Battleborn batteries

[JPetronek]

Hi all, I’m looking to switch to Lifpo’s.
mom torn between the valence batteries used or new battleborn s.
Any suggestion between the 2? I tend to lean towards battleborn because of them being new and warranty.
My other question is charging. Most of my charging is with solar and MPPT, what I keep reading back and forths on is truck charging and built in house charging. I have a 2018 toyhauler with the wfco factory converter. Do I need to change that and add a dc-dc converter for the truck charging? I see some stuff that says no, yet other stuff says yes. It’s not often I need to use converter to charge and never rely on truck except that it’s plugged in going down the road.

 

[JPetronek]

If you do tilt towards "Valence"/"LithiumWerks" ( the new owner) , make sure they are the "RT" series/line of batteries ( built in BMS and cobalt free) as the "XP" series/line require an external BMS and some are having a rough go trying to find these BMS's and apparently LithiumWerks just doesnt sell the BMS by itself.

Unless of course you are going brand new, then LithiumWerks sells the BMS with the XP line-up.

Did not know this. Thank you for the info.

 

[orangeminnie]

DC-DC is great!
I was getting 3-6A charging with a direct connection (through the 7 way plug to the travel trailer), and the LiFePO4 TT "house" batteries never fully charged. With my new DC-DC Victron Orion (via a separate cable connection using #2 & #6 wires), I'm getting rock-solid 29-33A charging. Now there's no reason on earth for me to carry a generator. The TV makes a great (and quiet) backup generator, if solar can't keep up! No problems with alternator overheating, even at idle. IMHO, unless there's lead acid in both the starting and house battery positions, DC-DC is the only way to go. The "Battery Isolation Manager" that BB offers, is nearly as much $$ as the Orion, and not nearly as "smart".