Lithium ugrade question

[T-Oliver]

I haved admired everyone's upgrade projects

Could the process br as simple as:

Swap the PD charging module

Swap the AGM for lithium

Reprogram Blue Sky charge controller

2017 Elite II Hull 254

[jd1923]

1 hour ago, T-Oliver said:

Could the process be as simple as...

Yes, this will work if all you want is the battery upgrade.

Today is the LAST day for 15% OFF Epoch Batteries if you're thinking this product!

[ScubaRx]

1 hour ago, T-Oliver said:

Could the process be as simple as:

2017 Elite II Hull 254

Yes, that will upgrade the AGM's to Lithium. There are some other considerations, however. You will have to change about a dozen of the settings on the IPN-Pro. If you've never done this before, it can be daunting. It is not intuitive, it's relatively complicated and you WILL mess up, more than once before it's done. Don't bother calling Oliver, they have no idea how to do it, never did, never will. I will be happy to assist you if you go this route.

[Steve and MA]

Ours is a 2022, so not familiar with the PD (shore power?) and Blue Sky (solar) charge controllers.  What about the 12v feed coming from the TV?  Should this be disconnected, or run through a DC-DC charger?

[Ronbrink]

39 minutes ago, Steve and MA said:

What about the 12v feed coming from the TV?  Should this be disconnected,

Yes!

[mountainoliver]

23 hours ago, T-Oliver said:

I haved admired everyone's upgrade projects

Could the process br as simple as:

Swap the PD charging module

Swap the AGM for lithium

Reprogram Blue Sky charge controller

2017 Elite II Hull 254

Here is the Blue Sky settings as given to me by the Battle Born folks four years ago. I have shared these settings with Steve and others over the past few years and Steve is correct about the IPN Pro set up but once you have been through it, it’s pretty easy. I think it took all of about five minutes to program these settings. The settings are also good no matter what lithium battery brand you choose. Several years ago Battle Born seemed to be the best choice but today there are several brands that are of high quality. 

 

Edited December 12 by mountainoliver
Correction

[T-Oliver]

Thank you for the information and advice.

I recieved the charging module today, used like new Not!

Used part in a plastic bag no intructions, I will try again.

Waiting for the Epoch batteries to ship from Off Grid.

[SeaDawg]

 

All the pd manuals are available online.

https://www.progressivedyn.com/support-manuals-troubleshooting-guides/

If your unit that you bought used is suspect, and Amazon, start the return process, and just buy a new one. They're not that expensive,  and you will have full support from progressive dynamics.

Even though you bought it elsewhere, they are likely to help. Have model and serial # ready, and call their tech support. 

Best of luck.

 

Edited December 12 by SeaDawg

[Geronimo John]

On 12/10/2024 at 5:50 PM, jd1923 said:

Today is the LAST day for 15% OFF Epoch Batteries if you're thinking this product!

JD's and other's use of these game changers is noteworthy.  Much more power is available than from our three 100 AH battery (Battleborns)  bank.  

Edited December 12 by Geronimo John
clarified our battery bank better

[SeaDawg]

Changing settings on the blue sky controller is a bit tedious, but not that hard. (Old school dip switches. No blue tooth,etc. )

Send the amazing customer support guy at Blue Sky (Ryan) an email, with your phone number and email, and all equipment info,and he will likely be able to walk you through everything you need to do on the blue sky end.

[jd1923]

@T-Oliver glad to see you got the Epoch sale! Which one(s)? #AHs?

I don't remember HW dipswitches on the Blue Sky (did I miss something?), just a whole lot of menu selections on the IPN-Pro interface. I talked to and emailed with Ryan Gurin a few times. What a great, very detailed and helpful guy He even advised me on setup of the Victron MP2, that's going beyond the call of duty!

He sent me this link and it's just what you need. Later part of the video bottom of page goes through the setup steps. It took me 3 tries to get through all the keystrokes without making a mistake! How to program BSE charge controllers for LiFePO4 batteries – Sunforge LLC

The settings are similar to what Ken wrote. Off my head, I remember Epoch suggesting 14.2V where Battleborn states 14.4V but check your battery Epoch battery manual to be sure. It's great to have the settings list in writing in addition to the video to keep things straight.

[topgun2]

On 12/10/2024 at 9:31 PM, T-Oliver said:

Could the process br as simple as:

Swap the PD charging module

Swap the AGM for lithium

Reprogram Blue Sky charge controller

Back to the original question - 

To make this even more simple you don't really have to even swap the PD charger!  

The old charger will still charge the new lithiums but it will not "fully" charge them nor charge them in the absolute best manner.  However, it will not damage them.

Another item to consider though is that you do not want to use the charging system to "equalize" the lithium batteries.  Therefore, make sure that this feature in your charging system is turned OFF.

Bill

[LeBill]

I recently went through this and replaced the original PD9260 (lead battery only) with a new PD9360 (selectable battery profiles). The 9360 is a bolt-for-bolt replacement and dropped right in with no alterations. Also a warm-fuzzy that many Lithium suppliers recommend this exact device for their batteries. I also installed the Redarc BCDC1212S to isolate the 7-way connector (tow vehicle) from the battery, while supplying some charge current and not requiring any additional heavy-gauge wire. A bonus is the Redarc BCDC1212S has a solar mppt controller built-in for future roof-top solar.

[Hokieman]

I didn’t see where your PD charger model is listed, so not sure if what I did will help you.   I have a PD 9260C, for lead-acid or AGM batteries.   I ordered my Oliver with a basic 340W solar package, and two standard lead-acid batteries (no longer an option).    I sold the batteries on Facebook Marketplace as soon as I got home, and I already had two BattleBorn 100A batteries on hand.  They slipped right in.   I intended to swap out the standard charger for a lithium model.   I researched on the PD site, and found that they offer a remote pendant that plugs into the 9260C, and converts it to lithium.   It was less than  $20, so I thought I’d try it.   Here I am camping  in my Oliver 4 1/2 years later and everything is still working well.   It requires a manual push of a little button to boost the voltage, but I don't need to use it often, so it’s no hassle.   I  don’t usually have the charger turned on, I let the panels keep the batteries charged (we don’t have an inverter).  Every 2-3 weeks I turn on the charger, fully charge the batteries, and then synchronize them to 100% using my Victron BMV 712 Battery Monitor.   My lithium conversion consisted of adding the PD pendant, a Victron BMV 712 battery monitor, and a Blue Seas battery cutoff switch.   I also disconnected the charge wire from the tow vehicle, which was  easy to access under the port side bunk.   In addition to a PD lithium charger, I also have a Redarc DC-to-DC converter on my wish list.    I’ll probably eventually get them, but I haven’t needed either so  far, and we dry camp more often than not.   I like to keep it simple.

[jd1923]

3 hours ago, Hokieman said:

we don’t have an inverter

Then what you have is all you need!