Anonymous
Not logged in
Talk
Contributions
Create account
Log in
GMC Motorhome Wiki
Search
Editing
House Batteries
(section)
From GMC Motorhome Wiki
Namespaces
Page
Discussion
More
More
Page actions
Read
Edit
Edit source
History
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
===== Buy it prepackaged, or package it yourself? ===== [[File:DIY 280ah battery in hall cabinet.jpg|alt=DIY battery in hall cabinet of a GMC Motorhome|thumb|DIY 280 amp hour LifePo4 battery configured to fit in standard hall cabinet on GMC-upfitted coaches. 1/4" cellular PVC used as enclosure, with amber Kapton tape.]] One benefit of the DIY approach to assembling LifePo4 cells is that the configuration can be anything you want it to be. Cells are typically 3.2 volts each, and arranged in a series of 4 become a 12.8 volt battery, perfectly compatible with your house electric system. Importantly, they do not need to be arranged in a particular way, though they should be sandwiched in some way so that any internal pressure is vented through their engineered vents rather than expansion and contraction of their aluminum shell. Typical 280ah cells are 175mm (~6 7/8") wide by 72mm (2 7/8") thick by 205 mm (8 1/16") high. And they can be assembled in any orientation or arrangements, as freely as a set of building blocks. That means, for instance, that you can arrange them in a 'briefcase' configuration of 14" wide by 6" thick and make a battery that fits well in that little afterthought of a closet door under the electrical space in many GMCs. You want to house LifePo4 batteries inside, by the way, because they're more sensitive to temperature than vintage lead-acid tech. If you're comfortable, they're comfortable. NOTE: LiFePO4 batteries cannot be recharged when they are below freezing temperature. Be sure your battery's Battery Monitoring System (BMS) has a cold battery charging disconnect. Some batteries are rated for cold weather charging. They have an internal heater which will use the available charging current to warm the battery to above freezing before applying the charge current to the cells. So, for the sake of comparison, let's look at various decision factors for 280 amp hours of storage. {| class="wikitable" |+Comparison, 280ah Battery Bank !Description !volume !weight !cost !life !maintenance !origin !notes |- |Trojan J305E-AC Lead Acid |79,990cc 4880ci |152kg 332lbs |$1,200 |rated 600 cycles |must be watered, trickle fed, stored for winter |USA |2 needed for 12v; Trojan rates life only for 50% depth of discharge; for 280 usable amp hours at 12 volts, you need 4 batteries |- |DIY LifePo4 from AliExpress |10,330cc 630.5ci |21kg 46.5lbs |~$520 w/BMS |3000 cycles |Must be stored for winter |China |Cheapest option by far; see Will Prowse videos on YouTube. Can be configured to fit odd spaces. |- |LiitoKala LifePo4 |15,655cc 955.3ci |25kg 55lbs |~$625 |3000 cycles |Must be stored for winter |China |Good option with warranty, though vendor is halfway around the world. |- |Battle Born LifePo4 |40,476cc 2,470ci |36.9kg 81.4lbs |~$2,250 |3000 cycles |Must be stored for winter |Assembled USA; Chinese parts |Rated by Battle Born for 270ah |}
Summary:
Please note that all contributions to GMC Motorhome Wiki are considered to be released under the Creative Commons Zero (Public Domain) (see
GMC Motorhome Wiki:Copyrights
for details). If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly and redistributed at will, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource.
Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Navigation
Navigation
Main page
ToS & License Policies
Create a page
Recent changes
Random page
Help about MediaWiki
Wiki tools
Wiki tools
Special pages
Page tools
Page tools
User page tools
More
What links here
Related changes
Page information
Page logs