Roamer LiFePO4 Gen2 230Ah Seatbase battery -- "How I Done It" --

[Dellmassive]

230SB Gen2-v2.

(@RoamerBatteries )




"the next version of the Seatbase battery (due in May 2022) has a slightly tweaked design. We had some issues with the handles on last one so these have now moved to the side. We also found the new T6.1 seatbase is slightly narrower so we’ve shifted the BMS to the front. This has allowed us to reduce width to 280mm but length is now 330mm."



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Nice....



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Roamer Lithium LiFePO4 Seatbase battery

Call them you never know they might give you it.

www.t6forum.com

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[Soundz]

@Linoleum Bonypart which swivle are you using? @Donk ....cheers for the reply.which side drivers or passenger is your battery fitted both? Does anyone by chance know if the T5 seat base is the same dimension as T6 on the vertical side? I ask which side as the drivers in the RIB swivle ( which I really don't want to change) may have extra clearence due to it being made to clear the handbrake when swiveling, well I'm almost certain it does I've had the seats out out so so many times. That said I really want the battery under the passenger side if possible

@Samro ( nice build by the way noted same inverter as what we have in a box if memory serves) that's slightly disconcerting as the Renorgy is 15mm less on the width

@Dellmassive yes loving the ride cheers muchly again someone from the T5 forum linked me to what you were doing, I was always going there but was struggling. I've no full cab matt and have sound deadened and insulated the floor, insulation to edges of seat base so they sit on insulation but not under seats,that will save a few mm. I'm not too worried about grinding off the earth stud as frankly there are so many dotted about my floor.............I strongly suspect I'll make a mock up of the battery (out of wood) now I have the new dimensions from Steve so I can offer everything up.

@Dellmassive seeing that max discharge rate of 500A even if only for 10 seconds was why I asked on the isolator size. I can't see me ever stretching the battery Amps wise only having a 1200 watt inverter plus the 200A mega fuse should protect everything anyway?

I noted your are only using 25mm2 cable ha i've already gone a bit overkill, chose 40mm2 whcih is sort of an unusual size I was recommended 35, for my original plan before I knew about roamer IE a 100AH under each seat so stepped up slightly as I sort of thiink of leccy being like water flowing through pipes and didn't want to constrict anything. Mind my mind set is a bit that way " belt an braces"

Thanks for the help all much appreciated

stu


edited to add the @

 

[Donk]

My battery is fitted under the passenger seat of a RHD van. I have the Renogy DCC50S 50A DC-DC charger under the driver seat.

 

[Dellmassive]

Linoleum bonepart which swivle are you using? Donk.....cheers for the reply.which side drivers or passenger is your battery fitted both? Does anyone by chance know if the T5 seat base is the same dimension as T6 on the vertical side? I ask which side as the drivers in the RIB swivle ( which I really don't want to change) may have extra clearence due to it being made to clear the handbrake when swiveling, well I'm almost certain it does I've had the seats out out so so many times. That said I really want the battery under the passenger side if possible

Samro ( nice build by the way noted same inverter as what we have in a box if memory serves) that's slightly disconcerting as the Renorgy is 15mm less on the width

Del yes loving the ride cheers muchly again someone from the T5 forum linked me to what you were doing, I was always going there but was struggling. I've no full cab matt and have sound deadened and insulated the floor, insulation to edges of seat base so they sit on insulation but not under seats,that will save a few mm. I'm not too worried about grinding off the earth stud as frankly there are so many dotted about my floor.............I strongly suspect I'll make a mock up of the battery (out of wood) now I have the new dimensions from Steve so I can offer everything up.

Del seeing that max discharge rate of 500A even if only for 10 seconds was why I asked on the isolator size. I can't see me ever stretching the battery Amps wise only having a 1200 watt inverter plus the 200A mega fuse should protect everything anyway?

I noted your are only using 25mm2 cable ha i've already gone a bit overkill, chose 40mm2 whcih is sort of an unusual size I was recommended 35, for my original plan before I knew about roamer IE a 100AH under each seat so stepped up slightly as I sort of thiink of leccy being like water flowing through pipes and didn't want to constrict anything. Mind my mind set is a bit that way " belt an braces"

Thanks for the help all much appreciated

stu

@Soundz add the @ symbol before the names to auto tag them in ie do @Dellmassive

 

[Soundz]

@Dellmassive Gotcha Del.......TBF ....I thought the like button would send an alert and having posted on the thread folk would be notified of replies, but not all fora work the same Funny I've just done exactly just that with Steve ( Roamer) trying to pin down exacts of SB battery size


cheers for the heads up i'm not great with PC's

 

[Dellmassive]

The van has been layed up for three weeks...

The LB has been running a BM2 battery monitor, an AMT12-2 starter battery trickle charger and a Victron Cerbo GX monitor.

The main draw is 400mA continuous..

It's interesting to see the drift from the Battery BMS data and the Victron shunt.

The battery BMS shows 92%.

But the Victron shunt shows, 46%

This is because the battery BMS has difficulty logging loads under 500mA

..so the true reading is 46%

This is just an example of why people ask me why I have the Victron shunt as well as the battery internal BMS.


This is not a fault or an issue, most BMS are the same, some are better than others.

The Roamer is actually very good in reading low current loads.... Much better than say the Poweroad that has problems reading under 1A (1000mA)...... This can lead to a drifting SOC reading.

The fix though Is easy. . . .

Just charge the battery to 100% this will reset the BMS back to 100% SoC and start the cycle again.

Happy days.

...

 

[Dellmassive]

just the update on the above . . . .

( the van being left for 3 weeks with a low sub 500mA load switched on - which caused a SoC drift from the battery BMS and Shunt data)

The BMS drift showed 46% and 92%.

( FYI - this can happen on all large lithium batterys with very low loads)

after a couple of days charging via the Renogy DC50s the Roamer is again fully charged.

++

both BMS and shunt are now showing 100% and we are back to normal operation.

this is only a temporary effect and you can see it took 3weeks to drift, and two days to correct its self.

this wont be an issue over long weekends or or even weeks if the van is driven causing a dc-dc charger to recharge & reset anyway.

you will only notice this on extended stays with a very low consumption - ie van parked up alone in storage, with no charge source.






+++


I've had a few people asking me what im using for the stand alone shunt ( That i run alongside the lithium batterys):


im using the Victron Smart shunt:

this is Bluetooth so connects to the victron app on your phone.

https://amzn.to/3af4dh2

+++


for the battery, check out ROAMER:

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For continuous power for non-stop adventures, say hello to Roamer – the next generation in SMART 12v and 24V LiFePO4 leisure batteries for campervans, boats and off grid life. Equal parts power, intelligence and reliability - managed with a smartphone app that puts the power in your hands. 10...

roamer.com

 

[Soundz]

@Dellmassive .......Dell, pane 73 you show a pic of a fuse block in the "flir" temperature check piccies...........which one is it and where in the SB is it located please..........

Cheers for the above info yup have smart shunt to run alongside the roamer BMS.....been re reading the thread whilst trying to get me head around where to fit everything under two single T5 SB's and musing ....I noticed cell 4 is again at a higher voltage in the latest installment ....as it was when you saw the COV readings due to the renorgy beiing set a gnats high at 14.4.V.which you then changed to roamer's spec of 14.2. and all became well......

Mate is that normal so see a slight difference in the cells and one in particular is often higher. and nowt to worry on...................and what is the significance of the cells being illustrated in red or green in the roamer app?

many thanks

stu

 

[Dellmassive]

@Soundz

The Fuse block is my own additional unit. The DC-DC charger feeds this. The leisure battery is connected too... This is where I take all my leisure battery loads from.( It's not the OEM SB fuse box)

...


Yes slight cell imbalance is totally normal, that is what the BMS is designed to deal with... amongst other things.

I believe the red and green cells denote the highest cell and lowest cell voltages.... The delta is the difference between the two..... With the other two cells being in the middle.

 

[Soundz]

@Dellmassive
thank you.............think i'm going along the lines of what Steve suggested in the "other Roamer SB thread............. Ie this :

Heavy Duty Power Distribution Fuse Box For Mega & Midi Fuses HEAVY DUTY POWER DISTRIBUTION FUSE BOX [ALM Part Reference - MFB1] - £17.94 : ALM Solutions, Auto Electrical Parts and Accessories for Cars, Boats, Caravans and Campers

HEAVY DUTY FUSE BOX FOR MEGA AND MIDI FUSES

www.almsolutions.co.uk

Don't think I have an OEM SB fusebox in my old T5 so the +ve bus will hold mains batt charger, B2B 12 12 30, 16mm2 60A fuse.......... PV 150W panel running 75/15 MPPT 30A fuse 4mm cable, inverter 12 1200 150A fuse 40mm cable an feed to 12way DC fusebox 25mm2 cable 100A fuse....main fuse ( mega) 200A.again 40mm2cable

Question....................this will be after the mains batt isolator.so do I need another 200A fuse BEFORE the isolator to protect cable run betwixt batt and positive bus...can I use sommit like this :

Battery Terminal (Cube) Fuses

Battery terminal (or cube) fuses that mount directly into a battery terminal clamp, eliminating any unprotected section of cable. For auto & marine use.

www.12voltplanet.co.uk

Cable runs are small from batt terminal to pos bus but I'd rather protect every cable run than not especially where there are connection points....IE the isolator ( 300A)

Off topic.....Dell I kinda want to try and give a bit back to the forum.not just take ( IE bother you with my questions)...it ain't me.....where would I post an off the wall wooden interior T5..(..NOT T6)!! build thread a very very slow 'un at that ?

Ta muchy

stu

 

[Dellmassive]

@Soundz

The very first thing connected to a battery should be a main fuse.... switches and fuse boxes can be down stream from that.

As for a build thread...

Post a new thread here....

Show Us Your T6

Post a picture and show us your pride and joy

www.t6forum.com

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Just mention in your first post that your van is a T5 and go from there...... Most of the stuff your planning will transfer over to the T6 anyway.

 

[Soundz]

@Dellmassive........irony i actually came here because the latest incarnate of the roamer Sb has landed and corse I thought the folks here might like some piccies.... as a break from trying to find a blue sea fuse holder an block...........then saw my post above..........

So before the pics.which incidentally are already posted elsewhere here on my " Awkward( read madness life's meant to be fun) build thread.......anyone know if I can fit a cube fuse to Roamer and second will it work with Roamer's terminal cover???????????????????????????

Second new batt....................note well....terminals are where they are,not reversed image or such like........Second thought is although the handles are super swanky an all,they are not terrible useful if one has used every availble bit of space in your Sb for leccy gizmo's......Ha ours will be lowered in on some gorgeous purple straps a couple of lovely chippies gave me.but I digress

_S2I2456 by Stuart Philpott, on Flickr

_S2I2465 by Stuart Philpott, on Flickr

_S2I2467 by Stuart Philpott, on Flickr

Notes..no longer a QR code on top now comes with a quality control sheet showing individual cells etc etc

Right i'm off the exploit the fine art of cube fuse wrangling.......just wanted to add a little bit to bring members up to date on Dell's wonderful thread
take care ya'll

stu

 

[RoamerBatteries]

Should be a QR code on it sorry Stu! I’ll speak to guys in a warehouse but in meantime here’s the link it takes you to

Roamer Quick Start Guide

The quality control sheet is a new addition, we now put all batteries through a strict set of tests for high loads, top and bottom balance. Cells are grade A+ (fully matched) anyway so they should be bang on but if there’s any issues these get picked up before shipping. Any slight cell drift during storage will balance out with normal use

Just remove the terminal cover, it’s there to prevent a short from touching the seatbase metal but if you use a Blue Sea terminal block then this should come with a rubber flappy cover anyway.

 

[Soundz]

Should be a QR code on it sorry Stu! I’ll speak to guys in a warehouse but in meantime here’s the link it takes you to

Roamer Quick Start Guide

The quality control sheet is a new addition, we now put all batteries through a strict set of tests for high loads, top and bottom balance. Cells are grade A+ (fully matched) anyway so they should be bang on but if there’s any issues these get picked up before shipping. Any slight cell drift during storage will balance out with normal use

Just remove the terminal cover, it’s there to prevent a short from touching the seatbase metal but if you use a Blue Sea terminal block then this should come with a rubber flappy cover anyway.

Ahh ok....Steve no need for apologies A link is good enough for me .....Yes BS5191 does come with a cover it seems...I just like your terminal cover design ......it offers more protection. to my humble eyes.........but damned if I can find dimension data for the blue sea............so can't yet work out if it fits or I can work with.

Steve what pukert exponent do you recommend for your battery please...........I understand LiFePO4 is close to one.but I can't help be curious

thank you

 

[RoamerBatteries]

Ahh ok....Steve no need for apologies A link is good enough for me .....Yes BS5191 does come with a cover it seems...I just like your terminal cover design ......it offers more protection. to my humble eyes.........but damned if I can find dimension data for the blue sea............so can't yet work out if it fits or I can work with.

Steve what pukert exponent do you recommend for your battery please...........I understand LiFePO4 is close to one.but I can't help be curious

thank you

 

[Samro]

but damned if I can find dimension data for the blue sea

 

[Dellmassive]

for others that are wondering what it is . . . . .

CUBE fuse and block . . . .

they bolt onto the battery post. - a very compact fuse option.


others are MIDI and MEGA fuses and holders

 

[Soundz]

@RoamerBatteries ...Steve brilliant thank you very much in deed that will be a huge help..... ha ha so excited can't believe we own the battery now finally.so chuffed

@ Samro....bless ya Sam again huge thanks.......incidentally We have a 200version of what Dell linked from the same site ( they are local we try to support local folks businesses if we possibly can), and a spare fuse. So in a couple of days hopefully, I'll be able to work in the physical form......that said really appreciate the above Sam.thank you...........I've been bitten a few times Sam by diagrams/ measurements thereof not being accurate...I've been downright painstaking in my build re mills.so the physicality of sommit is nice for me personally .I can work with something in my hand

The cube seems like a really neat solution, extremely compact ( incredibly applicable to a SB design) and being on the +ve terminal one has no unprotected cable what so ever..............so as a layman it's been on my radar a goodly while it just seems so logical........I bought a mega maybe lack of confidence.but it's big and bulky uses a silly amount of space and I can't for the life of me find a way to mount it

'Corse as a laymen trying to get one's head around everything..................... ya then ask why isn't anyone else doing that? What am I missing?...There must be something I'm missing? There is something isn't there so ya buy a mega because there is so much self doubt

SB leccy is fraught with so many questions..one tries to do it cause the whole T5 T6 camper van malarky is a conundrum of working up a teeny tiny space into a viable functioning efficient bus... so one goes there,but damn trouble shooting all this will be taxing !!

Ha enough deep stuff

Ta muchly for the 'elp lads

 

[Soundz]

Update.Dell's linked site delivered to us promtly............ pleased with service

@RoamerBatteries ..........Steve the above page is from a victron device? If so which? ( Guessing MPPT?,but not having anything active yet bar the orion am unsure). Could you do the same battery settings page for an orion Tr smart 12 12 30...........75/15 MPPT if my guess is wrong and IP 22 20A charger?

Many thanks

 

[RoamerBatteries]

Update.Dell's linked site delivered to us promtly............ pleased with service

@RoamerBatteries ..........Steve the above page is from a victron device? If so which? ( Guessing MPPT?,but not having anything active yet bar the orion am unsure). Could you do the same battery settings page for an orion Tr smart 12 12 30...........75/15 MPPT if my guess is wrong and IP 22 20A charger?

Many thanks

It’s from a Victron smartshunt/BMV

For the chargers you just need to change the battery preset to lithium (LiFePO4). The IP22 has a Li-Ion profile on main page, ignore this and go into advanced settings to choose the LiFePO4 mode.