It’s finally time for batteries currently have Duracell AGM batteries my starting battery is 6 1/2 years old and my trolling batteries are 6 years old Current price of Duracell AGM batteries are $214 a piece. What will I gain by going lithium besides weight and more money? The cost for Ionic Lithiums are a little over $2000 with charger. I do tournament fish and my AGM batteries have never failed me
There are really two things you will see beside cost. You touched on one and that is weight. For a given capacity lithium will weigh a lot less.. The other big one is lifespan. Lithium batteries will perform for thousands of cycles where an AGM is said to be good for a few hundred cycles. Lithium also charges really fast compared to a lead battery. The bottom line is you got 6 years out of a set of AGM which is pretty darn good, you would probably never need to replace lithium if you went in that direction.
I think what to do depends on a lot of factors. If you plan on keeping the boat forever Lithium may be a worthy investment, eventually they would be cheaper but that break even period will be close to 20 years probably. If you plan on selling and dont want to take the batteries with you they may not be worth it.
Lithium can be worth it in a lot of places. I have them in my motorcycles and given the cost of a quality AGM for the bikes lithium is only like 20% more or so and totally worth it. The lithium in my bike is going on a decade old now with no sign of giving up, had i stayed with AGM i would be on my 4th replacement or so by now since small motorcycle batteries tend to not last but a couple years or so…. I also had them as house batteries in my old travel trailer. Lots of advantage there. They charged a lit quicker off my solar panels vs the lead they replaced and because they are smaller and lighter i was able to get significantly more capacity in the same amount of space that my 4 lead batteries were in. That led to a lot more runtime on the inverter which is a big deal when you are off grid like we like to camp. My next rv will have lithium as well and im planing a much larger system with a lot more capacity.
All lithium batteries are not the same, and you need to do your homework. They say lithium's will provide a constant voltage until they are depleted, but I know guys who have lithium's and they told me the ones they have perform almost exactly like an AGM as in start losing power once they get to about 50% charge. Read the fine print on whomever is selling them...
If your boat struggles with bow lift the lithiums will make it worse.
I replaced 2 G 31 LA trolling batteries with 2 lithium's. one of my LA/AGM batteries always seems to degrade faster than the other one resulting in lost performance due to 1 old and 1 new battery.
PROS: lightwieght, do not need to charge after every trip, faster charge time,BT app to monitor condition, do not loose charge after sitting, do not loose voltage/amp/power after aging, improved hole shot quality lithium's provide 10 year warranty. Long term better investment of time and money in reference to replacing dead batteries.
CONS: Expensive, lightweight ( I lost top end performance/speed/RPM), still playing with adjusting setup. I was dead set on replacing my AGM cranker with lithium when needed, but due to lost performance ( time will tell if I ever regain it) as of now it will be another AGM. I diont want to risk loosing more performance speed/RPMS.
Great reply jb882 ... but my personal experience (and others) is getting 6yrs out of an AGM like you said. That seems like a stretch.
Also, if your having issues with bow lift then your not likely spinning the right hub to begin with but adding Lithiums might cause you to have your prop worked on to get some lift back.
Don't add lithiums for the sake of gaining speed, you will be highly disappointed. Add them for longevity and reliability of power on the water.
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If you go with Lithium make sure you get the one's with Blue Tooth Monitor. That way you can post the photo of them at 85% after fishing 10 hours in heavy wind and current with the TM on High Speed.. Love them Facebook photos I see from the Pro Staffers.
I have lithium trolling batteries with a Bluetooth monitor—not a pro staffer—and do in fact often show 85-90% charge after my day’s fishing. Apparently I need to extend my fishing day, because I have way more trolling power than I need. In the past, using three series 27 lead-acid batteries while fishing 8 hour days on the Detroit River, I did kill those batteries. The combination of strong current and chopping heavy weed growth did them in. Replaced with series 31 AGMs in the same model boat, same trolling motor, and they lasted a bit longer but still succumbed. Lithiums not close to half depleted in similar circumstances.
Note: 85% charge *not* remaining after the Detroit River. Maybe only 70-75% remaining there.
Even though I am a no boater now, I would think lithium. They are pretty well sorted out now and Price has come down some. If you plan on fishing the next 10 years I'd definitely go lithium.
2000 for batteries and charger plus a new prop potentially is the cost! a lot depends on the boat you have
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I can get you in a full Lithium system for the following
$1910 - 24v-60ah Troller with Cranker and charger
$2208 - 36v-60ah Troller.with Cranker and charger
Batteries have Bluetooth and a full 10yr warranty
prices are shipped and no tax outside Alabama.
PM me if you need help
IMO the best way to counter the loss of performance is to organize the boat differently. You will get the center of gravity back to the original spot, but the boat will be lighter, resulting in increased performance.Originally Posted by Bjxds
This is no sh*t. I took two AGM31's off the Port rear and replaced them with two 100AH Lithiums. The other day while fishing/boating by myself, I made a sharp turn to Starboard under power doing about 40 MPH. The boat swung to Starboard and the Port side went WAY up in the air and I was looking to my right at water about two feet from my face. I immediately got off the hotfoot and slowed down. Lack of weight on the Port side + my fat ass behind the wheel.
It can make a difference.
60$ 2* wedges from TH and about 10 minutes of time will cure that issue.
This will be 4th year with my AGM's and they still hold up pretty well. The next ones will be lithium due to my old back and backwash when coming off plane. Already have a NOCO Genius for the lithium starter. Real question will be 50 or more AH?
I went with lithium last year and couldn't be happier - just the thought of never having to mess with changing them out made the price worth it.
for most situations 50ah is more than enough - I have yet to run out of power
I have Ionic package from Drewcraft for two years, wow is all i can say they have been by far the best batteries i ever owned for total all-around performance. When you get ready to buy get with Andy from Drewcraft, he gave me a great deal for my three 50 ah, 125 ah plus four bank ionic charger.
I tried to get myself to go lithium. It still don't make sense to me? 2K for batteries on the low end? Even if my batteries only lasted 2 years I could replace them 5 times for that amount. I've never had issues with a dead battery unless it was over 4 years old, sometimes more knock on wood and don't run out of power. Charging and Weight really no concern, if so I'd throw some of my shit out, put less fuel in and carry an 100 foot extension cord. Anyway don't work for me but you guys do you. Carry on.
6 years out of batteries! A month ago there were members on here calling me a liar because I've consistently got more than 5 years out of all my AGM batteries. I still see absolutely no reason to go lithium. My AGMs never leave me hanging, cost 1/3 of the price, provide weight and stability in the back of the boat, charge fast enough for my needs, and last for 5+ years if you take care of them.
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