22 replies to this topic

[buckland]

I would suggest this as well for when you plug in shore power with Lithium... real cheap.

Check this out.... a small (big) addition to make the transition for charging smooth... I added it to the Iota as I have a battleborn battery.

https://www.donrowe....p/iq-lifepo.htm

[Outnabout]

I would suggest this as well for when you plug in shore power with Lithium... real cheap.
Check this out.... a small (big) addition to make the transition for charging smooth... I added it to the Iota as I have a battleborn battery.
https://www.donrowe....p/iq-lifepo.htm

Good information. What year or model is your Iota? I have the whatever model they put in a 2015 Grandby.

[buckland]

2011 Eagle. The site will help you.

[Outnabout]

2011 Eagle. The site will help you.

Thanks. Seems like an inexpensive solution to replacing the Iota for one compatible with the Lithium batteries.

[PaulT]

My Hawk is a 2014. I replaced the standard IQ4 with the IQ4-Lifepo. FWC switched to the internal IQ4 Iota some time after I bought my Hawk. The unit with the internal cannot accept the IQ4-Lifepo module.

 

Look on the fan end of the Iota for an RJ-11 (telephone) jack with a cable plugged into the Unit. The other end of that cable will be an IQ4 for lead acid.  Simply unplug that IQ4 & plug in the IQ4-Lifepo and you are a go for your LiFePO4 battery for shore power.

 

Paul

[Outnabout]

My Hawk is a 2014. I replaced the standard IQ4 with the IQ4-Lifepo. FWC switched to the internal IQ4 Iota some time after I bought my Hawk. The unit with the internal cannot accept the IQ4-Lifepo module.

Look on the fan end of the Iota for an RJ-11 (telephone) jack with a cable plugged into the Unit. The other end of that cable will be an IQ4 for lead acid. Simply unplug that IQ4 & plug in the IQ4-Lifepo and you are a go for your LiFePO4 battery for shore power.

Paul

Thanks. Mine is a DLS-30/IQ4. It has the Jack next to the fan, no cable plugged in, but also a sticker directly above that says “Dual voltage jack disabled”. Looks like mine won’t work with the add-on.

[BurnsMoto]

Thanks. Mine is a DLS-30/IQ4. It has the Jack next to the fan, no cable plugged in, but also a sticker directly above that says “Dual voltage jack disabled”. Looks like mine won’t work with the add-on.

Same happened to me. I spoke with an Iota technical sales rep. I replaced the stock IQ4.  $129 for the new Iota DLS 30A and $23 for the IQ4 LIFEPO Smart Charge Controller to take it up to 14.4 volts. After I competed my install, I wondered if it would have been better to get an all in one charger/converter/inverter, but there’s not much space behind where the current converter/charger is.

[rando]

My 2016 also has the Iota with the internal IQ4 module that is not replaceable.   I really don't use shore power as we never camp anywhere with plug ins, but if I did, I would consider switching the IOTA for the Victron 30A charger:

https://shop.pkys.co...charger-12-30-1

 

It is only a little more than the IOTA + IQ4 module and gives you much more flexibility in terms of dialing in the settings and monitoring what is going on over the Victron bluetooth app.  

 

Also to note, the factory IOTA (either the fixed voltage or the one with the internal IQ4) will work OK with a LiFePO4 battery. The primary thing to note is that it would be best not to leave shore power plugged in for long periods (>weeks) as it provides a float charge of 13.6V and lithium does not want/need a float charge.   With a programmable charger (like the Victron above) you can set the 'float' charge to 13.3 - 13.4V, which won't really charge the battery but is enough that the charger will carry any electrical loads without depleting the battery.

[Outnabout]

When the time comes I decide to go LiFePo I will most likely just go all Victron and not mix the brand of the various component upgrades I will need. Thanks for the discussion. Much to be learned.

[Jon R]

As to if the 75/15 (not sure Victron ever made a 100/15?) is good for up to 200W of solar panels.  See the handy table on this page https://shop.pkys.co...030_p_3666.html

 

 

Vic - I was just at the dealer taking battery compartment measurements and the Overland MPPT in the 2020 Grandby I was looking at is labeled "100/15."