Thoughts on Lithium System

[Mikerson]

I was reading on some RV forum and came a across a situation where instead of buying a new lithium-ready AC charger, the person hooked their existing Progressive Dynamics AC to DC as an input to a DMT1230. Seems a little inefficient, but in theory it should work and might be a nice way to save several hundred bucks for those looking to convert an SMB over to run that $69 microwave. Plus I kind of like the idea of topping up the starting battery at the same time (necessarily in parallel). I’m not going to be charging from shore power very frequently. Thoughts on that approach?

[Scalf77]

I have not tried that but it certainly could work. So if someone has done it with success, that would be a reasonable approach. If one took this approach one would want to make sure the output of progressive unit would cover the input needs of the DMT12X0.

I probably would not recommend if your plans were to shore power charge a lot. But if it was a minimal, it would be a low cost approach.

-greg

[Mikerson]

Thanks, Greg.


I found another image of the Kisae display panel. Perhaps it will be valuable to someone in the future.


https://12voltwarehouse.com/products...ger-bic1220080

[Mikerson]

Originally Posted by Scalf77

The ignition wiring for the KISAE DMT1250 is for if you have a smart alternator ( it lowers the acceptable voltage range). The DMT1250 does stay active until it drops below the voltage threshold (this is much like a ACR disconnecting at the low voltage) I found this somewhat annoying but certainly not the end of the world. I have isolated the input with a ignition controlled relay, and can supply information on how it can be done.

-greg

I ended up purchasing a DMT1250. Is there anything more to this ignition controlled relay than hooking up the relay trigger to a 12V-high-when-van-on circuit and placing the relay inline to interrupt the ground wire on the alternator input (CH3)?

Thanks

[Scalf77]

Yes, I usually put a 80 amp relay on the hot side, the grounds are tied internally so interrupting the ground wire from alternator would not work. This relay is controlled by the run position on the key switch.

This will allow me to then attach a secondary charger to top off the starting batteries.

greg

[Mikerson]

Good call on the internal connection.

[Prnl]

We just installed a lithium battery, adding it to the SMB system. After losing power while camped in the woods (grrr!), we talked to an auto electric person who suggested replacing our inverter because there seemed to be a short in the system and he thought it was in the inverter (Xantax ProSine 2.0 inverter-charger). More research suggests that inverter is not compatible with the lithium battery. Do we need to get a different inverter? Charger? Help!!

[marret]

Originally Posted by Prnl

We just installed a lithium battery, adding it to the SMB system. After losing power while camped in the woods (grrr!), we talked to an auto electric person who suggested replacing our inverter because there seemed to be a short in the system and he thought it was in the inverter (Xantax ProSine 2.0 inverter-charger). More research suggests that inverter is not compatible with the lithium battery. Do we need to get a different inverter? Charger? Help!!

My Xantrex Freedom XC 2000 charges lithium. Don’t know how old your’s is and when or if it changed.

If you were camped, what power source were you using to charge?

[Scalf77]

Not sure what lithium batteries you got, but I am pretty sure the ProSine can be programmed to support a lithium profile.

https://www.sportsmobileforum.com/fo...eis-29047.html

-greg

[rionapo]

Originally Posted by Mikerson

Also interested in hearing from anybody with experience with the lower-priced lithium batteries available on Amazon. Hard to justify paying 2x as much for a BB or Relion in my simple setup. Thinking maybe Chins or Eco-worthy (the Eco-worthy 150Ah will fit in the spot where my lead acid is right now I think).

Can't speak to quality of alternative systems but I can say BB's support is exceptional. I had a recent issue, sent an email to a contact and left a generic ticket request. Both on Memorial Day Monday. Had a voice mail from the ticket request and an email reply by 10:00 Tuesday morning. Las Vegas is an hour behind me.