Lithium/lead acid Hybrid battery Setup

[The Raptor]

I've been thinking about getting Lithiums for just over a year but because of price didn’t do anything, just sat on the fence reading and reading . Well I’ve just gone and done it and payed a deposit on a Fogstar Drift 460Ah due in Late August.
Why now? Well currently I had 3 x 95Ah Silver Bosch batteries in Parallel and they were coming close to replacing (possibly to there end of life needing CPR…..who knows as I didn’t want to be Wild camping at that time). I had been looking at the Prime Days just gone and saw amazing prices for Eco Worthy …… I looked at reviews and considering the 280Ah (no Bluetooth monitoring & no heating ) the price looked OK BUT some reviews were not good. I then looked at the other options out there from Roamer, Eco Tree and Fogstar Drift with lots of discussions on our Forums.
The Eco Worthy had a deal for 2x 280Ah (560Ah) for £940 with no Bluetooth monitors or heating, I then looked at FogstarDrift 460Ah which was £950 after Wildcamping/Motorhomer discount and it had Bluetooth monitoring and heating included in this price ( I would have to purchase the Victron 500A shunt at ~ £90 with the EcoWorthy) so the cheaper EcoWorthy would be more cash with only an extra 100Ah and space for 2 batteries needed.
I will keep you updated with the Hybrid install as I will still have 2 x 95Ah Bosch Silver batteries in parallel with an old charging system and 200A solar panels. The expected delivery is end of August after paying a £100 deposit
Cheers Dave

 

[Fido]

I've been thinking about getting Lithiums for just over a year but because of price didn’t do anything, just sat on the fence reading and reading . Well I’ve just gone and done it and payed a deposit on a Fogstar Drift 460Ah due in Late August.
Why now? Well currently I had 3 x 95Ah Silver Bosch batteries in Parallel and they were coming close to replacing (possibly to there end of life needing CPR…..who knows as I didn’t want to be Wild camping at that time). I had been looking at the Prime Days just gone and saw amazing prices for Eco Worthy …… I looked at reviews and considering the 280Ah (no Bluetooth monitoring & no heating ) the price looked OK BUT some reviews were not good. I then looked at the other options out there from Roamer, Eco Tree and Fogstar Drift with lots of discussions on our Forums.
The Eco Worthy had a deal for 2x 280Ah (560Ah) for £940 with no Bluetooth monitors or heating, I then looked at FogstarDrift 460Ah which was £950 after Wildcamping/Motorhomer discount and it had Bluetooth monitoring and heating included in this price ( I would have to purchase the Victron 500A shunt at ~ £90 with the EcoWorthy) so the cheaper EcoWorthy would be more cash with only an extra 100Ah and space for 2 batteries needed.
I will keep you updated with the Hybrid install as I will still have 2 x 95Ah Bosch Silver batteries in parallel with an old charging system and 200A solar panels. The expected delivery is end of August after paying a £100 deposit
Cheers Dave

Are you intending to run the lead acid in parallel with the lithium, because that would be a big no-no. You can only parallel identical batteries both in type voltage and capacity

 

[wildebus]

Are you intending to run the lead acid in parallel with the lithium, because that would be a big no-no. You can only parallel identical batteries both in type voltage and capacity

Lead in parallel with lithium? That is a big yes-yes from me
Been running that lead and lithium in parallel for over 3 years now in my Motorhome and sold my VSDR Lithium Controllers literally all over the world for people to do the same safely and reliably.

 

[Fido]

Lead in parallel with lithium? That is a big yes-yes from me
Been running that lead and lithium in parallel for over 3 years now in my Motorhome and sold my VSDR Lithium Controllers literally all over the world for people to do the same safely and reliably.

So how does that work. Presumably not a direct connection between the batteries which is what I was warning about.

 

[barryd]

Watching with interest as I'm still in the dark with all this. I thought you had to replace a whole load of other stuff like control panels, chargers etc. Now it seems there is difference of opinion on mixing lithium with lead acid.

 

[wildebus]

So how does that work. Presumably not a direct connection between the batteries which is what I was warning about.

Yes, a direct connection.

I have a special relay between the lead and the lithium that disconnects the two once the Lithium is charged to allow optimal charging for both Lead and Lithium, but in use (drawing power) the Lead and Lithium ARE effectively directly connected.
If you want to learn more, have a look here where there is an extensive write-up of the theory and how it actually works in practice and real life - https://wildebus.com/hybrid-battery/

 

[Robmac]

Watching with interest as I'm still in the dark with all this. I thought you had to replace a whole load of other stuff like control panels, chargers etc. Now it seems there is difference of opinion on mixing lithium with lead acid.

Oh my gawd me 'ead hurts.

I'm just gonna buy the stuff (Lithium only!) and let a professional install it!

 

[trevskoda]

David you sure know how to have my head wrecked for days on end.

 

[trevskoda]

Oh my gawd me 'ead hurts.

I'm just gonna buy the stuff (Lithium only!) and let a professional install it!

Problem is not many know what they are doing but will take your money.

 

[Robmac]

Problem is not many know what they are doing but will take your money.

Yes I would only go on recommendations Trev.

 

[trevskoda]

Yes I would only go on recommendations Trev.

Problem is those that recomend may not know the good bad or ugly, get them to give you a good drawing & explaination of whats going in before going ahead, not sure about mainland but most here i talk to are bull sh-tters.

 

[Robmac]

Problem is those that recomend may not know the good bad or ugly, get them to give you a good drawing & explaination of whats going in before going ahead, not sure about mainland but most here i talk to are bull sh-tters.

All I can do is research Trev. At the end of the day a professional will make a better/safer job than I will.

 

[trevskoda]

All I can do is research Trev. At the end of the day a professional will make a better/safer job than I will.

Thats true if they infact really know what they are doing, any i have ask just try and baffle you with blubber, David on the other hand goes into good detail with a proper explanation & graffs, makes sense to me and thats something for a dumbo like me, i said it before you do LOL.

 

[rugbyken]

i ran a hybrid system with david’s vsdr box of tricks worked faultlessly doesn’t really matter how big the lead back up is it’s only there to reassure the bms on the lithium that the reserve is there on mine i only had 100A lithium , when i traded up to the 460drift didnt need the back up

 

[barryd]

Oh my gawd me 'ead hurts.

I'm just gonna buy the stuff (Lithium only!) and let a professional install it!

Trouble is which one and who is recommending them? I entirely agree. I just want to say to someone I want 200w of solar, a controller where I can see the output and input, a 200w lithium battery and just make it work with everything in the van, here's the keys. I've not looked into it properly but I'll bet it won't be easy to find someone or more importantly someone who knows how to do it properly and is familiar with my Swift set up.

 

[Robmac]

Trouble is which one and who is recommending them? I entirely agree. I just want to say to someone I want 200w of solar, a controller where I can see the output and input, a 200w lithium battery and just make it work with everything in the van, here's the keys. I've not looked into it properly but I'll bet it won't be easy to find someone or more importantly someone who knows how to do it properly and is familiar with my Swift set up.

What I'll probably end up doing is buying all the boxes, batteries etc. and then go down to Devon for a couple of days to see Chris and Dawn (Edina). Chris will oversee everything and show me where it's all got to go and I can do the install ably assisted by Dawn usually. I've spoken to Chris about this and he reckons we've got most of the wiring in place already. (it usually ends up with Dawn getting her head and hands in the locker whilst me and Chris moan about bad backs and knees and stuff).

Then me and Chris can go fishing.

 

[1 Cup]

Is that 12 v or 24v ? As like good power banks most are 24v or 48v packs.

Wet battery's 13.6v is the storage setting for my lithium. untill in use and then back to 14.2 on solar controller.

 

[Nabsim]

There are some decent places for electrical installation but they seem to prefer Victron kit, (unless they only show pics of that) and are a bit pricey. You could always hit up Bruce Lauderdale and see if he will do it, I know he does electrics for people but don’t know if you can get him direct or through someone else

 

[barryd]

There are some decent places for electrical installation but they seem to prefer Victron kit, (unless they only show pics of that) and are a bit pricey. You could always hit up Bruce Lauderdale and see if he will do it, I know he does electrics for people but don’t know if you can get him direct or through someone else

Bruce?

If that's directed at me Nabs I don't have a problem spending a few quid. I just want it to work.

I'm kind of keeping a log of what's going on so far so will start a thread on Sunday. Unless of course it all goes tits up by then and we end up on a Club site in which case nobody will speak to me anyway.

 

[Robmac]

Bruce?

If that's directed at me Nabs I don't have a problem spending a few quid. I just want it to work.

I'm kind of keeping a log of what's going on so far so will start a thread on Sunday. Unless of course it all goes tits up by then and we end up on a Club site in which case nobody will speak to me anyway.

I'm the same Barry I just want a fit and forget system (or get fitted and forget) which I know is good quality and is reliable.

I've been really pleased over the years with my system (2 x Trojans based) but now the price of Lithium is actually similar to the Trojans I reckon that is the way to go and I should never have to replace anything again apart from maybe the odd fuse.