Thread: Lithium Battery & Traxide DBS

I'm sure Drivesafe and others could explain this much better, but I understood lithiums need a DC-DC charger because they require 14.7 volts to fully charge. Is that right gurus?

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

I'm sure Drivesafe and others could explain this much better, but I understood lithiums need a DC-DC charger because they require 14.7 volts to fully charge. Is that right gurus?

Normally neesd something, but according to their advertising blurb, iTech have built in BMS which means they can be just dropped in providing they will fit?

Doesn't solve your issue if you can't fit an iTech version though.

Interesting, especially if it’s truly a drop in and one doesn’t need a DC-DC upgrade.

They mention it’s the only lithium battery suitable for inverters, would have thought plenty would have an inverter hanging off their lithium’s.

The big problem is that lithium batteries don’t have voltage drop as they discharge. So the traxide won’t isolate the battery until it is too late.

IIRC some lithiums require 17v to charge properly.
But there are many of these iTech types that have internal BMS systems in place(inside the casing), where they convert the 14.something volt input to the required voltage for the actual lithium cells.
The cells used are most likely to be 16850 types too.
So the internal BMS does all the input and output work.

I sent off a couple of question to see if my setup (not traxide) is suitable for drop in.

Goodmorning folks, and first off, as I sell lithium batteries, I need to make this clear before I start going through the questions above.


First and foremost, you need to google questions about the "reliability" of the info put out by iTechworld. They seem to suffer from supplying "misinformation" ( I'm being polite ) and have a habit of continually changing the specs for their different products sold.


That aside, over the passed 7 years, I have been carrying out extensive testing of different lithium batteries supplied to my by a company that was interested in supplying the then new type of batteries to the trade.


The cheap cells were not available back then and I have never had ( nor wanted ) the chance to test them. And in the couple of years the cheaper cells have been available, at least two companies/brands selling them are no long in business and you can come to your own conclusions about that.


As to the claim they are “the only Lithium battery suitable for inverter use” is pure B/S, because one of the primary reasons for using any good quality lithium batteries in RV situations, is that a much smaller lithium battery can safely supply a much large current capacity over what a lead acid battery can supply to power the large inverters that are now common lace in the RV industry.


One of the tests I regularly carry out, is to place excessively high discharge loads on the different lithium batteries I test, to see what they will tolerate beyond the manufacturer’s actual recommended operating specs.


On a number of occasions I have placed discharge loads on lithium batteries to 400% ( 4x ) of the batteries marked Ah and this was not just for a short period of time but from a fully charged state till the battery’s BMS shut down, only once did I damage a battery do this and even then this only occurred after the battery had been subjected to more than 25 charge/high current discharge cycles.

The advertised maximum of those batteries is 280, is this their MAXIMUM Continuous or PEAK discharge current. It does not say.

Their continuous discharge current is listed at 100 amps frothier 120Ah battery and mine has the same for a 100Ah battery but will safely supply 160 amps continuously for periodical use, such as that when used in RV situations.


The batteries I am now supplying are rated at 100Ah and so far, I have not tested one for them where the available capacity did not exceed 104Ah, and on average it has been 108Ah.


There is no mention of just how much capacity is actually available and as many Lithium batteries are marked similarly to lead acid batteries, where the true amount available is actually around 80 to 90% of the marked size, needs clarification.


As for any lithium being a drop-in replacement, yes you can do this with most lithium batteries, ( not in an engine bay ) but they will not be able to be charged to their maximum capacity without controlled charging, and this is actually something you can only do while NOT driving ( take a lot of charge time to achieve a fully charged state ).


And the real problem, as pointed out by Geedublya, lithium batteries need to be independently separated from lead acid batteries once the motor is turned off.


This is because lithium batteries sit from 13.2v to as high as 13.8v, with no load and no automotive isolator will do this.


While keeping the lithiums connected to lead acid batteries once the motor is off, would actually be very good for lead acid batteries, the continual discharging of the lithium battery would be both a waste of energy and would most likely have a major effect on a lithium batteries lifespan.

BTW, of all the RV/Automotive type lithium batteries I have worked with, the MAXIMUM safe charge voltage is 14.8v and the reference to 17v would be for non automotive type lithium batteries, like those found in battery powered tools.

When you buy a lithium battery for RV use, regardless of brand, make sure you know the maximum charge voltages for your specific brand of lithium battery and do not exceed this level.