Power anxiety is something neither of us ever want to experience again. Thats why a lithium battery install was high on the upgrade list on my T5 based Campervan.
A quick recap for anyone that hasn’t seen the YouTube video, during the summer we purchased a Camper for me (Tash). The idea being I can go on solo adventures and working opportunities whilst Jon is based in Shropshire working with The Motorhome Man.
Ideal Starter Van
Affectionately known as Brucie (a joke based on my nickname of ‘Hulk’), the van had most of what we wanted at purchase. It has essentials to get me started like a solar panel (which we later found out wasn’t working properly when I ran out of power on my 2nd outing!), a [lead acid] leisure battery, portable toilet and cooking facilities.
Top priority
Along with an updated stereo unit and heating, a lithium battery was a high priority. The power anxiety I mentioned at the start of this post was real! When we had the Dethleffs Pulse (on loan for a year as part of a promotional blogging agreement), we learnt very quickly about our power usage.
That van had one 95AH lead acid battery and no solar. It was a steep learning curve in power management. In the winter, we would sit with head torches on to preserve power! We also used to hunt for electric points in cafes, pubs and coffee shops to charge our devices.
No Hesitation
After that experience, we didn’t hesitate to have 2 lithium leisure batteries and 2 160W solar panels installed on our Adria Motorhome. That was 2 years ago now and we haven’t worried about power since.
There was no doubt that the T5 was also going to get the lithium treatment.
Thats why I was over the moon when Rob from Eco Tree Lithium got in contact and offered to kit the van out for me.
His confidence in the product is so strong, he wanted to fit an Eco Tree 110AH battery and new solar panel for me to use and feed back on.
Why Lithium?
What makes lithium batteries so great, you ask?
One of the biggest benefits is you can use ALL of the power without damaging the battery. Compared with a lead acid leisure battery where you can only use 50% of its power capacity.
This is because running a lead acid below 50%, or in voltage terms below 12.2V, will eventually damage the cells and shorten the battery life significantly.
In addition, when using a lithium battery at lower charge levels, the output does not falter. For example, if you had your habitation lights on and your lead acid battery was getting low, the lights would start to flicker. Or you might find there isn’t enough power to charge a device.
As demonstrated on the discharge curve diagram, that doesn’t happen with lithium. The voltage output remains steadier for up to 80% of the discharge.
What about the cost of a lithium battery?
It’s true that lithium leisure batteries are pricier than their lead acid counterparts. This initially can put people off but it’s important to look at the overall life span of the battery.
1 Eco Tree lithium battery can do the same amount of charge/discharge cycles as 16 lead acid batteries. Thats 4000 cycles! That’s a saving of around £1700 when you compare the price of 1 EcoTree battery to 16 lead acid batteries.
Weight Saving
Another huge, and often overlooked, benefit is the weight difference. On average a lithium battery weighs 13kg. A lead acid weighs around 26kg. And as mentioned above, because of the power density of a lithium, you have the same power available to you with 1 lithium as you do with 2 lead acids.
Basically double the power, half the weight. That also means precious KGs are freed up to count towards your payload.
Proof is in the Pudding
I don’t just write this because we have lithiums or because I had Eco Tree lithium supplied and fitted for free. I’ve purposely waited to write this (and public the accompanying YouTube video) so that I could actually use and test the lithium battery.
The T5 was left in the very capable hands of Oaktree Motorhomes to have the new battery and solar set up fitted back in September. Since collecting Brucie, we have tried various scenarios to see how the new equipment performs.
Putting It Through The Paces
Jon couldn’t wait to try out the battery.
He put the consumables on (lights, fridge on full power), charged our 500W Jackery and put his phone on charge and left them. It was roughly a 10AH drain over 10 hours (more extreme than what normal usage would be). After that, there was still just over 15% capacity in the battery!
More recently, I did a winter trip. I finally had heating fitted so it was another great test for the battery and solar set up.
Especially as now, its dark by 4pm so there is limited solar charging available. Also, my B2B only provides 6-10 amps per hour whilst I drive so I don’t get a huge input from driving.
This means on the road, I’m totally relying on solar charge.
No Solar? No Problem
I needn’t have worried. Thanks to the Victron smart shunt that was also installed, I can keep a track of my state of charge, amps in and out, voltage and even remaining time under current load on the app my phone.
I was away for 9 days and by day 4/5, I was hardly checking the app. The battery never went below 58%! Even on the nights where the temperature went in to minus figures and I had the heating on constant, iPad and Phone charging and the lights on, the battery didn’t miss a beat.
Final Thoughts
Of course everyone is different and has different needs. Its always best to do your research and figure out what YOU need and not what someone else tells you that you need in your Campervan or Motorhome.
One thing we can both confidently say is that lithium batteries have been a staple in our Motorhome setup. Not having to worry about power means you can be so much more self sufficient. It opens up all sorts of stopover options meaning you really can go where the road takes you on adventures!
Totally agree about lithium. So worth the investment. We now have all the Adria sockets wired up to the inverter so I can use them all, all of the time.
We’ve 490w potential solar from the panels, but rubbish harvesting this time of year. So with not moving around, we have had to resort to 5 pitch sites with EHU.
Yeah it can be a bit tougher this time of year definitely! Wow that lots of solar, must be awesome when you can get the max out of that, definitely no power worries! love the 5 pitch CL and CS sites though, they are our favourite.