camping

Hi Greg,

No offence intended, but you need to qualify your answer. A 40 Ltr. Fridge depending on a couple of things, is likely to draw between 40 and 50 amps overnight, (12 hours). If it was fully charged at 6:00 pm, it will be down to almost 50% SOC by 06:00 am. So it cannot always be fully charged. If the only charging method is the 120 watt solar panel, then it is likely that your battery will not be “fully charged” until late morning. If in overcast conditions, that is likely to be mid afternoon, or possibly not fully charged by the end of the day.

Macca.

Same here. Based on years of experience with agm batteries there is no doubt that the higher priced units are far better quality. At the moment you can get a reasonable 100a/h lithium for around the $650 mark. Would this be a viable option as it weighs 1/3rd of an AGM and almost twice the usable amp hours?

But you also need to take into account a different charging mechanism is needed for lithium - so that cost needs to be taken into account.

I run a 24v system using a 24v - 12v smart dc charger to charge the 12v batteries - an expensive charger - not yet seen any 24v to 12v chargers suitable for lithium. I would like to change over to lithium but the costs are prohibitive, even maybe not possible.

Ozzie cruiser. Here is a 24 to 12v dcdc charger. 30 amps..Not a great deal more than a good 12v dcdc charger..Will do lithium as well. Victron is a quality product.Under $400

24-12

Enerdrive's DC2DC will also accept 24V input from the alternator system.

It has a lithium profile and is programmable.

Didn't know that Frank...yet I have the 40amp Enerdive dcdc in my camper!!

Thanks for those links on the 24v - 12v Dc chargers - not seen those before.

But still to change over from AGM to Lithium, in addition to the cost of the lithium battery need to fork out nearly an additional $400 to make them work. That is close to 1.5 good quality AGMs - but is something to consider - thanks :-)

What I liked about going lithium, apart from huge weight saving, was the very quick charge times and the fact that the battery voltage was around 13.2 volts until about 90% discharged when it stopped. This meant that in hot weather the car fridges were working at 100% efficiency and getting twice as many amp hours for the same size battery. . I f your only an occasional camper then lithium may not be necessary. Anyone who spends a lot of time camping will find lithium a big advantage over AGM.

Hi Captain,

I am not sure if there is value for money when you compare Full River AGM’s with many seeing 7 or 8 years of cycle life, compared to only 3 or 4 years with other AGM’s.

Macca.

Hi Macca,

AGM life is extremely dependant on how the battery is treated, have seen exceptional life from cheap but well maintained batteries and very short life from brand name batteries that have been neglected.

But even if only getting 3-4 years life, thats often longer than most people own their car/camper and hence still cost efficient. But I do agree its likely that a quality brand name battery that is treated well will outlast a generic supplied one.

If one knows they will be keeping their car/camper for some time AND knows what maintaining a lead acid battery means, then opting for a quality brand name is a good investment.... but so too is investing in lithium in that case!

Cheers