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Old 02-03-2020, 04:08 PM   #1
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Replacement battery recommendations and max amp hour storage considerations

I’m the second owner of a 2014 E350 SM. The original owner replaced house battery with a small and inexpensive battery.

Two questions:
1. What’s the standard Amp Hour AGM battery that Sportsmobiel prefers?

2. Is it possible to connect two 200AH batteries with the original set up or is that too demanding on the alternator?

No I’ve in this area so any guidance to lead me to the best possible storage capacity for the original set up is greatly appreciated.

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Old 02-03-2020, 04:28 PM   #2
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For a battery upgrades, take a look at this thread - References the Carbon Foam vs AGM.
http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/for...ies-19629.html
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Old 02-03-2020, 04:38 PM   #3
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at this day and age i would look into just upgrading to lithium.
You can get a 170AH renogy battery (where u actually can use pretty much all of the 170AH compared to two 100Ah house batteries where u don't want to use more than 50%), or get two 100aH Battleborn lithium batteries
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Old 02-04-2020, 03:59 AM   #4
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Thanks for the info. The thread on lithium ion alternatives refers to the need to change out charging systems. Is that a requirement for every LI battery? Can anyone offer a tutorial of what exactly needs to be reconfigured if you go with that battery?
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Old 02-04-2020, 08:17 AM   #5
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To answer the original question, I think standard package that sportmobile sells now is 2 100 amp AGM batteries, this can be upgraded top a single 4D battery that would also be around 200 amps. Yes, you could put 2-4D batteries in parallel and get 400+ amps .

Things to check if moving to a larger battery bank, what is the capacity of your shore charger. I would want at least the capability to do 80 amps. How, well your alternator handles the additional load, will depend on the other power draws on the alternator. It would be very possible that you may need a larger alternator. In most cases it should be fine, but you may have some issues at idle.

Do you have solar, how many amps does the controller capable of and how many watts of panels do you have. You don't want to big of a battery bank that you can't get it recharged back to 100% SOC. That is one of the advantages of lithium and carbon foam agm, they can handle not being completely charged back to 100% .

Another carbon agm battery you may look at is Northstar Blue+ Batteries The biggest problem with these are their sizes, as these are traditional used in telecom, so they are nonstandard sizes. But the big thing is they support PSOC like the firefly and lithium batteries. There price range is attractive and they are made in the USA.

As far as converting to lithium, some of that was covered in this thread http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/for...e-25017-2.html

One of the things to look at when going to lithium is the maximum output charge of the battery. This is usually determined by the capability of the FET's used in their BMS, and are the limiting factor. So if using heavy loads such as large inverter you may be better off with two 100 amp batteries versus one 200 amp battery

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Old 02-06-2020, 02:31 PM   #6
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Thanks Greg. I ended up going with the Renogy Lithium Ion 100AH.
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Old 02-16-2020, 10:08 AM   #7
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Any concerns w/ replacing the 200 amp hour AGM w/ one 100AH Lithium Ion

Circling back to the fountain of wisdom for a bit more advice.
1. I purchased a sole Renogy 12v 100AH Lithium Battery to replace the factory 200 AH AGMs.
2. As luck would have it, I didn’t actually have 200AH the past year as the previous owner replaced with a standard car battery and failed to mention it before I drove off. The past summer it ran down pretty quickly as you can imagine and that led us to replace with a Lithium Ion.
3. To use a lithium ion with the existing AGM set up, do I need to replace or add anything for this battery to run properly and more importantly recharge.
4. I’ve read the lithium ion discussion thread, but nothing jumped out as a must consideration or requirement. I have limited electrical knowledge, so anyone that wants to break this down to a elementary discussion- it would be appreciated. Basically, I’m looking for you need to buy this and that to make the Lithium work properly.

Thanks in advance for your time.
Charlie
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Old 02-20-2020, 04:40 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie View Post
Circling back to the fountain of wisdom for a bit more advice.
1. I purchased a sole Renogy 12v 100AH Lithium Battery to replace the factory 200 AH AGMs.
2. As luck would have it, I didn’t actually have 200AH the past year as the previous owner replaced with a standard car battery and failed to mention it before I drove off. The past summer it ran down pretty quickly as you can imagine and that led us to replace with a Lithium Ion.
3. To use a lithium ion with the existing AGM set up, do I need to replace or add anything for this battery to run properly and more importantly recharge.
4. I’ve read the lithium ion discussion thread, but nothing jumped out as a must consideration or requirement. I have limited electrical knowledge, so anyone that wants to break this down to a elementary discussion- it would be appreciated. Basically, I’m looking for you need to buy this and that to make the Lithium work properly.

Thanks in advance for your time.
Charlie
2014 E350 Sportsmobile “Sporty”
I'm not sure of what charging parameters the Renogy likes. They should supply you with that info. Then what to do next depends on how you charge your battery: solar? alternator? shore? Many devices have different settings for lithium, like solar controllers. And if you just have an isolator and wiring from your alternator, that can work, but it's probably not going to be ideal and you might not get some of the advantages out of your lithium, like fast charging. I switched to a Kisae DMT 1250 to charge my lithiums. I also swapped out the old Progressive converter for one more suitable for lithium. Mostly to match parameters for lithium charging (I have Battle Borns), but also to get faster charging.
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Old 02-20-2020, 10:40 PM   #9
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So, as we sit here in Aspen, camping in our van as I read this, and it pretty much has not been above 32deg F for the past week. I am wondering how any discussion/recommendation around Lithium batteries can take place without at least a mention of charging limitations when cold.

We have been in our van for two weeks. If our batteries were inside they would take up room but I could maintain above freezing temps (to allow Li charging) with the heater. The two AGM’s we have are mounted behind the rear axle and have handled the zero deg weather very well. I just have to make sure the solar panel is clear of snow. Or we plug in if at an RV park or friends house.

I think of rigs that are parked outside in the cold temps even with Li batteries mounted inside. How do you charge those or keep them topped off? Great if you live in SoCal but not so easy if you live in MT.

If you winter camp/ski out of your rig, there are lots of environmental factors to consider.
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Old 02-20-2020, 11:04 PM   #10
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I just got my new batteries via FedEx...ordered on a Sunday, they were here Wednesday. I went back and forth deciding lithium vs AGM...went with two more AGM...my last AGM's lasted over five years...plus, they are plug n' play...I don't have to worry about reprogramming/updating my panel... here are some pics...Amazon store, matched the last battery specs "Intimidator" from SMBNorth build, USA made,$248 x 2 (was $256 but another couple dollars off for ordering more than one), $50 dollar coupon they gave me on the order, shipping to IA $97...AND a sticker!...all I have to do is install this weekend! Thanks to all the inputs from other Forum members on a few of the other "House Battery" posts!
1 old AGM
2 Shipping pkgs
3 receipt
4 new AGM's
5 matching specs/labels minus "Intimidator" decal
6 where they are going (under gaucho)
Attached Thumbnails
D321FF18-2316-4CB1-B49D-38D620279CA1.jpg   4A3E233E-882E-4AE7-B978-62163F471C09_1_201_a.jpg   369BA112-FB51-429A-802F-D728F79E0EFC_1_201_a.jpg   99FCE179-D693-4D06-AAC5-60F547F3BDA3.jpg   76DFB512-0B6A-4683-A690-01D5BFB10585.jpg  

BB0F5638-078C-4B2B-92B2-522F826F957D.jpg  
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