Lithium cranking battery suggestion/Garmins are thirsty!

[Highcentered]

I have a group 31 O'reilly heavy duty fleet agm that has a disappointing 100ah capacity. It doesn't spec out nearly as well as the group 31 Interstate it replaced and it shows. Guess I got what I paid for after all! A local BBC member was nice enough to do the math for me and on an 8 hour trip I'm pulling nearly 60a if memory serves. On a 9000 acre lake that I know like the back of my hand my runs are usually way less than 5 minutes so might be lucky to replenish what's needed to start my big motor (115 SHO). It fires quick though. Chances are high that I'm pulling this 70 pound piece of lead below 50% every once in a while. While I rarely fish more than 6 hours at a time sometimes I do get a wild hair up my rear and stay out there long enough that the battery I have makes me nervous. The 9" Garmin on the console even shut off randomly a couple trips ago likely from low voltage. Was reading 11.8 so even with a couple 10ths of drop in the wire that's still pretty damn low and the big motor didn't crank as fast either!

What would be a good value for a lithium cranking/acc battery that will keep my setup happy? Any issue with the charging system of the smaller SHO playing nice with lithium? I have the Minnkota 3 bank (5 amps per) charger that has separate settings for lead, agm, and lithium and been working flawlessly on my pair of 60ah Monster lithiums that were dealer installed.

[bassfisher444]

I would say you have a battery that is weak. I am running more electronics than that, plus power poles and cranking a 225hp motor on a smaller group 27 cranking battery right now and I haven't had any trouble yet the few times I have had it out. Going to put another group 31 commercial starting battery in it soon like I had in my other boat, since the one I have now is technically undersized but I haven't had any trouble with it yet.

[DQM]

Hard to go wrong with the Ionic 125ah starting battery. Proven, reliable, and at 125ah it will give you 2x the usable power of your current battery if the current battery was new, and the current price is pretty good on it.

The charger will be fine, just take 12+ hours to fully charge it from, say, 50% SOC.

[MichAngler]

I 2nd the Ionic 125
I have it as my main cranking battery plus I run 2 Solix's and 2 Garmins plus lights and pumps
I can get 3 to 4 fun days or 2 tournament days before I even consider charging it

[Highcentered]

I would say you have a battery that is weak. I am running more electronics than that, plus power poles and cranking a 225hp motor on a smaller group 27 cranking battery right now and I haven't had any trouble yet the few times I have had it out. Going to put another group 31 commercial starting battery in it soon like I had in my other boat, since the one I have now is technically undersized but I haven't had any trouble with it yet.

Funny you mention that. After installing Livescope with a 12" screen on my previous boat I decided to retire the 6 y/o Interstate that had served me well the whole time just to be safe. The O'Reilly group 31 didn't seem to be any better when it came to resisting voltage drop throughout the day. Looking back I should have probably just left that heavy turd in my Tracker along with the newer pair of group 29's and gone all lithium in this Xpress from the beginning. I know having that heavy battery on the console side is causing some strange handling in certain situations that I have to catch before it gets out of hand.

[Highcentered]

Hard to go wrong with the Ionic 125ah starting battery. Proven, reliable, and at 125ah it will give you 2x the usable power of your current battery if the current battery was new, and the current price is pretty good on it.

The charger will be fine, just take 12+ hours to fully charge it from, say, 50% SOC.

That should be just fine. I'll look into that Ionic. Isn't Drewtick the guy to talk to about that?

[DQM]

That should be just fine. I'll look into that Ionic. Isn't Drewtick the guy to talk to about that?

He is. Great guy and awesome service.

[rid 05 198]

So the big motor charges a Ionic 125ah lithium starting battery the same as it goes a lead battery?

[DREWTICK]

So the big motor charges a Ionic 125ah lithium starting battery the same as it goes a lead battery?

yes

[yam911]

So the big motor charges a Ionic 125ah lithium starting battery the same as it goes a lead battery?

A double yes.

[justinp61]

I have a group 31 O'reilly heavy duty fleet agm that has a disappointing 100ah capacity. It doesn't spec out nearly as well as the group 31 Interstate it replaced and it shows. Guess I got what I paid for after all! A local BBC member was nice enough to do the math for me and on an 8 hour trip I'm pulling nearly 60a if memory serves. On a 9000 acre lake that I know like the back of my hand my runs are usually way less than 5 minutes so might be lucky to replenish what's needed to start my big motor (115 SHO). It fires quick though. Chances are high that I'm pulling this 70 pound piece of lead below 50% every once in a while. While I rarely fish more than 6 hours at a time sometimes I do get a wild hair up my rear and stay out there long enough that the battery I have makes me nervous. The 9" Garmin on the console even shut off randomly a couple trips ago likely from low voltage. Was reading 11.8 so even with a couple 10ths of drop in the wire that's still pretty damn low and the big motor didn't crank as fast either!

What would be a good value for a lithium cranking/acc battery that will keep my setup happy? Any issue with the charging system of the smaller SHO playing nice with lithium? I have the Minnkota 3 bank (5 amps per) charger that has separate settings for lead, agm, and lithium and been working flawlessly on my pair of 60ah Monster lithiums that were dealer installed.

I had the same issue with my group 31 lead acid battery. After six hours of fishing my voltage would be down to 11.4v and my 90hp outboard would be slow to crank. I went with a Impulse Lithium 105AH All Purpose. I fished over seven hours last week and didn't have any issues. I did a lot of looking and found Impulse had the best warranty. They are also a sponsor here and give BBC member discounts.

[msupc]

This is a good thread for you to reference:

https://www.bbcboards.net/showthread...1257138&page=2

[Highcentered]

I'll probably end up going with the Monster 125ah battery. I know it's more than the Ionic but they're local and when I had questions about their app they replied quickly and even on Saturday. Turns out my phone was being finnicky (needed restarted for initial pairing to happen) and the problem was on my end but they made sure I was happy. I'll still probably order from Drewtick.

And I'm guessing the charging system on the small SHO is playing nice with lithium? I know some charging systems were failing when people switched to lithium but was that more of a clash with the BMS?

[DREWTICK]

I'll probably end up going with the Monster 125ah battery. I know it's more than the Ionic but they're local and when I had questions about their app they replied quickly and even on Saturday. Turns out my phone was being finnicky (needed restarted for initial pairing to happen) and the problem was on my end but they made sure I was happy. I'll still probably order from Drewtick.

And I'm guessing the charging system on the small SHO is playing nice with lithium? I know some charging systems were failing when people switched to lithium but was that more of a clash with the BMS?

we would be happy to help you with that what ever you decide , The Monster will also do just fine on the with the SHO, if you decide to by from Drewcraft we can still dropship from warehouse so one day shipping to you

[City17Banner]

Whichever brand you go with DREWTICK is the best place to buy them from, he's responded to several frantic texts from me on the weekends when I've done something stupid with my Ionics along with being a great person to work with to find the best Stoltz bow roller for my Vexus VX20 and now (hopefully) for my new Vexus VXs20.

P.S. @DREWTICK, I'm finally going in tomorrow (thanks to our latest round of winter weather) to finalize the new boat colors, carpet/Reflex flooring, etc., and I have an alarm set to ensure you get photos of the bow of the new Vexus VXs20 they have on display in the showroom sir!

[Impulse Lithium]

We offer a 12v-160Ah Cranker that you can get with a BBC 15% off discount, It does have a full 10 year warranty

https://impulselithium.com/product/1...rting-battery/

Feel free to call if you need help

205-965-8436

Bill

[Highcentered]

we would be happy to help you with that what ever you decide , The Monster will also do just fine on the with the SHO, if you decide to by from Drewcraft we can still dropship from warehouse so one day shipping to you

I got to thinking it shouldn't be a big deal to have two battery apps to monitor and might be easier to have a separate app for the cranker anyway since that's the one I'll be monitoring the closest. The pair of 60ah Monster batteries are just chilling back there so not as important to keep close track of them. The Ionic does seem like a good deal for what you get.

[Highcentered]

Just placed an order for a Scorpion. I feel like I paid $224 extra just to have matching batteries but being able to monitor from the same app might or might not be worth it. Either way, looking forward to having all Monster lithium in my boat. Monster Lithium and Xpress Boats are both down the road in Hot Springs, AR so that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

[Highcentered]

First trip out with new 120ah cranking battery and I'm convinced the group 31 O'Reilly agm it replaced was a turd when it was new and even bigger turd when I pulled it with less than two years of use. I shut the big motor off and fished for 4 hours without firing it up again and the new lithium was still at 95%. People trash talk Interstate but the 5.5 y/o Interstate group 31 agm still seemed to be a better battery than the O'Reilly that replaced it after I got Livescope a couple years ago just so I'd have a fresh battery that I didn't have to worry about. Looks like I'll be good to go for a really long time now. Don't think I could ever drain the pair of 60a Wolverines either on a sunup to sundown trip with wind I can tolerate fishing in. I planned on going sunup to sundown today but decided to cut it short after I almost went swimming in 58* water caused by howling wind blowing the wrong direction. Still had 80% left after 4 hours fishing and spot locking in steady wind.

[Fishin'Chris]

Do all of the lithium cranking batteries work with the stock charging systems found in a 1996 Mercury 150hp EFI or is a modification necessary?