300Ah Lithium battery upgrade - Fiberglass RV
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Old 08-23-2024, 10:16 PM   #1
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Name: J
Trailer: Casita
Texas
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300Ah Lithium battery upgrade

I recently installed this Epoch Batteries 300Ah Lithium battery in my Casita SD trailer. Upon removal of the existing 100Ah AGM battery and the battery slide there was more than enough room in the existing battery compartment to install the new battery. I ended up wedging the top of the battery as well with more packing foam and now there's zero movement.

The ability to gain nearly 5 1/2 times the usable standby Ah from a battery of the same general size while being nearly 10lbs less weight without having to move the location of the battery is a game changer. The WFCO converter I have auto detects for battery type but it wasn't quite capable of taking the battery to its full 300Ah on the initial charge. A few short minutes charge on a 15amp lithium battery charger made short work of the remaining 3%/8Ah to take it to 100% and balance all four cells.


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Old 09-01-2024, 10:34 AM   #2
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Thanks for the post. This leaves room inside for an inverter. Are you planning on replacing the battery wires to a thicker gauge?
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Old 09-01-2024, 07:11 PM   #3
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No plans to change any of that at the moment, battery manufacturer stated it should be fine. Now when I add the inverter to the mix I'll likely upgrade the wiring then.
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Old 09-02-2024, 08:46 AM   #4
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Name: Alek
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West Michigan
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Nice! I l've wondered how big a battery someone could fit into that space, it should be a nice upgrade over the lead acid or agm.
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Old 09-02-2024, 09:17 AM   #5
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Trailer: Bigfoot
Oregon
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I have the same battery. Got it in March, it pairs nicely with my Giandel 2200 watt PSW inverter. It makes the Keurig coffee effortless, also some microwave use along with the 12 volt compressor fridge. The Bluetooth app really works well, giving me a percentage remaining, and also the number of amp hours left. Haven’t gone below 74%, as the solar brings it back up quickly.
The battery is a little spendy, but I highly recommend it.
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Old 09-02-2024, 07:41 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark in Oregon View Post
I have the same battery. Got it in March, it pairs nicely with my Giandel 2200 watt PSW inverter. It makes the Keurig coffee effortless, also some microwave use along with the 12 volt compressor fridge. The Bluetooth app really works well, giving me a percentage remaining, and also the number of amp hours left. Haven’t gone below 74%, as the solar brings it back up quickly.
The battery is a little spendy, but I highly recommend it.
Good feedback, thanks for sharing!
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Old 09-04-2024, 10:33 AM   #7
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Lithium battery

Charging to 100% can shorten the life of your battery.
Lithium battery manufacturers recommend keeping the battery between 80% and 40% charged, especially when not in use.
My previous solar charge control shut off at 80. My current one allows me to set up the shut off point.
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Old 09-04-2024, 03:34 PM   #8
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Yeah, I agree mostly. I have a Victron 100/50. My upper limit is set at 14.2 and float at 13.6. I’m probably not quite as conservative that way, I’m fine with 10% to 90% unless the cells get out of balance. But I just can’t see getting down to 10 or 20% from my experience.

I also need to see what my Progressive (I hate that word) Dynamics converter wants to do. I don’t want it charging at 14.6. But I never plug in at home or on the road so I may never know.
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Old 09-04-2024, 05:27 PM   #9
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Name: JD
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Florida
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You should install a fuse or a circuit breaker to protect the wire in the battery circuit.
If you are not using an inverter that draws a bunch of amps an just taking advantage of the amp hours available fuse the battery cables within 15" of the battery to limit the short circuit current to the ampacity of the wiring.
I am working from memory on the distance from the battery, but the shorter the better.
I am using a marine fuse and holder that bolts directly to the battery terminal and the fuse is a small square block that a bolt runs through and the cable bolts to it.
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Old 09-05-2024, 06:18 AM   #10
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Name: Troy
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Quote:
Originally Posted by John LF View Post
Charging to 100% can shorten the life of your battery.
Lithium battery manufacturers recommend keeping the battery between 80% and 40% charged, especially when not in use.
My previous solar charge control shut off at 80. My current one allows me to set up the shut off point.

80-40=40%, so you are actually only get to use 40% of the rated energy output of your battery?
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Old 09-05-2024, 12:24 PM   #11
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Gonna have to agree to disagree with some of these claims. Either way, it's a major improvement over the 100Ah AGM I had in there.

If anyone in Texas is in need of a very lightly used 100Ah AGM Group 31 for their camper let me know, it's just sitting here.
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Old 09-05-2024, 01:01 PM   #12
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After more research on DIYsolar.com forum, don’t worry about the percentages. Only when you remove it for the winter, don’t store it all the way full or empty. Otherwise the BMS will take good care not to overcharge and also disconnect it internally upon reaching the lower voltage limit. Use all of it if needed.

Here is a screenshot of the Bluetooth app taken just now. The camper is in the garage, on the truck, jacks taking load off the tires until next trip.
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Old 09-05-2024, 05:42 PM   #13
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Trailer: Casita
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Originally Posted by Mark in Oregon View Post
After more research on DIYsolar.com forum, don’t worry about the percentages. Only when you remove it for the winter, don’t store it all the way full or empty. Otherwise the BMS will take good care not to overcharge and also disconnect it internally upon reaching the lower voltage limit. Use all of it if needed.

Here is a screenshot of the Bluetooth app taken just now. The camper is in the garage, on the truck, jacks taking load off the tires until next trip.
That's how mine sits as well. The literature on the battery says it has a 3% monthly discharge rate as well.
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Old 01-12-2025, 03:47 PM   #14
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Name: Kevin
Trailer: Casita
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How did you fit the 300ah Epoc through the casita battery access door. Measuring my opening it looks like I need to remove the rivets and door assembly to get it in the box.
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Old 01-12-2025, 10:53 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by John LF View Post
Charging to 100% can shorten the life of your battery.
Lithium battery manufacturers recommend keeping the battery between 80% and 40% charged, especially when not in use.
...
thats strictly for long term storage. For normal deep cycle use, you can charge to 100% and discharge to 10% or even less, 1000s of times.
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