Lithium House Battery

[DustAngel]

If many of you are like me, you have outfit your van to be a camper with a house battery setup. I personally installed my lithium ion house battery in the back within my storage area. If I were to ever have a battery failure it would surely catch on fire and probably burn the whole thing down. What safety precautions should we take?
My suggestions are always have a quick exit of the vehicle to protect the lives that are in the van. After that, the battery just may be too much to deal with…
Thoughts?

 

[DeliKit]

I have a Li-ion NMC battery in the middle of mine (GoalZero Yeti1500X), and added a fire extinguisher in a handy spot near the lift-gate. Granted mine is likely a smaller battery compared to one for a house, but lithium ion definitely has safety concerns (NMC more than LFP). The metallic puddle pictured below paper towels is from my 4WD truck, which spawned numerous metal and glass puddles in one of Oregon's 2020 Labor Day wildfires. Always nice to be able to put out fires when possible! I also keep LED flares (little red bag) for emergencies.

 

[Growlerbearnz]

I would (and do) use a lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery as the house battery. They're safe, stable, handle abuse well, last forever, and generally don't need a BMS (though a cell balancer is a good idea).

In our caravan fire safety consists of a smoke detector, fire extinguisher within reach of the bed, and good insurance.

 

[DustAngel]

You must have better insurance over there, here I was declined full coverage because “gray market” vehicle

 

[Urge]

You must have better insurance over there, here I was declined full coverage because “gray market” vehicle

I insure with Haggerty. I tell them what the max amount to bet if something goes wrong. I insure my 91 Exceed Delica for less than $500 per year. It satisfies Pennsylvania rules on coverage and I’m happy too. Haggerty calls it a collectable so it works all around.