How do I find if my charger has a lithium setting?

[colyboy]

How do I find if my charger has a lithium setting? and where is my charger? On my 2017 Hymer 588CL

Colyboy

 

[colyboy]

PS. JUST FOUND BATTERY SELECTOR SWITCH STATES :-
LEAD ACID/LEAD/DRYFILL

Colyboy

 

[pappajohn]

That's probably lead/acid... GEL... AGM.

Not suitable for lithium.

 

[colyboy]

Thanks for the reply. So still confused at my age that’s no trouble!
So if my charger is not for lithium, what else will I need IF I fit a lithium battery?

colyboy

 

[PeteH]

Ask Eddie?.

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[Jim]

Thanks for the reply. So still confused at my age that’s no trouble!
So if my charger is not for lithium, what else will I need IF I fit a lithium battery?

colyboy

You'll likely need a B2B charger as well. It's all a mystery to me to be honest, but I've learned enough to know that it is rare that you can just swap out a more traditional FLA or gel battery and pop in a lithium. This can cause all sorts of issues. So I will never 'DIY it' and always take advice from an expert on these matters.

 

[PeteH]

You'll likely need a B2B charger as well. It's all a mystery to me to be honest, but I've learned enough to know that it is rare that you can just swap out a more traditional FLA or gel battery and pop in a lithium. This can cause all sorts of issues. So I will never 'DIY it' and always take advice from an expert on these matters.

I would only caveat that, with "who are the experts"?. There is a lot of "expert" opinion out there, not only on batteries, that has in the past been proved erroneous?. We (know?) have been told that the charging regeim for Lithium is very different to L-A, or indeed any other. There was controversy over GEL v`s AGM. now we have car manufacturers even, going back to L-A`s allegedly. Definitely "confused" if not .com out there?.

 

[Jim]

I would only caveat that, with "who are the experts"?.

There are plenty of them .

Sterling
VanBitz
Rhino Installs
Battery Megastore
Roadpro
Tanya etc etc

 

[Lumpy]

I have a question........ If you use Lithium for the leisure battery and have a b2b charger does that mean you have to also use Lithium for the van battery?

 

[Pausim]

I think a B2B with a LiFePO4 setting is the important bit. This makes sure that when you arrive at a location without a hook up you start with a full battery. The standard installed mains charger on Gel setting may under charge the Li a little but that does not harm them and is not a big issue if you are getting a maintenance charge.

I think getting expert advice is a good idea. I made a few mistakes along the way and probably spent more than I needed to whilst finding out.

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[Pausim]

I have a question........ If you use Lithium for the leisure battery and have a b2b charger does that mean you have to also use Lithium for the van battery?

No

 

[Fontie]

I had a Sterling 100ah lithium battery fitted by Vanbitz, they fitted the battery and a Sterling B2B, setup for lithium. They left the Sargent PX300 charger I think its charging profile is close enough and the Lithium's BMS takes care of it.

 

[funflair]

This is an easy and interesting basic article on LiFePO4 and BMS http://liionbms.com/php/wp_cccv_charging.php

SuperB do a Epsilon Lithium HERE that they say is a drop in replacement for traditional lead acid battery, it needs CCCV charger and the BMS does the rest, SuperB have responded when I have asked questions

Martin

 

[TheDogMan]

I had "Transporter" lithium batteries fitted while I waited at Oaktree Motorhomes, no change to fitted charger, I was told the batteries had a circuit in them to sort that out, that was 9 months ago and they have been brilliant

 

[Pausim]

This is an easy and interesting basic article on LiFePO4 and BMS http://liionbms.com/php/wp_cccv_charging.php

SuperB do a Epsilon Lithium HERE that they say is a drop in replacement for traditional lead acid battery, it needs CCCV charger and the BMS does the rest, SuperB have responded when I have asked questions

Martin

Not sure about that first article, it talks about 6 cells but I thought LiFePO4 batteries had only 4 to operate at 12V.

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[funflair]

Not sure about that first article, it talks about 6 cells but I thought LiFePO4 batteries had only 4 to operate at 12V.

I took that as an example of how the BMS works charging and balancing a number of cells vs just controlling the charger, in reality a LiFePO4 battery with enough capacity for our use will have multiple cells arranged to suite the required voltage.

Martin

 

[Pausim]

I took that as an example of how the BMS works charging and balancing a number of cells vs just controlling the charger, in reality a LiFePO4 battery with enough capacity for our use will have multiple cells arranged to suite the required voltage.

Martin

Thanks, I just couldn’t see where they had plucked 6 from.

 

[PeteH]

Not that I am about to swap 2 new(ish) Gels for Lithium anyway, still far too costly IMV. But the tech; intrigues me. What I take from what has been said (so far), is that, IF the Chassis battery is still an FLA (Flooded Lead-Acid) BUT the house is a Lithium?. Will the House Charge unit, be "man" enough to properly charge the Lithium?. And cope with the Chassis Battery via a B2B unit?. From what I read about LI batteries they need a much different charge regime from "normal"?, with far closer monitoring to combat overheating?.

 

[Lumpy]

Sorry posted by mistake and sure how to delete.

 

[colyboy]

Once again thank you for your replies. IF I fitted a lithium battery say 120 with the RIGHT fitments etc. Will I need one battery or two gel batteries as I have now?

colyboy

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[Robert Clark]

Once again thank you for your replies. IF I fitted a lithium battery say 120 with the RIGHT fitments etc. Will I need one battery or two gel batteries as I have now?

colyboy

I’d start off with one
I replaced 6 lead acid with 2 lithium

 

[Pausim]

And cope with the Chassis Battery via a B2B unit?

The B2B is there to charge the leisure battery whilst the engine is running. Some models do have an optional trickle charge feature for the engine battery when on ehu i.e. a reverse mode but this is not the main function and probably only a maximum of 1 or 2 amps.

 

[PeteH]

The more I read, the more intrigued I become. If the Charging unit, has a "GEL" setting, would that be satisfactory?. In effect is that a CCCV output?, said to be "best" for charging LiPo? Batteries. From what is being reported on makers sites, the BMS, is actually built into the battery?, part of the construction?.

 

[Pausim]

The more I read, the more intrigued I become. If the Charging unit, has a "GEL" setting, would that be satisfactory?. In effect is that a CCCV output?, said to be "best" for charging LiPo? Batteries. From what is being reported on makers sites, the BMS, is actually built into the battery?, part of the construction?.

The BMS built into my LiFePO4 battery protects the battery from over Voltage charging, under Voltage discharging, temperature extreme charging and does cell balancing if needed (matched cells need little balancing). As far as I can tell it monitors Voltage and temperature and shuts the battery down if the values are exceeded. I do not think it controls the Amps going in and out, this is down to the charging system and user items connected. When the cells are full the voltage rises and current flow reduces, which is monitored by the charger.

The GEL setting on my standard mains charger has a profile that is close to the needs of my battery but may not fully charge it, it also has phases that are not needed but will not harm the battery. Under charging does not harm my LiFePO4 battery but it may store a little less power.

My B2B controls the engine charging of my Li leisure battery and protects both the battery and the alternator/ECU.

 

[Pausim]

Sorry PeteH I managed to accidentally post before I finished typing and have added a bit more above using edit. I am talking about my kit and some makes could be different.

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[PeteH]

Sorry PeteH I managed to accidentally post before I finished typing and have added a bit more above using edit. I am talking about my kit and some makes could be different.

No sweat. I am just intrigued by the tech; is all. With 2 new(ish) Gel`s I am not about to go looking to swap any time soon!. I would assume that like any new(ish) product time will bring the relative cost down.