Direct from SOK.

Good to hear your eBay guy was honest.

 

Four (4) lifepo4 L16 forklift batteries baby.

L16 has the same foot print as a Trojan T-105, just taller.

LENGTH: 11-7/8" (302mm)

WIDTH: 7-1/8" (181mm)

HEIGHT: 16-3/4" (425mm)

Go big, or stay home!

 

not promoting any brand but Epoch is either a subsidiary or co-owned by 18650 battery store 18650 has been a player in the game for a while. so I would expect a good product from them as well as SOK. both are sound choice in my opinion the EPOCH has a replaceable BMS as well if it goes south. This is a recurring issue with all pre-made batteries as they go for an entry level BMS that will do the job, as such 2 or 3 years later the need to change the BMS is I would look at as a maintenance item. good thing is the better makers tend to use mainstream BMS's albeit the lower cost units in the line, so most of the time its simply a matter of unplugging the old,and plugging in a new better unit (higher capacity or better options) just be mindful, all power connections made first, then connect the sense leads. (5, 9, or 17 wire lead plug) (12, 24, or 48 VDC)

edited for clarity: all power connections, then all sense connections, then lastly plug in the sensing wire plug which will be the one with either 5, 9, or 17 wires coming form it last.

2nd edit, epoch has a line out called essentials, it does not have a replaceable BMS, only the Marine versions do. SOK i think offers BMS replacement on all of them.

 

Speaking of BMS, the one in this SOK battery is pretty sweet.

 

did you get the 12 volt or 24 volt version? what are your plans for interconnects and cabling? remember a T class fuse is an absolute requirement, size it somewhere between your highest load the only issue with a fast blowing T class is that you should really use a resistor to pre-charge your circuits when you put it online as the surge from charging an inverter can blow a t class fuse with the inrush.

 

12V version. I’m still researching all that other stuff.

 

I have finally had my first day of solar power production outstripping consumption.

 

We have decided that the 4x 6v Trojan T-105 FLA batteries in our 5th wheel have been put through enough torture and it is time to retire them.

More info here: Upgrading to lithium batteries...

 

my Golf Cart had Trojan batteries in it,
the OEM charger was a transformer and selenium rectifier.

that momma flat out pushed 20 amps into those batteries until the current dropped below xx amps.

the water disappeared monthly...

I did some research and bought this charger, it is Awesome, max charge is 8 amps on my golf cart, and it monitors the batteries full time.

gave me 17 years of service, after the OEM charger had punished the Trogans for at least 8 years.

 

Copied text from here: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post21539380

Post from All Things Towing sub-forum:

After hemming and hawing about the SOK vs. EPOCH choice, we decided on the EPOCH 460Ah Essentials battery with heater and bluetooth. When purchased directly from EPOCH, there is a 15% off coupon code (CHAMP15) that saved us $224.85. Also, EPOCH is located in GA, just like we are and are moving their manufacturing, testing and distribution to Marietta GA which is less than 2 hours away. In the unlikely event that we had a warranty claim over the next 11 years, I would be able to deliver the battery in person instead of messing around with shipping like in the SOK warranty process.

In the end, we paid $1363.34 for 460Ah where the SOK batteries would have been ~$1225.00 for 412Ah and a 7 year warranty.

We considered each of the batteries of equal quality, history of service and online reputation. It really came down to which company would be easier to deal with if a warranty claim was required over the next decade or so.

We are confident this 460Ah EPOCH will suit our application much better than the 4x 6v Trojan T-105 batteries and at a significant weight savings. The 4x Trojan batteries weigh in at a slim 248 lbs and the 1x EPOCH weighs in at 84 lbs for a savings of 164 lbs.

We like the idea of having 2x SOK batteries for redundancy in the event of a failure, but picking up a cheap 12v deep cycle battery for emergency use can be done at thousands of places across the country.

Now I am on the hunt for a replacement converter charger and thank Denny for the recommendation of Progressive Dynamics. They were already near the top of our list for sources.

 

I am using "cheap 12v deep cycle battery" on my Toy Hauler to run the Jack and the household stuff, water pump, furnace, etc.

I had to replace the Charging Adapter right after we bought the TT, the OEM unit fried one night when a Lightning bolt struck inside the RV park.
we lost 3 laptop power adapters, house charger, and a couple of light bulbs.

I bought a CAMCO protector, and new charger, all has been well since.

 

Just got the solar installation on my 5th wheel finished, just over 2Kw of panels on the roof, 2 × 150/85 MPPT's, a 5Kva Multiplus and Orion XS DC-DC for charging on the road.
Can't post any photos as connection is rubbish where I am currently....

 

We have a 50A surge and line protector hard wired inside the 5th wheel so there is no concern for low or high voltage spikes. The single and cheap 12v deep cycle works well for a lot of people, but not for us. Just last week we were boondocking in our 5th wheel and were watching the 4x 6v batteries show their age. We have another cross country trip planned for next year, so lithium batteries were a good purchase today.

That is a big system and I know how much work goes into something like that. Although, the benefits of an efficient power generation and storage system far outweigh the costs.

We suspect our new battery will be overkill for our application, but it is better to have too much power storage than not enough.

Also, 1 hour and 14 minutes after placing the order, the battery is marked as shipped via UPS ground and will be at my home tomorrow.

 

Is the Under Sea tunnel big enough to pull your 5th wheel trailer through?

 

I may add another battery later on, but in testing the solar can run the AC without drawing from the battery, so even if we need to run it for a couple of hours after sunset we will be good, I mainly wanted to be able to run it if we need to leave the dog in the trailer at any time. I was originally only going to use a 3Kva inverter but the additional cost wasn't much & we'll never be running the 5Kva anywhere near it's limit which will help keep things cooler in the front locker.
Still can't upload a photo, but you don't want to see blue trailer **** lol!