Caracal with lithiums - a testimonial

[Wilfong9]

Great write up. A couple things I will add from my experience.. '19 cougar, 3 Ionic 125 lithiums, sometimes I'll include 1 or even 2 31m X2 AGMs in the back, but mostly just run with 3 Ionics & Power Pro Charge

Performance - Hull shot is stupidly improved. As close as I can get to flat as possible. With only 3 batteries there is something to be said for top end speed. I added a 250 pound co-angler and his tackle in the back right compartment and went from 77 to 79.. That was without any tinkering or a prop correction - height or pitch. I now have a tuned prop and I'll tinker with more this year to see what top end may look like.

Cost - They are expensive, but my 4 X2s I had were $450 a piece with a 4 year warranty. I agree with you I think the cost will more then even out in the long run when you factor in all the benefits. That being said, these batteries can still be killed just the same as any battery and you'll be S.O.L if it's deemed yours or your equipment's fault. I only say this because I have had a diode in on an older Mercury go out that drained my Odyssey to 5 volts on a 26 hour cross country trip. Another example is just this year I discovered a poor engineering design of the Power Pole Charge that killed an X2 in one month. **Be careful if you remove your trolling motor batteries for any reason with the PP Charge** They have a security feature that will stop charging any battery connected if there isn't a starting and trolling battery connected. I removed my lithium batteries, brought them in for the MN winter and hooked up an X2 to do basic winter maintenance in the show and left the Charge connected to the battery and plugged into the wall. In just over 1 month the parasitic draw from the PP Charge killed my X2 at 4 volts. Hard lesson learned. You'd think it would say that in the owners manual.

Efficiency - I'd highly recommend considering a brushless motor. My previous setup was 36v worth of X2 batteries to an Ultrex. I now run 2 lithiums (125amp/hr) to a Garmin Force and have noticeably better power equaling (for me) better boat control and response. With my current setup, I can run the boat all day with more than enough power between 30 and 50% commanded from the Force and with just a 5 minute run to the spot and back each day my batteries are well over 90%. I'm not exaggerating on this. It's hard for me to even believe. I've gone weeks in the summer never plugging in the boat because the new 4 stroke's 85 amp alternator and PP Charge more then resupply the draw of 4 Garmin 106s, livescope and the brushless trolling motor. There is an upgraded 115 amp alternator for the new 4 Strokes. I’ve heard some guys are making the upgrade but best I can find is the PP Charge can’t distribute that many amps.

All in all though, the power management changes lithiums and the Power Pole Charge provide have changed the way I fish significantly for the better. Fingers crossed they keep working.

[Hurl19]

Great write up. A couple things I will add from my experience.. '19 cougar, 3 Ionic 125 lithiums, sometimes I'll include 1 or even 2 31m X2 AGMs in the back, but mostly just run with 3 Ionics & Power Pro Charge

Performance - Hull shot is stupidly improved. As close as I can get to flat as possible. With only 3 batteries there is something to be said for top end speed. I added a 250 pound co-angler and his tackle in the back right compartment and went from 77 to 79.. That was without any tinkering or a prop correction - height or pitch. I now have a tuned prop and I'll tinker with more this year to see what top end may look like.

Cost - They are expensive, but my 4 X2s I had were $450 a piece with a 4 year warranty. I agree with you I think the cost will more then even out in the long run when you factor in all the benefits. That being said, these batteries can still be killed just the same as any battery and you'll be S.O.L if it's deemed yours or your equipment's fault. I only say this because I have had a diode in on an older Mercury go out that drained my Odyssey to 5 volts on a 26 hour cross country trip. Another example is just this year I discovered a poor engineering design of the Power Pole Charge that killed an X2 in one month. **Be careful if you remove your trolling motor batteries for any reason with the PP Charge** They have a security feature that will stop charging any battery connected if there isn't a starting and trolling battery connected. I removed my lithium batteries, brought them in for the MN winter and hooked up an X2 to do basic winter maintenance in the show and left the Charge connected to the battery and plugged into the wall. In just over 1 month the parasitic draw from the PP Charge killed my X2 at 4 volts. Hard lesson learned. You'd think it would say that in the owners manual.

Efficiency - I'd highly recommend considering a brushless motor. My previous setup was 36v worth of X2 batteries to an Ultrex. I now run 2 lithiums (125amp/hr) to a Garmin Force and have noticeably better power equaling (for me) better boat control and response. With my current setup, I can run the boat all day with more than enough power between 30 and 50% commanded from the Force and with just a 5 minute run to the spot and back each day my batteries are well over 90%. I'm not exaggerating on this. It's hard for me to even believe. I've gone weeks in the summer never plugging in the boat because the new 4 stroke's 85 amp alternator and PP Charge more then resupply the draw of 4 Garmin 106s, livescope and the brushless trolling motor. There is an upgraded 115 amp alternator for the new 4 Strokes. I’ve heard some guys are making the upgrade but best I can find is the PP Charge can’t distribute that many amps.

All in all though, the power management changes lithiums and the Power Pole Charge provide have changed the way I fish significantly for the better. Fingers crossed they keep working.

I absolutely agree with all you wrote.

A couple more observations from my trip this weekend:
- Bilge has been bone-dry now after two outings. I used to get backwash on the back deck coming off plane, which would seep down into the bilge over the course of the day. I could control it by decelerating slowly off plane, but never had complete success keeping it dry. After two full-days out on the water, after pulling the boat out and opening the bilge plug, no water to drain out, even with periodically running the bilge pump but pumping nothing. With the stern sitting higher with the loss of weight, just less opportunity for water to get in. I'm sure that won't be universal with heavy seas or rain, but it has been noticeable so far in the conditions I've been in.
- Echoing your efficiency comment. Saturday I was out over 9 hours, on the big motor 90 minutes of that throughout the day. I too have a brushless TM (Ghost) running at 36V off of 1 lithium @ 215AH, and was on 40-50% throttle with it probably 3/4 of the fishing time (fairly windy day). With that combination I observed well over 95% power left in both batteries at the end of the day. Power Pole Charge gives massive benefits for managing the power, especially when big motor alternator is charging, and the ability to see exactly what is going on throughout the day.

I love the new setup more every time I run it.