Best 12v battery setup? 2 x 4s or a 2s4p?

[Tball]

I have 8 Xuba 280 Ah batteries on the way to put in my RV. Is it best to just make two 12v batteries and put a BMS on each one or make a 2s4P and use a single per https://www.mobile-solarpower.com/design-your-own-12v-lifepo4-system.html setup? Or should I ditch it all and make a 24v battery with a single 8s BMS? Thoughts appreciated!!

 

[Supervstech]

It depends.
If you are going 12v, max useful wattage output is 1500W, if you go 24v, there are decent 6000W inverters out there.
if you stick 12V, “best” is a 4s BMS on each set.
But it will work fine, paired up with a single BMS...

 

[Steve_S]

Personally, I would say two 12V/280AH packs in parallel. If one shuts off for some reason the other will carry on. If properly done they will share load & charging. Sure it is two BMS' but 4S 100/120A are not hat expensive for the simpler ones. One fuse per pack, each pack secured and snugged up to prevent vibration and shifting. Lock Washer on every terminal ;-)

The BMS does not have to be expensive if you go wit the simpler Daly type but if you want to get into monitoring, tweaking with the settings etc then of course things increase in cost. IT IS IMPORTANT to note that not all BMS' will support Series or Parallel so pay attention to that and ask the vendor if unsure or not clearly stated in the docs. There are folks here using various brands 4S BMS' with great success. I myself use Chargery BMS' but they are more likely overkill for your type of application.

 

[Tball]

Copy all, appreciate the feedback. I think another consideration I was contemplating was then I could go to a lower amp charge controller and save some money there but I want simplicity for just having the ability to boondock with my 5th wheel for easy battery chargeup to extend those weekends without running a generator. I like the idea of just keeping it 12v and appreciate everyone's feedback!