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Originally Posted by HitchNride
Wow this is some useful info! It's just not out there via searching, unfortunately. (perhaps on here, but I didn't come across anything in my initial seatches)
Thanks to you both for the great info. Wow, I wasn't expecting to get any Air Cond time out of my AGM at this point... an hour would be pretty nice! (enough to cool it down a few times overnight without starting up, if needed, if not that hot out) Funny thing is, I am pretty sure I have two batteries, because I saw four posts... not sure if they would be in parallel or series though? (from both of your description, sounds like it's normally just one 12 volt, which would then mean I probably have two 12 volt batteries, unless owner changed it out to two 6 volts) Mine are definitely on their sides, with the posts facing the front of the vehicle. Just very hard to see unless I get it on a lift or drive up on a curb or on blocks sometime.
The thin plate tech must explain how my batteries came up so quickly then... due to them being AGM, I wasn't expecting them to charge much after idling the engine for 30 minutes. It came up to 12.9 but I was sure this would all be surface charge, but next morning, it was still at 12.7! (with fridge running) All this makes me feel much better and that I'm not missing out on much then by not having the EcoTrek lithium setup.
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Yeah, so I always get into these deep discussion with people on what is better/worse, however fact of the matter everyone is probably right for their situation if they have put enough thought into it.
Everyone's situation and needs are different. Personally for me, I live in my van 365 24/7 so I wanted something that had decent to good performance that I could cycle for years w/o having to worry. Reliability is my design focus, that's my #1. No power is like a blackout in a house, it sucks!
Part of the reason I was so willing to tear my system apart to learn so much a bout it is because before I did anything really I designed an auxiliary input. Then I designed a LiFePO4 portable battery (with a fold out solar panel!) with all the bells and whistles. That way I can work freely and not worry about down time. The battery plugs into my rig and runs the fridge, water pump, heater, etc.
I don't know what you guys think of RV repair shops, but in my situation they just don't help me. No Zion means living in a hotel. It just doesn't work for me. I'm 100% motivated to be full DIY everything and have control of my situation.... reliability. Anyways, that's another factor which drove me to get down and dirty with the power electronics. Well, I guess an electrical engineering degree helped too.
Ok yeah, so everyone's needs are different. I boondocks 365 days a year. I think I plug in my rig once a year to a park. So I re-engineered my system around that goal, reliable and long cycle life, always off grid. I learned how to program the Balmar because those specs were so important to cycle life. I'm working on more solar because that will smooth out my charge profile even more day to day and reduce the C-Rate.
One cool perk is after doing the financials. My lithium setup is actually the cheapest over time, per watt hour consumed. Batteries have a good cycle life, and I'm not stressing them charging and discharging at high rates anymore. Also only using from 30% to 90% typically, which extends the cycle life. Nice reasonable gentle currents all the time and these babies should last 10+years easy. Expensive to buy up front, but super solid, hands off, and dependable for daily use for years to come.
Can't wait until I've got this battery all done and re-installed under the van. Having bluetooth send me all the data is going to be so great for future tweaks and securing my system as reliable as possible.
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