Seems like some guys are crazy-into marine lithium batteries and working thru their problems that seem to be major when they do crap out... and other guys are holding strong with the traditional batteries we can get cheap at WalMart in any city if we have an issue ... Everstarts.
Why Lithiums ? Is the risk of outages and fires and high cost really worth it ? I know that's a loaded question but the more i hear the more guys are having issues with these 500 dollar batteries
They're out of my price range to just up and go buy a them but if I really wanted a set I could swing it. I just don't fish often enough to justify the cost. What's appealing to me is they are less than 50% the weight of a lead or AGM and the charge time is around 1 hour or less. They do require a particular type charger and there has been reports of people having issues but that was early on when they entered the market. They have been on the market long enough now that the bugs have been worked out.
Another question is why Lead or AGM batteries, since there is risk with those as well. I swapped over because I needed a weight loss on my heavy bass boat, saved 150lbs by switching to lithium, which in turn I was then able to add the 2 Talons that I've been wanting for a long time. I'm older now too so lifting those 70 pound batteries in and out of the boat isn't as easy as it used to be, lithiums 22 pounds each. I went with 3 12volt 80 amp hr Bioenno's which handles my Fortrex 101 with ease all day long and at a full 100% power, not decreasing in power as the day goes on like lead or AGM would. Bioenno's offer an increased battery safety due to thermal and chemical stability. Went with 3 12 volt instead of 1 single 36 volt so if 1 battery does goes bad I only need to replace that one battery. Love the lithium, wont go back well worth the $750 each, yes in the long run it may cost you a little more for lithium but I think most will lean that way moving forward.
The obvious con is the cost. There seems to be some very upside pros, however, the price is just not worth the pros in opinion. I'm going 3 seasons on a set (24v) everstarts 31's and dam I can't kill these batters. Never once left me stranded, charge great over night and are very affordable. All I have to do is keep my eye on the water level and that's about it. At this point in time the only con for these batteries is weight vs the con for lithiums which is cost. $2500 60lbs vs $200 160lbs. I'm ok saving $2300 for 100lbs that's me tho...
Nobody mentions functionality in cold weather. I fish when it's 20 degrees outside. I'm told lithium batteries won't last long in the cold?
My understanding is that lithiums are better than lead acid in cold. I use lithium batteries in my 18v Milwaukee for drilling holes with my auger ice fishing at temps below zero - never an issue. Regular batteries never held up well.
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2024 Phoenix 21 XE - Mercury 250 PRO XS Serial #3B429919
2017 Phoenix PHX 21 - Yamaha 250 SHO
2010 Skeeter 20i - Yamaha 250 SHO
1988 Procraft 1780 Competitor - Mercury 100
If I want them I could afford to buy them but from what I've seen so far there is just not enough pluses to justify the cost.
They don't charge well below a certain temp. The will work just fine in any temp.Originally Posted by BigBrownBass
Steve Dyer
Mt. Pleasant, NC
Good AGM's are close to $300 and last 3-4 years. Lithiums get 3000 charging cycles for less than twice the price. If you fished 300 days a year they would last you ten years, for a weekend guy who takes care of them properly they could very well be the last batteries you ever have to buy. They are also 1/3 the size and less than 1/4 the weight of conventional marine batteries.
Steve Dyer
Mt. Pleasant, NC
What AH size batteries are you comparing?????
Wayne Purdum
Charlottesville, Va.
Helix 12 CHIRP MEGA+ SI G3N/G4N, Helix 15 CHIRP MEGA SI+ GPS G4N
SOLIX 12 SI/G3, Helix 8 CHIRP MEGA SI+ G4N, Ultrex 80/LINK, MEGA360,
MEGA LIVE, LIVE TL
I've had multiple completely shut down in cold weather
Been running 2 36 v lith pro batteries for 3 seasons now and have had zero problems..I've fished 15 hrs with them and they always have the same power.
I ran a religion 100 ah hp for my cranking battery last year I never saw less then 12v .. my 4 hummingbirds never had a problem . No freeze up issues and my depth readings were much better in shallow watter.I think the consistant power had alot to do with that..
I have approx 4 g in the batteries. If you shop a lil you can find them cheaper then advertised.if I was still running agm batteries I'd be replacing the trolling batteries this winter.. time will tell how long they last and I'm hoping by the time these die theyll come down in price a lil..as of now I wont be going back to agms. (Jmo)
What problems are you reading so much about? No problem with mine. I lost 90 lbs out of the ass of my Ranger, charges in 1/3 of the time, can get 2 trips out of 1 charge and it's reliable.
Here's an 80Ah LiFePO4 from china for $385/battery. Could be legit, might be garbage.
https://www.alibaba.com/product-deta...ddf4CGprEX&s=p
https://www.gsl-energy.com/12v-80ah-...e-to-lead-acid
For what its worth, here'a a guy who order some cells from them, tested them, and met with them at a trade show:
I swapped back to traditional batteries.
I liked my lithiums when I had them but not easy to replace when you have one go bad during a tournament. Not good when you have a single trolling motor battery and it's the one that takes a crap on you. The initial cost is steep and replacement really haven't come down enough to be cost effective. I got 3.5 years out of my trolling motor battery and could've gotten it pro rated to replace it but elected to swap everything back to old school. Prorated price was still well over $1200.00 The boat still runs as good as it did with 2 Lithiums in it.
You can't swing into a local parts store or a walmart to replace a battery when you run Lithiums.
I did like them when I ran them tho.
Johnny
"Short Brown & Round"
Sun Tropic Outdoors & Shooting Team
Weight reduction appears to be the major plus up. Going multiple trips between charges is a non-issue for most of us as we put the boat on charge when we come off the water. Amp hour rating for a group 31 Odyssey or X3 is 100. While the lithiums rate an average of 90 but is comsidered fully useable 90. I fish tidal waters/heavy current 90% of the time and have never run my Odyssey AGMs down during a day trip so that too is a non-issue. I would like to get some more weight out of the service well on my Ranger Z21 Intracoastal but at double+ the cost for the lithiums, modifications to the battery hold downs, and cost to send my 2 year old PS4 Delta Volt charger in to get it reprogrammed, I can't see how I could justify it? Some report removing the weight has actually slowed them down/affected performance, and they had to reposition weight to get some back? My Odyssey's last 6-7 years and if during a road trip I had an issue, I could do an R&R with anyone of the four batteries at a local retailer with no problem.
Disregarding the cost, I guess it's a matter of if you can sell yourself on the changes, and accept the consequences for lack of immediate availability of a replacement.
Last edited by mikesxpress; 01-22-2019 at 06:33 AM.
I've been running the Battleborn 100A's for a season and a half now. When I got them they were $849 each and a coupon code brought it down to $799 each, they're more now. I've been very happy with the performance, running all day in heavy current or wind with no loss of power. I used to run Interstate 29's and would run them down from time to time during a particularly hard day. The weight savings has slightly improved my holeshot and top end just a touch but not significantly (I run a P2 and they're great out of the hole as is). It seems like I can get a little shallower too, I probably took 100lbs out of the back of the boat between the batteries and taking my onboard charger out.
In the end I just like to know that I won't run out of TM power when I'm out there. The batteries I have are the same size as group 27's so if push came to shove and one ended up going bad I'd just have to get two Everstarts or whatever was available to save the trip. I'm not super worried about that though. We'll see if I get the 10 years out of them, it'd be nice.
I will switch when the price is comparable to the top end AGM's. They will be in all the big box stores and auto parts outlets by then. If one of my Deka's craps the bed on me.......they are easily replaced with something similar currently.
Battle Born 100amp. Saved a ton of weight, gained a ton of power. May end up saving money if they last as long as they say. Time will tell.. so far though, very good.
LOL....$2K in batteries. Those are for the few, not the many.
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