LITHIUM BATTERIES ARE BETTER - HERE’S WHY

RV Upgrades

Sep 25

Should you upgrade your RV lead acid battery to a lithium battery? Is it worth the cost? Let’s consider the benefits and why we think lithium batteries are better.

Do I need Lithium Batteries in my RV? Which is Better - Lead Acid or Lithium Batteries?

My RV came with batteries, why would I need a different battery?

When you buy a new RV, generally they will give you a lead acid battery, however, there are some manufacturers starting to put lithium batteries in the newer models. Often times a coach will come to a RV dealership without a battery even though it is one of the most important parts on a RV. The battery runs half the equipment and it’s one thing dealerships, or we as the new owners, may neglect to maintain.

What exactly does my battery do?

There are 2 electrical systems in your RV - a 12 Volt DC system and a 120 V AC system. You know… AC/DC…. Back in Black…Rock on..

When you plug in your RV at a campground pedestal, you will be operating on 120 volt AC system (120v), whereas the 12 volt DC system (12v) will run off your battery.

Those 2 systems work together in unison many times. The 12V system is responsible for a lot of things operating on your RV to work correctly.

Example - the air conditioning in your RV runs off 120V, but the thermostat runs off 12v, so it needs the battery system in order to operate the A/C.

What operates on 12 volt vs 120 volt?

12 Volt DC Power Operations

Slides
Jacks
Interior Lights
Furnace
Water Heater
Water Pump
RV Refridgerator
12V Refridgerator
Awnings
12V Equipped TV
RV Stove
Power Gate Valves
Exhaust Fans
Control Panel
A/C and Heat Thermostat

120 Volt AC Power Operations

Air Conditioner
Microwave
120V Equipped TV
Outlet Plugs

When you plug into the pedestal at the campground, you get a 120v AC coming into your trailer. It then passes thru a converter to allow it to charge your 12v DC batteries. Some trailers have a solar system that includes an inverter. It takes the 12v DC power and changes it to 120v AC, so then you can run your microwave, residential fridge or common things that run on 120v system.

Is the lead acid batteries I have sufficient?

Yes, the batteries that came with your coach will run your slides and jacks and some people may even boondock with their current system. They can hook several of them together and the power is adequate. But have you purchased an RV, brought it home, waited 2 days, and then tried to run the slides out? Yep, the battery was probably dead. Lead acid batteries need to be maintained - they need proper water levels, should not be overcharged and should not die.

With that we go to the lithium style battery, which is new technology. Lithium batteries are pretty much plug and play. It operates differently than lead acid. Because it is different, there is a need for a different converter to charge up your new lithium batteries. Lead acid batteries run just over 12 volts so your charging capacity from your converter will be more in the 13 volt range. For lithium, they will be in the 13 volts range and therefore need to be charged at 14 volts to get proper charge.

Why would someone go with lithium batteries?

Your 12v system loses voltage as it loses power. It will scale down to10v range before it is considered a dead battery. The lithium batteries stay at the 13v range and come down to maintain 12v until the last 10% of their charge. So you maintain a higher voltage for a longer period of time with the lithium batteries. This allows a lot more usable power out of the lithium battery than a lead acid battery at the same amp hour.

Lithium = better power, more freedom

Is purchasing a lithium battery cost effective?

That depends on what you are going to use it for. It is highly beneficial for both full-time campers and weekend warriors that tend to have a dead battery every time they are ready to camp. It is especially important for ones that love to boon dock, mooch dock, parking lot dock or enjoy Harvest Hosts, most of which do not have full hook-ups. Nobody wants to be stuck in the Walmart parking lot and not be able to run in your slides as your battery is dead. We get a lot more usable power out of our lithium batteries than we did our lead acid batteries.

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It is important to upgrade to a battery monitor. The Victron Battery Monitor tells me how much power I have for a duration of time. For instance we were at a Harvest Host and app said we have 4 days of power before we would need to plug in and recharge based on current power usage.