ouR escaPOD mods

Up till recently the lowest cost way to get a lot of Li battery capacity has been to buy salvage battery modules from wrecked EV's. Good 5.2kwh Tesla battery modules go for around $1300 so about $250/kwh.

But StephenH's new battery cost just over $300/kwh. Considering that with the EV modules you have to buy and configure a BMS as well as convert to a higher voltage I think the new 12V Chinese battery route is the way to go, unless perhaps you really want to go to a higher voltage anyway (which you would probably want to do if you started running heavier loads like the a/c).

Battleborn at $750/kwh isn't even in the running. I can't see their business model being viable much longer, so folks considering then because of potentially better post sales support should consider the possibility that the company might not be around long term.

The thing that can make the decision to purchase Battle Born battery is that it is a US company. Therefore, warranty issues are likely to be addressed more quickly. When it comes down to it, I believe the cells for both are likely made in China as there are no US LiFePO4 cell makers that I could find. What you pay for with Battle Born is the name, reputation, and post-sale service. I spent less money, but I am taking the risk that if something goes wrong, that I may or may not be able to get service. There is a US contact, JITA-US@outlook.com. However, whether that is a reliable contact remains to be seen. The manual lists the following for contact information:

From the manual:

Great write up and great job as usual. That is a pretty big battery. Hope you have enough storage space left to be useful What does it weigh?

I guess the other place to put it if someone wanted to retain the outside storage in the 179 would be to build a box in the under the bed storage area, perhaps also use that structure to create a better duct system for the furnace.

I assume the self heating is done internally using a 12v resistance heater run from the charger? Do the specs provide a current demand for that? Using it might require a charger upgrade.

Now that you have doubled your storage capacity so you have a place to put the energy it produces, you might want to add a permanently mounted solar module on the roof. My original plan was to get a 300-350 watt industrial sized mode and mount it crosswise behind the a/c. They can be had for around 50 cents a watt. If you pick the right one it could be the same length as the rpod is wide so could mount it at it's ends to the top of the side walls without compromising the trailer roof itself. Those modules produce around 35V at their max power point so you'd need an MPPT controller. Weight increase would be around 50 lbs.

Yes. I opted to turn it 90 degrees and build an addition to the compartment where the other one was. It will take away a bit of underneath storage, but it will mean that I won't have to run new wiring. I'll be able to use all the wiring that is there with the possible exception of the negative battery terminal wire. I might need to make a new one that is a bit longer. I'm not sure about that though.