To successfully replace lead acid batteries with lithium, there are three main steps to follow. First, select the right lithium battery for your specific application. Next, upgrade the charging components to accommodate the lithium battery. Finally, ensure proper safety measures are in place for a secure and reliable battery system.
The first step in upgrading a 12-volt lead acid battery to lithium is to choose the cell chemistry and configuration. This is a necessary step because regardless of the chemistry you use, lithium-ion batteries have a voltage that is much lower than 12. This makes it so you will have to put some amount of them in series to achieve 12 volts.
A consideration, especially for the DIY Golf Cart owner, is how difficult will the conversion be from wet lead-acid to Lithium batteries. As it turns out, not difficult at all since the RELiON InSight batteries are a direct size replacement for the OEM lead-acid batteries, more on that shortly.
Due to their many advantages across a wide range of applications, it's becoming more and more common to replace lead acid/AGM batteries with lithium. If you are upgrading a home battery bank to lithium and you already have a modern charge controller, the process could be as simple as installing the new batteries and flipping a switch.
The two main chemistries for conversion are LifePO4 (LFP) and Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt (Li-NMC). Lithium-ion batteries have a BMS (Battery Management System) built into them. This means that the battery will automatically prevent itself from becoming over-discharged or overcharged.
Lead acid batteries require a simple constant voltage charge to the battery while lithium ion chargers use 2 phases; constant current and then constant voltage. Unlike lead acid batteries, Lithium-ion batteries have an extremely small capacity loss when sitting unused.