question

airstreampictures avatar image
airstreampictures asked

Have battery mounting requirements changed?

I've been reading Victron's manuals prior to beginning my install, and I found this in the Lithium Smart Battery Manual:

"Mounting must meet the following requirements:

1. The battery can be mounted upright or on its side, but not with the battery terminals facing down. Note that this does not apply to the 12.8V/330Ah model, which can only be installed upright.

... "

I've seen several posts here that state in definite terms that all Victron Batteries must be mounted upright. Has this directive changed? If it has, I have two questions: first, is it still a bad idea to mount a 200Ah battery in a position other than upright? (If so, why?) and second, can they be mounted on end? or just laying on the long side?

The whole idea of mounting a battery other than upright makes me a little nervous, but it would allow better weight distribution in my installation.

Lithium Batteryinstallation
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2 Answers
Justin Cook avatar image
Justin Cook answered ·

First of all, good job reading the manual before install, that's a (unfortunately) somewhat rare occurrence!

But yes you're correct, the permissible battery mounting methods for all Smart Lithium batteries (except the 12/330) were updated in the manuals ehhh either late last year or early this year, I forget when exactly it was. So, indeed, a lot of slightly older admonishments of NOOOO it's absolutely forbiddennnnnn (more than a few of which were posted by me, LOL) are in fact no longer accurate.

Personally, having taken these batteries apart and seeing how they're supported and baffled inside, I would not myself mount them in any position other than upright unless it was a static installation like a house or garage; in a mobile installation I think that over a matter of years the odds of a mechanical failure inside due to vibration would be significantly higher when mounted on their side or on their ends than when mounted upright.

That's just my own assessment, though - at the end of the day, what's in the manual is indeed what's supported by Victron and if such a failure was to occur within the warranty period, you'd be covered!

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airstreampictures avatar image
airstreampictures answered ·

Thank you. That makes sense to me. And as I’m installing in an Airstream travel trailer, I think I’ll keep them upright.

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