What battery to use??

[airshot]

Keep in mind that a 50 Amp/Hr lithium battery has roughly the same usable capacity as an 80 Amp/Hr AGM lead acid deep cycle. My larger boat has two 110 Amp/Hr AGM’s in series. When they fail the replacements will be two 100 Amp/Hr lithiums. The boat will loose about 140 pounds and the trolling time should increase roughly 50%.

That is one reason I am looking at them seriously for when my two group 31 agms drop dead in the next year or two.

 

[Shootstraight]

So update.. I picked up two 50 ah Ionic batteries on Friday. Planned to use one for electronics (Garmin 12” uhd, 93sv and Livescope). Then one for trolling motor, MK Edge 55. They came in with about 75% charge, I charged them fully and headed to TM only lake today. First off I will say that I was using group 31 Interstate batterie, I’ve not weighed them but they’re beasts. These Ionics weigh 14lbs each. I’ll add that the new batteries are a level higher in power than the lead acid batts. In other words at number 3 power setting on TM it felt like four. I was able to run at two for a good bit of the bank trolling whereas typically I use 3.
No let down in power as the day went on and screens were 12.9v when I finished. I fished for seven hours and this is where batts ended up in power. Top one is the screens, I was surprised that they used more power than TM. I will say when I fish by myself at a lake like that I put big screen on rest, as I use it for sidescan etc and not Livescope. Not sure how much more I would have used if 12” screen was on all day.

 

[Still Afloat]

Lithium batteries have a flat discharge curve. In other words they hold a fairly constant voltage until they are out of juice. So they feel fresh until they are done. The only why to tell how much charge is used or remaining is with an amp/Hr or Watt/Hr meter.

 

[Shootstraight]

Lithium batteries have a flat discharge curve. In other words they hold a fairly constant voltage until they are out of juice. So they feel fresh until they are done. The only why to tell how much charge is used or remaining is with an amp/Hr or Watt/Hr meter.

Or an app that shows how much charge is left

 

[Still Afloat]

Didn’t see your little battery gauge icons earlier. Yes, some batteries have a power meter and Bluetooth built into the BEC. I’m cheap, rather use an external power meter than spend an extra $100 or more per battery.

I guess my point earlier was the voltage is a meaningless number in terms of remaining capacity. Although, that flat discharge curve is very nice feature.

It looks like 50 amp/Hr was a good choice. Glad they are working out for you.

 

[Lost But Happy]

So update.. I picked up two 50 ah Ionic batteries on Friday. Planned to use one for electronics (Garmin 12” uhd, 93sv and Livescope). Then one for trolling motor, MK Edge 55. They came in with about 75% charge, I charged them fully and headed to TM only lake today. First off I will say that I was using group 31 Interstate batterie, I’ve not weighed them but they’re beasts. These Ionics weigh 14lbs each. I’ll add that the new batteries are a level higher in power than the lead acid batts. In other words at number 3 power setting on TM it felt like four. I was able to run at two for a good bit of the bank trolling whereas typically I use 3.
No let down in power as the day went on and screens were 12.9v when I finished. I fished for seven hours and this is where batts ended up in power. Top one is the screens, I was surprised that they used more power than TM. I will say when I fish by myself at a lake like that I put big screen on rest, as I use it for sidescan etc and not Livescope. Not sure how much more I would have used if 12” screen was on all day.

Man, you are seriously making me reconsider buying a 100 amp battery for my trolling motor and move to a 50 or 75A...

 

[Playfarmer56]

New member here but maybe something to add.

My short experience with LiFePO4 has been positive. CHINS 12V 100aH bought this spring at Amazon for $319. I've charged with a 3 different chargers (only 1 Li-dedicated) and I don't see much difference in the amount of current I can stuff into the battery. Kept the dedicated Li one b/c it's faster @ 15a.

On the cheap batteries w/o Bluetooth install a $30 monitor (it must have a Hall or shunt) which tells you how much juice is going in and going out, voltage, etc. Since the discharge curve is so flat, voltage measuring alone tells you nothing. At full charge I can put in about 1.3 kW which is more than rated specs.

On my last full charge I've been out twice for about 3 hours total (MK Powerdrive V2 55#) and I'm down to 1.2kW. I've taken the battery down to 12V which is about 10%, didn't want to take any further down. The nice thing about the meter is it goes both directions +/-.

The other major reason for Li is weight. I have 2 boats that share a battery. The LiFePO4 weighs 24# vs. 85 tons for the Pb.

I am careful with the battery, don't leave it out in the rain, sleeps in my bedroom. But 24# it's no trouble to move.

 

[Gstevens]

New member here but maybe something to add.

My short experience with LiFePO4 has been positive. CHINS 12V 100aH bought this spring at Amazon for $319. I've charged with a 3 different chargers (only 1 Li-dedicated) and I don't see much difference in the amount of current I can stuff into the battery. Kept the dedicated Li one b/c it's faster @ 15a.

On the cheap batteries w/o Bluetooth install a $30 monitor (it must have a Hall or shunt) which tells you how much juice is going in and going out, voltage, etc. Since the discharge curve is so flat, voltage measuring alone tells you nothing. At full charge I can put in about 1.3 kW which is more than rated specs.

On my last full charge I've been out twice for about 3 hours total (MK Powerdrive V2 55#) and I'm down to 1.2kW. I've taken the battery down to 12V which is about 10%, didn't want to take any further down. The nice thing about the meter is it goes both directions +/-.

The other major reason for Li is weight. I have 2 boats that share a battery. The LiFePO4 weighs 24# vs. 85 tons for the Pb.

I am careful with the battery, don't leave it out in the rain, sleeps in my bedroom. But 24# it's no trouble to move.
View attachment 114722View attachment 114724

can you share the make model and where you sourced the monitor? Also on a side note: I should update that my $$$$ dakota Lithium 1000cca 60ah combination lifepo4 battery has failed… awaiting a response from Dakota…2 yrs old and I drove to fish last night and it is not working at all- was fully charged day prior, all boat functions were working. I got home and swapped back to my Interstate series 24 pb battery and everything worked, no current drop overnight. Awaiting a response from Dakota. I use a Noco Genius 15A smart charge in Lithium mode for this battery and also have a Noco Genius 10A (at camp).

 

[Playfarmer56]

battery: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FMTRYPT?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1
monitor: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094RHQKMB?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1
charger: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08Q3NVBG3?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

My last Pb battery was an Everstart that lasted 3 years, failed immediately after warranty. That, and my sore back makes it real hard to throw a 70# battery around made the Li a no-brainer.

 

[airshot]

New member here but maybe something to add.

My short experience with LiFePO4 has been positive. CHINS 12V 100aH bought this spring at Amazon for $319. I've charged with a 3 different chargers (only 1 Li-dedicated) and I don't see much difference in the amount of current I can stuff into the battery. Kept the dedicated Li one b/c it's faster @ 15a.

On the cheap batteries w/o Bluetooth install a $30 monitor (it must have a Hall or shunt) which tells you how much juice is going in and going out, voltage, etc. Since the discharge curve is so flat, voltage measuring alone tells you nothing. At full charge I can put in about 1.3 kW which is more than rated specs.

On my last full charge I've been out twice for about 3 hours total (MK Powerdrive V2 55#) and I'm down to 1.2kW. I've taken the battery down to 12V which is about 10%, didn't want to take any further down. The nice thing about the meter is it goes both directions +/-.

The other major reason for Li is weight. I have 2 boats that share a battery. The LiFePO4 weighs 24# vs. 85 tons for the Pb.

I am careful with the battery, don't leave it out in the rain, sleeps in my bedroom. But 24# it's no trouble to move.
View attachment 114722View attachment 114724

It should treat you well if you take proper care of it, like you have been...

 

[Steph Boeker]

New member here but maybe something to add.

My short experience with LiFePO4 has been positive. CHINS 12V 100aH bought this spring at Amazon for $319. I've charged with a 3 different chargers (only 1 Li-dedicated) and I don't see much difference in the amount of current I can stuff into the battery. Kept the dedicated Li one b/c it's faster @ 15a.

On the cheap batteries w/o Bluetooth install a $30 monitor (it must have a Hall or shunt) which tells you how much juice is going in and going out, voltage, etc. Since the discharge curve is so flat, voltage measuring alone tells you nothing. At full charge I can put in about 1.3 kW which is more than rated specs.

On my last full charge I've been out twice for about 3 hours total (MK Powerdrive V2 55#) and I'm down to 1.2kW. I've taken the battery down to 12V which is about 10%, didn't want to take any further down. The nice thing about the meter is it goes both directions +/-.

The other major reason for Li is weight. I have 2 boats that share a battery. The LiFePO4 weighs 24# vs. 85 tons for the Pb.

I am careful with the battery, don't leave it out in the rain, sleeps in my bedroom. But 24# it's no trouble to move.
View attachment 114722View attachment 114724

Playfarmer 56 .... I recently watched a very interesting and thorough review on the Chinn. I liked it very much, but, since then I've found another you or others may consider. Here is a thorough review of the

Timeusb 12.8V 100Ah PRO LiFePO4 : https://tinyurl.com/32b3ucue
Also, I heard or read somewhere that charging slower completes the individual plates closer to even so that the whole system reaches it's highest potential for the life of the batt as well as increases it's life. (charging @ 10amps is better than charging @ 15amps and 5 or 6amps is even a better goal)
WARNING !! I'm no expert so take w/ a grain of salt.
Good boating & God bless !!​

 

[-CN-]

can you share the make model and where you sourced the monitor? Also on a side note: I should update that my $$$$ dakota Lithium 1000cca 60ah combination lifepo4 battery has failed… awaiting a response from Dakota…2 yrs old and I drove to fish last night and it is not working at all- was fully charged day prior, all boat functions were working. I got home and swapped back to my Interstate series 24 pb battery and everything worked, no current drop overnight. Awaiting a response from Dakota. I use a Noco Genius 15A smart charge in Lithium mode for this battery and also have a Noco Genius 10A (at camp).

My battery shopping for my soon-to-be-arriving new boat started about 2 months ago. Dakota Lithium is what turned me on to looking into LiFePo4 batteries, just because I was always seeing their ads everywhere. But I've seen way too many reports of the Dakotas failing and their customer service being non-existent. They advertise them super extensively and charge a lot of money for them, but it seems one is better off with any one of the dozens of cheap ones from Amazon.

 

[-CN-]

Been a lithium battery student of the internet for a couple of months now and finally ordered a pair of Ionic 50ah for my 24 volt motor. I have not seen a bad review or report about this brand no matter how much snooping I did to find one. They're more expensive than Amazon ones, but are a well-known company with a dealer network and a great online source. They have built-in Bluetooth for that little extra money you spend, too. Still not as pricey as other brands such as Dakota, and the other premium brands don't even have the Bluetooth feature.
I thought I had settled on the LiTime (AmpereTime, Chinns, EnjoyBot) which is one of the highly rated ones available on Amazon. Had a pair in my cart but didn't submit my order because I didn't feel I was ready yet. I like the size and weight of the 50ah, and the ability to monitor it to give me confidence that the 50ah is enough continuous power for my needs is what sold me.

 

[Lost But Happy]

Been a lithium battery student of the internet for a couple of months now and finally ordered a pair of Ionic 50ah for my 24 volt motor. I have not seen a bad review or report about this brand no matter how much snooping I did to find one. They're more expensive than Amazon ones, but are a well-known company with a dealer network and a great online source. They have built-in Bluetooth for that little extra money you spend, too. Still not as pricey as other brands such as Dakota, and the other premium brands don't even have the Bluetooth feature.
I thought I had settled on the LiTime (AmpereTime, Chinns, EnjoyBot) which is one of the highly rated ones available on Amazon. Had a pair in my cart but didn't submit my order because I didn't feel I was ready yet. I like the size and weight of the 50ah, and the ability to monitor it to give me confidence that the 50ah is enough continuous power for my needs is what sold me.

Hey CN, have you hit the cranberry bogs in Tomah/Warren lately?

 

[-CN-]

Hey CN, have you hit the cranberry bogs in Tomah/Warren lately?

Not since ice.
No boat right now other than a long skinny plastic one. That would be ideal actually, just no time to go.

 

[Lost But Happy]

Not since ice.
No boat right now other than a long skinny plastic one. That would be ideal actually, just no time to go.

Im in the same boat (lol)...no time. Projects a-plenty, but not fer fishin. My tinny and her trailer are still under construction. Hoping to go this weekend and shore fish. First time since last year April.

Heck, Ill even take a snake at this point!!




I'm sure you know where this pic was taken. So SHHHHHHHH LOL

 

[Still Afloat]

can you share the make model and where you sourced the monitor? Also on a side note: I should update that my $$$$ dakota Lithium 1000cca 60ah combination lifepo4 battery has failed… awaiting a response from Dakota…2 yrs old and I drove to fish last night and it is not working at all- was fully charged day prior, all boat functions were working. I got home and swapped back to my Interstate series 24 pb battery and everything worked, no current drop overnight. Awaiting a response from Dakota. I use a Noco Genius 15A smart charge in Lithium mode for this battery and also have a Noco Genius 10A (at camp).

I’m a bit skeptical about Dakota Batteries 60Amp/hr cranking battery. Typically, LiFe batteries are constructed for cranking or storage but, not both. That’s why I bought the Noco for a lite weight cranking battery and separate storage batteries.

 

[CRS]

My concern about switching to Lithium for cranking would be the alternator charging the battery. Li batteries need a different charge sequence than lead acid types. With that in mind does the alternator need to be changed? I only use LI for my electric motors and do not even have a gas motor. I have thought about using them in my vehicles but have yet to explore the advantage if any.

 

[Still Afloat]

My concern about switching to Lithium for cranking would be the alternator charging the battery. Li batteries need a different charge sequence than lead acid types. With that in mind does the alternator need to be changed? I only use LI for my electric motors and do not even have a gas motor. I have thought about using them in my vehicles but have yet to explore the advantage if any.

CRS - Your are right about the charging. Charging improperly can lead to premature failure. However, a good dedicated lithium cranking battery will have a BMS that’s optimized for this use. Take a look at the Noco NLP14. This battery is clearly designed for cranking rather than storage. It has 500 cranking amps with 4 Amp/hr storage. Noco claims 50,000 starts and 2000 charge cycles.

I use a four bank charger at home. The cranking battery gets topped off while charging the 24V trolling motor bank and 12V volt accessory battery.

 

[moedelawn]

I've been reading this thread and others. I've watched a ton of teardown videos and I thought I was going to get 2 -12v50ah batteries for my 75lb Motor Guide varimax digital. (Litime-Redodo etc). The idea was i could pull a battery and use it in my Jon boat. I think 50 is enough because i don't fish heavy current and rarely use full power. I looked at Epoch and loved it but the case for the 12v and 24 volt are the same. I decided I like having the extra room in the storage space and not having to worry about one battery being charged more than the other. I couldn't justify $700 on the 24v Epoch since I mostly fish out of the 15' jon. My buddy is a charter captain and said they are starting to try Pro Guide and like them so far. I found their 24volt 50ah on sale for $429.00 reg $599.00.
Edit. Nevermind their 24 50ah is group size 24. Not 24 volts.