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We often receive questions from customers:
"Is it possible to charge a LiFePO4 battery with existing charging device?"
"Can I keep my current charging device?"
"Is it possible to replace the battery 1:1?"
The answer is: as long as the charging voltage of the system can reach 14.4V-14.6/14.7V, it can be perfectly suitable for LiFePO4 batteries.
Remarks: The charging voltage is 14.0V-14.3V, and the LiFePO4 battery cannot be fully charged, and it is about 95% full.
Built-in integrated charger to charge LiFePO4 battery
Most customers' RVs will be installed with Schaudt electrical modules (such as EBL99/EBL30/EBL269, etc.), which can charge the battery while driving, and can use shore power to charge the battery when there is shore power. According to our experience, most Schaudt electrical modules can only be set to GEL or AGM , they do not have LiFePO4 characteristics. And in GEL mode, the charging voltage they provide is generally between 14.2V-14.4V. At this time, you can continue to use the Schaudt electrical module to charge the LiFePO4 battery, but because it does not have the characteristics of LiFePO4, sometimes it may not be fully charged, for example, it can only be charged to 95%, but this does not affect the use of the battery.
Note: The battery type of the Schaudt electrical module should be set to GEL.
Of course, the common built-in integrated charger models are CBE CB-516 or Nordelettronica-NE287. Their working principle is similar to that of Schaudt electrical modules, and they basically do not have the characteristics of LiFePO4. You can also use them to charge LiFePO4 batteries, but they may also not full to charge.
Note: If your Nordelettronica-NE287 charger is the latest version, then it has the LiFePO4 characteristic
DCDC charger to charge LiFePO4 battery
In addition to the built-in integrated charger, some customers will also install a DCDC charger to speed up the speed of fully charging the battery. According to our experience, many customers' DCDC charger model is Schaudt WA 121525. The device has Lithium battery characteristics and can provide a charging voltage of 14.4V, so it can be charged to our LiFePO4 battery.
The setting parameters are as follows: battery type Lithiumbatterie, charging voltage 14.4V.
Some customers will also install Victron Orion-Tr Smart DCDC charger, which can be set to LiFePO4, and the charging voltage can be set to 14.6V. In addition to this, you also need to set two parameters:
Absorption voltage: 14.25V
Float voltage: 13.55V
If your DCDC charger is another model, you need to confirm the battery type and charging voltage it is suitable for.
Solar system charging to charge LiFePO4 battery
The solar system can also charge LiFePO4 batteries. Same as other charging equipment requirements, you need to confirm the solar controller's charging voltage and supported battery type.
Most customers install charge controllers from Victron (such as MPPT 75/15, MPPT 100/30), if you upgrade the battery to LiFePO4 battery, you need to adjust two parameters of the controller. Data are as follows:
Absorption voltage: 14.25V
Float voltage: 13.55V
Some customers will also install Votronic's solar controller (such as MPP250), which can set the battery type and charging voltage to "LiFePO4 14.6V" or "LiFePO4 14.4V", so you can also continue to use it to charge LiFePO4 batteries.
If your solar charge controller is another model, you need to confirm the battery type and charging voltage it is suitable for.
230V (AC) charger to charge LiFePO4 battery
We would recommend customers to use a special charger for lithium batteries to charge LiFePO4 batteries, because the charging voltage is more suitable. If you use a traditional lead-acid battery charger, you need to confirm the charging voltage of the charger. In general, lead-acid battery chargers cannot fully charge LiFePO4 batteries.
In addition, if the charger has the characteristics of a lithium battery, it is also necessary to confirm whether the charging voltage is between 14.4V-14.6V. If the charging voltage is too low, the battery will take longer to fully charge or may not be fully charged. For example, Victron Blue Smart charger, in Li-ion mode, its charging voltage is only 14.2V.
All in all, whether the existing charging device can charge LiFePO4 batteries needs to check the charging voltage and the battery type that can be set. When the conditions are met, you can simply replace the battery 1:1.
You can contact us by email (sales@creabest.co.uk) and tell us the relevant information of the charging device, and we will further confirm whether it is suitable for you.
