RVs are very popular and this opens up many possibilities for travel. Upgrading your RV battery to LiFePO4 battery is essential if you want to make your journey more enjoyable. More power means you can use more appliances on the traveling and even enjoy incredible boondocking.
Why should you upgrade RV Battery to LiFePO4 Battery?
At present, most of the energy storage batteries that RV will be equipped with are lead-acid batteries, such as AGM batteries. Lead-acid batteries have a long history and have a history of more than 100 years. In the long-term use process, lead-acid batteries have been recognized by most people. This kind of battery is very cheap and one of the easiest to obtain. There is not much problem in daily use. However, under the premise of the rapid development of science and technology, our quality of life has already undergone tremendous changes, we need more equipment to improve our quality of life, and there is no doubt that most of the equipment requires electricity to drive. Obviously, the smaller capacity and the cumbersome lead-acid batteries have become less and less able to meet our needs, we urgently need larger capacity, stronger performance, and safer batteries to ensure our RV life.
The LiFePO4 battery can fully meet the requirements, with several impressive advantages.
- Extremely long life. Under the premise of normal use, it can be used for more than 10 years according to the degree of use of 80% DOD, and the number of cycles can reach 3000~8000 times.
- Greater energy density. At present, the energy density of LiFePO4 batteries is basically above 120Wh/kg, which is relatively high for energy storage. This means less weight but more energy, which is important since some RVs need to be counter-weighted.
- Support high-speed charging and discharging. This means that you don’t need to worry about temporary travel, and the complete charging of the LiFePO4 battery can be completed in a very short time, which can be shortened by more than 1/2 compared to the charging of lead-acid batteries of the same capacity.
- The maintenance cost is extremely low. No need for regular maintenance like some lead-acid batteries, just the occasional wiring check.
- Environmental and safe. The LiFePO4 battery is made of safe and non-toxic materials and has stable chemical properties. The battery structure is reasonable. Even if it suffers major damage (such as puncture), it will not catch fire and explode, which is very beneficial to users.
It can be seen that LiFePO4 batteries are very suitable as RV batteries, which can provide sufficient power and maintain fun in RV life. Likewise, upgrading an RV battery is not difficult.
How to upgrade the RV Battery?
Before upgrading your RV battery, you need to be clear about the size of the battery you need. Generally speaking, it is recommended to choose a battery that is slightly larger than the actual need in case of unexpected situations. Interestingly, considering various factors, the actual usable capacity of LiFePO4 batteries can be more than double that of lead-acid batteries under the same volume or weight. It is also worth noting that when deciding to upgrade the RV battery, accessories such as converters and fuses need to be considered, because the upgrade of the battery will bring some changes, and the accessories suitable for the lead-acid battery may not be suitable for the LiFePO4 battery. In some cases, the misfit of the accessories may prevent the new battery from charging and performing at its best. It is worth mentioning that the battery upgrade involves electricity. If you cannot complete the process of battery purchase and installation by yourself, it is recommended to find an experienced electrician for help, because safety is the most important.
After completing the evaluation and equipment preparation, the RV battery upgrade can begin. The first, and most important step, requires disconnecting the power supply to the entire RV, be it the connection to shore power, or the connection to the PV system, generators, etc. After that, you need to find the main power gate of the RV, which is usually near the storage battery, and there will be relevant signs. Depending on the model of the RV, it will be placed in different places. We need to close the main power gate and cut off the RV completely.
After that, wearing insulating gloves, disconnect the cable from the negative terminal of the old battery first, then the positive terminal. Note, be sure to disconnect the negative pole first, this can reduce the risk of electric shock. A cleaning tool is then used to fully remove the oxide layer on the cables and the battery terminals of the new battery to ensure optimum battery performance. Then connect the positive pole of the new battery to the cable, and then connect the negative pole to the cable. If possible, you can use a simple SPDT switch on the negative pole to operate, which will be safer. After that, your RV battery is upgraded to LiFePO4 battery, you can turn on the power and test the battery, if there is no problem, you can officially enjoy the benefits of LiFePO4 battery.
Summary
It is highly recommended to upgrade RV batteries to LiFePO4 batteries. Although the upfront cost of LiFePO4 batteries will be higher than that of lead-acid batteries, in long-term use, you will find that your upgrade is worthwhile. LiFePO4 batteries bring convenience and fun is amazing.