Battery Life

[GPnBIRDIE]

Last week, I began an evening with full charge (Lithium Pro 390 AH).    Running only two small ac Fans along with roof vent at 60% capacity (frig on propane), the batteries went down below 10% over night.   This does not seem appropriate and welcome any feedback.

[LeBill]

Running two small ac fans...implies that you had the invertor turned on. Is it possible there were other appliances (water heater, refrigerator, ?) that were on AC that you hadn't intended?  Based on my limited experience, your stated capacity / draw you should expect a week or so. Do you have other previous instances of running on strictly battery?

Bill G

[Rivernerd]

1 hour ago, GPnBIRDIE said:

Running only two small ac Fans along with roof vent at 60% capacity

By "ac fans" do  you mean your air conditioner?  If so, that could explain the substantial draw down on your batteries.  Our Truma AC pulls about 1100 watts when the compressor is running.

 

[DaveAndBecky_NorthernMI]

If you have the Lithionics app on your phone you can see how much current you are drawing.

[SeaDawg]

If you mean you ran the inverter, and just ran two small 110 fans, i think you may  have an issue. 

Please complete your signature. 

Many lithium require  full charge within a period of time to properly register  "full charge" status.

Even our Bluesky, with agm batteries,  requires hitting 100 per cent charge to show proper readings after a disconnect. Kind of a "reset" situation. 

You may also have a wiring issue. 

 

[ScubaRx]

On 5/31/2023 at 1:40 PM, DaveAndBecky_NorthernMI said:

If you have the Lithionics app on your phone you can see how much current you are drawing.

Being a 2022 model, a quick glance at their Victron monitor would give them a ton of real time information. 
 

I’m not a fan of Bluetooth Apps to get info about my system’s status. Too much trouble to find your phone, find the app, get it up and running……

[MobileJoy]

2 hours ago, ScubaRx said:

Too much trouble to find your phone, find the app,

I can't help with finding the phone as it is a problem I often have myself. Finding the app is simplified for me because I organize all my apps in folders and then organize the folders alphabetically. This folder is named "Oliver" and it contains Lithionics, Xantrex, LevelMate, and WBA Check. In the folder I organize based on frequency of usage, although with only four apps in this one that's hardly important.

[ScubaRx]

20 hours ago, MobileJoy said:

I can't help with finding the phone as it is a problem I often have myself. Finding the app is simplified for me because I organize all my apps in folders and then organize the folders alphabetically. This folder is named "Oliver" and it contains Lithionics, Xantrex, LevelMate, and WBA Check. In the folder I organize based on frequency of usage, although with only four apps in this one that's hardly important.

Oh, I do all that the same way you're describing; apps in groups, groups placed where they are easily found. It's still easier for me to glance at a dedicated read-out mounted in the trailer than to jump through all those hoops.

[taylor.coyote]

We are on an extended trip with weather at or below freezing at night. Our batteries are barely getting us through each night with our normal activities. I'm wondering if it's the cold weather or our four year old AMG batteries are wearing out. 

We have four AMG 6 volt that provide 200ah usable power. We do not have an inverter and run everything on 12 volts.  Out typical routine is charging a couple lap tops, charge a couple of camera batteries, run a dehumidifier (2amps), heat at 60F all night,  modest area lighting, refrigerator and a couple hours of Starlink. 

We start the night at 100%, 12.68 volts and 0 used amp hours. By morning the state of charge is 97-98% with the voltage in the 12.3's and one morning had a 12.2 alarm. This morning our Victron AP showed we had only used 15amp hours since last night's 100% charge. These numbers don't make sense. In the summer, we typically consume 30 +/- amp hours each night without the heater running.  We must be burning more than 15amp hours but that's not my question. I don't want to confuse the acruacy of the Victron consumption report with the fact we are within our normal routine  + running heat and barely getting through the night. Do you think our batteries are getting tired or is the cold a factor?  

 

[Mike and Carol]

We found that after about 5 years our AGM’s started declining.  We replaced them with 300ah of Battle Born lithium 5 years ago this month and we’ve never even been close to running out of battery power.  If yours are four years old, it’s probably age combined with the cold weather that’s putting a stress on them.  BTW, 300ah doesn’t sound like much compared to what some folks have installed but it’s been plenty for us even for extended boondocking.  Mike

[topgun2]

AI has the following to say on the subject of AGM battery life:

"AGM (Absorbent Glass Mat) batteries generally last 3 to 8 years, but the lifespan depends heavily on usage: expect 3-5 years for deep cycling (RVs, marine) and 5-8 years for standby/float (backup power), with high-quality units potentially lasting longer. Key factors include temperature, quality, depth of discharge (how deeply it's drained), and charging practices, with extreme heat or shallow discharges shortening life, while proper maintenance extends it. "

Therefore, as Mike says above - you are probably at or very near the end of life for your current batteries.

Bill

[John Dorrer]

We got 5 years out of 2-12 volt AGM's before needing new ones. The thing to remember is 12.2-12.3 is the lowest you want to go

 

 

It takes only one time below 12.2/12.3 to cause damage. Some might get lucky, but I know several people who destroyed their AGM's after one low draw.

[taylor.coyote]

Thanks for the feedback. Seems it may be time for lithium batteries. Our four 105AH (200 AH combined usable) AMG's combined with 340W solar panels have provided us with care free power for summer camping.

Per Mike and Carol: the idea of 300AH lithium sounds like it would give us carefree power with some headroom going forward.

Two questions:

• I'm thinking our 340W panels may not be able to top off 300AH batteries but will be sufficient to stay ahead of our power needs of 30-40AH per day. Is this assessment is reasonable? Or should we consider adding DC to DC charging from the truck for more charging capacity ?
• What are your experiences and recommendations regarding the various brands of lithium batteries?  

 

 

[John Dorrer]

25 minutes ago, taylor.coyote said:

Thanks for the feedback. Seems it may be time for lithium batteries. Our four 105AH (200 AH combined usable) AMG's combined with 340W solar panels have provided us with care free power for summer camping.

Per Mike and Carol: the idea of 300AH lithium sounds like it would give us carefree power with some headroom going forward.

Two questions:

• I'm thinking our 340W panels may not be able to top off 300AH batteries but will be sufficient to stay ahead of our power needs of 30-40AH per day. Is this assessment is reasonable? Or should we consider adding DC to DC charging from the truck for more charging capacity ?
• What are your experiences and recommendations regarding the various brands of lithium batteries?  

 

 

👍👍 You won't regret that move up, and there won't be anymore battery management concerns. You won't be on that 24/7 monitoring😊

[Mike and Carol]

1 hour ago, taylor.coyote said:

 

• I'm thinking our 340W panels may not be able to top off 300AH batteries but will be sufficient to stay ahead of our power needs of 30-40AH per day. Is this assessment is reasonable? Or should we consider adding DC to DC charging from the truck for more charging capacity ?

Our 320W panels top off our three Battle Borns without issue.  The only time they don’t get too 100% is when it’s a very cloudy day with no sun.  MIke

[topgun2]

14 hours ago, taylor.coyote said:

Two questions:

• I'm thinking our 340W panels may not be able to top off 300AH batteries but will be sufficient to stay ahead of our power needs of 30-40AH per day. Is this assessment is reasonable? Or should we consider adding DC to DC charging from the truck for more charging capacity ?
• What are your experiences and recommendations regarding the various brands of lithium batteries?  

 

Of course the answer to the first question depends on a number of factors - how cloudy is it and for how long is it cloudy?  How depleted are the batteries to start with?  I replaced my lead acid batteries (400 ah) with two 230 ah li batteries thus just about doubling the usable capacity of energy.  But, my actual usage has stayed just about the same as it was before the upgrade.  So, my standard Oliver solar panels have absolutely no problem fully charging these new batteries to 100% every day AND I have plenty of capacity in the event there are several days of no sun.

Asking about brands of batteries is akin to asking about brands of truck, cars, etc..  To each his own.  For what its worth, I purchased LiTimes and have had zero problems.  However, I understand that Epoch is making a nice battery and, of course, there is always the higher end Battle Borns.  Check to make sure that the manufacturer is using #1/grade A cells and then it is a matter of the features that you might want/need (i.e. bluetooth, heated, on/off switches, etc.).

I'd wait on the DC to DC charging until you have the experience with the new batteries.  If you actually need the extra charging then you can add it later.

Bill

[Patriot]

15 hours ago, taylor.coyote said:

Or should we consider adding DC to DC charging from the truck for more charging capacity ?

@taylor.coyote

I recently had a complete Lithium upgrade professionally installed with 2 Epoch 300ah batteries which do have built in heaters. The Epochs fit perfectly in the OEM battery tray. I selected ALL Victron components to include the Victron 3000 watt inverter/charger and the DC/DC charger. Our DC/DC charger is a game changer for us and eliminates the need to ever carry a generator again.

Our Ford 6.7 diesel has dual alternators which made my decision pretty easy to roll with DC/DC charger. I considered Battle Born but the preferred the (2) single 300ah Epochs. If one goes down you have a back up. “One is none and two is one”. 

Charging our house batteries via our TV while on the roads less traveled is certainly a nice option to have while traveling rain, shine or in darkness. 

⚡️Have fun with your conversion! 

 

Edited December 6 by Patriot

[jd1923]

23 hours ago, taylor.coyote said:

Or should we consider adding DC to DC charging from the truck for more charging capacity ?

Yes, YES certainly! (Now you'll get at least 3x feedback on this question!)

It's the lowest cost addition (~$600 in parts) you can do to create Ah, increase SOC while towing! We boondock often, lots of short stays, and when you're going from dry camp to dry you can always count on gaining considerable power. Our 320W rooftop solar is about breakeven running our fridge on DC (10 Ah on average in the sunny SW). With our Victron Orion XS 50A charger (get this model) we get +40 Ah every hour towing! Here is info on my installation and performance results: