Redodo 410Ah Battery/Solar Upgrade & Camping Test! 

You could parallel connect the 410 and 200Ah batteries together through a common bus bar arrangement.

No kidding that battery is huge. You guys are probably the most handy campers I've seen

That's one huge battery, wow!

Doing a lithium/solar project ourselves. It's a game changer over leade acid/AGM. We're doing it in phases and will be 24v on the battery bank when all is said and done.

Great video. That was a good test. Very helpful. I'm going with the 410ah also. With 1200 watts of panels on the top of the rig. Should be perfect. Thanks again.

Nice battery. We really enjoyed your video and will be following you on your journey. We're retired FT RVers who love to boondock most of the time (we're boondocking now), so we decided to build our solar/battery system in 2 phases, a 12v phase for our basic 12v needs and a 48v system for our AC high power needs. The main issue we faced is we are retired and living on social security and a small pension, so have to do everything on a tight budget forgoing name brand components like Battleborn and Victron for lesser-known brands and must do all the work ourselves - which keeps getting harder as we age. We just completed the first phase in January, with the addition of a custom built 560ah of LiFePo-4 battery, made with 8, 280ah prismatic cells. We went with a Heltec 350amp BMS, to start the onboard 5,500watt generator in our motorhome, along with a 5a active balancer to keep all the cells synched up. We built our 12v battery with grade "A" LiFePo-4 prismatic cells having a 6,000-cycle manufacturer projected life at 100% DOD. (Redodo projects 4,000-cycles at 100% DOD - which is excellent) This means that if we cycled them 100% every single day, 365 days a year, they would last over 16 years! So, they're obviously going to wear out from age before they wear out from cycling, as who cycles their batteries 100% every day? It only cost us $1,500 to build this 560ah battery, including the high amp BMS. The main reason we chose these cells (other than their price and quality) is that they fit perfectly under the steps of our motorhome where our old pair of GC-2 golf cart batteries used to reside, saving 35lbs while having over 5 times the energy storage capacity. We insulated the battery compartment, cut a 1" hole in our step risers and installed a tiny computer CPU fan to keep this space at close to room temperature, so we don't have to worry about them getting so cold that the BMS stops charging them - or their life being shortened from getting too hot. We started our build 4 years ago with a 620-watt liftable array mounted on the side of our motorhome. It serves as a nice bedroom window awning too. It practically lifts itself to the desired angle with a couple gas struts and it's easy to clean with a windshield squeegee, standing safely on the ground. Lifting an array to the correct angle for latitude and month, produces 25-30% more power than a flat mounted array - more in winter when the sun is low on the horizon. We typically use about 15% of our battery's capacity each day, running a desktop computer and a 55" UHD TV most days till midnight (20% if it's cold and we run our furnace and electric blanket all night). So, 410ah should be more than enough for your needs. Also 709 watts off of 800 watts of flat mounted panels is awesome! You'll be full in no time. We've found ours charge much faster than our old lead acid batteries did and are typically full before 1:00. This first phase, including the liftable array, wiring, breakers, a new Progressive Dynamics 80a Li compatible converter/charger, a 600w PSW inverter, an Epever 50a MPPT charge controller for our solar panels, a Lnex battery monitor/shunt, and a Renogy battery to battery charger (to protect the alternator) cost us around $3,600. By mounting our current solar array on the side of our MH, we left the roof free to rack 8, 460W Bluesun bifacial solar panels down the length of our 35ft Class A. The front side of these is rated at 460 watts with up to 25% additional wattage output from reflected light on the back side, for a total of up to 575 watts, depending on how they are mounted. We will be racking ours about 13" off the roof to clear our front AC shroud and vents. This clearance should conservatively produce another 10% output off the back of these bifacial panels, from sunlight reflected off our white roof - more during off-peak hours and in the winter. It will give us some nice shade too, reducing the heat load on our air conditioners. Our MH is only 11' 9", so we will be able to keep our height to 12". Rather than buying individual components, we will be using a Sungold Power all-in-one 48V, 5,000W, 120V PSW Inverter, 80a MPPT charge controller with a 40a ac battery charger. The reason we chose this all-in-one is because the idle power consumption is only 25 watts - and it's only $800. Our 48v battery bank will use 16, 310ah prismatic cells (15.9Kwh.) So together with our 560ah (7.1 Kwh)12v bank, we will have a total of 23Kwh of batteries onboard - which is a little more than 4, 410ah Redodo batteries. We will be replacing our old rear 13.5k btu rooftop Dometic AC with a super high-efficiency 12k Btu 48v DC mini-split heat pump that only draws 750 watts at peak output and less than 500 watts when it's cooling normally. This second phase will cost about $10k, including the heat pump, as we plan on doing all the work ourselves. Our 2nd phase will provide 24/7 off-grid air conditioning and supplemental heat from the heat pump and allow occasional usage of our front rooftop AC to cool things down for peak afternoon demand, as well as give us whole house 120v ac power. This will give us total off-grid electrical independence, allowing us to keep our generator in reserve for emergency use only. We just sold a pair of Lectric 2.0s to save about 180 lbs (with the hitch) to offset some of the 900lbs our solar/battery system will be adding.

Dang! Who’s that Chuck guy who keeps texting while you’re trying to film? Lmao😂😂😂

That was super awesome!!! Nice setup, great work!!!

Doing good and you will have no problem, nice to see you upgraded your controller👍, its nice having 400 AH of lithium 😎

Very nice job on the project and explanation!

I am checking out the 200 ah Redodo. We are building a cargo conversion for smaller campsites . We boondocked 4 out of 5 months while in Arizona in our 34 ft Winnebago . We have 560 watts of solar and we had 455 amp hours of agm which we could only use half of.

Wire for microwave. It is a main source for cooking. Remember you bring the rain. You need to be able to run everything.

Super cool.

I have 2banks 48volt, one with 200ah and one with 410ah. I have them connected in parallel no issues. Make sure you calibrate/synchronize them individually with your Vicktron shunt prior to paralleling them. As long as the voltage is the same and the battery chemistry is the same, you can parallel them regardless of the ah differences. The BMS will shot off the smaller cells when they drain and the bigger cells will continue with the load until they are also drained. If both batteries drain 100% and your solar are not producing any juice, BMS will place all cells in offline mode, a small park is required to activate BMS for the cells to come back alive and charge with your solar when the sun is out. Note: the wakeup spake has to be same voltage as you battery bank system!

If your AC does not have a soft start you may want to put it in one of the AC units. That battery should get you through a weekend especially with you other battery banks.

We will be @Mohican this coming weekend. I enjoyed the video

That’s cool watching tv 📺 inside the motorhome

You guys did a fantastic job showing how to transition from Lead-acid batteries and adding solar panels in this video and previous videos. I think these lithium and solar videos will last a long time. There are so many RV's out there that need this transition. I just did ours this past year (2014 Tiffin). NOW, I think the battery company will have to change its name from "RED ODO" to "RED ODEO" after watching this video 😂🤪 ( I was waiting for Lynn to correct you....). But seriously, I love watching your adventures and your doggies. Keep sharing your adventures! And, especially the upgrades 😍 You guys are FUN to follow, especially when I miss being out on the road in our RV. -Todd

I try to not let the battery charge to full 100 but once every couple of weeks. Anywhere between 20/30 to 80/90 and just use the power. I will shut panels off if need be. Then every two weeks or so go ahead and let it go through the cycle and let it do a full absorption (as you know .. this will balance the internal cells). This said, the absorption time I use what Battle Born does, 20 minutes per every 100Ah ... If the battery stays and absorbs every day because it is sunny and goes to 100% .. .it is said this shortens the life. Also, with my Redodo 400Ah (4x100Ah (I wanted mobility and still keep power if one goes bad)) ... I had set the float to 14.7 ... within their specs and the 12V lights would do a little flicker ... and I was fully charged. I lowered the absorbiton setting to 14.2 (and will test up to their minimum 14.4) and all the flickering went away. .... So far I am very pleased and thanks for the video.

Old French Expression: "The dead always have the best view." The things I learn from a French wife.

Nice... I made a sorta solar generator using a tote thing with wheels, put in a charge controller and inverter.. you need the regular fuzes/ breakers and outlets, but you could use the 200a battery for something like that... Always good vids from you guys!!

Great video! I just ordered 2 of the Redodo 200A LiFePO4 batteries. Bigger footprint with 2 batteries, but slightly cheaper than the 410AH battery. The only real advantage is with two, 200A BMS units in parallel, this setup can provide 400A. I don’t need that much to periodically operate a 2500W inverter, but the extra capacity may helpful if multiple heavy loads are applied simultaneously.

Voltage goes up and Amps remain the same in series.. Opposite for parallel. Sweet rig.. $120k..? I have a Jeep too.. Built for flexing and rock crawling while still street legal. It's alot of fun.

We plan to use an old percolator for coffee to save the juice, lol. Nice review though. Just a tip, it’s Re-Do-Do, not re-do-de-o, lol

Great video! :) A really well made and in depth video. Just what someone needs to see before buying a LiFePO4 battery like this. Looks great，I will seriously consider getting one Redodo.Cheers

You can parallel any lithium battery of same voltage. As the BMS controls them.. Just be sure to tap the negative and positive off the largest one...

AAAA technology keeps on rolling along...the next 10 years will see a massive advancement in battery technology. Congratulations on the new battery.

Mike...great upgrade. You guys are going to be able to up the boondocking game big time. I was wondering about the pronuncation of the name Red ODO. Several other sources pronounce it "red ohdough"....hope you don't mind a constructive tip...other reviews give the products a thumbs up...comany used be called "Zooms". Looking forward to your off grid trips!

On my van I have 1,200 watts of solar panels and 900 amp hours of lithium batteries. In the Summer I run the mini split 24/7 all summer on the economy setting.

Love the Lithium package and I wish I could do this to our Northern lIte truck camper. That's some battery you have there. My computer is on mute so did you mention the price?

Just added (5) 100 watt flex panels and a 30A MPPT controller to our 2006 Gulf Stream Endura Super C, but still have to run the Lead Acid batteries for a while, have to save up some more penny's before upgrading the rest of the system, that battery is double the cost of our entire solar system and can provide five times the amp hours of my present battery bank, your setup looks great and should serve you well. We have to wait for the sun to come back out here in northern Indiana so I can do a similar yard camping test. Good Job! LS

Yes, you should try and run the microwave off of the inverter. It looks like it won't fit in the Wraith's battery tray and but does it have built in low temperature protection? Oh yea, one more thing, I know of a good home for your old battery and we're almost neighbors, kinda, sorta. Keep the good stuff coming guys.

200 ah lead acid times 4 is 800 ah divided by 2 is 400. At $110 that's $440. At 2000 discharges, which is easily done, you can do the same for half the cost. I typically utilize my agm batteries for around 10 years. It's simple, discharge to 75 percent then charge. Keep this cycle and they'll last a really long time. I'm not sold on lithium simply because the cost benefit isn't there.

😄👍Good To Know, Great Tips

great video guys , I may not have 410 amp hours but I'm pretty happy with my 360 amp hours in my Dodge Grand Caravan lol

I own a 200 AH Redodo Lithium PO4 battery that I purchased for $649 about a month ago. I was interested in comparing to your battery on a $ per Amp hour basis. The best price I can find on a Redodo 400 AH battery is $1449. So this new battery is slightly more expensive than the 200 AH version. However, the 400AH is quite smaller than 2 200 AH batteries, so you might favor it for that reason as well.❤

You should set it up to run the microwave. I need someone to show me how and you guys would be good at it.

I even have my bedroom AC wired to run off the inverter. Absolutely wire your microwave to the Inver. You will hardly notice it doing anything to the batteries.

Poor Chuck. Getting flicked right off the screen.

If you have a 3,000+ watt inverter, the 410 AH could run a15K btu aircon if it has easy start installed. Other RU-vid vloggers have done this (not all night long, but for most of it). Aren't you going to invert all your 110 V outlets? Why get all those AmpHrs, if your only use it on your microwave. Keystone and Jayco run the aircon with EasyStart.

Invert everything 😊

An Australian guy did a test with BMS on two batteries, same voltage but big difference in amp hours same type of battery LifiPo4 and it discharged and charged proportional to current capacity of the battery. Who told you they had to be equal (other than voltage) in current?

Lately, Redodo batteries are not as advertised. I ordered a 300Ah and it is lighter than their 200Ah I purchased earlier. The 300 and 200 ran appliances for the same duration. This company is deceptive.

When solar comes down to the price I paid for my generator ($350) and puts out 3500 watts, I'll go solar.

I NEVER SEEN A DOG RUN SLOW LIKE THAT HOPE ITS OK GOBBLESS

Red o deo? 😉 I am trying to figure out a 45 watt solar panel. Mike is so good at this stuff! And those lite bikes have to be better than the heavier fat tire version. I tried one but folding and lifting one into the camper was a back breaker. We have converted hybrid bikes that roll easy and are lighter.

😊

Not that I really missed it, but you didn't do the UL/DL Test of the 3 Networks! ~ LoL

Very Jealous. Nice install and 250 amps draw capability sounds perfect

Actually you can use 2 different size batteries as long as each one is ran to a bus bar...not series And 40amp vers 60amp controller is for amount of solar panels has nothing to do with batteries..

Sweet

Go for two 3000 watt inverters . No need for a diesel geny

I think we all got a charge out of this video..not as big a reaction as washing the rig though..just sayn ))

Can you shed some more light on connecting the panels in a way to leave the wire the same? My camper came stock with a 30 amp charge controller which limits my solar upgrade to 600 watts. So the way you connected the panels, do you get the same production, or do you lose anything?

Hi, I was wondering if you made any changes to your alternator setup?

Go for a 3000 watt inverter

Put an inverter in, it’s only money, lol

We have boondocking camping in Michigan in West Branch mi State Forest campground

How did you handle your engine battery when you installed either of the two lithium batteries? It looks like you removed the chassis battery only. Did you have to change anything with the charge system going to the engine battery? Love your videos!!

what is the A/C unit you have on the roof of the RV ? Brand/ model

How is the battery working? Been about 4 months now... Recommend? Any problems with the battery?

Ahem.. Mr. WAGNER.. IT'S pronounced REDODO..! lol.. not REDODIO.. I have 4 BB 100Ah lithiums. They're doing great, but wanting to add more capacity. So I'm just passing by collecting info on the bigger 12v lithiums on the market. No inverter.. Get a Victron Multiplus II 12v 3000 120. It's a charger\inverter. It's been snowing and cloudy here.. even snowing for the past 6 days, but 800w or more of solar would recharge one of these in 3 to 5 hrs of good sun .

Nice vid. I see that Redodo looks similar to the word "rodeo"......but Redodo is not pronounced the same.....it's Re-dodo....cheers

What is your inverter

Where did you purchase the solar panels?

Hello, what size is your inverter?

Wow can you say I’m rich and you’re not,that battery is 1700 dollars and most people don’t have that kind of money!

I want bikini weather to see how well solar performs.

Very intresting! However, so is Lynn in her bikini!!

She sounds like she’s seen bigger

Can we please quit calling everything a "Game Changer?"

I see no problem with connecting both batteries together.