Lithium Batteries

1 post / 0 new
ManWithaVan
ManWithaVan's picture
Offline
Last seen: 2 years 7 months ago
Lifetime Member
Joined: 11/07/2013 - 21:56
Lithium Batteries

Currently the best chemistry for Lithium Batteries for use in Campers and RVs is Lithium - Iron - Phosphate ( LiFePO for short).

Unfortunately, mainstream battery manufacturers have not begun to Mass-produce these batteries.

These batteries are available from Specialty Vendors and as Do-it-yourself project builds (you can buy the cells direct from China).

The advantages of LiFePO batteries are:

  They are light weight,

  They are safe, they don't overheat and catch fire like Lithium Ion batteries tend to do.

  They are energy dense,

  They have a long storage life (great for those long winters),

  They have a long life (high number of charge/discharge cycles),

  And they can tolerate deeper discharges then Lead Acid batteries.

In short, LiFePO batteries have everything you want in a Camper / RV battery. The only issues are availability and price.

The good news is that manufacturers have begun to mass-produce LiFePO motorcycle batteries (12 volt ). Now, if they can begin to produce 6 Volt Golf Cart batteries, and sell them at a reasonable price, RVs and Campers will be able to install them in pairs to take advantage of the benefits of these great batteries.

Realistically, even if these batteries were available today, your Converter and Solar Charge Controller would need to be replaced because the LiFePO batteries operate and charge at different voltages then Lead Acid batteries (you might also need to modify how your Tow Vehicle charges your Batteries).

I think that once LiFePO batteries begin showing up in the Golf Cart world prices will get more reasonable and LiFePO batteries will become a viable option for a RV or Camper.

Let's hope this happens sooner rather than later !!!