Brightway flooded to agm

[grweber1]

Good morning, my brightway battries are on ther way out on my 2020 hull 994. Can I get agm instead of the brighyways with no modifications to the system.Will the charger charge the same as it did for the brightways.I have no solor but have a xantrex inverter 2000 ( Thanks JD).

[Rivernerd]

AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) batteries are lead-acid based, like flooded batteries, so they should behave, and charge, the same as your existing batteries.  AGMs will also have about the same expected service life as your Bright Way flooded batteries.  But, they are sealed, and so require no periodic top-off.

The challenge will be ensuring that the new AGMs are the same physical size and voltage as your existing Bright Ways, so they will fit in the battery tray and be "plug and play."   And, if you plan to reuse your OEM battery cables, be sure to buy "dual terminal" AGMs, as that is the way your Bright Way battery bank is wired.

I hope another Oliver owner has done this exact swap, and can provide more specific info, such as sizes, voltages and model numbers.

[grweber1]

Thanks Rivernerd, I will check out all you suggested.

[jd1923]

3 hours ago, grweber1 said:

Good morning, my brightway batteries are on their way out on my 2020 hull 994. Can I get agm instead of the brightways with no modifications to the system. Will the charger charge the same as it did for the brightways. I have no solar but have a xantrex inverter 2000 (Thanks JD).

Hey Gary, money spent on 4 AGM batteries today, you really should just buy one LiTime 260AH for about $470. You can save money and over 100 LBS and remove all those short battery-to-battery cables for the same usable AHs!

This is a minor mod compared to work you did in adding your Xantrex inverter.

Read through this post. At the bottom @Hokieman mentions a $20 pendant to upgrade your OEM charger for LiFePO4 charging.

 

[grweber1]

Hi JD, just orderd the pendant,Thank you! Looking at Lithium Batteries, If I have over 300ah on lead acid should I get the same out of a Lithium Battery.

[ScubaRx]

1 hour ago, grweber1 said:

Hi JD, just orderd the pendant,Thank you! Looking at Lithium Batteries, If I have over 300ah on lead acid should I get the same out of a Lithium Battery.

I don't think you can have over 225 of usable amp hours in a lead acid battery setup in an Elite II. It's usually about 200ah. Do you have 6v or 12v batteries.

Edited December 26, 2024 by ScubaRx

[grweber1]

OK,I do not understand the ah of batteries.My elite ll has 4, 82ah batteries in it,would that = 368ah

[ScubaRx]

Your usable amp hours of 368 would be half that amount, 184ah. You should never run LA batteries below 50%. It will significantly shorten their life. Lithium's, on the other hand, can be take down to 0% (best practice is 10%) without harm. Lithium's biggest shortcoming is that you should not try to charge them if the ambient temp in the battery box is below 32 degrees F. My advice would be to buy the biggest LiFePO4 battery you can afford.

[grweber1]

I think I will, Thanks.

[jd1923]

31 minutes ago, grweber1 said:

OK,I do not understand the ah of batteries.My elite ll has 4, 82ah batteries in it,would that = 368ah

@ScubaRx gave you the basic math. So you currently have 50% of 368 for 184AH usable.

The inexpensive LiTime 230 at 90% is 207AH. This would be a 12% increase in useful capacity. There should be room for two of these in the slide-out tray for future upgrade. Glad to help Gary.

There are several members here who have installed LiTime batteries who could chime in on their performance. I went Epoch to achieve 2x 300AH for 600AH in the tray.

[Rivernerd]

17 hours ago, jd1923 said:

There are several members here who have installed LiTime batteries who could chime in on their performance. I went Epoch to achieve 2x 300AH for 600AH in the tray.

This is what I would do if I needed to upgrade to LiFePo4 (Lithium Iron Phosphate) batteries. 

It appears you have upgraded to a Xantrex inverter.  Is it compatible with 600 Ah of lithium batteries, which charge at a higher voltage, and with a different charging protocol, than lead-acid batteries?

[grweber1]

The inverter should work with a  300ah from LiTime, There is a remote pendant that plugs into the Xantrex inverter 9260C, and converts it to lithium. ( see JD's post ).

[Ronbrink]

20 hours ago, grweber1 said:

The inverter should work with a  300ah from LiTime, There is a remote pendant that plugs into the Xantrex inverter 9260C, and converts it to lithium. ( see JD's post ).

Our 2020 OLEll 579 was ordered with the stock Brightway battery bank, Xantrex 2000W inverter and no solar. I soon ditched the Brightways and installed  four Trojan T-105 6V batteries my Son gifted me when he upgraded his motorhome to LiFePO4s. Last year I upgraded to LFPs, specifically two LiTime 230Ah batteries. I changed settings in the Xantrex for the new battery type and disconnected the vehicle charging wire at the 7-way cable connector. I, as well as @topgun2, have detailed the installation of said batteries in respective posts. I have had no issues using my Xantrex with this setup, and have also taken measures to operate the a/c on battery, as well. 

 

[jd1923]

On 12/27/2024 at 9:47 AM, Rivernerd said:

It appears you have upgraded to a Xantrex inverter.  Is it compatible with 600 Ah of lithium batteries, which charge at a higher voltage, and with a different charging protocol, than lead-acid batteries?

@grweber1 Gary and I have a bit of history. His 2KW Inverter is the one removed from our hull when I upgraded to our Victron 3W MP2 inverter/charger. This 2KW Xantrex model is inverter only, no integrated charger. To upgrade to LiFePO4 he had to upgrade to the newer PD model or add the suggested pendant. This is added to the PD charger, independent of the optional inverter as wired. This was a very good reasonable upgrade for Gary, who does not have solar and just wanted an inverter for coffee makers, occasional MW use, etc.

Since I upgraded to an integrated inverter/charger I disconnected the OEM PD charger vs. upgrading it for LiFePO4 (reconnect the black/hot wire to the 120V breaker panel and it can be used as backup if ever needed).