Time to replace my old lithium battery

[Bryn23]

Well, i was expecting to get more than 3 and half years out of my 240ah lithium battery from eBay, i had a few issues on our last big trip where the BMS would disconnect while under load from the inverter.

I have to put it apart and check the cells, as i'm sure i have a faulty cell, but there isn't much more i can do with it at this point in time, but it limps by without using the inverter.

But in the mean time, it's time to build myself a new battery, i've got 8 EVE 304ah Grade A matched and balanced cells and 2 JBD 200ah Bluetooth BMS on the way.

I plan on making two 12 volt packs in parallel, so i have some redundancy while out on the road if i have an issue with one pack, as we tend to go on 2-4 month long trips and it was a real pain to manage the battery.

So i'll have 608 ah to burn through, although these cells are normally good for 320ah, i'll be able to cook more with the induction cooker while off grid and keep the 12 volt hot water on all the time.

I'll most likely Tig weld up some 1.6mm mild steel compression battery boxes for cells and BMS, i'll post that once i get around to making them incase anyone is interested.

 

[DXX]

If I recall correctly you’re in Australia, just wondering how you keep the lithium battery cool enough in summer?

 

[Bryn23]

If I recall correctly you’re in Australia, just wondering how you keep the lithium battery cool enough in summer?

I don't do anything, never had a heat problem from the lithium battery itself, it is vented if there is any heat, and the AC keeps the van cool, as does the Maxfan when parked up

The DC-DC charger, inverter and fridge are connected to fans to cool them while the van is underway and the the inverter is running, i've got new thermostat relays on the way to improve the current single setup.

These new BMS have heat sensors that i can access via the App, so i'll know if heat is an issue with the battery cells.

 

[czmate1999]

Well, i was expecting to get more than 3 and half years out of my 240ah lithium battery from eBay, i had a few issues on our last big trip where the BMS would disconnect while under load from the inverter.

I have to put it apart and check the cells, as i'm sure i have a faulty cell, but there isn't much more i can do with it at this point in time, but it limps by without using the inverter.

But in the mean time, it's time to build myself a new battery, i've got 8 EVE 304ah Grade A matched and balanced cells and 2 JBD 200ah Bluetooth BMS on the way.

I plan on making two 12 volt packs in parallel, so i have some redundancy while out on the road if i have an issue with one pack, as we tend to go on 2-4 month long trips and it was a real pain to manage the battery.

So i'll have 608 ah to burn through, although these cells are normally good for 320ah, i'll be able to cook more with the induction cooker while off grid and keep the 12 volt hot water on all the time.

I'll most likely Tig weld up some 1.6mm mild steel compression battery boxes for cells and BMS, i'll post that once i get around to making them incase anyone is interested.

Wow, a serious system.

Would be interested to hear of your full current and future electrical system with photos!!

What solar are you using? We camp with 200ah (2x100ah) lifepo4 batteries with a 250w solar panel and that combined with driving always leaves us with enough juice and while we don't use our induction we do use the microwave and coffee machine a fair bit. Although admittedly the longest we have been away for is a week...

CZ.

 

[AussieMick]

If I recall correctly you’re in Australia, just wondering how you keep the lithium battery cool enough in summer?

I have had my lifepo4 battery in 40c+ and had no problem, they tend to be a great upgrade if you need extended time off grid when traveling.

 

[Bryn23]

Hey CZ, i'm sure i had some current electrical system photos in my build thread, ill have to have a look.

Currently have 180 watts of solar, but the problem is that over here i tend to find shade to camp under to escape the heat, so the Votronic 30/20/250 triple charger puts in the 30amp while driving ( i do have a 60/40/350 unit sitting in the workshop to swap over).

Most of the time we do have enough power from driving, but there have been quite a few times when we have been close to empty when parked up under trees, this system is more about managing redundancy and increasing capacity that the same time.

Induction cooking draws around 90ah, but it is great not having gas.

 

[Bryn23]

I have had my lifepo4 battery in 40c+ and had no problem, they tend to be a great upgrade if you need extended time off grid when traveling.

We drove back to Brisbane from Coral Bay in WA, via Broome late November 19, hottest day was 47 degrees, lowest was 41 degrees, 7500km and 7 days of driving and didn't have any issues with the current battery, if i recall we were out on the road for 4 months straight at that point we decided to head home due to the heat.

LiFepo4 has more issues with cold than heat, i've only had the BMS play up in our last 3 month trip up in NT

I'm tempted to fit one of those Dometic 12 volt RTX 2000 air con to the van after the battery upgrade and fit a smaller solar panel

 

[czmate1999]

Hey CZ, i'm sure i had some current electrical system photos in my build thread, ill have to have a look.

Currently have 180 watts of solar, but the problem is that over here i tend to find shade to camp under to escape the heat, so the Votronic 30/20/250 triple charger puts in the 30amp while driving ( i do have a 60/40/350 unit sitting in the workshop to swap over).

Most of the time we do have enough power from driving, but there have been quite a few times when we have been close to empty when parked up under trees, this system is more about managing redundancy and increasing capacity that the same time.

Induction cooking draws around 90ah, but it is great not having gas.

We have had a few, wheat we class as 'hot weeks', over here and have also parked in the shade . That led me to me wanting to install an additional 'solar' cable input to the leisure system (a cable that feeds into the engine compartment) so that i could connect a portable panel and point at the sun to help keep the batteries topped up. Hopefully get round to doing it in the next few weeks...

 

[AussieMick]

I have added a couple of Anderson plugs with rubber covers discreetly , one on the sill below drivers door and one near tow bar plug. These are in parallel to my roof top panel.
It allows me to add solar blankets as needed to boost solar capacity and allows me to park in the shade and put the portable panels in the sun to keep van cooler.
This has worked well for me in my travels.

 

[AussieMick]

Hi Bryn23, have you got any fans fitted inside your van. I have a 12v sirroco fan like yachts use, very economical to run and allows us to sleep even on the hottest days and nights. I'm considering adding one more but have found one sufficient so far. Can run for hours on very little battery draw.

 

[Bryn23]

Hi Bryn23, have you got any fans fitted inside your van. I have a 12v sirroco fan like yachts use, very economical to run and allows us to sleep even on the hottest days and nights. I'm considering adding one more but have found one sufficient so far. Can run for hours on very little battery draw.

Hi Mick, yeah we have a Sirroco fan as well as the maxxfan. we can also use the ventilation mode on the diesel heater to draw up air under the van

it's the humidity that kills us, even with the side door open and the tailgate open at night, fans don't do much.

with the dry heat that you get down south, fans work well