Yes, it's worth it. I'm sure you've done your research and know what the technical advantages are. The higher initial cost of the battery will equal out over the the lifetime of the LiFePO4. The primary downside to any battery is severe cold weather. Lithium batteries are more sensitive to very cold conditions than other types of batteries. For instance, a Battleborn 100AH Lithium will stop taking a charge when the battery internal temp is at 24 degrees F or lower. It will still work down to -5 degrees F and it is still okay to discharge it 90-100%. So just keep in that in mind when you ask about "cold weather and Lithium batteries". If you have a heater you will not experience a battery shutdown in extremely cold weather as long as you can keep your battery internal temperature above 24* F. If you do manage to get below 24* F inside the camper you will need to raise the temperature to 35*F before the battery starts to charge once again. If you are camping out inside your camper and the temperature is low enough to shut down your battery, you've got much bigger problems to deal with than managing your Lithium battery charging profile. Don't sweat the small stuff.Dafinga said:
They do, but the specs are still essentially the same as the non-heated battery, that is, the same internal battery temperature parameters that shut the battery down or start it charging again still apply, in cold weather. Also, it's not automatic, you still have to manually switch on the battery heater by connecting an auxiliary positive wire on the new, heated battery version - perhaps you could use an on/off switch in a more convenience location, instead of directly at the battery. And like the alternative, the heating pad/blanket, it still consumes energy directly from the battery, while it is in the switched on position (until you manually switch it off). But reallistically, when you are in your Hawk in extremely cold weather you're not likely to let your cabin freeze over and grow icicles if you've gone to the effort and expense of installing a heater for cold weather camping. And if you keep your cabin temperature above 24 degrees F your Lithium battery will accept a charge. Happy cold-weather, Lithium battery camping!BrianG said:
Good post Rich! Im wondering if we could we just swap out the AGM batteries with Lithium and leave the OEM FWC controller alone? Steveri-f said:
I 2nd this.. I just made a post last week in the electrical section of this forum about building your own. I built a 200ah w/ heater for about $600.00. It's easy. No need to pay more than double the price for a commercial offering.kmcintyre said:
Steve,steve whiteside said:
Dessmo said:
Rando, I get what you're saying, but to be fair, keep in mind that it's a commercial 'white paper', not a scientific peer-reviewed journal article. The goal of a white paper, by a for-profit company, is to persuade the reader to reach a specific conclusion. It's a marketing tool that may not present a complete picure. In that sense, calling a white paper's test results 'rigged', may be fair game, but it also implies that the company has no credibility, because they tweaked the parameters of the white paper to favor their product. But that's exactly the intention of a white paper, from a for-profit company. In a roundabout yet targeted way, they do imply that the cold weather performance of their product has merit and can exceed the capabilities of their competitors in some specific ways. They also claim that cold-weather performance will negatively affect their product.rando said:
Vic, I know, right? I too bought one of their batteries. Fortunately, it has performed well for me, in both hot and cold conditions and I have no complaints about it...yet.Vic Harder said:
