Charging leisure battery

[spruce]

I would recommend investing in a PV solar system.
When I first moved into wfp the issue I had was lack of mileage from home to jobs.
Start stop journeys kills any van starter battery and also has a knock on effect if using a spilt charger system.

I was monitoring my leisure battery constantly and not allowing it to deplte or drop below 11v
I charged my battery every night with the hook up I installed. Yes it's a right faff unplugging it every morning.


I had installed many solar pv systems into friends DIY offgrid camper vans and thought why don't I do the same.

I have a 100w solar panel on my roof bars fixed with an aluminium frame I welded for stability
A victron MPPT charge controller, inline fuse and that charges my leisure battery system and also charges my vans starter battery through the Durite split charge system ( split charge relays are two way)

Understanding battery usage and thresholds is key. If my memory serves me well then @spruce published a post a few years ago on voltage Vs percentages and battery charge status which is a good tool to know how good your battery is

A windie in the Southampton area tried solar panel charging. It worked during the latter Spring to early Autumn period, but some days during winter he only managed an amp when the weather was bad. He also had a Victron MPPT controller.
One of the drawbacks to solar during winter they tell me is the angle of the sun on flat solar panels. How have you found the 100 watt solar panel performs in winter?

About 4 months ago, I replaced my lead acid battery with a 105 amp Fogstar LifePO4 battery. We have found that with my Sterling b2b charger set to a 30 amp recharge profile, I don't have to bench my battery doing short trips when just using both Shurflo pumps.

When using the diesel heater, I need to recharge the battery every week. However, I have noticed the lithium battery is charging faster as the weather warms up, so this could mean that I don't have to 'bench' charge the battery during the summer months. According to Fogstar technical dept., they recommend the LifePO4 battery is run down to around 40% state of charge before recharging is required. This is opposite to Lead acid batteries, which need to be fully recharged asap after each use.

I will do a review once I have get to know how this battery performs. So far, I'm tentatively impressed. Using the battery in the winter months isn't a problem as the batteries come with an internal heat pad as standard. If the batteries are below freezing, the battery's BMS activates the heat pad and only allows battery recharging once the internals reach 5 degrees C. The heating pad draws 10 amps.

LifePO4 batteries do show some of the characteristics Lithium-ion batteries do. They do seem to accept a higher charge rate below 80% charged than they do above 80%.

I purchased a 20 amp battery charger for Lithium from Fogstar, so 'bench' charging isn't a problem at home when the van is parked up.

 

[spruce]

Hope you're well mate

Boarding on extinction, I'm afraid. The reality is that I have to treat each day as a bonus.

 

[Deleted member 7446]

A windie in the Southampton area tried solar panel charging. It worked during the latter Spring to early Autumn period, but some days during winter he only managed an amp when the weather was bad. He also had a Victron MPPT controller.
One of the drawbacks to solar during winter they tell me is the angle of the sun on flat solar panels. How have you found the 100 watt solar panel performs in winter?

About 4 months ago, I replaced my lead acid battery with a 105 amp Fogstar LifePO4 battery. We have found that with my Sterling b2b charger set to a 30 amp recharge profile, I don't have to bench my battery doing short trips when just using both Shurflo pumps.

When using the diesel heater, I need to recharge the battery every week. However, I have noticed the lithium battery is charging faster as the weather warms up, so this could mean that I don't have to 'bench' charge the battery during the summer months. According to Fogstar technical dept., they recommend the LifePO4 battery is run down to around 40% state of charge before recharging is required. This is opposite to Lead acid batteries, which need to be fully recharged asap after each use.

I will do a review once I have get to know how this battery performs. So far, I'm tentatively impressed. Using the battery in the winter months isn't a problem as the batteries come with an internal heat pad as standard. If the batteries are below freezing, the battery's BMS activates the heat pad and only allows battery recharging once the internals reach 5 degrees C. The heating pad draws 10 amps.

LifePO4 batteries do show some of the characteristics Lithium-ion batteries do. They do seem to accept a higher charge rate below 80% charged than they do above 80%.

I purchased a 20 amp battery charger for Lithium from Fogstar, so 'bench' charging isn't a problem at home when the van is parked up.

My panel is slightly ramped up at around 20 degrees and I've not had any major issues with charge current and battery health. It's always at 12.8 volts which is nice to see. If you are good with electronics you can cheat a little with a buck converter. I've also etched some pcbs and added diodes to ensure my split charge system doesn't create any adverse reverse current into the charge controller.

I also park my van under my neighbours led floodlight that's always on at night 50w of led equals extra charge at night