question

josh0 avatar image
josh0 asked

Is it safe to charge a Victron Lithium battery with a non-Lithium rated charger?

I have a travel trailer with a WFCO WF-8700 series power center, which includes a non-upgradeable charger that is not considered Lithium-compatible. According to their support team it is 'not an actual lithium converter but will charge to approx.. 90%'. Would it be damaging to a Victron Ltihium battery to be installed with this setup without also upgrading the charger, or would it be safe to replace my current lead acid battery with one, and update the charger at a later time?


Also, as far as upgrading the charger would go, since the WFCO provides 120V AC from the shore power connection, I assume I could just install a charger powered from that? It's unclear to me which Victron products would be appropriate for this application, as it seems like most of them are looking for higher, non-US mains voltage input.

MultiPlus Quattro Inverter Chargerbattery chargingLithium Battery
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2 Answers
Alexandra avatar image
Alexandra answered ·

@josh0

I think this would depend on what the charger output voltages are.

https://www.victronenergy.com/batteries/lithium-battery-12-8v#pd-nav-secondimage

This page recommends some accessories depending on your application. The mini bms may be your best option for battery protection. A bms is a requirement for this battery.

Otherwise this charger is the better option as it has lithium options and storage mode.

https://www.victronenergy.com/chargers/blue-smart-ip65-charger

IP65 rated so perfect for a trailer install.

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russ-tanner avatar image
russ-tanner answered ·

Progressive Dynamics makes a RV converter/charger specifically for lithium batteries besides the models that supports wet cell lead acid, AGM and Gel batteries that can replace your WFCO.

While I cannot give any input for the lithium converter/charger, I replaced the old style "hummer" analog converter/charger in my RV, using the same distribution center with this https://www.progressivedyn.com/rv/power-converters/inteli-power-4600-series/ upgrade. It was well worth it. At the time I installed new wet cell lead acid batteries.

That set of batteries lasted 5 years, and were still usable up until I installed a solar array, I bought a pair of Duracell Ultra AGM,s. The old style charger would boil your batteries and kill them within 2 years. The old style converter was noisy with the 60 cycle "hum".

It is my opinion these are quality converter/chargers and worth looking into. These are made in the USA. https://www.progressivedyn.com/pd9100l-series-lithium-converters/


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