I posted my original question about whether it would be worth upgrading to LiFePO4 batteries last November Mid LiFePO4 Cruisers. Finally, in about post #70, I posted about what I thought would be my preferred choice for battery brand, capacity, additional components, and budget. I thought that I should post a follow up to that thread, to let you know that the new batteries are now IN!
I haven’t had the chance to put them to the test away from home, yet. But, so far, everything appears to be working normally. I have had no alarms or notifications of problems with any of the batteries or components, and they have been in place and powering what few devices have needed current for two weeks. Their biggest draw, so far, was powering my domestic water pump for the spring recommissioning of my two 34 gallon fresh water tanks. I am also occasionally powering on a specific components, one at a time (like Navigation/chart plotter or my heater), and then watching the current value from the Victron SmartShunt to see what it draws.
First, let’s get to the social media acceptable proof (pictures or it didn’t happen)…
The before house bank was 2 FLA G31 located in engine compartment, and the start battery was a single FLA G24 located in the aft berth next to engine compartment;
The after now has the FLA G24 start battery alone in front of the engine, and house battery bank comprised of 3 Epoch 105 AH LfFePO4 battery packs located inside the base of the aft berth.
Here’s what I upgraded
I’m really glad that I managed to limit the scope of this project! With a starting budget (from the previous post) of $1220 - $1600, I wanted to install an additional 200 AH of capacity to the house battery bank, plus a DC - DC charger to install between my start battery and the new LFP bank, and a smart shunt to add some monitoring capabilities.
Preliminarily, I have spent have now spent a little over $2,000. Approximately $1500 on the batteries, SmartShunt and Orion charger, plus more than $500 on new battery cables and fuses! I did not have a proper understanding of what cables I would need to relocate the start battery, or the total cost of all of the new fuses (and spares!) that I needed. While I’m not pleased at missing the boat (Ha!) on the additional details, I am pleased that I didn’t just let myself continue to purchase big items like an inverter/charger just because I found a sale on batteries.
My significant purchases were;
It was a tight fit! I measured, and was confident that the three new LFP batteries would fit into their new space. But, what I didn’t understand was how much space would be required for some of the other pieces. I seriously underestimated the size of the new class T fuse block. And, the photos of other installations that I have seen must have been in a completely open space, with nothing else in the picture to provide relative scale. It took a lot of time and physical contortions to complete the relocation of my start battery and solar controller, and to install the new fuse blocks and wiring. But ultimately, everything fit where I wanted it to be, and I can’t wait to see how the upgrades perform away from the marina!
Thanks, to everyone, who posted on the original thread and helped me with information, education, and tips! And, thanks to @mainesail, for always being in the right place, with the right information, at the right time! Your Amazon storefront is the first site that I’ll visit as I continue with my upgrades!
I haven’t had the chance to put them to the test away from home, yet. But, so far, everything appears to be working normally. I have had no alarms or notifications of problems with any of the batteries or components, and they have been in place and powering what few devices have needed current for two weeks. Their biggest draw, so far, was powering my domestic water pump for the spring recommissioning of my two 34 gallon fresh water tanks. I am also occasionally powering on a specific components, one at a time (like Navigation/chart plotter or my heater), and then watching the current value from the Victron SmartShunt to see what it draws.
First, let’s get to the social media acceptable proof (pictures or it didn’t happen)…
The before house bank was 2 FLA G31 located in engine compartment, and the start battery was a single FLA G24 located in the aft berth next to engine compartment;
The after now has the FLA G24 start battery alone in front of the engine, and house battery bank comprised of 3 Epoch 105 AH LfFePO4 battery packs located inside the base of the aft berth.
Here’s what I upgraded
I’m really glad that I managed to limit the scope of this project! With a starting budget (from the previous post) of $1220 - $1600, I wanted to install an additional 200 AH of capacity to the house battery bank, plus a DC - DC charger to install between my start battery and the new LFP bank, and a smart shunt to add some monitoring capabilities.
Preliminarily, I have spent have now spent a little over $2,000. Approximately $1500 on the batteries, SmartShunt and Orion charger, plus more than $500 on new battery cables and fuses! I did not have a proper understanding of what cables I would need to relocate the start battery, or the total cost of all of the new fuses (and spares!) that I needed. While I’m not pleased at missing the boat (Ha!) on the additional details, I am pleased that I didn’t just let myself continue to purchase big items like an inverter/charger just because I found a sale on batteries.
My significant purchases were;
- Three Epoch 12V/105 AH LiFePO4 batteries at ($339/ea.) $1186 using a Black Friday discount code, last December. This total price also included a 12V 15A AC charger for the batteries.
- Victron SmartShunt Bluetooth battery monitor $130
- Victron Orion XS 50A DC-DC charger $358 ($101 above the original budget for a 30A DC-DC)
- Class T fuse and fuse block for the house bank
- 2 ANL fuses for DC-DC charger
- One additional pair of 2/0 parallel cables for house bank
- 2 new 2/0 cables for relocated start battery
- New MRBF terminal fuse block and fuses for start battery
- Miscellaneous hardware and fasteners for securing and screwing things up
It was a tight fit! I measured, and was confident that the three new LFP batteries would fit into their new space. But, what I didn’t understand was how much space would be required for some of the other pieces. I seriously underestimated the size of the new class T fuse block. And, the photos of other installations that I have seen must have been in a completely open space, with nothing else in the picture to provide relative scale. It took a lot of time and physical contortions to complete the relocation of my start battery and solar controller, and to install the new fuse blocks and wiring. But ultimately, everything fit where I wanted it to be, and I can’t wait to see how the upgrades perform away from the marina!
Thanks, to everyone, who posted on the original thread and helped me with information, education, and tips! And, thanks to @mainesail, for always being in the right place, with the right information, at the right time! Your Amazon storefront is the first site that I’ll visit as I continue with my upgrades!
