Lithium Battery Question - 50AH LiFeP04 for a 55# thrust Minn Kota?

[thill]

Very nice chart.
Thank you, Mr. Giggles. (MAN, that sounds strange to say!)

Which batteries are you using again?

 

[Shootstraight]

I bought two Ionic 50 amp batts to replace my interstate group 31’s on my 1652 G3. I run one for the TM and the other for my two screens and Livescope. At the time I had a MK Edge 55 and after 7 ish hours I would still be around 70% full. I upgraded to a Terrova 55lb 12v so I could have spot lock. I only have fished it once with very good results as well. Seems the Terrova is more efficient and has less power draw. The boat has a 9.9 that also starts off the TM battery. I get more power (I can use it on lower setting than the Edge and get same speed). Weight went from around 88lbs to 14 per battery. Picked up three mph on boat with 9.9 as well. The battery on my screens (12”&9”) and LS hasn’t gone below 50%.

 

[MrGiggles]

Very nice chart.
Thank you, Mr. Giggles. (MAN, that sounds strange to say!)

Which batteries are you using again?

Used 40ah Valence U1-12RTs.

 

[thill]

That sounds like very good battery life for 40 AH batteries. I should be fine with th 50 AH batteries.

Thanks again, Mr. Giggles.

 

[Zum]

Lots of good real life information here...thanks

 

[sonny.barile]

The company selling the battery through Walmart (BargainShore) called me. Seems they don’t have a battery in stock to fulfill my order. They asked if I would accept an unboxed demo. It’s new but not in the original box. Said it would not affect warranty………discounted 15 percent. It went from $269 to $225. I took the deal. While speaking to the sales tech I was checking online……seems the only places that had some were asking $379 and an RV place asking a whopping $549………

They shipped yesterday so it’s on its way. Today I see they now have a page up where they are offering this same battery model from demo and unboxed (probably returns) discounted to $225 and only 1 year warranty as opposed to 5.
I’m hoping they didn’t dupe me with the warranty and I still get the 5 years. If not…..it’s going back.

I just wanted a battery not a hassle…….

 

[thill]

What size are those? 100 AH? If so, I might be buying some 100AH instead of 50

 

[thill]

Wait, I just saw... 65 AH. That seems like a very good size, but I'm not liking only a year warranty.

I see some good deals on Amazon, but I neeed to check Walmart and other places before pulling the trigger.

 

[sonny.barile]

Wait, I just saw... 65 AH. That seems like a very good size, but I'm not liking only a year warranty.

I see some good deals on Amazon, but I neeed to check Walmart and other places before pulling the trigger.

It’s the 65 amp model.
I bought it through Walmart Website.
I rechecked and my warranty will still be the 5 years as the purchase is still through Walmart. If you buy directly from BargainShore‘s website you will get the $225 price but only 1 year of warranty. It may be a return…..
Walmart is showing “out of stock” on this model. I guess I was the last order…..


It will arrive Thursday and my Victron smart charger will arrive on Friday. I like this Victron charger, it will tell me everything about the battery. My old MK Precision charger was just plug in and wait. It would only indicate where the charge state is. 25%, 50% etc. With lithoug you will want to know each cell voltage and how balanced it is.

 

[airshot]

How does the warranty work is the more important question ?? In some cases, the item must be retired to the mfgr in its original pkg and those aren't cheap to ship.. some warranties are good and some designed to be such a hassle they aren't worth using !!! Read the fine print !!

 

[sonny.barile]

How does the warranty work is the more important question ?? In some cases, the item must be retired to the mfgr in its original pkg and those aren't cheap to ship.. some warranties are good and some designed to be such a hassle they aren't worth using !!! Read the fine print !!

yeah…..I get that. If you pay about 200 bucks for something and a warranty issue costs $40 shipping each way…..Plus after 2 years it will be prorated. It becomes 50% of the cost of a new one.

However if they are lowering warranty from 5 to 1 right out of the gate they must know something.

 

[fwman1]

I just picked up an Epoch 50AH Marine battery. It has all the bells and whistles.
I'll keep the thread informed as I install it in my 1436 Alumacraft.
12V 50Ah Marine Battery - Lithium Trolling Motor Battery

 

[sonny.barile]

I just picked up an Epoch 50AH Marine battery. It has all the bells and whistles.
I'll keep the thread informed as I install it in my 1436 Alumacraft.
12V 50Ah Marine Battery - Lithium Trolling Motor Battery

I checked out the specs…….that’s got the blue tooth so you can monitor the power level on your phone. That warmer feature is good for batteries that spend the winter outside in the boat. You can charge in freezing weather……

 

[fwman1]

It also comes with a hardwired gauge that gives you an real-time visual check on the remaining capacity.
I'll mount this where it is easily seen from the casting deck. The only real negative is that they package the 50AH, 100AH and 200AH in the same case. It will fit under my casting deck, but will be much tighter than if I'd gotten an Ionic, or other brand. It will be mounted on the side, to minimize the height of the battery. I'll probably be removing the mounting feet. Case width without the feet is just over eight and a half inches.

I spoke with the company, and they are coming out with a series that is packaged in a smaller case. Those won't be available for a couple of months, and I wanted to go ahead and make this change now.

 

[sonny.barile]

The battery and charger arrived. I was apprehensive about it being a demo but when it arrived it seemed like a newly packaged unopened battery with the 5 year warranty. I would never have known if they didn’t tell me. Anyhow, I got additional money off so there is that.

Got everything installed and charged it up. The charger is the smart kind and it worked like it’s spposed to without kicking back any errors. I put a multimeter to the battery after letting it rest a day and it meets spec. Only thing left is to get some time on the water. Maybe this coming weekend……..

The really good part……Because my battery was in the bow it took almost 50 lbs off the tongue weight. I was around 200 lbs (which is the max, of my vehicle) and now it’s a manageable 150. With the total rig weight of around 1400 lbs thats about right.

My back is already thanking me……..

 

[airshot]

Can't wait to hear how it works !!

 

[Buster]

Finally got out again in my boat and here are the promised numbers. It was dead calm. Battery (100Ah Amped Outdoors) had about 85% charge. Motor (12v Terrova) is on a 14 foot Lund C-14 from 1966. Boat has only a 55" beam unlike the newer 14 footers. I was seated in the rear seat which is a bit draggy. When I'm seated in front the top speed is usually around 3.2 to 3.6mph. My 9.8hp was out of the water but my Mega360 transducer was in the water and it creates a bit of drag. Of course, your numbers may vary. Specifically, as your boat gets bigger (especially beamier) the current draw will go up and speed down at a given setting. As you can see, when trolling in the 3 to 5 range, where I normally am, a 50AH battery should be more than enough for a day of fishing.

Motor setting	Amp draw	Speed
1/2	.57	not measurable
1	.57	not measurable
1 1/2	.75	0.3mph
2	1.03	0.3mph
2 1/2	1.5	0.5mph
3	2.2	0.8mph
3 1/2	3.02	1.0mph
4	4.08	1.2mph
4 1/2	5.36	1.4mph
5	6.81	1.6mph
5 1/2	8.48	1.8mph
6	10.22	1.9mph
6 1/2	12.76	2.1mph
7	15.23	2.2mph
7 1/2	18.21	2.3mph
8	21.16	2.5mph
8 1/2	24.39	2.6mph
9	27.86	2.7mph
9 1/2	31.47	2.8mph
10	36.67	2.9mph

 

[Lost But Happy]

Finally got out again in my boat and here are the promised numbers. It was dead calm. Battery (100Ah Amped Outdoors) had about 85% charge. Motor (12v Terrova) is on a 14 foot Lund C-14 from 1966. Boat has only a 55" beam unlike the newer 14 footers. I was seated in the rear seat which is a bit draggy. When I'm seated in front the top speed is usually around 3.2 to 3.6mph. My 9.8hp was out of the water but my Mega360 transducer was in the water and it creates a bit of drag. Of course, your numbers may vary. Specifically, as your boat gets bigger (especially beamier) the current draw will go up and speed down at a given setting. As you can see, when trolling in the 3 to 5 range, where I normally am, a 50AH battery should be more than enough for a day of fishing.

Motor setting	Amp draw	Speed
1/2	.57	not measurable
1	.57	not measurable
1 1/2	.75	0.3mph
2	1.03	0.3mph
2 1/2	1.5	0.5mph
3	2.2	0.8mph
3 1/2	3.02	1.0mph
4	4.08	1.2mph
4 1/2	5.36	1.4mph
5	6.81	1.6mph
5 1/2	8.48	1.8mph
6	10.22	1.9mph
6 1/2	12.76	2.1mph
7	15.23	2.2mph
7 1/2	18.21	2.3mph
8	21.16	2.5mph
8 1/2	24.39	2.6mph
9	27.86	2.7mph
9 1/2	31.47	2.8mph
10	36.67	2.9mph

Thank you so much for posting the stats! Very helpful

Btw, do you have any pics of your boat you would like to share? I have the exact same boat (albeit a '78) that I am restoring at present.

Thanks again!

 

[Shootstraight]

Nice job on the numbers, this helps for the ones who have doubted this was possible. I can fish for 6-8 hrs with my 12v Terrova on a 1652 and only use a minor percentage of battery. Mines got just one 50 amp Ionic. I mostly use mine between 3-4 but sometimes move further distances on 6 or 7.

 

[Buster]

Thank you so much for posting the stats! Very helpful

Btw, do you have any pics of your boat you would like to share? I have the exact same boat (albeit a '78) that I am restoring at present.

Thanks again

I will when I get it out in the sun next. He bought it new with trailer for $319 ($60 off!) I have the Lund brochure where he did the math figuring cash price vs payments. For some reason it was painted blue instead of the standard Lund red of the time. The old man lost his leg to peripheral artery disease 3 years ago so I have to take him out on my brother's pontoon now. While I could easily buy something bigger, more stable, faster and easier to fish, I instead sealed up all the seams, replaced the wood seats, and have been fixing it up bit by bit. I started my fishing life in that boat and I'll likely end it there, at which point I hope one of my brother's kids--or hopefully grandkids--will be able to make use of it.
I just checked out some of your shots. Your's looks like a posh cruiser compared to mine!