First time Li Time Lithium Battery Choice for Camper

[Charva]

First time posting… I am replacing two Crown Lead acid 75 Ah 550 CCA 24SDL-XD batteries in parallel on my 16 ft Sunlite camper. It has 1 x 190W (9.3Amp) solar panel, a Go Power GP-ISW 2000 -12 Pure sine inverter, and a GP-PMW-30-UL solar controller. In Colorado mostly, spring –Fall, night time temps get down to mid 20’s at times. Traditionally, the Crown batteries have made it through all trips, sometimes up to 14 days in a row, but we tend to be lucky with weather LOL. However, it’s time to go with Lithium. Most likely going to go with a Li-Time battery, will get low temp protection for sure, deciding whether to also get built in battery heater. Traditionally, the Crown batteries have made it through all trips, sometimes up to 14 days in a row. Also not sure whether to go with 2 x 100 Ah batteries OR 1 x 200Ah OR 1 x 230 Ah batteries. Any advice, suggestions, ideas, alternatives, etc. are welcome. Really just want to know if I’m better off with 1 large or 2 smaller batteries. Thanks for any help!

Here’s the 3 I am considering for now, let me know if I need to supply additional info:

*LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus Low-Temp Protection Deep Cycle LiFePO4 Battery, Built-In 200A BMS

*LiTime 12V 200Ah Plus Self-Heating LiFePO4 Battery, Built-In 200A BMS, Max 2560Wh Energy & 2560W Load Power​

* LiTime 12V 100Ah Smart LiFePO4 Lithium Battery With 100A BMS, Low Temp Charging Cutoff Protection​

 

[Charva]

Follow-up question... Am I better off with a a low temp cutoff protection battery vs self heating battery considering that most below freezing nights we find ourselves in are followed by us using power for heat and water pump as the sun comes up. At that time we are likely pulling power from the battery and I read on the Li-Time site that "the battery can discharge if it has power while heating. However, we don't recommend discharging during the heating process, as it may harm the performance and lifespan of the battery." So I'm not sure which direction to go here. I mean, I get it if the temp is below -4 degrees F (battery discharge range is listed at -4F to 140F) but at that low temp it wouldn't be heating up anyway as below -4F the heater doesn't activate. Is it possible that the concern is that it might cause too much heat if it is discharging while also heating up, especially if a large load is put on it at that time?

 

[Charva]

Here is the response from Li Time support regarding my question:
“Discharging a self-heating battery during heating is usually not a big problem, the battery needs to be heated up to a certain level before the battery will charge, and only after it is charged can it be discharged, if there is a little bit of power left in the battery, connect it to a load and discharge it, the battery itself will self-regulate, and if the battery doesn't have enough power of its own to discharge it, then it will still be in the charging state, don't worry about it.”

I guess this makes sense as the battery would be providing power throughout the night anyway… perhaps my terminology was incorrect and I should have used the words “load” or “drain” or “providing power” when describing the battery situation instead of the word “discharge”? I’m guessing that by using the word “discharge” or “discharging” that means I was bringing it down to 0 while it was heating up?

Does that make sense?

 

[grizzzman]

My vote would be the highest capacity you can fit. A bit of assumption here but do you heat the trailer under the cold conditions? If so insulate the battery and install it in the cabin. I would suggest if you can add more solar.

 

[Charva]

I do have an additional 150W portable panel but have rarely needed to use it while camping. We do heat the camper but current batteries are outside on the hitch.
Ended up going with the LiTime 12V 200Ah Plus Self-Heating LiFePO4 Battery on the hitch mount for my power. Also purchased the LiTime 12V 100Ah Smart LiFePO4 Lithium Battery with 100A BMS, Low Temp Charging Cutoff which will be stored in the camper during the season to use with the trolling motor on my Scadden pontoon while camping and as a backup if the main one fails. Figure I’m pretty well covered that way. With a budget of $1k, I was able to get both including tax for $990 so I have some beer $ left over for that first night out
I am assuming the self heating does not operate unless it is getting charged from the panels. Hope I’m right on that!

 

[Charva]

So I do not have enough solar panel power to activate the self heating battery. This is From the Li Time manufacturer:
“If the solar charger's charging current is less than 20 amps, the solar charger will not be able to heat the battery's internal heater to charge the battery, so it will be difficult for the 12V 200Ah plus self-heating battery's internal temperature to reach 41 degrees Fahrenheit or higher to continue charging the battery.
We recommend that the solar panels have a power of 800 watts or more to make it easier to provide a 20A charging current.”