In mid 2018, we installed 600 amp hours of Battle Born GC2 12 volt lithium batteries in our fifth wheel so we could power our RV while camping off the grid. Here’s what we learned and our assessment of these state of the art lithium ion batteries.
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Weather in Minnesota during the month of October is supposed to be fairly mild, slightly cooler temps with minimal precipitation. We expected sunny days with crisp evening temperatures.
Unfortunately, we were in for a rude awakening. Our time in Minnesota encompassed about twenty-four days. Eighteen of which, were disappointingly cloudy or rainy. And, our average daytime temperatures were below 60 degrees with overnight lows around 38 degrees.
But, our lithium ion batteries really got their workout and proved their worth ten times over. With minimal solar absorbtion, we were still able to maintain a state of charge with little to no recharge effort.
RVers Put Battle Born Lithium Ion Batteries to Test
Battle Born tested, Boondocker approved!
Unlike lead-acid batteries, Battle Born’s lithium batteries can be discharged to a 10% state of charge. They do not need to be recharged to 100% state of charge to get maximum voltage out of them. The energy stored in these lithium ion batteries is almost all completely usable. No more worrying about getting below a 50% state of charge like with those heavier lead-acid batteries.
Our test started the morning post-arrival waking at 80% state of charge. This was after powering our residential refrigerator and a CPAP device overnight. Pretty normal numbers for our fifth wheel. The next day was cloudy. Our 1000 watts of solar panels only generated about 9 amps per hour. But, we were still able to maintain an 80% state of charge all day.
After retiring for the evening, we’d wake the next day to find the batteries at a 60% state of charge. We literally did a happy dance! Even with another cloudy semi rainy day, we still were able to maintain the 60% state of charge until evening came.
Awaking the third morning to yet, again, a minimal solar harvest left our batteries at about a 30% state of charge at the end of the day; a lower than normal state of charge for lead acid batteries.
How we accomplished it…
At this point, we’ve begrudgingly accepted that mother nature was not going to cooperate by providing enough sunshine to recharge from solar panels alone. So we hooked up one of our two 2000 watt inverter generators to recharge our batteries.
That’s right! We went into the fourth day of usage with almost zero solar harvest before we decided it was time to recharge the batteries manually.
Our generator ran for about four (4) hours pumping 70 amps into our lithium ion batteries through our Magnum 3012 hybrid inverter charger. The batteries recharged to a 96% state of charge and we were ready for the next usage period.
By the way, during our four days of daily usage, we powered our residential refrigerator, CPAP device, furnace, water pump, all 12 volt lights and recharged two laptop computers, two tablets and two cellular phones. We also used our Air Fryer one evening for an hour to cook dinner and watched about one to two hours of television per evening.
Our assessment and product review
We are super excited at how much energy we can use from the batteries and the extended amount of time between needed recharges. The next few days, we had decent solar absorption. The batteries were able to quickly recharge our solar panels.
Another feature of the Battle Born lithium ion batteries is their ability to provide a more consistent voltage throughout the discharge process. We found this most evident when powering the CPAP device which is extremely voltage sensitive.
The Battle Born lithium batteries are simply amazing. We gain peace of mind being able to draw them down to state of charge below 50%. Our ability to be able to use 90% of the 100 amp hour battery is incredibly relieving especially being we work remotely and depend on electric to power our electronics.
The recharge time is less than lead-acid batteries as these Battle Born lithium batteries can be bulk charged to 98%. Most of the time we don’t even concern ourselves with getting to a 100% state of charge. The last 2% is irrelevant and not important to the overall health of the batteries.
Our lithium Ion batteries are happy beginning their discharge cycle at 96% charge and so are we. These Battle Born GC2 12 volt batteries are also lightweight; each weighing in at 29 pounds. All this energy sits in the same footprint of a standard GC2 lead acid battery at half the weight.
Why Battle Born’s Lithium Ion Batteries ROCK!
So, our first big test using our Battle Born GC2 lithium ion batteries in a hostile solar environment was a resounding thumbs-up success! Our lithium RV batteries simply out perform every other battery on the market today. They truly make boondocking so much easier and worry-free.
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I see that you put them in the front bay. Any concerns of freezing temps or too hot of an environment?
Hi Romer, thanks for taking the time to read our blog. We’ve personally, not thad any concerns with drastic temperatures in our front cargo bay. That said, important to note that we don’t travel or stay anywhere that dictates those temperatures. We ‘have’ had some cold nights in the 20’s however, because of the build quality and construction of our fifth wheel, our front bay of our Landmark 365 stayed over 40 degrees. Do note that not all RVs (fifth wheels, travel trailers, motorhomes, truck campers, or vans are built the same with the same materials. We hope this helps. We do recommend wherever you decide you want to put your batteries, install a thermometer prior to installation so you can be sure that’s the place you want them.
-Dan