Many friends will consider these problems when they are choosing a battery for their RV:
1.Which battery will be best for my RV? The traditional Lead acid, or Lithium battery?
2.Can your lithium battery solve the Electricity problem for my RV?
3.What kind of lithium battery and what’s capacity can meet the daily power consumption of my RV?
Let’s talk something about RV lithium battery.
There are several ways to keep electricity for RV when it is off-grid, battery, solar energy and generator are widely used. However, it is noisy and not portable to use a heavy generator when you are outside, so most of RV friends will prefer the solution “Lithium battery+Inverter+Solar panel” for their RV.
What’s capacity will be best for a RV lithium battery?
It depends on the total power of electricity on the RV. Generally, there are electric cooker, water heater, lighting, TV, audio equipment etc. On the RV. Some of the RV is also built-in air conditioning. It is recommended 400Ah for a RV without air conditioner, while it is 600-800Ah(not less than 400Ah) requested for the RV with air conditioner. The above battery capacity is based on 12V lithium battery pack.
Why more and more people recommend a lithium battery for RV?
(1)More Usable Capacity
Unlike lead-acid batteries that are rarely discharged beyond 50%, Lithium batteries can regularly discharge 80% or more of their rated capacity.
For example, a 100Ah battery – if it was lead-acid, you would have access to only 30~50Ah of charge, but with lithium you could use 80Ah or more.It is about twice as much charge in a similarly rated lithium battery bank as you would with AGM batteries.
(2)Long cycle life
1、It cost about three times as much as AGM batteries for the lithium batteries, but the longer lifespan makes lithium well worth the cost. Lithium battery can be recharged 5000 times and retain 80% of original capacity, while the best deep cycle AGM batteries are typically only good for 500-1000 cycles.
(3)High Current Output
Lithium battery can be discharged at high current rate without losing Ah capacity vs lead acid which can be reduced to 40% Ah rating at high discharge rate.This means that Lithium battery packs are much better at powering high current loads like a microwave or air conditioner.
(4)Fast Charging
Lithium batteries can quickly be charged to full capacity, because it can be Up to .5C but the lead acid has only 0.2C.and the absorption mode is at the very end of charge instead of at a typical 80% for lead acid. This drastically reduces charge time.
How to know the lithium battery you are using is good or not?
It is easy to judge a good lithium battery with its electric density and weight.A lighter battery means its huge electric density. The heavier the battery, the worse it is. It maybe possible the second-hand battery, or it is a low quality battery itself.
A high-quality lithium iron phosphate battery at present market should be around 130, and Lithtech 12.8v 100Ah lifepo4 battery is 1280Wh, which is popular brand and good choice for many RV customers since 2019.
Attention
(1)When the battery is not used for a long time, be sure to turn off all the power on the RV and check whether the battery still has discharge current! If you don’t turn off all the electrical appliances, even if the power is very small, the battery power will be exhausted. Although the battery has built-in smart BMS for over discharge protection, long-term zero power will seriously affect the battery life.
Before parking and sealing, carefully check whether the power is off and charge the battery every three months.
(2)Battery storage:
The environment in which lithium batteries are stored should be dry. It is not allowed to place the battery in a place where water may leak, such as on the ground, etc., to avoid the short circuit of the battery caused by the water leakage of the heating and the rain window.
The battery pack shall be kept away from combustible, inflammable and explosive materials, and the new and old batteries shall be stored separately. Batteries shall be stored with class D fire extinguishers and breathing apparatus.
(3)Do not use the high-power electrical appliances in the same time:
It is designed 3000W for most RV electric power system, which can afford the operation of high-power electrical appliances such as air conditioner and induction cooker.However, in order to protect the power system, attention should be paid to the power limit when using, so as to avoid the simultaneous use of high-power electrical appliances, such as induction cooker or hair dryer when opening the air conditioner. Too much current may cause the protection of the power system of the RV, resulting in power failure.
