R25 Inverter AC Lithium Option

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Hummm.
Lithium requires several modifications.
Alternator. If a lithium is full, the internal BMS will just shut off charging which is bad for alternators and ruins diodes.
Alternators can also overheat pushing enough power to charge a hungry high charge rate lithium (1xcapacity). The 600Ahr of lithium can... take up to 600 amps of charging power which could overheat an alternator.
The ACR need to be specific to Lithium as the standard ACR will stay closed connecting all the batteries.
The inverter/charger needs to handle lithium.
The solar charge controller needs to handle lithium.

So, in a couple years when my AGM are dead, I'd like to go lithium.
I'd love to buy the factory parts to convert (ACR, inverter/charger, alternator components, etc.)
Will FM make those parts available for us?
 
An update. My boat is being delivered to me next weekend. I gave the dealer prep guys the pleasure of a surprise visit to take a look. How could I not? They very kindly put up with me. The good news is the lith ion system is 8 batteries (6 lith ion house, standard starter and thruster) and a DC to DC charger that allows the alternator and solar panel to effectively charge. The bad news is that that 4 of the lith ions are taking up the generator platform, so my idea of an inflatable dinghy there is not to be. They had to go somewhere I reckon! Tech advised me my boat (March production start, delivered to dealer 6/1) was the first factory install they had seen for the lith ion option, they had been retro fitting previously, many folks getting. Still better than a genny for me, but some space planning to do.

Posted images in my photo album.
 
We have an R25OB on order, with the lithium battery option. I’m thinking for additional storage, to make up for area lost to the lithium option, will be to add a cargo box to the roof rails. Have other R25OB done this yet? If so what cargo roof boxes have you added?

Jim F
 
Photos in my gallery. I will be hands on Friday and post further keen insights.
 
Thanks for the pics. Interesting approach they took. I’d have to figure out how to store stuff on top of those batteries with a removable shelf or something.


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I was wondering the same, I don't know if that creates a heat issue. Plan to ask at my systems run through Friday, but I 'd bet the answer will be they need some clearance. I think it would only yield a very shallow space in any event. There is still a lot of room in the lazerettes to explore, I did not have the opportunity to really dig in as of yet. I had expected the extra batteries to be in the area behind the water heater.
 
Looks like to me, if the water heater plumbing to the swim platform shower were cleaned up, the 4 batteries could fit behind the water heater, perhaps on a platform to accommodate. The setup I got just seems to waste the space of the center lazerette. I will inquire with the dealer / factory after I take delivery.
 
philbyrd":1vf96ofw said:
Looks like to me, if the water heater plumbing to the swim platform shower were cleaned up, the 4 batteries could fit behind the water heater, perhaps on a platform to accommodate. The setup I got just seems to waste the space of the center lazerette. I will inquire with the dealer / factory after I take delivery.
Click to expand...
Consider the balance impact, too.


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Thanks BB, that looks good. What material did you use for the shelf?
 
Brian, did you use starboard sheets to make your over the batteries shelve?

Jim
 
I used plastic utility panels purchased at Menards. 1/4" thick and then used 1" X 2" trim board to reinforce the perimeter. It is cheaper than starboard made of PVC so water proof.
 
Andrew just checking to see if you have completed the schematic for the Inverter AC Lithium Option. I’m very interested in converting my 2019 R-27 from a generator to this set up. Our boat is almost exclusively used for day trips here in Florida and it would be great to have AC while running or stopped briefly without having to start the generator. The Westerbeke generator has also been somewhat of a maintenance issue for us and I would be glad to see it go. Any others out there that have already completed this conversion ? Opinions ?
 
The expert will reply but I think the issue will be the AC unit specified for the new system. The soft start is what allows the start up on the hook as I understand. I am having inverter overload issues with the lithium system and waiting to hear per the dealer
 
An update. The inverter issue I had was just pushing it too far it appears. AC and the grill together was too much. Per the dealer, the inverter is 3000 watts, which is 25 amps at 120 volts. My amp gauge is wonky (factory says they got a bad batch, needle jumps, especially on SP) and the dealer is replacing when the boat gets winterized, but with the only 110 on being the outlets with Amazon devices and phone chargers connected, appears to be peaking at 25 to 30 amps. From this, it appears the AC alone comes close to maxing out the inverter. If I leave the microwave on (just on, not being used), it appears to push it over the limit and the inverter will shut down. So the grill or water heater would no doubt crash the inverter. I guess the lesson is if you want to run AC off the inverter, switch it off to use any of the other 110V major items. I still have an AC shut down issue which I posted in another thread about. When the AC shuts off (pump overheating) and the alarm comes on, it also shut down the inverter, so once that issue is sorted hopefully its down to being careful with the inverter capacity. On a side note, I have installed the battery monitor bluetooth dongle and the app is running on my iPhone. Works well and was able to update easily (you need to reboot iPhone after you update the gateway to update the display and the smart shunt). I turned off shore power and running AC on the inverter, initially I was getting 7.5 hours remaining. At 61% charge, it is telling me only 4 hours or so eft. AC off at 61%, I am seeing 46 hours left. But the system does seem to take a bit to stabilize, and I noticed after a while the time left seems to go up a bit. I am going to post separately on use of the battery charger when the inverter is on, I was told not to do so, but how does the solar panel charge if f the battery charger is off? I assume that the battery meter would not account for the solar panel if it was charging the system, but will try and figure out.
 
Solar charging, like alternator charging, does not use the battery charger. Only 120V sources (shore power or generator) use the battery charger.


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Got it! Realized that after posting, but thanks. So contrary to what I was told when inquiring about a solar panel read out, the DC to DC charger used for alternator and solar panel does tell you the performance of the solar panel which is on channel 2 and alternator on Channel 3. Wish we could get the promised electric schematic of the lithium system, would be helpful. Dealer is still getting to know these systems, and my boat was early on.
 
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