complete lithium battery system replacing lead acid

[quartersplash]

Sir, I don't have even close to the tech knowledge to design a lithium battery system. As I tell my kids, listen to peoples past experiences and learn from their mistakes. Thats all I am asking for.
Merry Christmas!

[quartersplash]

To Yacht rigger,
I filled out a questionnaire on your web sight a few days ago, and have not heard back yet. Would it be better that I call? Thanks

[The Yacht Rigger]

Originally Posted by quartersplash

To Yacht rigger,
I filled out a questionnaire on your web sight a few days ago, and have not heard back yet. Would it be better that I call? Thanks

Hi, can you please PM me with your contact details? I have not seen it come through yet, but maybe somehow our system is down. Strange though because I have seen a lot of other form submissions come through.
Or email me directly - stephen@theyachtrigger.com

[LouK]

You can also contact E Marine systems in FT Lauderdale (954-581-2505), they helped me & seemed pretty knowledgeable.

[Nicholson58]

I installed Blue Heron LiFePo. Great! Good before and after purchase assistance from the head guy Hank, hank@starboardlanding.com

He configured, worked with me and my components, furnished dongles, cables, software links etc to make it work in Trinidad.

[adventuren1]

Originally Posted by wholybee

You are missing most of the advantages of LFP, and overstating the complications.

LFP charges faster, much faster, given the same charge sources you used with AGM. If you don't upgrade either solar or your alternator, an equal capacity LFP will be fully charged much sooner.

LFP is not damaged by partial state of charge. So, you don't need to worry about getting LFP full frequently. Just ignore it and let it be, and don't run that generator as often.

In the most simple case, an LFP house bank can be charged by solar/wind etc, and leave the alternator out of the house bank charging. Nothing complicated to deal with-super simple to install and setup.

LFP is also very comparable in price to AGM. You are not saving any money at all by staying with AGM.

Yes, it charges faster but I disagree about the same charging sources. Unless you have modern equipment already the cost to upgrade an older boat is not cheap. In my case I would have to change my inverter/charger and add a new AGM battery set up for my bow thruster. My bow thruster runs on my AGM house with no problem. Very few older boats are equipped with a class T fuse at the battery. You must find a place to install that with lithium.



I think it is a waste to not run the alternator to the house bank. The start battery needs very little charge and using a DC-DC charger from the start bank to the house slows down the charge to the house. In the area I cruise my batteries are charged in the 4 or 5 hours that I am moving each day with no problem. I am in the PNW and even sailboats motor most of the time here. If you are crossing an ocean under sail then lithium would be great.



I do not know anyone who would call an upgrade to lithium super simple and uncomplicated. It's a great battery technology, it's just not for me.

[Fuss]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

Fascinating OP question. "I want to do a major change to my boat but need you all to do all my homework for me."


Sir, a little research goes a long way and you should start here in the link below, then learn as you go. Either that or buy professional assistance, 'cuz we can't do for you what you need to do for yourself. Good luck.


https://marinehowto.com/drop-in-life...ated-consumer/

Absolutely, very important, It might look good in the beginning but you leave yourself open to getting burnt at some stage.

[sailcrazy]

Following

[flyingnut40]

Tldr,
If you have not seen the YouTube series on mixing lithium and lead on Emily and Clarks Adventure you would do well to watch and learn the pitfalls of lithium only and the dangers of mixing types without Clarks engineered solutions..... A must watch IMHO

[DancingDays]

Originally Posted by wholybee

He was probably thinking of a post in a different thread. There are many of them.

The difference is that LFP essentially has only 2 charge stages. Bulk, and off. They will charge at a high bulk rate, and then when they are charged, you stop charging. A optional very fast absorption stage can be added but with different parameters to complete it. The voltages are similar, but how the charger goes through the charge stages is different.

Thanks, that was the information I was looking for.

So now I'm thinking I would need to change out my charger, and probably add a dc-dc charger between the alternator and the house bank for now, and possibly upgrade my alternator further down the road. But now I am finding most multi-bank chargers still assume the same chemistry for all batteries. Is there a charger that lets you set a different program per bank out there?

I could just use two chargers, but I have limited space for the installation. So far the only multi-chemistry charger I have found is the top-line Xantrex which is both overkill for my needs and too big for my space.

[bccoast]

I found learning DC systems to be very complex and while fairly confident I could install our refit, I was concerned most about not knowing what I didnt know. Fire risks and wrecking expensive hardware was a lesson I didnt want to learn.

I got a couple quotes from local reputable companies, I learned a lot about what I did and didnt need and the general plan to what needed to be done. The company I wanted to go with came in at $30,000 which was way out of my budget. I said that there was no way I could move forward with that quote but if they would work with me to reduce the cost, which they agreed. I bought most of the equipment through them which was fairly competitively priced and did all the prep work and installation work myself. Their billable hours dropped to 7 hours and came in to do the final connections and hookups and make sure everything was programmed correctly. I reduced the cost of the original quote in half. I also eliminated any risk with my insurance company.

[Jimbo2010]

this thread had gone so for over the top for average sailors