Upgrade complete ( for now )

[Jaws]

A few days ago I completed the change to lithium
Used a 205aH ( 3kW ) battery from Gary at http://www.lithiumbatteryshop.co.uk/

A Victron 100-30 solar controller ( see below for settings used )

A Stirling 60a b2b ( see below for settings ) that was installed 18 months ago

And a Victron Smartshunt that I have had installed for some time


Victron 100-30 settings ( just the important ones )
Bulk 14.4v
Float 14.2v
Tail 1a

Sterling B2B ( again just the main two )
Bulk 14.4v
Float 14.2v

I have yet to recallibrate and set the Smartshunt

 

[Two on Tour]

I would drop your Bulk to 14v and your float to 13.4 as it will make little or no difference to your usable aH's but will give your battery some longevity by not charging it to the very max each time.

 

[Jaws]

I would drop your Bulk to 14v and your float to 13.4 as it will make little or no difference to your usable aH's but will give your battery some longevity by not charging it to the very max each time.

Max is 14.6
14.4 is as per recommendation though I could drop it to 14.2
If you set the float low and use a lot of battery in the late afternoon it will not start charging again till the following morning
That I got from quite a few off grid types and they all say the same.. I can see the logic of the argument too

 

[Andacami]

This I think is the correct website: https://www.lithiumbatteryshop.uk/

 

[Jaws]

This I think is the correct website: https://www.lithiumbatteryshop.uk/

Yes your right... not had a good day today..
Thank you for the correction

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[Raul]

Max is 14.6
14.4 is as per recommendation though I could drop it to 14.2
If you set the float low and use a lot of battery in the late afternoon it will not start charging again till the following morning
That I got from quite a few off grid types and they all say the same.. I can see the logic of the argument too

Float at 14,2v it’s not float anymore, it’s continuous charging. You can fully charge a lifpo4 even at 13,6v, it just takes longer. A float at 13,5v does exactly what you want; to keep it charged for the evening and sustain loads in the same time, without going into the battery reserve.

 

[Jaws]

I will leave try the lower setting and see how I get on

 

[Geo]

Hi John can you mount an extra external Anderson plug Id like to park next to you

 

[Hoovie]

Ref not charging your lithium fully to give it better longevity .... Does anyone advocating this actually do the maths to see how much longer it will last in terms of real time? And in terms of real life, what is the chance they will still have that motorhome at the shorter life let alone the longer service life? In which case, who cares?
And then bear in mind by not charging it fully and stopping at say 80% as some popular YouTubers advocate, and not using its full potential, they have thrown away about 20% of the money spent on it by not using it as much they could.
Yes, it is possible to eek out more time, but it is generally pointless and in fact wasteful. You could extend this idea futher by never using the battery - then it will be possible to boast it will last 30 or 40 years .

 

[Raul]

Ref not charging your lithium fully to give it better longevity .... Does anyone advocating this actually do the maths to see how much longer it will last in terms of real time? And in terms of real life, what is the chance they will still have that motorhome at the shorter life let alone the longer service life? In which case, who cares?
And then bear in mind by not charging it fully and stopping at say 80% as some popular YouTubers advocate, and not using its full potential, they have thrown away about 20% of the money spent on it by not using it as much they could.
Yes, it is possible to eek out more time, but it is generally pointless and in fact wasteful. You could extend this idea futher by never using the battery - then it will be possible to boast it will last 30 or 40 years .

Fully charging it’s not a big issue, as long as you don’t stay long at elevated voltage. Once you reached full charge, current drops, then voltage has to drop lower.
Charging to 97-98% it’s more likely for daily cycling, the 80% is if you don’t use it for a while. It’s the prolonged elevated voltage that degrades more than the SOC. That’s why if you can get fully charged at a lower voltage, you avoid the proximity of max voltage as best you can. The later revised 14,2v absorb its based on past experience for few ears now. Plenty of bench testing has concluded that elevated voltage degrades capacity.
At the end of the day everyone does what it wants with their batteries.

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[poppycamper]

When using my van for what it is intended my solar and B2B charge my lithium all the time to 100%.
When being used at other times both B2B and solar are turned off when battery is at 80% and left off till battery gets to 40%.
Will it make any difference to battery longevity... don't know but what's the harm in doing so.