2nd battery for Casita

[patrick crawford]

Bill, I failed to observe that the batteries being used by Patrick Crawford are Lithium Ion batteries and not AGM batteries. I looked up the specific batteries he is using and there are no warnings about off gassing or venting by his batteries by the manufacturer. He is quite safe with his installation.

bob, they may look like lithium but they are in fact agm. i considered lithium when the upgrade was just a plan. my checkbook couldn't withstand the price of admission. i'm following the advice of a canadian camper i met while camp hosting. i've never seen such an installation like his. he was camping in the overflow area with nary a hookup. and yet he was running his fridge, toaster oven and his wife's hair dryer and tons of other electric devices. every available square inch of available space was covered by a solar panels and his stack of lithium batteries was nearly floor to ceiling in a rather large closet. the guy was truly "off grid". he made a point to stop by the host's site to say goodbye on his way out. the last tidbit of advice was "don't spend all your money on expensive batteries because there's a good chance those first batteries will be toast while you're creating a learning curve". so, after surviving the first couple of years with a lot of travel using the agms i feel pretty safe. i suspect that there's plenty of fresh air entering and exiting my casita from "built in ventilation" from openings that are supposed to be there and some that aren't. the unused battery cave still has the vent it came with and the door and windows are constant sources of fresh air even when closed. that coupled with the fact that i have always opened some openings for fresh air in the 13 feet of cabin space regardless of the temperature it was outside. i'm not even going to get into how long i've heated that cabin with a wave3 propane fired heater. due diligence is paid to remaining alive.

p@

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by patrick crawford

bob, they may look like lithium but they are in fact agm. ...

the batteries he is referring to are LiFePO4, https://lionenergy.com/products/lion-safari-ut-1300

[StevePaynter]

I purchased 2 Renogy 170 Ah lithium batteries to replace the original lead acid battery that came with my Casita. Because lithium batteries don't need ventilation I put them in the closet on the floor.

This was part of a solar conversion in which I added 400 Watts of solar panels to the roof of my 17' Casita, along with a 40 amp solar charge controller, and a 2000 watt inverter/charger.

[Jane P.]

Originally Posted by biker

Hello,

We have a ‘99 Casita and was wondering if anyone has installed 2 batteries in the rear battery compartment?

If you have, what type of batteries are you using and how are they wired up?

Thank you!

I don’t have a casita, but did install a 2nd deep cell battery in my Bigfoot 19 several years ago and a Lithium battery in my Bigfoot 21 last year. I primarily dry camp.

Within a month of taking possession of my BF19, I upgraded all my cabin lights with LED bulbs. I camped with just one lead battery for my first 2 years with my BF19. I then added a second battery, and the difference between charging times was dramatic. At that time, Lithium battery technology was unavailable.

The original lead acid battery in the Bigfoot 21 I purchased last year needed to be replaced, and I decided to buy a Lithium battery instead of 2 deep cell batteries. I highly recommend you consider Lithium instead of 2 Lead Acid batteries. One lithium battery will be more efficient than two acid leads, is about the same size (a little longer) as one acid lead, weighs significantly less, and can be safely stored inside your Casita’ cabin.

There is an initial investment, but the lithium will last longer than the acid lead batteries (10 years), so overtime you will realize your investment.

Even if you decide against to investing in lithium, you’ll not regret having a second battery.