Who wants lithium?

[DREWTICK]

I fished a TBF tournament yesterday, 5:30am to 3:00pm
fish in livewell early, running 4 pumps, 4 HDS units 3 gopros and sonic hub
very windy and lake traffic busy, on the trolling motor pretty hard after 10am
pumps running in parking lot for 30minutes before weighin
here some shots of amp draw with and with out the pumps running




here are some shots soon as plugged in when back at home
trolling batteries and cranking
checked one hour later and trolling batteries were charged, checked around 6 hours and the cranking was charged
it has charged from 50% to 100% in 5 hours on a 15a charger

[RangerZ]

Bob, thanks. I have used the Lithium from IONIC a long time. I fish reservoirs in the central part of NC. My day in general I put 8-9 hours of my day on the MinnKota Fortrex 112 36Volt. I use the 50 setting and hardly ever change it. I have kept track of how long I run my 250 HP SHO, for a long time also. I use it between 1 hour to 1.5 hours in a day. So I don't get a lot of charge from the outboard. The trolling motor does not run constantly the way I fish, if I find them I wear them out if possible, most of the time they win! I find on the BT the trolling motor IONIC 50AMP comes in around 80-83% SOC end of day. The cranking battery IONIC 125AMP will come in around 55-60% SOC at the days end. That is running 2 800GPM livewell pumps on high all day and 2 Lowrance Carbon 12s and a Lowrance 3D Transducer. I charge with a MK 4 Bank 10AMP PC charger. I have used the Dual Pro 15AMP 4 bank and I have used a NOCO 10AMP 4 bank charger. None of the chargers were updated for Lithium use. To this day I only use a 10AMP Charger simply because they are priced more reasonable. I will say that the charge is not maximum for Lithium, but it is within 98-99% SOC after charge. The IONIC batteries are under rated for amperage. I have found the IONIC 125AMP to actually be 134Amps and the IONIC 50AMP to be 54-55Amps. The charge time I experience is around 1-1/2 hour on the Trolling batteries and around 3-3-1/2 hours on the cranking battery. The cranking battery does get a little help during the fishing day from the outboard or the time could be a little longer. The IONIC Lithium charges faster because lithium has less internal resistance, thus using the charge current way more efficently than AGM or lead acid. The guys using the IONICs posting on here are correct in their statements as I have experienced the same. They use that charge current fast. But looking at the long run 99 out of 100 will be happy with their IONIC and BT App. I sure have. The big decision I see is a person considering going to lithium is the correct choice of amperage for their trolling style or habits. Swift tailrace current or strong river current will require that 100AMP. General lakes and impoundments may only require the 50AMP. So you have to know what is going to work for you. The IONIC batteries will deliver for you if you choose wisely. The BT App is great and a new improved version will soon be released. As software progresses it will be even easier to determine what the IONICs are doing. My computer requires patches constantly, some call them updates, go figure on that one. Good fishing!!

[RangerZ]

Andy, is that not mind blowing how fast the IONIC charges and is ready to go fishing again, before bedtime...LOL

[DREWTICK]

Andy, is that not mind blowing how fast the IONIC charges and is ready to go fishing again, before bedtime...LOL

the best part about the charge is we stay in a lot of motels where the cord has to run out the door and in some cases cant close the door completely. with this setup we plug in, go to dinner, come back tie on some lures and the batteries are charged by bedtime and cords put away. used to go to bed saying please let the lights be green in the morning or staying awake because the door is open to the room.

[RangerZ]

Yes, those days are over for some of us!! Thats what I like too, come in from a full day on the lake, plug the charger up, go eat dinner, shower and go unplug charger!! DONE

[rfdong]

the best part about the charge is we stay in a lot of motels where the cord has to run out the door and in some cases cant close the door completely. with this setup we plug in, go to dinner, come back tie on some lures and the batteries are charged by bedtime and cords put away. used to go to bed saying please let the lights be green in the morning or staying awake because the door is open to the room.

also great to know you can fish for more than 1 day without charging if you have to....also go to a couple places where the dock power can be iffy when guys show up with small gauge cords and pop the breakers or GFI. Nice to know you only need a short period of charging.....

[RangerZ]

Great rfdong, they do the job.

[rakkc]

Greetings all, I purchased 3 of the IONICS 50ah batteries from Drewtick right as this thread was getting started and just finished putting them to the maiden voyage test at the Wild West Bass tournament on Lake Mead, NV that concluded yesterday. 2 days of prefish and 2 days of tournament, with daytime temps from 102 - 109 degrees, tournament days where right at 9 hrs, so take out big motor running around time and the batteries got used for ~8 hrs every day on average in extreme heat and light wind conditions. My trolling motor is a motor guide X5 and I never got below 60% on any of the batteries per the Ionics App. Recharged and ready to go again in about 5 hrs or so. (Moored to a house boat with other boats plugged in also). No issues and extremely pleased so far.

[DREWTICK]

Greetings all, I purchased 3 of the IONICS 50ah batteries from Drewtick right as this thread was getting started and just finished putting them to the maiden voyage test at the Wild West Bass tournament on Lake Mead, NV that concluded yesterday. 2 days of prefish and 2 days of tournament, with daytime temps from 102 - 109 degrees, tournament days where right at 9 hrs, so take out big motor running around time and the batteries got used for ~8 hrs every day on average in extreme heat and light wind conditions. My trolling motor is a motor guide X5 and I never got below 60% on any of the batteries per the Ionics App. Recharged and ready to go again in about 5 hrs or so. (Moored to a house boat with other boats plugged in also). No issues and extremely pleased so far.

Awesome, glad to hear they are doing the job for you.

[Windy City]

A question about lithium and cold temperatures:

I fish in early spring and late fall where temperatures often fall below 32 at night. If I have a lithium for the starting battery, and start the motor, it will be charging the battery with a battery temp below 32. I assume this is a reason why (in my situation) a lithium cranking battery is not an option?


Thanks

[bobcoy]

If the battery's temperature is too low the BMS should prevent charging. It should still start but unless the battery warms up it will not take a charge.

[toofy]

What about the hot days here in Texas where I bet the battery compartment gets hotter than the outside air? Any heat limitations?

[bobcoy]

I copied this off the Ionic info but it is standard for LiFeP04 batteries.

Operating Temperature

-20~60℃ -4℉~140℉

I would think your battery compartment would be cooler than the outside air. Bob

[BoatBuggy]

How long is the backorder on the 50Ah ones expected to be?

[DREWTICK]

How long is the backorder on the 50Ah ones expected to be?

PM sent

[Windy City]

If the battery's temperature is too low the BMS should prevent charging. It should still start but unless the battery warms up it will not take a charge.

From what I can tell this is not the case. On their (Ionic's) downloadable manual, there is a chart showing "Battery temperature protection charge low temperature" these rows have hash marks and no indication of any charge low temperature protection.

Do you have some proprietary knowledge of Ionic's battery management hardware?

There is also a lot of conflicting information if someone spends the time to read all of it.

On the Ionic "spec" sheet, it states "charge temperatures -4F to 113F". From what I know of the physics that apply to Lithium Ion batteries, this is not correct.

In Ionics manual under 11 in the first paragraph, it states "Many battery users are unaware that lithium ion batteries cannot be charged below 0C (32F)". Or otherwise commonly known as "freezing".

Although user controllable by not plugging in your charger when below freezing, if your batteries are on a separate (non starting) circuit, this is not the case when you start your motor for an engine start battery.

I was hoping that Drewtick was a representative of the company and could comment directly on the use of these batteries on a starting circuit for use on an engine in below freezing temperatures.

Also, as part of this conversation, if the BMS was to control low temperature (or high temperature) charging, how it would do so without potentially causing damage to the engines charging circuitry?

[RangerZ]

My thoughts are, If the temperture is below 4 degeers F, you should be in the house beside a fire place. The frikin water is frozen at that temp. Are you using your outboard to break ice??? It's getting crazy. One has stated he fished four days in 109 Temp in a Tournament and we ask will they handle high heat in Texas? Let's get some really good question's. This is killing me. If you fish in less than 25 F. Go to your local junkyard and pull out a car or truck with heated seats, get the heating pads, they are 12 Volts, put them under your batteries and use the 12 Volt charger to keep the heating pads going, they work off 12 Volts just like the car! Problem solved.......I think......not? Oh You are on the deck of your boat in 4 Degree F. What are you fishing with? I know!! A HARPOON!! So easy.

[fishnfireman]

Someone forget there meds ??

[bobcoy]

Windy City. I did not quote Ionic in that post. I said the BMS "should" prevent charging because trying to charge with the battery below 32 F. The battery will destroy itself! The BMS is on there specifically to protect the battery. I most certainly have no inside track on their programming. In fact if you have the manual you have the "facts". The numbers I have sited from Ionic are all from their site. My other statements are from "taking the time" to research LiFePo4 Generic properties. Bob

[DREWTICK]

These are the correct numbers for the current Ionic Battery Line
Discharge Temp/ -4 to 140F
Charge Temp/ -4 to 113F
Storage Temp/ 23 to 95F
BMS High Temp Cut-off/ 149F
Reconnect Temp/ 122F
All these numbers are based on the battery not being use.
If you are pulling power from the battery ( using power) the battery will stay warm.