With my budget my 12v system comprises a torch,a campfire and an esky

UKposts is doing well... Shauno has 10k+ in batteries and charger setup. Pretty epic setups

Good one Shauno, enjoyed watching the deep technology comparison between the two, please do more of these side by sides. Nice graphic works too. Cheers

The best, most straightforward explanation of Lithium vs AGM I've seen. Nice one!

Shauno's 12v system on his LC200 probably cost more than my entire rig. 🤯😲

Hi shauno, once again great content keep it coming, everything is down to budget, and especially if your an AGM guy the charger is vital, alternator charging via relays are not great as the regulation to the battery is off, a good charger is the way to go, for both lithium and AGM, some AGM are rated for 10 years but you really need to pamper it and not just shove in the boot and hope for the best. Again with lithium a very good BMS is needed, you know the saying ‘’you buy cheap, you buy twice ‘’. Greetings from Ireland keep up the good work.

THIS EXPLANATION IS THE BEST EVER so clear, so informative, and easy to understand regards from Indonesia

I’m not a 4 wheeler guy but considering Lithium for my boat. Excellent job mate. Such a professional delivery. I hope you’re using your presentation skills to earn money. You answered everything I needed to know.

Renogy 100ah lithium, $700,100amp discharge 11.8kg. Had mine 2 years and it's awesome.

An EXCELLENT video! Professionally shot and edited, full of useful information without unnecessary fluff. Keep up the great work, gentlemen.

Beauty video boys! Great explanations! It is on its way to Victoria BC Canada as we speak but I went with a portable setup. A shop in Perth mods National Luna battery box (which are really hard to get here and waay pricey) with the Redarc 25 amp dc/dc charger, preps the box for solar and 12v vehicle charging with Andersons . I sourced a North American pure sine 500 watt inverter and a lithium 100 amp/hr battery which I will slam in here! Also went with a solar blanket to stay very portable! I am chomping at the bit to get my hands on it and prep my Lexus GX470/Prado Grande 120( no diesel , 5 spd , rats! Lol. Can’t complain though. It turned over 450 000km two weeks ago! Knock on wood!) Love the Aussie touring setups and equipment! Been a fan of 4wd Action /24/7 since the late 90’s. Love the content! Keep it up! Cheers!

That was great! Thanks Shauno, learnt a lot and am definitely more knowledgeable now and am ready to deck out my Ute with a 12v system for my touring needs! Thank you!!!

I have utilised 120amp hour AGM in caravan since 2004. In that time we have done weekend trips, fortnightly runs and 8 week vacations. They have given us 7.5 years service from each. They have always been awesome, running electric blankets, coffee pod m/c, sandwich toaster lights, fans etc., however we have just retired and plan on utilising the van more extensively with an addition of a washing m/c. hence began investigating lithium. Decided on Itech 120 and cannot believe just quickly it recharges, basically as soon as the solar panels (4 X 64watt amorphous) see sun light the battery is back to full capacity, so along with better operation we have reduced our weight. As a result we purchased 3 x 54amp hour Itech units to replace our AGM units in our Patrol. Same result, superior recharge time and great weight saving over 3 X AGM. Now to see how long these units last as they need to justify $ layout. Thanks Shaun, you have given us confidence we have taken the correct action.

I've been running LifePo4 cells for 5 years now. 1st up was a 400ah pack I built with 16 x 100ah cells in our caravan. Yes they cost a bit, but the weight savings (~52kg vs ~200kg) and what they could run over lead acid it was a no brainer. I had 5 x 250watt 36 volt solar panels on the roof, Midnite solar controller and a 2000 watt Projector sine wave inverter. The system could run our Fujitzu 6kw inverter (inverter split system, max draw at 22 degrees was ~960 watt) domestic split system all day long plus the tv, 255 liter 240 volt sumsung inverter fridge, lights etc and still have 80-90% soc by dusk. I now use 200ah of that LifePo4 pack in my 4wd, 1 x 250watt 36 volt solar panel, mppt solar controller. My 60 liter fridge/freeze is on 24/7, hasn't been turned off for at least a year. Also run a 1000 watt Projector sine wave inverter which will run my small Boc inverter arc welder and small grinder, small 240v air compressors etc. Lead acid just can't do what a lithium can.

Had a terrible time wrapping my hands around the new Lithium upgrade (to our Casita travel trailer) my husband did. This really helped. Thank you.

Brilliant vid. Clever edits with the battery discharging animations. Thank you 🤙🏾

I have had the same shorai lithium battery in my gsxr 1000 going on 12 years. I balance it once a year, takes 5 mins and still reads perfect 100% .

I’ve been looking at this exact thing for my setup! Good to see the outcome.

Best comparison video I've ever seen of these technologies. High production level & spot on explanations.

I mentioned to you about running an induction cooker vs Gas at the Perth 4x4 show 2022. You answered me with . It depends on the battery manage system. Now watching this video, it is worth it. Not having to worry about gas refills. Replenishing water would mean seeking a source. What if you applied this concept to a caravan then you could find a sunny spot and relax for weeks on end before moving on. Great Vid Shauno 👍

Pretty helpful and fair video! Def should mention how freezing cold is no good for charging a lithium! Running an ebay special setup! Not the most reliable of bits and pieces but for under 600 usd including a solar panel it gives me all the capacity to run lights and change small devices I could need!

Great video & very informative. One cost that wasn't included though is if you're swapping from an old AGM system to a new lithium you may need to upgrade your charger to suit.

Timing is everything, this just answers all my questions. Thanks Shaun. 😊

Wow! This is the best battery comparison video on UKposts - by a long shot.

Great video and simple explanation. The one thing that people also need to take into consideration is that AGM are easily recycled back into new Batteries. Lithium batteries are very hard to dispose of at the end of the life. So there is an environmental impact at the end of the life of the battery.

Battery selection of AGM vs Lithium is very specific for use. For a trolling battery it’s excellent when paired with a proper charger. For a starting battery it’s a very bad idea. Lithium is typically output current limited and a starter can overwhelm the battery. Also lithium batteries will hungrily accept a charge and can overwhelm many alternators. There are ways to adapt to them but in most cases they are not easily interchangeable.

Thank You. Great review. I have an old Skil 14.4 Volt lithium Drill I bought years ago. Just got it out and it still Runs. Charging it now.

Great detailed video mate! I’m getting a new canopy built and throwing the redarc gear at it and lithium battery is my go to!

Had problems with a well known brand lithium. BMS played up in hot temps, shut the battery down and wouldn’t charge etc. No good in the middle of nowhere. Also can’t determine what SoC lithiums are from volt reading and need to spend more money on a battery monitor. Gone back to AGM and no BMS to worry about and totally reliable. SoC easily determined by volt reading. No noticeable difference to vehicle performance carrying the extra 15kg in weight either. Twenty years of travelling and there was no difference to my trips having a lithium compared to AGM. BMS in lithium batteries need improving so maybe in a couple years I’ll go back to lithium. Just my 2c worth

With the price gap so high Shauno it might be better to invest in another solar panel to compensate the 50% discharge limit by just pumping in more energy.

USA. Indiana. Just purchased our first RV Fifth wheel. Prep for Solar with one AGM. As we outfit I have to decide more AGM or just go to Lithium get over the pain of cost. As a qualified Electrician I’m refreshing my knowledge and learning what’s new in the low voltage world. Your videos are spot on. Sub thank you

Perfect timing for me with this video. In the middle of trying to make the decision for my camper trailer now. Thanks dude, really helpful.

One disadvantage with Lithium batteries that you missed, and it is an important one for people in colder climates, like us Canadians, is that you can't charge them when they are below freezing, 0° C, or 32° F for the Americans. Most good quality Lithium batteries will have a low temperature cut off on their BMS, but virtually all of the cheaper Lithium batteries don't. Charging them below freezing damages your Lithium battery, and can dramatically reduce their life. Some models of Lithium batteries that are designed for colder climates have an internal heating element in them that kicks in to warm the battery up if you start trying to charge it when the temperature is below freezing...I know off the top of my head that both Battle Born and Renogy have versions of their batteries with that ability, there are probably others as well.

Great video. Can totally tell you don't need to worry about leaving batteries in vehicles that are below freezing for 4-6 months. Let alone daily highs of -30 or lower for an entire month. I wish I could switch to Lithium but life in the Canadian prairies means AGM for a while yet.

Thanks for explaining these issues especially because no one else does!

Shauno, excellent vid as always, especially liked the jumping on different height things explanation, very comprehensive and detailed video, batteries and charging is pretty confusing. I'd like to know what you think you need alternator wise? Are high output alternators worth it, or nessasary, and do lithiums high charge rate load up your vehicle to any substantial affect on horsepower/ fuel economy. Thanks for another great vid.

There is one point more for cons. The discharge and charge of Lithium during frost. Discharge is generally possible until-15/20°C but for charging you need something around -5°C. In Australia maybe not an issue and/or if your Battery is inside the Vehicle. My Battery is in the back of my Hilux and is a AGM from Optima wich is allready working for 8 years. But i like to replace it by Lithium just to try it. Thx for a really good Video!👍 Brgds 🙋🏻‍♂️

Hey Shaun. Awesome explanation! One thing you didn't really touch on is the need to have some form of battery monitor on a lithium battery in order to know its state if charge which is an extra cost. Cheers.

Great video on the differences, my take as follows. If you move often when camping or have a generator handy and weight is not an issue, AGM all the way it is more cost effective. If you like to camp in one spot for quite a while off grid, don't need or want to carry a generator, need to run a bigger inverter and/ or weight is an issue, lithium batteries are a revelation. Having converted to Lithium a lot less time worrying about and managing power drain and charging. So fast to return to full charge gives the ability to handle a series of cloudy days without limiting power draw to the point of turning off fridges or having to run a generator. If they suit your application, you can afford it and have set them up correctly - definately more smiles to the mile.

Building a square drop camper at the moment, and thinking after watching this vid, to go for lithium. Seems to be more economical longterm. Thanks for the info. 👍

G'day Shauno, great coverage on a commonly asked question mate, we run 2 X 300 AH AGM batteries hooked-up in 24V, & those big bastards weigh 100kg each. However I do prefer to run the AGM simply on the price gap, when the Lithium becomes more affordable I would make the switch.

You can build a 280ah useable Lifepo4 battery that weighs 20kg for around $1,200 or 105ah for about $550 (with bluetooth BMS). You can charge these at 0.5c until almost full which is just over 2.5 hours. Your AGM will take 5-10x longer than that

thanks mate, i love that you explain every thing simply.

Thanks for this review on the two batteries, great help for us newbies.

Interested to know what happens/each scenario with both/either when they explosively fail, any chance of a report on that? Especially with Lithium no being recommended being in the engine bay, what happens in say a 76 series wagon?

I run a 100ah lead acid deep cycle and voltage relay. Sets me back about $300 in total. Ultimate budget setup.

Shauno mate’ great content as always! I’m in the process of building a 12 volt system for My 4wd.

Great video content . . . well thought out and comprehensive. Luckily I can repeat segments because of your speech speed and the language difference (I'm from the USA . . . we usually speak a little slower here). Your quality set up tells me why you can justify high end stuff. I'm glad to be aboard as a new sub.

Shauno and Graham should do a road trip from Googs Track, to Uluru, to the Kakadu go through Cahils Crossing and go to the Simpson's desert on the way back.

Redarc gear is great but damn it's expensive. You can get a good quality 100ah lithium battery for around $500 if you look around. (There's plenty of UKposts channels that test and dismantle cheap lithium batteries to check the quality etc and some are actually very good)

As always an awesome in-depth explanation with a comparison that chimps like me can understand. Your high-school essays must've been off the charts Shauno!

Thank you Shauno . Now i know which battery to buy and why. Keep up with the good work

I have a 100amp hour Volta X lithium battery purchased on ebay. Got it for $385 delivered on a sale a year or so ago. My cfx65 still has over 13volts after 12hrs of being a beer fridge. Very happy

I’m an electrician and wanted some real world info on these 2 batteries for a project. Best video ever, you covered everything and tested everything perfectly. I’m subscribing even though I don’t 4wd.

Excellent analogy of deoth of discharge for the AGM.

OMG, would love your setup, but my wife kill me if I spent that much without even not knowing the cost, my guess around $6k to $7k, I will check out your video on it. I needed to change out my 3 X 100ah AGM batteries after 4 years of use, did ok, but were never very good. In the process of changing them out to 3 X 100ah lithium batteries found, they were wired up incorrectly which may have been the cause of poor battery performance while camping. Now have my 3 X 100ah batteries, went cheaper brand, same as what was in my camper trailer, VoltaX, ($410 each) new Renogy 25ah lithium charger and boy it's bloody great. I have at least 260ah of useful power, chargers very quickly, only use around 50 ah's per day/night and the solar panels put it all back the next day. And the weight saving, around 60kg. Time will tell if these cheaper batteries last there 8 to 10 years, but at this price, if I got 5 or 6 I will be happy.

Being a Malaysian, the best system gotta be a system that doesn’t lighten my wallet like crazy. If a Redarc 100Ah cost 2K in Ozzie, it will cost nearly 8-10K in Malaysia, that’s a sum that many don’t earn 🥶

Thanks for the explanation shauno 👍, just need to see it in action a bit more 😁

This is a top quality video mate, well done!

AGM and other lead acid batteries can have several times the number of charge/discharge cycles if you use the right charger. a proper charger will remove all the build-up on the plates that reduce the life span of the battery. the problem is typical chargers don't actually "completely" charge the battery they stop short which leaves the sulfate to build up on the plates. sulfation builds up on the discharge cycle and can be totally removed on a "complete" recharge. this is how lead acid batteries are reconditioned to practically new.

You forgot that you can't really mount a lithium battery in your engine bay due to the heat, and lithium batteries also don't like extreme cold weather either. People should also understand the risks associated with Lithium batteries and why it is so important to pair them with the correct charger and BMS.

A few battery terminals there that need covers; wouldn’t like to accidentally drop a spanner on them. Nice video. I did a blog on the similar merits of lithium vs AGM when I worked for Victron Energy. I’m retired now and did that blog maybe 7 years ago and came to similar conclusions as you. Maybe one thing you could have added was a bit about chemistry and pros on cons of those, say LiFePO4 vs NMC. In my motorhome I approached things slightly differently for ease. I kept the Gel based lead system and made effectively a Go solution, so I had 5kWh of NMC with BMS, a 2kVA inverter (1,600 Watts continuous at 25C) with combined charger called a Victron MultiPlus and solar plugin. It was all about weight and ease. I simply spliced into the shore cable downstream of the shore supply on the vehicle, effectively taking shore power with you when disconnected. That kept the Gel charged until the Go pack ran out and the lithium energy pack could be topped up with solar as could the Gel. The pack was ‘portable’ and could be used for other off grid uses. All in all it saved a complete redesign of the system and when I sold the vehicle I simply lifted out my Go pack.

Great explanation. I really liked the step up analogy!

The 50 percent myth is a big issue in the 12 volt world. A typical AGM has a life time of say... 2000 cycles If you discharge it to 50 percent. If you discharge it to 80 percent you get 600-800. If you discharge it to 100 percent you get 200-300 cycles. But.. unless you are camping every day for a year, your typical battery will get maybe 10-50 cycles a year. If you camp for half a year, yes, definitely lifetime starts to be impacted. But if you camp twice a year for 2 days? Thats 4 cycles. At 200 cycles, thats still 50 years. NO agm lasts 50 years even if you never use it. So just use your battery, unless its in a caravan and you live off the grid every day. Its not use protecting your AGM from deep discharge when the damn things still die within 5 years due to simple acid loss due to heat and lead erosion due to just.. sitting there. The 50 percent "myth" as it is is for daily solar cycling off grid usage. For years on end. Camping agms can be discharged to 80 percent and still last as long as if you did it to 50 percent, and you get 30 percent more usage, so thats 30 percent more effective power for exactly the same price. USE your battery... its got a rating on the side and that is what its rated to deliver before dropping into usless voltage territory. If you plan on using it for a year in a caravan, stick to 50 percent, but if you do that to a camping battery in a plastic box? You are simply throwing away battery capacity for no reason at all. The battery will still die eventually, and you have gone camping 10 times. So use it to 80, 90 percent even. Its capable of it. Thats why the rating is on the side that says 100ah. If AGMs were useless past 50 percent... then they would be marked with 50 ah. Im fully prepared for any questions... but you cant argue the fact that there are no 50 year old agms... and reducing the life of your battery means nothing if its already got a limited lifetime. If you "save" your battery so it only lasts 20 years instead of 40 years... but will still die in 5.. what are you saving for?

Just one quick question. An AGM battery can go through a rejuvenation process basicly making the old battery like new again. Can this be done with lithium?

I have amg batteries and they do better in the cold. I've been researching battery warmers for lithium batteries because I think lithium batteries have the advantage otherwise. Thanks for the video.

You Aussies do a damn good job of explaining stuff! Thank you!

Would have been good to emphasise that these are not the same type of lithium batteries used in mobile phones. I.e. There isn’t the fire / explosion risk

Lithium all the way I reckon

This was very informative and explained very well. Thank you for sharing!

Thankyou so much for this it's about time someone made a simple easy to understand but very informative comparison cheers for that LV it 👍🏾👍🏾

I'm surprised you didn't mention the biggest "con" of LIthium batteries (other than the initial cost of purchase), and that is "heat". Lithium battery life will degrade much quicker and won't perform as well, if its constantly exposed to high temperatures. Making them unsuitable for under bonnet mounting. They're most ideal for in-car or in-canopy mount.

Makes you wonder how much Redarc donated to Shaun to push their product so much, also did not include cost of setup for Lithium(most times AGM charging setup will not work with Lithium, more expense upgrading), reading battery voltage, totally different to AGM (more expense for right monitor)

great video and wonderful explanation. Looking forward to work on my own thing soon.

Thanks for a great easy to understand comparison!!! This has really helped me…cruising yacht!

Yes they're worth it, just not an enerdrive or redarc as they are ridiculously overpriced

YES lithium really is worth it! 👍

The 80s set-up with a lithium is the go for myself as a weekend trip runner with coffee on tap 👌 😀

Good Afternoon shauno good information on Batteries thank you

Things you didn't cover: Voltage does not mean anything with lithium. You need to instal a gauge that counts the amps drawn to calculate battery state of charge. 100amp lithium batteries can be bought for much cheaper than 1500 dollars. They start at 400. I'm a fan of redarc and have many of there products but I wouldn't buy there batteries or solar panels, pricing is ridiculous. Lithiums don't like freezing cold conditions.

Just remember that lithium won't run a winch or start the vehicle they can't handle the current draw (amps) And let's not look past the fact they contain *Chinese* prismatic lifepo4 cells that can explode 🤯

Super helpful video, thanks team! It’s been basic portable set-up for me so far, mostly because my work Hilux is also the dad shuttle, and occasional long weekend mission base, so versatility is key. Next step is the make the ute more capable off road, which then opens up 4-7 day hunting trips with the mates, and at that point, I’ll invest in a solid wired-in dual battery AGM and solar system. When our kid is a bit older and our lifestyles more conducive to it, I’d love to go lithium solar system for a week-long family trips with plenty of spare power to run some niceties from home. Anyway, as I said, this vid was super helpful in mapping this out in my head, thanks heaps. All the best, team!

Excellent video thabks and very informative without getting too technical. I'd love to see more info on the go block or other portable setups. I can't afford a full set-up right now but still want to head out with family. I'm undecided how setup the fortuner space wise and jeep weight down. Does the go block have built-in inverter? If no can you connect inverter with a portable battery like go block if so what size inverter needed? Another is fridges. I'm also looking at mycoolman what size recommend family 4 sensible size and if dual zone option to have segregate freezer or option to all fridge. This has to fit in back of a new fortuner seats removed. Thks so much...

First?

Great video! Very informative and so much valuable information and anyone can understand!

Great video, There are still other battery options LiFePO4 and Ni-MH which all have there limits but depending on application can be great. Ni-MH are good if your equipment sits around as they can recharged from basically zero without any real problems, LifePoe4 batteries good for solar storage or large storage for longer trips. I love new technology but things like Li-ion batteries but anything goes wrong you could loose your car quick or get hurt so its always about risk factors. Everyone has there preference but why some people still like old school maybe heavy but withstand the test of time and don't need no fancy electronics to keep you safe

Greetings from South Africa. Excellent review mate. Learned a lot - especially the BMS.

Really informative video mate! I’m hoping to do something similar in my JT!

Excellent video I really appreciate the detailed info. You articulate very well and the material is easy to follow. Cheers mate Allan USA

Really well presented Shaun with very comprehensive info. Oh, and great analogy used. Thanks mate.

As always, great vid Shauno....! Love the technical content...very useful and informative. Say hi to Graham, Jocko and the boys for me. 😎

Quite an interesting setup. Been considering a auxiliary 12v system.

great video, makes me easy to understand power since I find it really hard

Very clear and crisp explanation. Thank you.

Top video. Well presented, very good content with excellent graphics and diagrams. Nice job.

one of those go-blocks look awesome -- cart it around anywhere

Great job, Shauno !

Thanks Shauno. So well explained. Much appreciated..

Put a Service body Canopy on the back of my Ranger Put in 2 100ah Lithium batteries but kept the charging simple using a Redarc bcdc 40 but also have a 240 setup using a Victron charger both running thru a smart shunt and can see everything on the phone running a engel 110 upright passenger side and a engle 60lt as a freezer/ Beer fridge driver side. Your vid has confirmed that going this way was the right move even thou the initial outlay was substantial. Love going to the river for the weekend and the wife has the food fridge and i have the beer fridge we both happy as i like having the drinks at 1C lol. Great vid as always well done Shauno

i will be getting back to you with real questions about marine app. I just spent $600 this morning on a AGM but it has not been installed yet. great video.