not a good idea unless you have an alternator, voltage regulator and charger set specifically for lithium. The "smart" charging systems for newer automotive engines puts out voltages in excess of 14.6V, which a lead acid cranking battery can withstand for short periods, but when used on lithium batteries will shorten the lifespan. While lead acid batteries should be kept at a 100% charge when not in use, lithium cells benefit greatly from _not_ keeping them at 100% all the time. Storing them at 40-50% charge in a cool place will help extend their life, and charging them short of a full charge and using a smaller percent of total capacity can extend cycle life to 10,000 cycles or more. Using a programmable solar charge controller and setting it to a fraction of a Volt lower than maximum voltage can add hundreds of cycles while still allowing 90% of more of full capacity to be used. Lithium chargers have constant current and constant voltage phases, and that's it. There's no need for a float charge because of low self-discharge, and since there's no sulfuric acid solution, absolutely no desulfation phase! You can use an automotive charger (without desulfation) in a pinch, but you need to monitor battery voltage and stop charging at 14.5V or less to prevent damage. Overcharge flooded batteries and replacing the boiled-off water will restore them; overcharge lithium and there's lasting damage. Unlike lead acid, you cannot guess accurately the state of charge of lithium batteries. So if you have a "battery meter" that only reads voltage and not current, and was calibrated for lead acid batteries, what it displays as a percentage is not reliable. This should be replaced with a shunt type that measures the energy going into and out of the battery. These need to be calibrated per instructions to give accurate readings. They do cost more than simple volt meters, but are well worth it IMO. That's absolutely correct that lithium is cheaper when amortized over the full lifetime of the battery. Lead acid batteries cost less per unit, but must be replaced on a regular basis as sulfation and dead cells take them out of service. Lithium cells tend to be more reliable, so the things that put lead acid cells out of service typically don't happen to lithium. One reason for a wide range of prices for RV grade lithium batteries is that the more costly ones can have warranties of 10 years, so if anything unusual happens to the battery, you get a free replacement. Barring product flaws, the number of cycles of a lithium battery are measured to 80% of the original capacity. So the lithium battery 10 years from now will likely not fail, it will simply have less than the original capacity. Lead acid batteries are usually rated at a maximum theoretical discharge, but if you cycle even a deep cycle battery down to 0% even once, the lifespan will be cut short. So the real, usable capacity of a lead acid battery is typically only half its rated capacity. In contrast, lithium batteries can be cycled from a full charge down to cutoff voltage (where the BMS should step in and disconnect the battery) and give full rated capacity. In other words, a 100 Ah lithium battery is worth 2 100 Ah lead acid batteries in regular use. So if you replace 4 100 Ah lead acid batteries with 4 100 Ah lithium batteries, you're getting nearly twice the usable capacity. And 20, 30 years down the road, the usable capacity will still be better than that of a new set of lead acid batteries. If you replace your lithium batteries when they reach 80% of rated capacity, you can sell the used ones for half what you paid for them originally. There is a big market in used lithium batteries and cells. I'm not aware of a battery BMS that requires it to be shipped back to the factory to be reset. Most reset by themselves once the load is removed and/or a charging voltage is applied. Some chargers work better than others, and a few "smart" batteries require an included switch to be used to turn them back on. At worst you may need to isolate individual batteries and charge them separately before you can charge the large "battery of batteries" in bulk. Lead acid batteries do release a highly combustible mixture of hydrogen and oxygen gas, so keeping them inside can be very dangerous. Lithium batteries can release a lot of energy if damaged in a crash or suffer some other trauma. Lithium ion batteries are known to "burst into flame" when overcharged or shorted out, but those are extreme circumstances caused by poorly designed charging circuits inside phones and other cheap toys. LiFePO4 is not nearly as susceptible to this. You don't want to rely on the BMS to take the batteries offline to prevent overcharging, because then they're not available to be used when you need them. Do set your solar charge controller or AC powered charger to quit charging before the maximum voltage is reached, and have your battery monitor sound an alarm if voltage gets too low, so you can remove load and/or fire up a generator to recharge them. As for selling the whole coach with batteries, if you plan on buying another, you may want to take the lithium batteries, chargers and monitor with you to put in your new RV, and then put back the equipment for lead acid with a fresh set of lead acid batteries. Someone buying a used coach probably will not pay you what the lithium equipment is worth, and will be thrilled to have fresh batteries of any kind.

[@TheChadWork2001]

Very informative about the benefits of Lithium batteries over lead acid batteries Jerry. Thanks! Did you estimate all of your power needs in the coach, add them up, and that's how you decided on two 300AHr batteries?

[@byronewhite]

Life Blue says no bim necessary. The battery has a built in computer to sense this. According to LifeBlue. Now if you are doing a van remodel the bim is a great idea.

[@theodorehyatt1782]

Hey Jerry liked the video but since you did it things have changed . No really price has dropped and quality is up even some cheaper batteries have all the bells and whistles of them 1000.00 dollar ones. Keep the rubber side down and live free

[@theodorehyatt1782]

@@jerrydixon well if my batteries are in o* weather someone stole them

[@james10739]

Will prowse has a video on a charger that charges lithium batteries from your alternator that is current limited because they can take a lot of amps so may be to much for the alternator

[@doloresmccartney3186]

Love Will, great kid and... SMART, a good teacher.

[@henrygrey3228]

i realize it's kinda off topic but do anybody know a good site to stream new tv shows online ?

[@james10739]

@@henrygrey3228 definitely off topic but if you have a device you can install KODI on and then google best kodi add-ons

[@boonesimon3712]

@Henry Grey try flixzone. Just search on google for it :)

[@trippgiovanni6581]

@Henry Grey I watch on FlixZone. You can find it on google :)

[@dannybartlett4225]

I no a lot of people are takeing there lead acid batteries out and trying to replace them with lithium batteries with out changing there wireing looms as your need a different charger and and new control unit that will use the power thats available.

[@kirk326]

Another great informative video Jerry. As always thank you! Appreciate your straightforward and thorough discussion topics.

[@brucegillingham2793]

Jerry I am less then halfway through this video and it is more information then I have obtained so far watching most every other KZbinr.

[@stephenboldrey9973]

You can charge a lithium battery with a Dc to Dc charger straight of you starter battery system. A DC To DC charger is the best way to charge lithium

[@stephenboldrey9973]

It doesn’t drain my starter battery at all .

[@stephenboldrey9973]

It doesn’t drain it because the alternator and the DC to DC charger work to gather. It takes minimum power from the starter battery boost it up to the desired voltage your house battery requires . By selecting the battery type you have. So it charges at the recommended volts then so it will push a full charge of 14.4 or 14.6 at the end of the charge cycle. Giving you a truly full charge . Then it just goes to the Minimum trickel charge you need to maintain a full charge . You can get them in different Amperage . I have a 20 amp DC DC charger with a 105 amp AGM battery I can run it down to 60% and it will charge it in about 2 hr of driving. And at the same time keeping my starter battery full . And they work a lot better with Lithium batteries . Very fast charge. . It’s really the best way to go with to days new cars or trucks they work well with the smart alternator’s all vehicle’s have now a days.

[@stephenboldrey9973]

DC to DC Battery Chargers - Dual Battery Setups | REDARC Electronics

[@stephenboldrey9973]

Renogy 12V DC to DC On-Board Battery

[@legaleagleandpaws8198]

Whoops I found it...thought that link was for the battle born batteries themselves...lol

[@stevefitzgerald9193]

u should have bought battle born!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@stevefitzgerald9193]

@@jerrydixon well, at least that was a good answer. now they have a heated battery