Cooling for Lithium battery and chargers in tongue box?

[jarrodreno]

Hey all,

Installing a 100ah Lithium LifePO, Redarc BCDC and Renogy 1000W Inverter in my trailer tongue box.

It keeps water out but does allow a bit of airflow under the lid. I’m wondering if I should install some type of temp sensing fan? (Like a computer fan) in order to kick on to get extra airflow if it heats up to a certain temp.

Is this something I should do or will natural venting be alright?

 

[xvz12]

I would think natural venting would be OK....I've got a 100ah LiFePO that I built from cheap chinese cells & bms, I haven't actually put it our trailer yet, but spent all winter testing on the thing, & it hasn't even gotten warm....YMMV. We're getting ready to camp in the next couple of weeks, so it'll get a full blown real life acid test then.

 

[67cj5]

If the box is in the Sun then all a fan will do is move the Air around and in and out, you really need to keep the box cool, the fan will help but will not fix the problem.

 

[jarrodreno]

If the box is in the Sun then all a fan will do is move the Air around and in and out, you really need to keep the box cool, the fan will help but will not fix the problem.

gotcha, yeah it’ll be in the sun anytime we’re camped in the open. I’ll have to try and come up with a way to shade it.

?

 

[67cj5]

gotcha, yeah it’ll be in the sun anytime we’re camped in the open. I’ll have to try and come up with a way to shade it.

?

Well you could try covering it with something highly reflective that will ditch most of the heat and then line the inside also adding a couple of computer fans, One at one end sucking in clean air and one at the other end blowing the warm Air out of the Box, that should work, But make them manually switchable then you can use them when you think they need it.

 

[JaSAn]

Have you measured how hot the tongue box get when sitting out in the sun?
I'd also measure how much reduction I get by shading/air flow before adding expensive batteries.

. . . adding a couple of computer fans . . . But make them manually switchable then you can use them when you think they need it.

Fan(s) blowing out should be sufficient (with passive air intake). Thermal switches are cheap; no need to guess at temperature inside the box.

 

[SBSYNCRO]

Just keep in mind that any openings (and fans) are going to allow dust to accumulate. I don’t know about your typical terrain but “out west” that would be a non-starter for me. The dust gets into everything if the trailer is not air-tight.


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[67cj5]

Just keep in mind that any openings (and fans) are going to allow dust to accumulate. I don’t know about your typical terrain but “out west” that would be a non-starter for me. The dust gets into everything if the trailer is not air-tight.


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You can make filters out of Scotchbrite which should limit most dust ingress.

 

[LivinDaDream]

I'd be more concerned about the inverter than the battery and BMS...neither should generate all that much heat...the inverter when under load, that's another matter entirely. Let me guess the tongue box is black...not good...paint it white or put some sort of sunshade over it to keep the sun off it. Definitely keep the dust out and that fine, talcum like, Western dust gets in everything. Maybe locate the inverter in another location, though I do understand the need to keep cabling to it as short as possible.

 

[LivinDaDream]

Another thought on your problem...if you're not going to be traveling with the inverter running, only when stopped, just open the box. I wouldn't worry about the BMS if you're charging from solar while driving...as long as the box isn't black. Lithium batteries should be kept in the very low 100's, max...ideally cooler than that.

 

[67cj5]

I would be mounting the inverter up high in dusty locals, to keep it free from dust,

This is where lead acid come in to their own, They handle the elements better than lithium batteries.

 

[ScottPC]

Move that bad boy to the interior where it will thrive all four seasons. Use the tongue box for other storage.

 

[broncobowsher]

Not worried so much about heat from charging the batteries. Heat gain from sun load is where my worries are at.

 

[SoCal_80]

I am running a very similar setup and no issues thus far. My tongue box is polished aluminum and seems to reflect the heat well (enough).


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