Solar Components! Need advice!

[83Airstrm280]

Hello all,

I am currently deep into my resto-mod of my 1983 Airstream 280 Turbo Diesel and am now at the point where I need to figure out how i am going to wire my solar, battery bank, and new charger/converter/inverter.

Here's the curve-ball... I want to run a lithium ion (lifepo4) battery bank.

Items I currently have are as follows.

-AIMS Power 4000w 12vdc to 120vac Pure Sine Inverter charger https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1

-6 100w solar panels
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Now, ideally I would use a Inverter/charger that is solar capable and can charge a lithium ion battery.... but apparently that doesn't exist, forcing me to break up the system into separate components. From my understanding, I can get a BMS (battery management system) for my lithium batteries and charge them as if they were lead acid or agm. I was also going to find a solar charger for lithium batteries and set up that directly to the bank.

Anyways, sorry for the long post... And please, chime in! I currently have the inner skins pulled from my rig so now is the time for wiring!

Thanks!
R.J.

[Isuzusweet]

You need to PM Lewster.

As an aside....why the big push to go solar?
Will you find yourself off grid enough to warrant the cost?
You have a generator don't you?
Replacing all your lights, including headlamps, will significantly reduce your electrical drain.
You can buy portable battery storage devices that you can charge up at work and take back to the coach to power your devices.
I wonder if the new ceramic batteries have come out yet?

Cheers
Sidekick Tony

[SilverHouseDreams]

Your targeted inverter/charger doesn't mention supporting Lithium batteries, so that may not work out very well. While you can use a BMS to "manage" the lithium batteries, you need a charging system that supports the potential voltage requirements of lithium...which this one likely does not. You will need to pick which battery vendor you are going to select, as that impacts the charge voltage profile.

As for the solar aspect, the flexible panels are not a great investment as they are not very durable/reliable nor are they overly efficient. Perhaps efficiency/sqft doesn't matter, but you may want to consider actual produced watts/$ invested.

[83Airstrm280]

thanks for the replies.

I purchased that inverter/charger 6 months ago with a plan on how to implement it.... I've now forgotten what was was.

Now that I've had a bit of time to think about it, I believe I had intended to use it strictly as an inverter with a separate lithium ion battery charger/solar charger.

is this even feasible?

[quietguy]

Go to the AM Solar website and start reading up. (amsolar.com)


Also as someone already suggested send a “pm” to Lewster. This is what he does and is a well of info and wisdom. Do this soon before you waste money on items that won’t do what you want.

[daleyocum]

There are tons of good tutorials on all things solar on the AMSolar site. Watching those will probably answer many of your questions. They are also a dealer for many components you’ll need like a solar charge controller, battery monitor, etc. Victron would be a good vendor to start with for those things.

[Keithkleinmd]

I commend you on going solar and trying to be more "green". Look at some of the marine websites as boaters make extensive use of solar with interfacing the generators etc. Also some people have gone with 6V AGM golf cart batteries wired serially to get 12 V as longer lasting than the traditional 12V. Be careful with working with solar,as during the day it can generate enough amperage to electrocute you.

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by 83Airstrm280

Hello all,

I am currently deep into my resto-mod of my 1983 Airstream 280 Turbo Diesel and am now at the point where I need to figure out how i am going to wire my solar, battery bank, and new charger/converter/inverter.

Here's the curve-ball... I want to run a lithium ion (lifepo4) battery bank.

Items I currently have are as follows.

-AIMS Power 4000w 12vdc to 120vac Pure Sine Inverter charger https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1

-6 100w solar panels
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Now, ideally I would use a Inverter/charger that is solar capable and can charge a lithium ion battery.... but apparently that doesn't exist, forcing me to break up the system into separate components. From my understanding, I can get a BMS (battery management system) for my lithium batteries and charge them as if they were lead acid or agm. I was also going to find a solar charger for lithium batteries and set up that directly to the bank.

Anyways, sorry for the long post... And please, chime in! I currently have the inner skins pulled from my rig so now is the time for wiring!

Thanks!
R.J.

Hi take a look at Lensun flexible panels or Go Power flexible panels on Amazon. Pat

[83Airstrm280]

Ive sent an email to amsolar and i will pm lewster soon.

it seems my main issue is finding a way to charge the LiFePo4 battery bank. Finding a Solar MPPT controller is easy but i would like to be able to charge when I'm hooked up to 110v as well (or running the generator). I cannot seem to find an inverter/charger that will charge a lithium battery bank (although the AIMS can output up to 15.1v for charging).

Anyways, I have reached out to a few experts so we'll see what comes back.

[SilverHouseDreams]

If the AIMS has adjustable voltage and you can set it to just charge at a constant 14.4-14.6VDC, then that is all need. The key thing is to not have a charger that drops to a 13.2-13.6V float.

[Abraham]

Originally Posted by 83Airstrm280

Ive sent an email to amsolar and i will pm lewster soon.

it seems my main issue is finding a way to charge the LiFePo4 battery bank. Finding a Solar MPPT controller is easy but i would like to be able to charge when I'm hooked up to 110v as well (or running the generator). I cannot seem to find an inverter/charger that will charge a lithium battery bank (although the AIMS can output up to 15.1v for charging).

Anyways, I have reached out to a few experts so we'll see what comes back.

I don't know what info or experience you may have with LiPo batteries, so here is my word of caution:
LiPo batteries require voltage limiting during charging as well as current limiting. Over voltage can cause fires. Be sure to stick to the manufactures recomdations for charging any LiPo batteries. Remember the Samsung phone
fires a few years ago? Wrong charging proceedure. And the fires can occur even after disconnecting the charger, if over charging has occurred. Be Safe. Get all the right info about charging your particular batteries.

Hope you have success with your system.

Abe

[daleyocum]

You’d have to sell your prospective inverter but something like the Victron Multiplus hybrid inverter/charger would handle much of you want to do with style in a single package.

[SilverHouseDreams]

Originally Posted by Abraham

I don't know what info or experience you may have with LiPo batteries, so here is my word of caution:

LiPo batteries require voltage limiting during charging as well as current limiting. Over voltage can cause fires. Be sure to stick to the manufactures recomdations for charging any LiPo batteries. Remember the Samsung phone

fires a few years ago? Wrong charging proceedure. And the fires can occur even after disconnecting the charger, if over charging has occurred. Be Safe. Get all the right info about charging your particular batteries.



Hope you have success with your system.



Abe

There are many different battery chemistries that include lithium. You are talking about lithium polymer, however I’m not are of anyone here discussing LiPo cells. We instead are talking about lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO
4), or LFP. Drastically different. More so than gasoline vs diesel fuel.

Additionally, all batteries need battery management to not be dangerous. Even lead acid can have horrific results if not vented properly and over charged. That said, the BattleBorn batteries and others like them have internal battery management systems that prevent most of these problems.

The fact is that many people buy low cost battery “vaults” on Amazon (often marketed as “generators”) that are far far more dangerous than these LFP banks, as those are cheaply assembled lithium polymer which can be extremely dangerous.

[Abraham]

Originally Posted by SilverHouseDreams

There are many different battery chemistries that include lithium. You are talking about lithium polymer, however I’m not are of anyone here discussing LiPo cells. We instead are talking about lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO
4), or LFP. Drastically different. More so than gasoline vs diesel fuel.

Additionally, all batteries need battery management to not be dangerous. Even lead acid can have horrific results if not vented properly and over charged. That said, the BattleBorn batteries and others like them have internal battery management systems that prevent most of these problems.

The fact is that many people buy low cost battery “vaults” on Amazon (often marketed as “generators”) that are far far more dangerous than these LFP banks, as those are cheaply assembled lithium polymer which can be extremely dangerous.

I am aware of LiFePO4 battery specifications and I use them. Even LiFePO4 batteries require slightly different care and charging than other types. It is true that many of them have protection circuits built in and that is good.

My words of caution were mostly aimed at your 3d paragraph situations. And following manufacture's recommendations, for any type battery, is always a good idea. It is just more problematic for users of Lithium Polymer types.

Abe

[83Airstrm280]

Thanks for the replies guys, AM Solar set me up with a package that will work with my existing inverter. I went with 3 life blue 300ah batteries, 700w of solar, a victron mppt charge controller, 3 stand alone 110v chargers for quick charging with the 6500w onan generator or shore power. And im in the process of upgrading to a 50a system as well. Should be a pretty solid rig and easy to swap components if needed.

Thanks again,
R.J.