Is there any other charging option other than the single charger?
Is there any other charging option other than the single charger?
The owner told me that a standard lead acid charger will charge the batteries. this is what they sent me via email.
Most existing lead acid chargers will work that charge up to 14.2v or 14.4V with our Battery Management system inside. Our recommended charge voltage is to charge 14.6V but even if you don’t reach that value you should be above 95% SOC with the lead acid chargers.
They also mentioned that they’ll have 3 and 4 bank chargers of their own design available next spring.
I fished again today without charging in light wind from 9-4 and came in with 63%.
I have been using Lithiumhub batteries for my 6th season. I have a 125Amp Cranking and 3 50 Amp for trolling with a Minn Kota Fortrex 112 36V. My outboard is a 2014 Yamaha SHO 250. My boat is a 2007 Ranger Z21. I fish 8-10 hour days, I fish 3-4 days a week. I have NEVER discharged a single one of these batteries. Over the period of 5 years I had a onboard Ranger Dual Pro 15 amp 4 bank charger, no problems charging. I decided to sell that charger and try a lighter charger, so I gave NOCO 10 Amp 4 bank a try, same no problems at all, I had a bank fail on the charger in the second year of use. I replaced it with the MinnKota 10 Amp 4 bank and that is what I'm using now. 10 Amps charge the Trolling batteries in less than 2 hrs and the cranking in about 2-3 hours when used heavily on crarking battery around 50%. Thats running 2 12" Carbons and 2 livewell pumps on high 8-10 hours. The Bluetooth App is one of the best tools you can have with these batteries, the App tells all, no guessing. When anyone talks lead acid or AGM batteries, they are in another world than Lithium batteries, so there is NO comparing the batteries. Lead acid is dying the minute it comes off the assembly line, not so with lithium. I would add that most days I see 15-18% on the trolling batteries and 50-60% on cranking, because of running livewells on high all day with 2 12" Carbons. The life cycle of Lithiumhub IONIC batteries say 2000 up, thats with full discharge, I've yet to do that, so in the real world I would have to fish everyday for 7 years and drain the battery to 20% for that to happen. Thats why the warranty is 5 years. Might sound like a commercial, but its just facts. The real thing to know is how the battery is construted, what kind of cells are used. Some lithiums are built with the A123 style batteries in the box, probably 40 or more cells soldered together to make the pack. IONIC uses 4 cells bolted together, so go figure how many chances are there for failure. The next big deal is the Management board that controls evrything the battery requires to be safe and stable and Bluetooth for the user to immediately know. Up untill Bluetooth 99% of people using batteries do not know how much current or amperage is being used, no more now you have a way to tell how much you are using for every item in your boat!! Trolling motors can remain on the same speed setting all day and not have to be pushed up in percentage because the amperage is dropping, because the lithium stays the same, thus you actually use less power from the battery all day. Yes the great thing of losing around 275 lbs of lead acid for around 68 lbs for Lithium, not only means better boat performance, better economy, and no gases from lead corroding the wires and nasty gases it puts off while charging is really a whole lot to comprehend. So now the cost is the same as some AGMs which are dying from the start to a great new technology we can have is no question. Look around what is happening, cars, motor bikes all kinds of electronic equipment runs on lithium, so be intelligent. By the way the cells in IONIC batteries are made by the same factory that makes IPhone batteries. Just a new day guys. I don't think I will ever own another lead acid for my boat period. IONIC the only way to power. Thanks all.
Thanks Jerry for your input. I started this thread to help him sell some batteries and to help guys get a good deal. I love mine so far.
That’s awesome. First hand info from the long term use. I’m excited to get mine in and use them.
Sounds pretty good, so far.
So being that you have an on board charger and have to charge your batteries for different amounts of time before they are fully charged, how are you doing that?? Guess the question is, at what point are you damaging the lithiums with the regular chargers?? Is it when they are on for days on end or does the damage start at hours past full charge??
That is the question I had, and why I chose to purchase Ionics 18amp charger and ditch my dual pro. The ionic charger goes into standby when charging is complete and is hitting the battery with a full 14.6 volts. To me, the extra $100.00 was a no brainer on a $800.00 battery.Originally Posted by Offshore 1
Yes I’d for sure want to know that I wasn’t damaging my batteries from a charger that wasn’t meant for them. If you used there single charger would you have to unhook each battery and charge it separately in a 36v system?
Ypu would just have to charge them separately. I don’t think you have to unhook the jumpers though. They can be charged in parallel though with the charger. So it might be worth it to me to just swap two wires to make them a parallel instead of a series and have them all charge at the same time.
These are questions you need to talk to your battery company about. My guess would be if your battery went bad they would ask what you are charging it with. Find out first what they recommend for charging and do that. You warranty may depend on it. JMHO Bob
Just had that conversation with them and was told that these batteries will not be damaged by the "smart chargers". They can stay connected and it will not cause any damage. Also mentioned you could use the bluetooth app to see when the battery was charged or how long it would take before its fully charged if you wanted to disconnect.
Guys back on the charger issue. I used a Ranger Dual Pro 4 bank 15 Amp charger the first year, not one problem. I decided to sell it just because of value at the time and buy a lighter charger, still no problems. Then I had a bank to go out. I replaced it with a 10 Amp Minn Kota, no problems to this day. I left the chargers on (plugged in) all the time except during storm weather. I feared lightening knocking out the charger more than anything else. The fact is the charger has a circuit that tells it to quit when the battery shows a certain peak voltsge, so it shuts down, second the IONIC batteries have a management board that does exactly the same thing. So you have a charger that shuts down and a management board that shuts down. Leaving the charger plugged in does not hurt anything because it shuts itself down and will only start a charge if the battery goes low voltage, so that is no issue. The Bluetooth App tells you when they are fully charged also, so if you want to you can unplug the charger, safest thing to do I think. But as I said I have left the drop cord on the wall socket for long periods of time, just from knowing it didn't matter one way or another. A 10 Amp charger will save more weight and still get the job done FAST enough. One thing I would reccomend is, if you fish tailraces with swift water, with no anchoring system then you will need more than the 50 Amp batteries. I would recommend since the price is so reasonable to just buy 100 Amp for the trolling motor, then you will never see them discharged!! Also no matter which outboard you have and electronics you have the 125 Amp will crank the biggest outboard out there guaranteed! Warranty has been brought up. I will tell you this unless the battery shows abuse or improper care and use ( like being crushed) the battery will be replaced as warranty expresses. Another note, almost all lithium distributers don't carry a house full of replacement parts, it would be to expensive and labor on top, so logically the battery would be replaced. The cells are protected by the management board and if the board went out the cells are still good. Then the board would be replaced at most. I want to add another note on Lithium batteries from IONIC. I put one in my Toyota, it was a different case material. On the 4th year in the car I was on a trip from Daytona Fla. I ran into a rain storm as I crossed into Georgia it lasted untill I got to the NC state line. I stopped to fuel up. As i started to leave the car failed to start, I had a Lithium Jumpstart, so I jumped the battery, it started when I removed the Jumpstart the car died again. Twice I jumped it, twice it shut off upon removeal of the Jumpstart. I decided since I was facing a tow bill and a new battery cost I would leave the Jumpstart connected. Well I drove a little over a hundred miles with the Jumpstart still connected. I got home safe with no big tow bills, I felt great. Upon checking the battery the case material had cracked open in 2 places. Upon pouring over a pint of water out of the battery the cells were still 100% good. The management board was shorted out from the water. The cells were put into a new case with a new management board and is still running in my Toyota this very day. That is another reason the IONIC battery is my choice, it is built with high quality and will go more than the distance. This is just my experience from the past 6 years. IONIC is simply the best. The price is half of what I paid 6 years ago, now IONIC has made them more affordable than ever. I hear guys say or they are too expensive well the best AGMs are higher, so that is bunk to me. Pull the trigger, you want look back. My 2 cent !! By the way on the car battery, the heat under the hood and the splashing of cold rainwater was most likly the cause of the case cracking, but it is going to start my car once again in a few minutes.!! want to know more, just PM me I'll help as much as possible.
Last edited by RangerZ; 05-21-2019 at 10:01 AM. Reason: edited spelling
If 10 amps fully charge any battery (Lithium, lead acid or whatever) in less than 2 hours, the battery at most only supplied <20 Amp-hours; seems could not have been used heavily or the battery would have accepted much more recharge.10 Amps charge the Trolling batteries in less than 2 hrs and the cranking in about 2-3 hours when used heavily on crarking battery around 50%. Thats running 2 12" Carbons and 2 livewell pumps on high 8-10 hours.
That would seem to make sense... It should take more AH to charge than were discharged as some AH is lost to efficiency in the charging process.
Charge efficiency on LiFeP04 is about 99%. Another factor in it's favor. Bob
99% of 20 amp hours is still ~20 amp hours.....the batteries apparently were never being asked to do very much as they reportedly charged back up in < two hours on only a 10 amp charger.
Last edited by Lou r Pitcher; 05-21-2019 at 04:29 PM.
I bet we are not using a stopwatch on the charging. But is sounds lightly discharged for the stated time and drain. Not lab numbers for sure. Bob
Is the 100ah sufficient as a starter battery for a new Merc 4-stroke 115?
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