Lithium Review

[Chadsc]

Hey Guys,

I was on the fence about jumping to lithium, and just want to give my thoughts to echo what most say, especially with the setup I chose.

I was tired of constantly replacing lead acid and decided to jump to a 24v 60ah Impulse. I've had 4 trips on it now, and I am beyond pleased. I am running a 18.5' skeeter with a 80lb ultrex.

Trip #1: Tournament day, little wind (5-7mph). I would say I was light on the TM this day, maybe a little less than average, spot locked a good bit but very light wind. Ended up the day at 82%.

Took a 3 day trip to Santee-Cooper and got some really good feedback.

Trip #2: 7-4pm, tons of TM use cruising around the flats, little to no spot locking (winds 10mph) Ended this day on 75%.

Trip#3: 7-330pm, worked the absolute crap out of the TM this day, lake wind advisory from 11am on. Winds were 20mph with gusts of 40-fished in the wind. Naturally had to spot lock a ton and did a ton of cruising-I can honestly say I cant remember using my TM this much. Ended at 57%. Guy that came down with us ended up running his group 31's lead acid dry this day.

Trip #4: 7-3pm, I would say more than average TM use but not like trip 3. Winds picked up and did wind up spot locking a good bit, and made some long runs on the TM against the wind cruising around the hatchery. Ended this day on 62%.

Long story short, I cant fathom a day that I would even get close to killing this thing, for me at least. If you are on the fence, do it. I know there are a ton of vendors that sell lithium, I went with Impulse and have been thrilled. I wanted to post for some feedback because you don't hear much about the 24v 60ah setups. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. If anyone has questions feel free to ask.

[99R93S]

If this sounds like a loaded question, I swear it’s not. It sounds like the main reason you upgraded was due to issues with your regular batteries, would you have upgraded if they lasted longer?

I am asking as I am still struggling with the cost vs need for myself. But my batteries always seem to last 5-6 years no problem. So it’s hard to want to make the upgrade. I’m leaning towards waiting and seeing if costs come down in a few years.

[Chadsc]

If this sounds like a loaded question, I swear it’s not. It sounds like the main reason you upgraded was due to issues with your regular batteries, would you have upgraded if they lasted longer?

I am asking as I am still struggling with the cost vs need for myself. But my batteries always seem to last 5-6 years no problem. So it’s hard to want to make the upgrade. I’m leaning towards waiting and seeing if costs come down in a few years.

Yes and no. I was killing them on some tournament days. For me, replacing every 3 years from a financial standpoint made sense with a 10year warranty. The 10 times a year that I had no battery by the end of the day was the other. I can honestly say if I was not killing my batteries and they lasted that long, I would not have been near as apt to make the jump. I know me killing them shortened lifespan. But i was running the Duracell Grp 31's.

[99R93S]

Yes and no. I was killing them on some tournament days. For me, replacing every 3 years from a financial standpoint made sense with a 10year warranty. The 10 times a year that I had no battery by the end of the day was the other. I can honestly say if I was not killing my batteries and they lasted that long, I would not have been near as apt to make the jump. I know me killing them shortened lifespan. But i was running the Duracell Grp 31's.

Yeah I don’t do any tournaments or anything. There are some days on big water I run the troller pretty hard, but I’ve never ran out of battery. I can absolutely see from your standpoint that it was a good choice. Thanks for the explanation. I will probably keep waiting and watching.

[jrh_67]

So if I understand you correctly your running only one 24v 60ah lithium battery?

[Chadsc]

So if I understand you correctly your running only one 24v 60ah lithium battery?

Correct, on a 80lb ultrex.

[Bjxds]

Correct, on a 80lb ultrex.

Why the 1- 24 rather than 2- 12’s ?

[Chadsc]

Why the 1- 24 rather than 2- 12’s ?

Just Bill's @ Impulse's recommendation. I could not really see any difference, a little bit more cost effective too. I wanted at least 60ah, so with most companies I would have been looking at buying (2) 100ah 12v or dropping down to 50. From what I see now, I probably would have been fine with the 50's, but it does give me a little bit less worry. One of the big talking points I noticed is the argument that if one goes down you can just buy one lead acid battery to drop in its place, you can buy two to get you by, if I HAD to fish. This battery got to my house in two days from time of ordering, so Im not super concerned about downtime. If it was that big of a concern, I would just buy two to keep me going, if need be. I feel that if you go with a reputable brand (all of the BBC sponsors it seems), they are getting pretty reliable at this point.

[Jasonrs]

Great write-up, one question, as i have considered a single 36v for trolling, how are you charging the 24v lithium?

[Chadsc]

Great write-up, one question, as i have considered a single 36v for trolling, how are you charging the 24v lithium?

I am charging with the charger that I got from Impulse. It is a Victron. It also has a built in app that shows charging profiles and amperage being delivered. The battery app shows this as well, but the victron app is wayyy more in depth. Although the victron is a "10A" charger, in most cases its showing between 11-12A the battery is receiving. So from zero, your talking about a 6-7hr charge time.

[rudapa]

On the charging question. My set up uses the run and gun chargers, so the Pair of 36V40AH, 16V80AH, and the X2 AGM charge from plugging in my standard Dual Pro 4-bank 10 Amp. Only 3 banks are used and it pushes 30 Amps to the X2 AGM and when it is over 80% charged it then starts pushing it to the 36Vs and the 16V. Same when the Mercury is running - it charges all the batteries after the X2 is satisfied. Nifty system, but it does require you buy a 36V and a 16V run and gun.

[billnorman1]

Another factoid about Lithiums is the flat voltage discharge. Your trolling motor will have the full 24 volts available until the Lithium goes flat. A lead acid battery voltage drops all the time it its being used, late in the day lots of times you will notice a lessening of thrust as the battery(s) is being used up.

[Jasonrs]

Another factoid about Lithiums is the flat voltage discharge. Your trolling motor will have the full 24 volts available until the Lithium goes flat. A lead acid battery voltage drops all the time it its being used, late in the day lots of times you will notice a lessening of thrust as the battery(s) is being used up.

This would be my reason for switching. I have never killed my lead acids completely, but they do feel "weak" after 7-8hours

[ZethKinnettFishing]

Hey Guys,

I was on the fence about jumping to lithium, and just want to give my thoughts to echo what most say, especially with the setup I chose.

I was tired of constantly replacing lead acid and decided to jump to a 24v 60ah Impulse. I've had 4 trips on it now, and I am beyond pleased. I am running a 18.5' skeeter with a 80lb ultrex.

Trip #1: Tournament day, little wind (5-7mph). I would say I was light on the TM this day, maybe a little less than average, spot locked a good bit but very light wind. Ended up the day at 82%.

Took a 3 day trip to Santee-Cooper and got some really good feedback.

Trip #2: 7-4pm, tons of TM use cruising around the flats, little to no spot locking (winds 10mph) Ended this day on 75%.

Trip#3: 7-330pm, worked the absolute crap out of the TM this day, lake wind advisory from 11am on. Winds were 20mph with gusts of 40-fished in the wind. Naturally had to spot lock a ton and did a ton of cruising-I can honestly say I cant remember using my TM this much. Ended at 57%. Guy that came down with us ended up running his group 31's lead acid dry this day.

Trip #4: 7-3pm, I would say more than average TM use but not like trip 3. Winds picked up and did wind up spot locking a good bit, and made some long runs on the TM against the wind cruising around the hatchery. Ended this day on 62%.

Long story short, I cant fathom a day that I would even get close to killing this thing, for me at least. If you are on the fence, do it. I know there are a ton of vendors that sell lithium, I went with Impulse and have been thrilled. I wanted to post for some feedback because you don't hear much about the 24v 60ah setups. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. If anyone has questions feel free to ask.

if you look hard there are good lithiums for the cost of expensive agm that use the same or better bms as more expensive brands. the bms is what matters from my what ive seen in my researching batteries. . https://www.epochbatteries.com/colle...attery-lithium is one option with very good reviews. Because of their case they take up a bit more space but that might be ok for some boat setups.
I run millertech because thats what the dealer sold me but there are options out there. I havent had problems yet and with the powerpole charge they rarely end the day below 85%.

[06 SB]

I have 3x 60ah Impulse LiFePos for my 36v Ultrex. I am trying to run them out just to see how long they will go. I fished a long, very windy tournament 7-4pm and fished 10-5 yesterday and they are still above 40%. I am not charging them on the run or in the garage. I am at 16 hours and have some more time to go. I cannot get out this weekend but will have 3 days on Eufaula the following weekend to see how long they can go.

[Chadsc]

if you look hard there are good lithiums for the cost of expensive agm that use the same or better bms as more expensive brands. the bms is what matters from my what ive seen in my researching batteries. . https://www.epochbatteries.com/colle...attery-lithium is one option with very good reviews. Because of their case they take up a bit more space but that might be ok for some boat setups.
I run millertech because thats what the dealer sold me but there are options out there. I havent had problems yet and with the powerpole charge they rarely end the day below 85%.

I had initially looked into them, but the cost came out no difference for me. The (2) 12v 50ah plus a dedicated lithium charger actually was more expensive than the 24v 60ah deal and victron charger set up through impulse.

[Impulse Lithium]

Hey Guys,

I was on the fence about jumping to lithium, and just want to give my thoughts to echo what most say, especially with the setup I chose.

I was tired of constantly replacing lead acid and decided to jump to a 24v 60ah Impulse. I've had 4 trips on it now, and I am beyond pleased. I am running a 18.5' skeeter with a 80lb ultrex.

Trip #1: Tournament day, little wind (5-7mph). I would say I was light on the TM this day, maybe a little less than average, spot locked a good bit but very light wind. Ended up the day at 82%.

Took a 3 day trip to Santee-Cooper and got some really good feedback.

Trip #2: 7-4pm, tons of TM use cruising around the flats, little to no spot locking (winds 10mph) Ended this day on 75%.

Trip#3: 7-330pm, worked the absolute crap out of the TM this day, lake wind advisory from 11am on. Winds were 20mph with gusts of 40-fished in the wind. Naturally had to spot lock a ton and did a ton of cruising-I can honestly say I cant remember using my TM this much. Ended at 57%. Guy that came down with us ended up running his group 31's lead acid dry this day.

Trip #4: 7-3pm, I would say more than average TM use but not like trip 3. Winds picked up and did wind up spot locking a good bit, and made some long runs on the TM against the wind cruising around the hatchery. Ended this day on 62%.

Long story short, I cant fathom a day that I would even get close to killing this thing, for me at least. If you are on the fence, do it. I know there are a ton of vendors that sell lithium, I went with Impulse and have been thrilled. I wanted to post for some feedback because you don't hear much about the 24v 60ah setups. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. If anyone has questions feel free to ask.

Awesome Performance!!

If anyone has any questions about a lithium system feel free to call me and we can go over all the benefits, cost savings etc...

We do offer one of the best warranties in the industry which is a FULL 10 yr that is not prorated, this also includes our Lithium Cranker's

Bill

205-965-8436

[jason penn]

i have been interested in the 24v lithium, but never see anything on them. i have a tracker boat, so there's not much room in the back plus i think less weight would help. i have 2 group 27 batteries and a 24 cranking battery, how similar in size is the 24v60ah?

[Impulse Lithium]

i have been interested in the 24v lithium, but never see anything on them. i have a tracker boat, so there's not much room in the back plus i think less weight would help. i have 2 group 27 batteries and a 24 cranking battery, how similar in size is the 24v60ah?

This is the unit you would look at. https://www.impulselithium.com/produ...thium-battery/

It does have Bluetooth for monitoring on your smart phone

[ksubasser24]

I think I am going to make the switch next year. I just swapped my skeeter over from humminbird to lowrance graphs and wired the electronics to run on dedicated power source. I got a 100AH weize to try out as a cheap option for now. Next year I am thinking of going to a single 36V for lithium. I like monster marines 65AH 36v battery. My skeeter lists to the passenger side now when I have a passenger due to the three lead acids on that side of the bilge. I am thinking that 1 36V on that side and moving my weize to that side would make it balance out well with just a group 27 lead acid for a cranker.