Relion Lithium Batteries Update..............................

[fishon396]

100hp for the starting battery

[Cerus]

Yes sir...Lithium Iron Phosphate is the current chemistry for ReLion. These basically have about as much chance of fire as your regular lead/acid these days (for more info...read this). And yes...they work pretty much like your cordless drill in that they give you a very flat discharge curve right up till the battery management board disconnects the cells to prevent damage to the battery. So yes... you cannot slap a voltmeter across them to determine state of charge as you can with lead acid. There are a couple of monitoring system out there (Victron for one) that allows you to measure precise charge and precise discharge which gives you a "fuel gauge" but these are a little expensive to install for each battery.

I based what I chose to install in my boat from talking with others that made the transition and judging from their experiences. What I found was that I didn't have to go overboard on the trolling motor batteries like some will have you believe. It all depends on YOUR particular situation and the types of water you fish normally.

Having flown RC for more than 30 years (Pattern/IMAC), I am very familiar with the various battery technologies over the years and I migrated from NiCd through the heavy A123 batteries (super other than weight) finally to batteries like PowerBox offers (have both LiPo and LiFePO4). Either are very safe these days with LiPo providing more surge amperage and LiFePO4 providing more belt/suspenders kind of stability.

The battery management systems these days are designed to protect the cells from a WIDE variety of external issues (charging/temp/surges/discharge/etc). So you really don't need to do anything much to maintain these batteries at all.

The primary knock on lithium for marine use has been the high cost. You will get a few folks that insist that new technologies are "just around the corner" and everything is moving away from lithium but that is 15 years from now and with EVERY single industry moving away from internal combustion products to electric...guess what they are betting on to power them - lithium. Just follow the money...every single car manufacturer is scaling up around lithium. Point being that for the next 10 years or so, this will be the battery of choice for most applications. Who knows...in 15 - 20 yrs, yes...we may have new solid-state battery systems....but I want to fish now <LOL>!

That being said, there are continuing efforts to make better and better batteries and definitely the cost will be dropping over time (it has come down dramatically in the last 3-4 years!). So when you chose to jump in is when it makes sense for you and your budget. Once we got reasonable warranties and good prices, it made sense for me and a BUNCH of our customers.

Roy
Wacky Riggers
704-762-9066

So if I understand you correctly these have a built in cutoff to prevent overdischarge? That’s my main “concern” so wanted to be clear on that.

Glad to see I’m not the only one who has two very expensive hobbies �� Been flying myself for over 20 years and have mostly stayed clear of LiPos except for a couple small electrics. All my giant scale gassers were converted to A123s a few years ago and I haven’t looked back. I prefer them over LiFes since while they’re basically the same, A123s offer much better current ratings/higher C than LiFe. I also like not having to baby them like LiPos. My planes sit in the garage all winter and don’t lose hardly any voltage regardless of where I left them. Plus I know my garage isn’t going to spontaneously go up in flames.

Bit pricier than the LiPos most guys use these days but I’ve seen what LiPos can do without rhyme or reason.

Anywho - thanks for the info ��

[fishin couillon]

I have fished from safe like to 5 in the afternoon several times with no problem. I think 75-80% of bass fisherman would be fine with 50ah batteries. If you fish heavy current not sure the 50's would cut it.

I think 50ah would fit my needs......about the only time i fish a full day is for my club tourneys.....

[K-DAWG]

I think 50ah would fit my needs......about the only time i fish a full day is for my club tourneys.....

Hard core TX guys might be better off with at least 75ah. But, your regular joe would be fine with the 50ah.

[K-DAWG]

You mean like an Allison XB2002 or an early ultralight Norric Craft? Where holeshot is instantaneous?

I think everyone should experience that at least once in there life.....lol

[rbarrow]

Hard core TX guys might be better off with at least 75ah. But, your regular joe would be fine with the 50ah.

<LOL> If you are one to spot lock behind a dam in 8 knot current for 8 hr....go with the 75 or 100 for sure. If you live on the Detroit River, go with 100 minimum!!! (maybe a small nuclear power plant would be better)...

For most of us lazy rednecks fishing southern lakes/rivers, even the 50 Ah is overkill

Roy

[jusmangrum]

The 50ah relions have been plenty for me fishing the main river current and 15 mph winds at guntersville with spot lock on all day. I researched and researched before I bought and talked to everyone about what size they have and how they fish. All of them said the 50ah were plenty and they told me the truth. I love mine.

[K-DAWG]

I guess one of the advantages of going with 100ah batteries would be the discharge wouldn't be as deep and I think they would last longer life wife wise. I think most times and this is a guess, that I discharge mine to around 25-30% power remaining every time I fish all day. I think having 98% usable capacity is why they shine.

[rbarrow]

I guess one of the advantages of going with 100ah batteries would be the discharge wouldn't be as deep and I think they would last longer life wife wise. I think most times and this is a guess, that I discharge mine to around 25-30% power remaining every time I fish all day. I think having 98% usable capacity is why they shine.

Certainly not disagreeing but.... even if they end up lasting 30-40% longer than the 50Ah over the estimated 3000 charge cycles, you actually paid for this up front in the difference in the cost of the battery.

My approach is to buy what I think I need for the foreseeable future based on my typical fishing profile (which for me is the 50Ah version) and IF I need to replace them down the road (after the warranty period), I expect the replacement cost will be substantially less than now. This assumes of course that the current price trend continues. I also assume that IF my fishing profile changes (I move up to fish the Detroit River - NOT!)...I can upgrade at that point and recoup some of my investment in the 50Ah as they will retain a good portion of value for someone else.

This keeps my initial investment lower and may be the difference in taking advantage of the technology sooner rather than later.

But I may be overthinking it <LOL>!!!!

Roy

[Steve Albertson]

So what is everyone using for chargers? Can you use the new Minn Kota chargers, just set them on AGM?

[rbarrow]

So what is everyone using for chargers? Can you use the new Minn Kota chargers, just set them on AGM?

that is what I am using right now. 460PC on AGM settings. It will not actually get the batteries to 100% but it gets very close. Lithiums do NOT like to be trickle charged so just unplug it when they flash green. Leave the charge unplugged until you get back from your next trip.

My batteries take between 1:15 and 2:15 to recharge after the usual tournament day. The longer time being if the wind has been really blowing and I have been spot locking a lot.

If you have a newer Dual Pro, they can be reprofiled for lithium at the factory (7 to 14 days usual turn-around) for about $100 or less.

I will be switching the the Power Pole Charge system as soon as it is released as it is a complete power management system not just a charger....pretty cool! Hopefully in another 30 days or so.

Roy

[Steve Albertson]

Dang, you think it will be that soon? I also would opt for the Power Pole Charge.

[rbarrow]

Dang, you think it will be that soon? I also would opt for the Power Pole Charge.

The word I get from the sales group is they are targeting June for shipping to begin. I know that ReLion is working with their engineering group to get their specific charging profile integrated into the Charge database of batteries...so may be the best thing since sliced bread!

R

[Bstandiford]

I’m hoping to get my 60 volt Dual pro charger back this week. I have 10 of the Relion rib 100s set up as 2- 60 volt banks. That is a Pia when charging individually. I’m am reading about Delta Q chargers for my system as well! Dual pro customer service has been excellent in helping me with my battery charger.

[bobcoy]

Have you asked Relion what they recommend. They told me they could design whatever is needed for any particular situation with their batteries. Bob

[Bstandiford]

The Dual Pro was recommended by Relion at the time I purchased the first 5 batteries. Now there seems to be more chargers that will charge lithium batteries.

[jessemyers]

that is what I am using right now. 460PC on AGM settings. It will not actually get the batteries to 100% but it gets very close. Lithiums do NOT like to be trickle charged so just unplug it when they flash green. Leave the charge unplugged until you get back from your next trip.

My batteries take between 1:15 and 2:15 to recharge after the usual tournament day. The longer time being if the wind has been really blowing and I have been spot locking a lot.

If you have a newer Dual Pro, they can be reprofiled for lithium at the factory (7 to 14 days usual turn-around) for about $100 or less.

I will be switching the the Power Pole Charge system as soon as it is released as it is a complete power management system not just a charger....pretty cool! Hopefully in another 30 days or so.

Roy

Have you tried the power pole CHARGE with the ReLions? I’m curious how well it monitors the capacity level of the starting battery and how well it swaps juice between starting battery and trolling batteries.

[rbarrow]

Have you tried the power pole CHARGE with the ReLions? I’m curious how well it monitors the capacity level of the starting battery and how well it swaps juice between starting battery and trolling batteries.

So far so good on the Charge...works very well on the water as far as charging the system...keeps everything balanced according the app info and I haven't yet really pushed the system hard - long tournament/heavy winds/full livewell pumps. But based on what I have seen so far, I am pretty sure I am not going to worry about the state of my batteries ever again.

It is designed to stay plugged in while not on the water however....and this was an issue that wasn't clearly explained. Otherwise it thinks it is in fishing mode and actively balances the batteries continuously. This wasn't a big issue until I left my boat unplugged for a few weeks. But leaving it plugged in isn't an issue... and I believe the fishing mode is supposed to time out after a period of time and prevent this....but I was running a beta version at the time. Pretty sure this has been updated now.

Roy

[Koma]

So far so good on the Charge...works very well on the water as far as charging the system...keeps everything balanced according the app info and I haven't yet really pushed the system hard - long tournament/heavy winds/full livewell pumps. But based on what I have seen so far, I am pretty sure I am not going to worry about the state of my batteries ever again.

It is designed to stay plugged in while not on the water however....and this was an issue that wasn't clearly explained. Otherwise it thinks it is in fishing mode and actively balances the batteries continuously. This wasn't a big issue until I left my boat unplugged for a few weeks. But leaving it plugged in isn't an issue... and I believe the fishing mode is supposed to time out after a period of time and prevent this....but I was running a beta version at the time. Pretty sure this has been updated now.

Roy

Roy, are you saying leaving it plugged in is ok with the ReLions?

[rbarrow]

Yes...it is... it does not trickle charge so there is no risk to lithiums. It is specifically designed for use with all battery chemistries especially lithium. Everyone that we have sold one to is very happy!