I can't believe it's not possible for us to boondock!
- Thread starter MN Blue Skies
- Start date
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UTTransplant
Well-known member
I have a 40’ Class A rig with a residential refrigerator and all kinds of electrical goodies. We boondocked 10 consecutive weeks this winter. The issue isn’t a residential refrigerator;it is sizing your battery bank to the power you need. Max and Eric’s 5er battery was not sized for the refrigerator. The manufacturer was not accounting for boondocking in their design, so if they want to do it they will have to do some modifications. Lots of folks have posted good suggestions.
tlmgcamp
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2016
- Posts
- 834
For those who care...the lithium option would also save around 70 pounds. If towing a TT and close to the TV cargo weight, the weight off the tongue might be a consideration
It would save about 70lbs but lighten your wallet immensely.
Ray-IN
Well-known member
I don't know about that; have you looked at the Amazon prices for Lipo4 batteries lately. Some are nearly the same as AGM batteries, most are under $400.
Isaac-1
Well-known member
Some are a lot under, the LiTime 100AH with 100A BMS is only $259 on Amazon right now after coupon, and has a 5 year warranty and 10 year expected service life
DonTom
Well-known member
The 300-AH battery I purchased in 2021 for $1,400.00 should cost $1,603.34 today just because of inflation. But today it cost $870.00, close to half that price.
I see they changed the brand name from Ampretime to Li-time since then.
-Don- Reno, NV
Tom_M
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2012
- Posts
- 228
Check out Will Prowse on YouTube. He's an excellent source for info on LiFePO4 batteries. He likes Li-Time a lot.
Here's a link to a review:
Here's a link to a review:
DonTom
Well-known member
So do I. I have the 300AH in each of my two RVs. An added system in my Class A. In place of the two main L-A house batteries in my Class C.
And according to the owner's manual for my 300-AH batteries, they are to be stored at full charge which makes them less hassle to keep stored than most other LiFePO4 batteries.
-Don- Reno, NV
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DonTom
Well-known member
It now says the price is $780.00. Did they drop the price again or did I read it incorrectly last time?
-Don- Reno, NV
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MN Blue Skies
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In the next few weeks we are headed to Valley of Fire outside of Vegas and plan to boondock. It will be a good opportunity for us to check out what we need for boondocking.
It’ll be be getting toasty. Be prepared to run for electric hookups and a/c. But have fun and enjoy the practice.
DonTom
Well-known member
The problem with using the number on the nameplate isn't only that it doesn't factor in the duty cycle. It can be an inaccurate number to use even if you know the duty cycle because the number on the nameplate is the maximum power an appliance will draw.
For example, on my Norcold, the nameplate says 660 watts, but when it's running, it's drawing 450 watts (it has two 225-watt heaters). I assume the difference between 450 and the 660 on the nameplate is for the door heater and the ice maker, but both of them run very infrequently, or not at all (in the case of my icemaker, which I don't use).
Of course putting it on a kill-a-watt for several days is the best way to measure the draw of any appliance, but I agree with you that using the energy guide number would be better than taking the watts on the nameplate and multiplying it by the duty cycle. I'd take some testing results over multiplying a known incorrect number by an estimated number.
