How Lithiums improved my boat

[Seaark1660]

So, if lithiums will pay for themselves over time does this mean that they'll last 15-20 years? I know a lot of people can get around 5 years out of a set of basic nothing special wet batteries. These same people probably also don't have the money to drop on lithium right now (me included). My original pair of batteries (basic wet 27's) in my boat got replaced because the junk OEM charger freaked out and ruined one of them. Now on a pair of Walmart 24's that will probably last me at least 4 years and my boat gets fished pretty hard 1-2 times a week. I've always been taught to wait for technology to come down in price before joining the herd. Usually it's one of those situations where I decide what little bit of extra money I do have can be spent on something that makes more sense at the time. Don't get me wrong, if I see the value in something that will end up costing less over time I'll pay up if funds allow but I just don't see it it in marine lithium batteries YET. Maybe if I fished 200+ days a year like some on here do I'd see the value but not at this point in time.

Would be interesting to see the power savings at the plug(AC)?Never timed the length of charging wet cell/AGM from say 60% DOD,but since mid June,my batteries spent about 5 hours total on AC charge.This is using the PP Charge.

The weight savings in my boat are tremendous,went from 136lbs of AGM batteries down to 68lbs total with charger.

[kcinnick]

Some people are not taking into the account of the added convenience of Lifepo4 batteries. No maintenance and they hold a charge forever.

I ordered some 80ah batteries, the cost was a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of a boat... and I spend more on reels, rods and braid this week than the lifepo4 batteries cost.

[fishnfireman]

So, if lithiums will pay for themselves over time does this mean that they'll last 15-20 years? I know a lot of people can get around 5 years out of a set of basic nothing special wet batteries. These same people probably also don't have the money to drop on lithium right now (me included). My original pair of batteries (basic wet 27's) in my boat got replaced because the junk OEM charger freaked out and ruined one of them. Now on a pair of Walmart 24's that will probably last me at least 4 years and my boat gets fished pretty hard 1-2 times a week. I've always been taught to wait for technology to come down in price before joining the herd. Usually it's one of those situations where I decide what little bit of extra money I do have can be spent on something that makes more sense at the time. Don't get me wrong, if I see the value in something that will end up costing less over time I'll pay up if funds allow but I just don't see it it in marine lithium batteries YET. Maybe if I fished 200+ days a year like some on here do I'd see the value but not at this point in time.

Your luck with wet cells far exceeds mine. I've fished competitively for 30 years. It didn't mater what brand I used with a 24 volt system I was lucky to get a year out of them. After going to 36 volt it doubled the life. But two years is nothing compared to the (claims) of lithium. I've never come close to fishing 200 days a year.. But I do fish big open water lakes where the wind Howls. I believe it's been proven that rough rides and drawing them way down shortens the life of a wet cell.
For the record when Ionic came out with the 50 AH it was unknown if three 50's would hold up all day. Before that there was no way I could afford to go lithium. I was one of the first to try when they put them on sale.. Best I recall they cost right at $1200.00 for all three. Not sure what they cost now but as soon as a few of us proved they could last all day the price started up. In my case if they last 7 years they will have paid for there self.
Not to mention the other benefits..

[mohawkman]

Pay no attention to the "Seat-Time Bandits". Baselessly telling someone else that they can't drive a boat is apparently a thing.

I think it was just the guys way of saying "you don't need Lithium batteries to get rid of backwash issues.... I think regular batteries are good enough".

Don't take it personal :)

[gehol]

Sounds like you got that 75 horse set up just right and hummin.

LOL

[Cajunhunter67]

Thanks for the info. My interest grows in the Lithium market.
With my rig, I don't believe there would be much to gain in performance by going to Lithiums.
What I am looking at is the Longevity of the Lithiums versus AGM's.

As of now, my AGM's have lasted me over 4 1/2 years. Dealer checked them and said they are fine but getting tired.
With a 24 volt system, I can get 2 Duracell (which are Deka's) for less than 300.00.

I see the Lithium costs continuing to come down. I believe they are getting closer to justifying costs if they will last past the 5 year mark.

Don

[Theolbug]

No worries at all friend nothing personal taken. I have to respectfully disagree. Weight distribution matters and i had a lot of seat time with this one. At some point its obvious the boat isnt setup properly. The fact that fixing the weight distribution fixed so many things instantly is proof its more than just the driver.

Hey, you take it easy there with that civil response.

[Kromer]

This may seem funny but i did the cart before the horse thing, unfortunately. so i put my 3 new lithium batteries in and realized i needed to ship my charger back to Dual Pro for re-programing. I figured if the batteries are as good as they say then I should be able to fish a few times while waiting for the battery chrager to return, so far I am on my third trip out :-)

[Milehibird]

So I've ran my lithiums for 3 years now (well this year doesn't count, I only took my boat out 4 or 5 times this year). So far, no problem. Batteries take less than 2 hours to charge even after a full day on the water in wind. The weight I removed off the back was enough to make up for adding my 2 12' talons. Took it down to Table Rock when I first got the lithiums, there wasn't a boat in the 120 boat tournament that had a faster hole shot. This year, with the talons, it was slower for sure. Top end was about 5-6mph slower. But the boat sits in the water the same with lithiums and talons as it did with lead batteries, and I had 2 sets of lead batteries die in 2 years.

I'll never use non-lithium batteries for trolling again, honestly.

[th365thli]

To the O.P. If you're happy p... on the rest of us.

I could never justify in my mind that expenditure for so small of a gain in fish catching.

Good for you !! Have fun !! That's why we do it.

Cheers brother

[th365thli]

Didn’t really roast the guy, just seemed like essentially saving the weight of a passenger wouldn’t make that huge of a difference for most setups.

That fails taking into account where that weight is. A passenger is located near the center of the boat. Taking weight off the center is much different than taking weight off the rear. Simple physics. I thought it'd be obvious but guess not.....

[th365thli]

Thanks for the info. My interest grows in the Lithium market.
With my rig, I don't believe there would be much to gain in performance by going to Lithiums.
What I am looking at is the Longevity of the Lithiums versus AGM's.

As of now, my AGM's have lasted me over 4 1/2 years. Dealer checked them and said they are fine but getting tired.
With a 24 volt system, I can get 2 Duracell (which are Deka's) for less than 300.00.

I see the Lithium costs continuing to come down. I believe they are getting closer to justifying costs if they will last past the 5 year mark.

Don

They are definitely a luxury more than a necessity, but because I was running 36v (three batteries) plus a hydraulic jack plate, they really benefited me in other ways. I also hope they continue to come down in price.

[Mcjenson]

That fails taking into account where that weight is. A passenger is located near the center of the boat. Taking weight off the center is much different than taking weight off the rear. Simple physics. I thought it'd be obvious but guess not.....

It’s pretty much the difference between a mostly full and mostly empty tank of fuel. Not a “game changer” for most as far as ride / handling. That said I’ll still probably get them when my trolling wet cells die just because of the way they perform.

[himpiano]

Lithium’s are the way to go, period. It is not new tech, new to boats maybe. I remember when lipo changed the radio control car and airplane market 20 years ago... I put 4 of the Ionic Lithium’s and the Ionic Charger in my Triton 21TRx Elite and I saved 170 pounds immediately right off the back of the boat. was that a huge performance gain? In my boat, unfortunately, no. However, I can fish practice on Friday, tournament on Saturday and tournament on Sunday and never plug my boat in to charge. When I do plug it in when I get home, it fully charges in less than 2 hours after fishing all weekend. To say that’s not a major advantage/improvement is insane.

Not having to look for outlets at hotels and campgrounds everywhere I go is worth the $3500 I spent on all my stuff. Not to mention the fact that I can run all 3 of my graphs and my live wells For 3-4 hours and never have to worry about whether the big engine will start. I watched it one day on my phone and after fishing a cove for 4 hours, my starter battery was at 79 percent after running above said equipment. My graphs running pull 7 amps, that’s a pretty big load without the live wells added as well... When I first got my boat in March of this year, I fished a big area on Hartwell for a couple hours and the engine wouldn’t start, I had to switch out a battery to get back to the ramp. I came home and ordered the lithium’s and I’ve never had an issue since. Best investment I’ve ever made I’d say.

To all you guys on the fence, DO IT, you won’t be sorry. Then you too can be a lithium snob who isn’t digging for a drop cord every time he stops. I recommend Ionic, they are local and their service is awesome. When I bought mine, the charger messed up (It was kinda my fault), they overnighted me a new one no questions asked.

Oh...did I mention I can see all my batteries and everything going on with them on the Ionic app on my phone? Don’t even act like you don’t want them, we all know you do.

[th365thli]

It’s pretty much the difference between a mostly full and mostly empty tank of fuel. Not a “game changer” for most as far as ride / handling. That said I’ll still probably get them when my trolling wet cells die just because of the way they perform.

Again that's assuming your tanks are in the rear. Mine are under the seat. Everyone's situation is different, in mine it greatly helped. Not sure why you're so convinced against its benefits. We've had people in this thread also have Performance, stern heavy, backwash, or any combination of these problems. If they don't help your situation, great, but don't assume they cant help other people. This thread has proven otherwise. It just comes off as crotchety.


Also your fuel example isn't quite correct. Fuel or no fuel in the rear, taking out weight in the back is still taking out weight in the back independent of whatever the fuel is. Maybe someones boat performs okay with half fuel but like crap full fuel. Lithiums would help.

[th365thli]

I think it was just the guys way of saying "you don't need Lithium batteries to get rid of backwash issues.... I think regular batteries are good enough".

Don't take it personal :)

Nah he was definitely throwing shade my way. All good, whatever makes him feel better.

[Mcjenson]

Again that's assuming your tanks are in the rear. Mine are under the seat. Everyone's situation is different, in mine it greatly helped. Not sure why you're so convinced against its benefits. We've had people in this thread also have Performance, stern heavy, backwash, or any combination of these problems. If they don't help your situation, great, but don't assume they cant help other people. This thread has proven otherwise. It just comes off as crotchety.


Also your fuel example isn't quite correct. Fuel or no fuel in the rear, taking out weight in the back is still taking out weight in the back independent of whatever the fuel is. Maybe someones boat performs okay with half fuel but like crap full fuel. Lithiums would help.

Its hard to convey tone over texts sometimes. I was just trying to say for many cases, I wouldn’t expect a huge ride / handling difference like you experienced in your boat. Like you said though, it may make a big difference for certain setups like yours. I think the charge times / battery life vs the lead acid is the biggest selling point for making the switch to lithium. Any performance difference is just a bonus

[bblythe]

Won't they get a memory .also don't you have to take them down to zero then charge them. I'm pretty sure that's the way they use to be .

[bblythe]

If I can't plug one charger in .I'm out on these things

[th365thli]

Its hard to convey tone over texts sometimes. I was just trying to say for many cases, I wouldn’t expect a huge ride / handling difference like you experienced in your boat. Like you said though, it may make a big difference for certain setups like yours. I think the charge times / battery life vs the lead acid is the biggest selling point for making the switch to lithium. Any performance difference is just a bonus