Born Free Leap'n Lions RV Club Info & Discussion Forum

I thought I'd start a new topic since bornnorm's thread is getting quite lengthy and diverse.

Thank's Norm for the link to the Renogy lithium batteries.
https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Lithium-I ... 30MRDAG3NN

I think that 100 Ah or 170 Ah would be a better choice than the 50 Ah. I did a little more searching and came up with a much better price at Walmart for the 170 Ah battery:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Renogy-Lithi ... /838476134
Edit 6/2/2019: Price is back up to $1499.
I think that I may be replacing my batteries soon and lithium seems to be best choice for the long run.

The 170 weighs 46 #. If I read right?
So you install in batt. tray?
Would 2 fit?
I think they are 14x6.1x10.6 inches. I had to convert mm's.

An absolutely great price for 170 Amp hour battery,

stevek wrote: Would 2 fit?
I think they are 14x6.1x10.6 inches.

Two would fit in my battery tray. My tray measures 12-3/4 wide by 14-1/4 deep. I currently have two golf cart batteries and I have about an inch of clearance above my battery terminals.

I just ordered one yesterday and expected delivery is April 4 to a Walmart store.

I just noticed that Amazon is selling the same Renogy battery for the same price as Walmart.

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Lithium-I ... way&sr=8-3

One advantage of purchasing from Walmart is you can return it to the store if there is a problem. I checked Amazon and sales tax would be added so the overall price would be the same whether buying from Walmart or Amazon.

Here's a good YouTube video showing different options available for lithium:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOqQp2Xjr6U

Boy you guys must really like to spend big money on replacement coach batteries. The Renogy 170 amp-hour battery costs $980 each. The Interstate SRM-31 210 amp-hour flooded cell battery costs currently $142/each. My experience running the Interstates in my 2002 BF 26'RSB using a modern 3-stage charger/converter is that my Interstates last at least 5 years of service

My situation isn't typical. I spend 6 months in Florida and stay at primitive campsites. These sites are free and none have hookups. I keep my batteries charged with solar. My biggest problem is getting my batteries up to 100% charge. If lead-acid batteries are not regularly charged fully they will start to sulfate. My batteries have not held up very well. Lithium batteries don't care if they are not charged fully. In fact, lithium batteries will be damaged if they sit unused and are fully charged. Lithium batteries are good for many more charge/discharge cycles than lead-acid. In theory, over the long run lithium is cheaper than lead-acid. Only time will tell. Hopefully this battery will last a long time.

Tom,

Have you converted your Parallax 7345 Charger/converter over to the 3-stage Progressive Dynamics PD4655V unit? Depending on your your solar panels are wired into the system, the PD4655V is much faster at recharging your batteries.

Bill, I have not updated my converter. Since I'm seldom plugged in or run my generator, that's not high on my list. First on my list is a new charge controller for my solar. I have read your article on replacing the converter and plan on doing it at some point. Anybody contemplating lithium should note that lithium takes a different charging profile and the converter needs to be able to handle it. As far as charging from the engine alternator, I don't plan on doing anything with that. The alternator does not put out a high enough voltage to reach full charge for the coach batteries.

I just checked Amazon and they no longer offer the 170ah for $980. It's still the same price at Walmart.

We had lead acid batteries, I think 2 Trojan 105s. Our rig was 15 years old when we sold it and the batteries were still good. We avoided fully discharging them and even kept them charging when not using the Bounder. So my experiences are good however I still want Lithium Batteries.

Weight is not a real issue here however my battery box may not have failed it it was always carrying lithium batteries. There's no doubt that discounting price Lithium makes a better battery.

Indulging is part of getting old.

https://www.progressivedyn.com/lithium- ... r-centers/ Here is a good link

I'm still running Interstate marine batteries installed by the previous owner. 6 years old now, but I updated to the 3 stage inverter and have a 100W solar panel. I'm expecting the batteries to give out soon but cant afford the lithium so will probably go with 2 6v lifeline AGM batteries.

whemme wrote:Boy you guys must really like to spend big money on replacement coach batteries. The Renogy 170 amp-hour battery costs $980 each. The Interstate SRM-31 210 amp-hour flooded cell battery costs currently $142/each. My experience running the Interstates in my 2002 BF 26'RSB using a modern 3-stage charger/converter is that my Interstates last at least 5 years of service

That's my perspective as well, Bill. I bought two Group 31 Marine/deep cycle RV batteries at Menards last year for $109 each. I have a Progressive Dynamics converter as well, and I also realize about five years' service from the flooded cell batteries. But even if you only get three years' use out of them before they sulfate, it would take about 27 years' worth of wet-cell batteries to pay for one set of Lithium batteries. Likely, very few of us will keep our coaches long enough to break even on that.

For the apparent $1600 difference between wet cell and Lithium batteries, that $1600 buys a LOT of nights in campgrounds with hookups.

Well my pair of Interstate SRM-29 batteries didn't last the expected 5 years, they only lasted 4 years this time, but it was my fault. I forgot and left the coach battery master switch ON after putting my. coach into storage after getting back home from our Mesa, AZ trip on April 1st. Even though I always connect up a Battery Minder, it's charge rate will not keep up with the discharge current with the master switch left ON. Deep cycle batteries do not like to be discharged below 50% of their capacity and they really really do not like to be discharged to 0%. That was the resulting state of charge when I removed my BF from storage on May 17th preparing for our National Rally. So I killed my pair of Interstate SRM-29 batteries. SRM-29s have been discontinued so on the way to the Amanas I stopped in Des Moines at the Interstate store and purchased a pair of their replacement SRM-31 batteries. Cost for the pair was $317 including Iowa's 7% tax.

When I bought my coach in 2015 from Pontiac RV in Pontiac IL, during the pre-delivery inspection I'd noticed that they'd replaced the two-battery setup in the tray that was dead with a single battery. I made them replace both batteries. I didn't pay much attention to what they'd replaced them WITH. I ran the first three years I had the coach with two Group 24 starter batteries! Unbelievable! I'm shocked that they made it three seasons!

Those were the ones I replaced last year with the Group 31s. Surprisingly, I never ran the Group 24s down with use. I was amazed.