Lithium Batteries if charged like Lead Acid can blow up/catch fire

[squid]

I read this on a website, that since they have different charge profiles, they can attain too much energy, give off gas and become explosive/incendiary

That's why I suppose they have a different charge controller for lithium batteries off of the solar...
BUT what about the charge control off of the alternator?  Or is it not recommended to hook these to be charged off of the alternator?
The vehicle's alternator is meant to charge lead acid. 
So I'm confused, are there two charge controllers, one off the solar, one off the alternator or is the one shared, or is it not recommended to charge from the engine for lithium?

 

[B and C]

Depends on who makes the battery and what BMS they use. Battleborn's are pretty close to plug and play from what I have read.

 

[squid]

I came "thiiiiiiis" close to putting my LiMnO on a trickle charger once, then checked, and was scared that I could've ruined it.  "Something" said, "nah before you hook this up check on it" and sure enough, yikes.  

 

[Matlock]

Just a bit to definitive to be totally correct.

So the correct statement should be, "Some" Lithium Batteries if charged like Lead Acid can blow up/catch fire, but not all of them.

Generally speaking that is,  :dodgy:

 

[jimindenver]

Many drop in's have battery management systems that protect the battery. In any event equipment that is customizable to the voltage settings required is a good idea. The BMS will protect the battery but it will also shut it down.

 

[mocean]

So, are lithium batteries a bad idea for a van conversion?

 

[jonyjoe303]

i have about 300ah of lithium in my van, I consider it safe enough for me.  That 300ah of lithium weighs about 90 pounds total, its equivalent to 600ah of lead acid. 600ah of lead acid would weigh about 400 pounds. 

With lithium what you see is what you get, if you have 100ah you can use all of it without damaging the battery, with 100ah lead acid you only get 50ah and thats on a fully charged battery that is well maintained, if not well maintained they lose capacity.

As long as you don't overcharged them or punctured them the chance of them catching on fire is rare. The lithium you buy like goal zero, they have built-in electronics to prevent overcharging.  

The only drawback is cost. They are true maintenance free. You can store them at 50 percent for months at a time, and they don't have to be fully charge every day. Even if you drain them all the way down every day they will still last you years. Once you start using lithium you won't want to go back to lead acid.

 

[jimindenver]

Careful about the full draw down thing. One site I read gave the usual 1000-2000 cycles but if you drew them down 100 % they listed 100 cycles.

 

[mocean]

i have about 300ah of lithium in my van, I consider it safe enough for me.  That 300ah of lithium weighs about 90 pounds total, its equivalent to 600ah of lead acid. 600ah of lead acid would weigh about 400 pounds. 

With lithium what you see is what you get, if you have 100ah you can use all of it without damaging the battery, with 100ah lead acid you only get 50ah and thats on a fully charged battery that is well maintained, if not well maintained they lose capacity.

As long as you don't overcharged them or punctured them the chance of them catching on fire is rare. The lithium you buy like goal zero, they have built-in electronics to prevent overcharging.  

The only drawback is cost. They are true maintenance free. You can store them at 50 percent for months at a time, and they don't have to be fully charge every day. Even if you drain them all the way down every day they will still last you years. Once you start using lithium you won't want to go back to lead acid.

I liked the almost maintenance-free, draw down and longevity aspects of lithium. I'd budgeted money for power vs furnishings. I could be wrong, but I'd rather spend it now instead of later with fried agm batteries.

Thanks..

 

[mocean]

Careful about the full draw down thing. One site I read gave the usual 1000-2000 cycles but if you drew them down 100 % they listed 100 cycles.

Yikes, was that drawing them down 100% only one time?

 

[MotorVation]

Battleborn claims 3000 cycles for their batteries at 100% depth of discharge. I don't plan on drawing them down that far but it's good to know it won't kill them if it happens by accident. Even if I run into multiple days of rain, I can charge them with my small generator.

Here's a link to that info on the Battleborn site:
https://battlebornbatteries.com/depth-of-discharge-li-ion-deep-cycle-batteries/