theboondork's RV blog

A response to Larry's comment

7/9/2022

There's only a couple of pics to click, it's just too hot to get in the mood to take a snapshot.

Nighttime yellow Roses.

I'm going to try to install all four of my BattleBorn batteries in the Lance. That would only be possible because I can mount the batteries in any position necessary to make them fit in the Lances battery box. So that will give me 400 amps of battery bank and 500 watts of solar power.

That's less solar power than I have in the Arctic Fox by 340 Watts, but I'm hoping that the new Renolgy solar controller, which is an MPPT instead of a PMW like in the Arctic Fox, will eke out a few more amps based on the more efficient controller and the location of the solar panels on the Lances roof.

When I put the solar panels on the roof of the Arctic Fox, I was more concerned with getting the most panels as possible on the roof, so some of the panels were shaded at different times of the day by things like the air conditioner, vent fans, and TV antenna. Remember, the sun is very low on the horizon during the winter, so even something as low as a plumbing vent can cast a shadow over part of a solar panel.

I was more careful where I put the solar panels on the Lance, and I should be able to face the Lance South when I'm boondocking, and all the panels will get an unobstructed view of the sun for most of the day, which I could never do with the Arctic Fox.

I could be like a normal person and tilt the panels towards the sun, but I'm far too lazy to deal with that every time I stop and hopefully remember to put them back down again before something knocks them off. You don't have to spend a whole lot of time in Quartzsite to be able to see folks driving down I-10 with their solar panels tilted up.... And if you're behind them, you just have to hope they've got those panels screwed down really, really, well.

There are many good things about lithium iron batteries, except of course, the price. But the most important thing to me has become freedom; the freedom to put them wherever I want, in any position I want. The freedom to never have to water them, the freedom to know they take care of themselves with their built-in battery monitoring system, and the most important thing to me is the freedom from thinking about them. The batteries are there; they're doing their job; and they seldom cross my mind... to me, that's real freedom.

I would imagine the price hasn't dropped considerably as most high-tech things do for the reason you said, which is the value of the minerals there made out of; there are more RVers, so there's probably a bigger demand for high-tech batteries, and maybe the supply chain has something to do with it. But if there's money to be made, some smart person will invent a battery that's just as good as lithium iron but is made out of seawater and sand.

Theboondork

This Lance battery box is where I'm going to try and install all four of my BattleBorn batteries. Of course I have to take everything out of the box especially the wood that holds the single battery in place. It looks like it was designed to hold two batteries if necessary, but four? I have my doubts.

I'm in the process of installing the solar controller, and inverter, which you see laying on the floor. I can't install them IN the battery box which would be the best place if I was only going to put in two lithium iron batteries. But if I'm going to try and put all four in their, I need every bit of room I can get.

And just so people won't think I'm an idiot, or confirm what they already know. I would never put electronic equipment such as a solar controller and inverter in a box with a lead acid battery. The fumes from the battery would corrode the delicate parts, and the electronic gadgets needs air circulation to keep cool. But lithium-iron batteries produce no explosive fumes or noxious gases... Unlike me.

8 Comments

Judith

7/9/2022 08:15:24 pm

I've never thought you were an idiot. Well, mostly. (Sorry, my eyes were glazing over with the technical stuff on the batteries, etc, though I am filled with admiration for those who are able and willing to do that sort of thing. It's necessary.) So all I can comment on is my impression about your idiocy, or lack of. And regardless, you do take good pitchers.

Tom

7/9/2022 08:32:49 pm

I'm afraid I didn't learn to do all that stuff to keep things working because of my love of tools, I had a much better reason for learning how to fix things; I was too poor to pay somebody else to do it.

But I do enjoy taking pitchers a lot more than I enjoy fixing things. I'm hoping the Lance will be the last camper I ever have to modify, I still get satisfaction when I make a camper fit my lifestyle, but not as much as I did before.... Now I think I'd rather walk around and take pitchers.

Tom

Larry Worsham

7/10/2022 06:12:50 am

I would think your setup will provide more than enough power for your needs. It's hard to tell from the pics but you should be able to fit 4 batts in that compartment after you gut it out. I am surprised that they would put a wet cell in there in the first place but there is limited room so I guess they put where they can.

Everything that I have done to my trailer has been a custom install based upon my needs. As a "jack of all trades....master of none" I've come up with some solutions that would probably confound others but it works for me. I follow the "Rube Goldberg" design philosophy.

Hi Judith.....I live near San Marcos, TX.

7/10/2022 07:13:54 am

To live comfortably as a long-term boondocker I have to have enough electric power to make it through days of rainy, cloudy weather when I get little or no charging from the solar panels, and that's the hardest thing to figure out, and to prepare for. But it explains why I generally stay in the Southwest during the winter, it at least gives me a chance of keeping my batteries charged up, whereas if I was heading for the Pacific Northwest during the winter my solar panels would be worthless.

I know what you mean about the lead acid battery being in that box that you see in the picture, but what you can't tell from the picture is that battery is actually in a plastic battery box, and the lid is out of sight. There's also two vent lines connected to the battery box to keep it properly aired out. So its not as dangerous as my picture makes it look.

I suffer that same "Jack of all trades" affliction myself, knowing just enough to get in trouble, but not enough to realize how much trouble I'm in, so I just keep doing the same thing over and over.

Tom

7/10/2022 09:32:34 am

Aww that makes sense re: the battery box.

I lived in Oregon for 30 yrs. The prime camping time is in the late spring, summer and early fall. I didn't have any issues with my solar system with proper site selection. Most of my winter camping was done in state parks with hook ups. I do have a small generator for those rare times of need but I probably don't have 50 hours on it and have owned it 15 years. Most of that has been during the winter storm two years ago in Texas. I've always hated using it when camping.

For ten years we were reverse snow birds. We headed to the NW in the spring and summer and return to TX in the late fall. Summers are virtually unbearable here, but family duty calls at this point so one has to do what they half to do.

IMHO power storage is the key. That is a great advantage of Lithium over lead acid. In theory I have 450 amps of storage but it can preferably only be used half of that at a time to preserve battery life. I try not to use up more than 180 amps before a recharge. You have got me thinking that with the four Lithium batteries you can use most of the available amps. Figuring that and the number of cycles you should get (plus convenience) the cost is becoming more palatable in my in my mind.

7/10/2022 10:52:22 am

I didn't realize you were a Snowbird Larry, that fact carries a lot of weight with us RVers that haven't been full timing that long.

Most of my experience with the Pacific Northwest was visiting relatives in Ferndale Washington, which is very near the Canadian border, and only a few miles north of Bellingham Washington. I wasn't full- timing back then, but I definitely remember the winters and wondered how folks dealt with so little sunshine, for so long a time.

I've been to Texas in the summer, and its definitely hot, but after being raised in Miami, there's not much of anywhere that can compare to the heat and humidity of South Florida.

When I first started full timing I had four Trojan T145 6 volts with a total of 520 amps, with 260 amps available in the Arctic Fox. Now with the four BattleBorn's I have 400 amps with almost all of it available. The weight alone would prevent me from carrying that many lead acid batteries around in the Lance. Those things were HEAVY!

It's hard to believe anyone can use the term palatable when describing the price of lithium iron batteries, but then again I used to think $5.50 diesel fuel would make me push my truck over a cliff! Some lithium iron batteries have dropped in price but none have the brand name of BattleBorn but I'm not sure how important that actually is anymore. If you haven't heard of him look up Will Prowst. Somebody recommended him to me, may have even been you, if so you can stop reading now.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Will+Proust

He's a young man that tests solar stuff, has bunches of Internet videos on solar, and seems to know what he's talking about. I think he's tested the BattleBorn batteries against more inexpensive competition, so there may be a more inexpensive way to go.

Tom

7/10/2022 12:11:21 pm

You are right about NW winters. Dark all but 8 hrs a day and misting or light rain most of the time. I got tired of it. Enjoying winters in TX and summers in the north were the way to go IMHO. After we retired and moved to TX we traveled from May to November. The time out got shortened when we had grand kids to from June to September. Very little time spent in commercial parks (to do laundry) usually forest service cg or state parks with some boondocking.

Wife did a blog on our travels.... https://runningk-r.blogspot.com/

Thanks for the link to Will. I hadn't heard of him but I will enjoy learning about Lithium and its application.

7/10/2022 12:54:57 pm

Yeah that was pretty much my experience in Washington, instead of the weather forecaster talking about rain, they didn't have to talk about it because it was going on all the time, they would talk about Sun breaks, and at what time and how many minutes they expected the sun to come out that day.

My original plans were to boondock for maybe a week or so and then go to a RV Park for a few days to clean up and do laundry. But that didn't last very long before I was dreading my trips to crowded RV parks, and looking for ways to stay boondocked longer.

It was partly a money thing, because I was having to pay daily rates at RV parks, and I certainly didn't want to stay there long enough to get a weekly rate. I also didn't like the lack of freedom to come and go as I please when signed up for a three day stay at an RV Park. I really enjoy being able to pack up and leave anytime I feel like it. And even if I don't leave, I know I can if I want to, and that to me is freedom.

So I felt that my only choice was to find a way to be comfortable while boondocking long-term. I could get water in a lot of places I didn't need an RV Park for that. There's also other places to dump my tanks. So the only thing left I needed was electricity, which meant more solar and more batteries would solve my problems.

So with that done now I only go to RV parks when I want to and usually for a reason like watching the daily events at the Pima County Fairgrounds where it's very convenient to stay in the boondocking area of their RV Park. I also enjoy state parks, there usually not crowded when I go there, and the campers aren't often packed together like commercial RV parks.

Tom

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