Lithium Conversion

After 4 years with the original AGM batteries, it was becoming clear that we would need to replace them before our 5th winter. After considering our options, we decided to purchase the RoamRig system to convert our coach's power system from AGM to lithium. We started with Stage 1, and will monitor our usage for a year or so to see if we need to add more storage or charging capacity. With Stage 1, we are more than quadrupling our storage capacity, so this will allow us to use the van a bit differently than before. (Update Sept 2021: without a 2nd, dedicated alternator, our Sprinter alternator recharges our Stage 1 batteries at 9.25% per hour of driving. Solar also contributes to this in some small amount as well.)

The dinette bench is markedly cleaner, and built in a steel frame, as opposed to the wood & staples box that originally comprised it.

The new instrument panel is far superior to the hodge-podge from before. However, the items in red are inconsistent, so I'm going to fix that in the coming months.

07-May-2021

Bench Rotation and Battery Upgrade

Ralph Hill from the Revel group on Facebook has created a detailed description of rotating the bench seat and installing a new lithium system in his 2018 Revel. Download the full document here. (Link to Facebook post is here).

Well done, Ralph, and thank you!

Battery Monitor

It's become clear that it's necessary to monitor the battery health of our Revel in more detail than the Zamp solar controller can provide, especially since I recently performed the popular CTEK modification. Ideally, it would be good to see their performance over time, looking at their behavior overnight, under load, etc. 

This little bluetooth battery monitor is the best $35 that I've spent on the Revel this year. It allows me to use a free iPhone-based app to wirelessly connect to the battery monitor to see various parameters, including a time-series of the battery behavior. It stores the data for 30 days, so as long as I sync with it once per month, then I never lose any data at all.

There are other ways to do this, including the replacement of the solar controller itself with a bluetooth model, but that was a bit more expensive and complex than I wanted to go right now. This is an extremely simple installation, just requiring a connection to the positive and negative terminals. In the following photo I'm showing how I connected it for a CTEK configuration, and with a small change, you can monitor your chassis battery instead. 

Update 2020

I've since moved it to an easier place to access (doesn't require removing the seat) - - it's now attached to one of the house batteries under the vehicle. I attached it to the leads of the house battery on the passenger side, very easy to access and service, if required. I should probably shield it with some waterproof tape, but it's been fine just like this over the past 12 months.

Thanks to master mechanic Tony Loeza of San Carlos, California for alerting me to this device and for some installation advice!

Battery Life

We pound our batteries, running all the systems throughout the evening, and always have plenty of power by the morning (never less than 65%). This handy chart helps us calibrate our usage, and I posted it next to the Zamp gauge on the wall. It is found in the Battery section of the Supplemental Owner's Manual.