Lithium Batteries

**NEW.. 48-volt systems have quickly become a big part of my work, offering significant advantages over traditional 12 & 24 Volt setups:

Ultra fast & unstrained alternator performance – programmed to generate 4kW – equivalent to 300A continuous in a 12V system.
Powerful Victron 48V MultiPlus models allow high-demand appliances to be run simultaneously, such as an induction hob and an air fryer in the galley.
48V Victron Multiplus models are more affordable + a small 150/45 SmartSolar will control 2000W array at full capacity. When you factor in the superb performance these systems offer excellent value for money.
I have a range of custom free-wheeling pulleys to enable the 48V 100A alternator to be installed on all of the popular engines: Beta 43/50/60/75, Canaline 42/52/60, Barrus Shire, and Volvo Penta. Pulley ratios are optimised for maximum power output while maintaining belt longevity.

In terms of alternator charging these VRM screenshots demonstrate the power of 48V. 30 to 100% of the 200Ah (10kWh) in 2 hrs. 75A Continuous power. Low alternator temperature.

Original page below is out of date. I’ve been changing the way I work. – posts of my latest lithium battery related jobs are on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/four_counties_marine/

Lithium batteries bring tremendous benefits to off-grid Narrowboat life. Rugged & efficient, providing reliable high power, and safe when properly installed. Transforming the way power is used and managed onboard. All Lead-acid is delicate, weak, and totally impractical in comparison.

My public liability insurance specifically covers Lithium – and work is done to the latest & highest standards.

I only install premium lithium systems that use an external BMS (Battery Management System) and they set the gold standard for safety. As an alternative to the Victron Lynx NG systems I build batteries using raw EVE cells and the excellent REC-BMS.

These systems can’t be compared to drop-in type batteries (Fogstar, Roamer etc.) with a internal budget electronic BMS. An external BMS controls all devices (MultiPlus, DC loads, WS500) with CAN-bus/signals and there’s an extra level of safety with a main heavy duty 500A contactor, controlled by the BMS or a remote switch. Charge and discharge currents are practically limitless.

For new-builds I offer a complete design and installation service: Battery supplied and fitted with a Victron power system. Alternator supplied to engine mariniser + external alternator regulator. And options for a solar installation.

One key benefit of an external BMS Lithium system is the practically limitless recharge property. This means you have to ‘lithium proof’ the alternator. I specialise in installing Wakespeed WS500 regulators – see my external alternator regulator page for details on why it’s by-far the best approach. For new-builds I can work with the engine mariniser and build a strong and reliable alternator charging system. There’s some example on my alternator upgrade page.

Lithium/LA ‘Hybrid’ system: I’m booked-up installing uncompromised Victron & REC BMS systems that I specialise in – I don’t fit any drop-in batteries (hybrid or pure lithium) what-so-ever. And I only fit external alternator regulators to maximise alternator performance not a limited DC-DC charger with no control. The hybrid system is a DIY route to Lithium where budget is the no.1 priority. It works and is a simple cost effective way of protecting the alternator from BMS disconnect. Responsibility, understanding, any risk/liability should all be with the boat owner commissioning the work and not the installer.

Any queries please call Ed 07922 163072.

Case Studies..

12V 608Ah REC-BMS system. 200A alternator upgrade + Mastervolt regulator.

Offgrid Aqualine narrowboat’s Victron 12V 660Ah AGM batteries lasted 7 years and would cost ~£1600 to replace. After researching different options my customer goes for a quality 608Ah LiFePo4 battery + REC Battery Management system.

The cells are built into a battery box with cell dividers, 500A busbars, Blue Sea Class T & Terminal fuses. Installed neatly inside the cabin to avoid low temp charging issues and minimise the cable runs. Victron lynx distributor brings fuse holders and bubars into 1 compact unit. A single CAN-bus lead connects BMS to Victron Cerbo GX giving access to Victron’s brilliant VRM online monitoring system.

200 Amp Bosch alternator upgrade + Mastervolt external regulator on the Isuzu engine. Charging throttles down to 165A+ continuous. Enables a full charge from 30% in ~2.5hrs & engine runs perfectly with no hint of the high alternator loads.

My customer has spent the last 8+ years looking after the nice Victron AGM’s and switching to lithium brings a totally different approach. No need to regularly bring up to 100% – once a month is fine to enable cell balancing and battery monitor calibration. Much more of the capacity can be used with recommended lower limit of 30%. Ultra fast engine recharge time with 40 mins returning 130Ah + a tank of hot water. Washing machine, electric kettle, toaster etc. can all be used with no engine running. In the Summer excess solar brings free renewable power – all electric galley, immersion heated hot water on brighter days and no engine running required at all.

24V 560Ah REC-BMS. 150A Bosch alternator + Alpha Pro. Newbuild Narrowboat.

My customer wants the best lithium battery/power system for a newbuild XR&D Narrowboat. I install a 560Ah REC-BMS system. Blue Sea Class T fuse. Lynx Distributor. Cerbo GX + Touch 70 display. Victron 5000/120 MultiPlus II inverter/charger.

For charging 24V 150A Bosch alternator supplied to Beta Marine to build into a Beta 50 Super Silent engine. Mastervolt Alpha Pro properly regulates reduces the brutal loads at low engine speeds and maximises peformance. Integrated in and controlled by the REC-BMS.

24V 400Ah Victron Lithium +Lynx BMS install on a Newbuild XR&D Narrowboat.

24V 180A alternator supplied to Beta during engine build and mounted on a custom bracket. Mastervolt Alpha Pro controls the brutal loads at tickover and maximises output.

400Ah Victron lithium system installed. Lynx BMS, MultiPlus II, SmartSolar & Ekrano GX display.

12V 560Ah REC-BMS + Victron + Mastervolt Alpha Pro install on newbuild Trinity Boats Narrowboat.

Fit a REC-BMS system during build of liveaboard Narrowboat at Trinity boats. Full Victron system with MultiPlus II, Cerbo GX, SmartSolar etc.

Mastervolt Alpha Pro optimises charging from the factory Beta 43 175A alternator.

12V 840Ah REC-BMS. Beta 43 175A alternator + Mastervolt Reg.

Customer wanted a modern galley with induction hob, electric grill, microwave, coffee machine etc. and the boat builder installed a budget lead acid power system that couldn’t deliver. I completely start again from scratch and install a 12V 840Ah REC-BMS battery system. 500A busbars/shunt/contactor with 400A Class T fuse setting the max working discharge current.

Victron 12/5000 MultiPlus provides power for all the high power appliances.

Factory Beta 43 175A alternator converted to external regulation and a Mastervolt Alpha Pro reg. is controlled by the REC-BMS. The Victron Cerbo/Touch display shows the owner exactly what’s going on.

12V 608Ah REC-BMS. 150A Bosch alternator + Mastervolt Regulator.

Professional liveaboard customer needs reliable power for work. I install a simple 608Ah REC-BMS system. 8 cells built neatly into a solid battery box. Class T fuse with shunt and contactor mounted directly to a Victron Lynx Distributor. Tinned 50mm cable. Victron 12/1600 Multiplus efficiently runs a high performance desktop PC.

150A Bosch alternator upgrade and Mastervolt Alpha Pro regulator. Custom pulley and upgrade to XPA 12.5mm wide belt (replacing the original 10mm Vetus belt). Alpha Pro throttles down power at tickover and it ‘sset to run around 80 amps continuous output. Victron Orion DC-DC charges the lead acid start battery.

12V 560Ah REC-BMS battery. 150A alternator upgrade.

My customers are completely refitting a boat out and starting again with the electrical system. Quality battery built into a solid box with REC-BMS. Class T fuse. Victron Lynx Distributor, Multiplus II, Cerbo GX + Touch display etc.

Wakespeed WS500 + Bosch 150A alternator upgrade. Custom pulley. Gets the most out of such a limited system with a small V belt crank pulley and single alternator. Victron DC-DC charger charges the start battery.

1700 watt of solar feeding a Victron 150/100 controller. Cerbo GX + Touch screen display. Simple but quality Blue Sea distribution panel finishes the job off well.

12V 608Ah EVE + REC-BMS + Victron + 200A Alternator & WS500 on Nb Cousin Jack

Upgrade on a early 2000’s Narrowboat. Lithium battery installed inside wardrobe. Cells built into a box so space can still be used. Blue Sea terminal fuses + Class T fuse. 500A Busbars. 3.5 Travel Power on the Barrus engine swapped out for Bosch 200A alternator with WS500 regulator. Switch added to panel to enable ultra fast 160A continuous output for charging only and lower power for normal cruising conditions.

Victron Cerbo GX and Touch display shows exactly what’s going on.

912Ah EVE cells + REC-BMS + Victron + WS500 on liveaboard Narrowboat.

12 cell battery neatly installed in the cabin and REC BMS integrates with the Cerbo & Multiplus already fitted. Blue Sea Terminal and Class T fuses. Wakespeed WS500 controls the factory Beta 43 175A alternator. Beta Marine freewheel pulley upgrade to help transmit the higher continuous alternator loads.

608Ah EVE Cells + REC-BMS + Victron + WS500 on Narrowboat Angel.

New-build live-aboad’s struggled on for 9 months with 800Ah AGM batteries. I install a REC-BMS/Victron based system inside the cabin. Customers delighted and can’t believe the difference. They love the Victron VRM experience and the accurate and reliable state of charge percentage.

The Beta 43 adapts superbly to charging Lithium. I upgrade cable sizes and add a Wakespeed WS500 external regulator. Perfect integration with the REC-BMS.

12V 400Ah Victron Lithium + Cerbo + Multiplus II + Wakespeed on Nb Lands End.

Totally offgrid customers work onboard in tech jobs and require reliable power. I fit a 400Ah Victron Lithium with a Wakespeed WS500 managing the Beta 43 175A alternator.

The system uses the latest efficient Victron Multiplus II with Cerbo and Touch 50 display. My customers love the new system and especially impressed with Victron’s VRM giving remote monitoring and displaying trends showing exactly what’s going on.

Simple Victron/Mastervolt install on Nb. Emperor.

This beautiful Dave Harris narrowboat is as traditional and simple as you get. No solar. Paloma hot water. No TV. Paraffin lighting. 12V fridge. Lithium still suits it perfectly though.

Even though the boat’s moored in a marina there’s never been a landline connection. It’s possibly why the 30+ year old hull is still like new. My customer likes the strong/rugged properties Lithium offers: The ability to be left partially charged and a battery monitor that actually works. We fit a simple system – 200Ah of Victron batteries with Smart BMS12/200. Victron BMV700 monitor. A Mastervolt Alpha Pro looks after a modest 90 amp alternator upgrade + custom 65mm pulley on the Lister JP3.

560Ah EVE cells + REC-BMS + Victron + Wakespeed on Nb Dormouse.

Beautiful & much admired traditional Narrowboat had a state of the art Mastervolt electrical system when built ~12 years ago. Recent battery problems lead customer to look towards Lithium. I fit 560Ah of raw cells + REC-BMS. This system uses a Victron Cerbo GX as it’s main communication hub controlling a 12/3000 Victron Multiplus II & SmartSolar controller all monitored on the Victron Touch 50.

Upgraded 150A Bosch alternator on the Isuzu engine while cruising managed by a Wakespeed WS500 regulator. Dometic 3.5 Travel Power generator provides a combined unstrained 200A charging while moored up.

Victron Lithium + Beta Alternator Upgrade + Solar on nb. Denry.

Practical offgrid liveaboard is fed up with excessive engine running and no power. I install 2* 200Ah Victron SmartLithium batteries, VE.Bus V2 BMS, Multiplus II 3000/120, Cerbo GX + Touch 50.

150A Bosch alternator upgrade + custom pulley + XPA belt on the Beta 1505 with Mastervolt Alpha Pro regulator maximises charging. Lead acid start battery automatically charged with a Victron Orion DC-DC charger.

1275W of Perlight solar panels fitted neatly on my s/s brackets running through a Victron 150/100 controller.

Customer delighted with the new system. Totally self sufficient in the Summer with all electric galley.

Victron Lithium install on 10 year old n/b. Suffolk Punch.

My customer wants a simple and reliable system for true off-grid living 365 days/year. I recommend and install 2* 200Ah Victron Smart Lithium batteries. VE.bus BMS. BMV Smart monitor. Cerbo GX + Touch 70 display. Batteries are moved inside for low temp winter charging. Fit 1500 Watt of solar so there’s absolutely no engine running in the Summer with 100% renewable power. Electric kettle, slow cooker, induction hob, microwave, toaster and worktop cooker, and potential immersion heater hot water in sunny conditions.

Engine charging from the factory Beta 43 175A Iskra and controlled by a Wakespeed WS500 creating – an awesome optimised alternator charging system. A full winter recharge takes <2.5 hrs. The WS500 now integrates with Victron system and displays running data on the touch screen display.

400Ah Victron Lithium + 200A Alternator + Mastervolt Alpha Pro.

Upgrade to a Victron system: 12V 400Ah Victron + VE.Bus BMS v2. Multiplus II 3000/120. Victron 100/50 SmartSolar.

200A Bosch Alternator + 6pk crank pulley upgrade + Mastervolt Alpha Pro Regulator on the Canaline 38 engine. Superfast and unstrained recharging.

560Ah EVE Cells + REC-BMS + Alpha Pro + Victron install.

Electrical update on much used holiday boat. 8* 3.2V 280Ah EVE cells built into a battery with REC-BMS. The BMS connects via CAN-bus with a Victron Cerbo GX which becomes the monitoring/control hub, communicating with Multiplus II & SmartSolar and the Victron touch-screen display shows all monitoring for the complete system.

90A Canaline 38 Alternator is regulated by a Mastervolt Alpha Pro and integrated in with the REC-BMS. 850W solar mounted flat on my s/s bracket set.

Example of 400Ah Winston + REC-ABMS + Victron install.

Liveaboard totally offgrid boat. I install 12V 400Ah Winston Thundersky cells with REC-BMS. The BMS features active cell balancing and shunt based current monitoring. It sends data using CAN-bus to a Victron Cerbo GX which controls a Victron Multiplus II 12-3000-120 and Victron Smartsolar controller and displays data on the Victron Touch GX display and interface. The Cerbo connects to the internet and allows remote monitoring & control through Victron’s vrm remote portal. The REC-BMS integrates incredibly well with the Victron Cerbo GX.

The new Multiplus II is more efficient than ever and has a 2nd programmable AC2 240V output to enable automatic immersion heating or aircon options for the Summer (dependant on solar setup) and programmed based on many different paramaters. A Mastervolt Alpha Pro controller, 150A Bosch alternator upgrade with Victron Cyrix-Li-ct relay gets the very most out of the limited single alternator Vetus M4.14 setup.

With an efficient base of a 12V boat my customers can go for 5+ days between recharge in deepest winter. On their offgrid Shropshire mooring a bankside Honda EU2000 generator provides efficient and convenient charging.

400Ah Victron Install + Alpha Pro Regulator.

Simple 2* 200Ah Victron Smart Lihtium batteries, VE.Bus BMS, SmartSolar 100/50, BMV712 Smart installed on a liveaboard totally offgrid narrowboat. DC system rewired and brought upto spec using the original Victron 3000/120 Multiplus.

Mastervolt Alpha Pro fitted to the factory 175A Canaline 42 alternator for 135A+ continuous winter charging. My technical engineer customer installs a Rasperry Pi to get the full Victron VRM online portal monitoring working.

400Ah Winston Thundersky cells + REC-BMS install on nb. Sunflower.

New liveaboard owner on this 60′ Narrowboat had issues with the orignal lead acid batteries. Fit 400AH Winston Cells, REC-BMS, Cerbo GX + Touch 70 display, 3000/120 Multiplus II, SmartSolar 100/50 + 1100W solar. Charging through the Multiplus with Electrolux Travel Power generator.

The top quality REC-BMS battery management system has active cell balancing and integrates seamlessly with the Victron equipment.

Victron 400Ah on a tiny 30ft Aintree Beetle Narrowboat.

2* 200AH Smart Lithium, VE.Bus BMS, BMV712 Smart monitor, SmartSolar 75/15, Multiplus 12/1600/70.

150A Bosch alternator + Mastervolt Alpha Pro + Cyrix Li-CT 230 fitted to the tiny Beta 20 engine. Alternator charging clipped to 100A continuous. I’m proud of this alternator upgrade and it really gets the most from the tiny engine. Customer delighted and now practically gas free.

400Ah Winston + REC-ABMS + 200A Alternator install.

Customer found the recent 440Ah lead acid batteries not fit for live-aboard life. I install a custom 400Ah Winston Thundersky + REC Active BMS + Victron Cerbo GX battery setup. Victron 100A Battery Protect handles DC loads. Exisiting Victron 1600 Multi & Smartsolar controller integrate perfectly with CAN-bus & VE.Direct to the Cerbo. The original Victron BMV Smart is ditched and the Cerbo GX provides monitoring and system control over the Victron VRM remote portal.

The original 70A Beta 38 alternator replaced with 200A Bosch. A Mastervolt Alpha Pro looks after alternator charging – Max output capped to 190 amps with ‘small engine mode’ setup for the Beta 38 and temp sensing looking after alternator temperature . Performance is incredible and relentless. The REC-BMS controls the Alpha Pro.

400AH Winston Thundersky + 123SmartBMS.

Live-a-board customer was fed-up with the deteriating 330AH 12-month-old lead acid bank. I build a 400AH Winston Thundersky + 123BMS neatly installed inside the cabin. Mastervolt Alpha Pro + alternator upgrade to look after engine charging. The Dutch made 123\SmartBMS controls the other kit: Victron BMV712, Mastervolt Alpha Pro, Victron Multiplus, Victron Smartsolar, Victron Battery Protect etc..

Awesome power & capacity and simple setup. In the Summer options for immersion heater hot water, air conditioning, induction hob, microwave, toaster, kettle etc.. In the depths of Winter power will last for ~5 days between running the engine with a full recharge in less than 2.5 hours with optimised alternator charging. I offer this system at a fixed price with a proper 2 year callout warranty for my customer’s piece of mind – which I personally cover.

Winston Thundersky + 123SmartBMS + Victron install.

My live-aboard customer wants to moor up for as long as possible and really doesn’t like running the engine, totally offgrid and always on the towpath. I fit 12V 400AH Winston cells + 123SmartBMS. New Victron Multiplus 3000/120 with simple powerful 120A engine charging from Dometic 3.5 Travel Power + Victron Multicontrol input current limiting to keep the travel power and a Honda EU2200i unstrained. If there’s ever an issue with the Travel Power there’s a 200A Bosch swapout for even faster charging. I also add 1000 watt of solar with a Victron Smartsolar controller to an already installed 650W system.

The solar allows for automatic free hot water & electric cooking in the Summer and there’s plans to install a small aircon unit in the bedroom. The new lithium battery works so well with the other Victron equipment and Travel Power. My customer is delighted with the new setup and it’s transformed life on-board.