RV Power Converter and Battery Charger for 10 Lithium 105A Batteries on 2019 Forest River Riverstone

Question:

I have a 2019 Forest River Riverstone 39RKFB fifth wheel and I am installing just over 1000 W of solar and 10 of the Lion Energy 1300 lithium 105 A batteries. Will replace the converter with something like this for the lithium. Looking at the 60 A rather than the 80 A due to the breaker size. Also will the lithium batteries charge from my 2017 F350 6.7 L Diesel as I drive. I see 12V to 12V charging units that are installed in motorhomes in order to charge the Lithium batteries from the motorhome alternator. But I would not be able to run wires from the alternator to the 12v to 12v charger in the fifth wheel.

asked by: Mark J

Expert Reply:

Since your combined battery bank comes out to 1,050 amp hours, it requires a higher amperage to properly charge your ten Lion Energy 1300 lithium batteries. Therefore, your best bet is to connect two of the Progressive Dynamics Inteli-Power RV Converter and Battery Chargers # PD9160ALV together to accommodate your setup.

To put it in perspective, a single 105 AH Lithium Battery connected to the Progressive Dynamics PD9160ALV (60-Amp) Charger would complete the recharge time as follows (105 Amp Hour Battery divided by 60 Amps per hour recharge rate) equals 1.75 hours. However, as the state of charge nears completion the charge current is gradually reduced, so the real total time would be around two hours, or approximately 20 hours for ten batteries. With two of the PD9160ALV wired in parallel, you can increase the charging current to reduce the total recharge time in half (10 hours).

To fully charge your trailer batteries from a depleted state, you'll need a DC to DC battery charger, like # 331-BCDC1225D. Generally, the most you'll get from your truck's 7-way is a maintenance charge to prevent your trailer battery from completely dying. In your case, it likely won't even be enough to do that since you're dealing with ten batteries. The Redarc # 331-BCDC1225D will require you to run wires to it from your F-350's alternator but you can use quick disconnects # BDW20047 so that you can easily plug and unplug it to your truck. The great thing about this smart charger is that it pulls power from your solar panels before tapping into the vehicle battery and will not pull power from start battery when vehicle is off.

expert reply by: Carla M