Dakota Lithium 54AH Trolling Motor Battery-Full Run-Time Review on the Water! 

😂😂😂😂dude, I love that!!! I’m glad she liked it and I hope you got something out of the battery stuff too. The older gentleman is a very good friend of mine and he had turned 79 the day before so I surprised him with a surf and turf. Good friends are rare🤙🏻 thanks for watching bro!

@@FlintHillCatfishing Yeah just trying to look at hundred amp hour batteries and just trying to make in an informed decision on whether to buy a Dakota lithium or a amped outdoors I know I want a hundred amp hour just not sure which company to go with yet

@Adventures101 ...It’s a big front in investment with the long term return. A lot of people don’t research at all sooooo kudos for doing your homework! OK so I have a piece of information for you that you should check out for sure… I have a friend that has a boat and he just bought two lithium batteries made by a company called ionic battery. They are out of Mooresville, North Carolina. Without boring you with too many details, each cell can be replaced individually rather than like the Dakota brand, you have to replace the entire battery. Also they have Bluetooth technology in the actual battery. So you can link to it with your phone and check the actual performance etc. of your battery. You should check them out bro. He’s been using them for two months and loves them.

Good on you brother… You won’t regret it. Theoretically, you end up paying the same amount overtime for lead acid batteries as you would for one good lithium battery. Happy trails🤙🏻

US Marine Corps! My son is taking the asfab now and he is going in the Marines. I couldn’t be prouder of him. Thank you for your service brother. On another note, I’m glad that you found my video and it fits your needs. With that said, make sure to research a company called” ionic”. They make lithium batteries that are high quality Mooresville North Carolina. I have several friends that own several different batteries that they manufacture. One incredible quality about their batteries, is that each cell can be replaced. Dakota does not offer that with their batteries because they are not designed to be salvaged if the cell goes bad, they just throw them away. Also ionic battery company also puts Bluetooth technology in their batteries that gives you run time remaining in real time! So if you were running lights on a boat it may show nine hours of run time left… Then you turn on your sonar and other devices and the load increases and it shows you a lesser runtime left. So all that nonsense to say, the Bluetooth technology is an incredible advantage in my opinion. Lastly, Dakota lithium is a standup company and their batteries are great and I stand behind that however, their customer service is terrible. You cannot speak to anyone on the phone it is all email. That drives me crazy when I paid $500 for 54 amp hour battery, you would think somebody would pick up the phone! Anyway that’s my two cents… Thanks for watching and I’ll see you on the next one. Oh and FYI… I am reaching out to the Ionic company in Mooresville, NC to see if they would let me demo one of their batteries comparable to my 54 amp hour Dakota lithium. If this happens I will definitely do another review in six months After putting it through its paces but you will have probably already bought a battery by then LOL! Take care and reach out if you have any Questions

@@FlintHillCatfishing Thanks you, I just read this 1st CONGRATS ON YOUR SON USMC, that's awesome, the best for a reason ( first in last out) tell him I said SEMPER FI DEVIL DOG !! 2nd big thanks for battery recommendation ( I'm not paying that & can't talk to someone) thats Bananas) Mooresville North Carolina will get my $$, I also left another message on my other post I'm deleting it and ask it here you recommend a good charger ? OK that's all sorry about the questions just want to keep it running right, peace my friend !! 🇺🇲🦅🌍⚓ USMC

@@bruce9648 I’ll definitely let my son know what you told him. You won’t be dissatisfied with the Mooresville battery company I told you about. I am not sure if ionic batteries gives you a charger with the battery… Dakota gives you a charger with every battery you buy so I would assume other companies do the same. Good luck brother

Outstanding! I hope it serves you well🤙🏻

That is good to know… I was unaware. It’s a bit disappointing as well😐. There are some killer lithium battery companies that have been coming out lately and some of them even offer Bluetooth technology built into the battery so you can connect with your phone through an app and see your battery percentage etc.. Thanks for taking the time to watch!

Dude that’s awesome! I did not know you had that setup. I would’ve asked you before I bought mine😂 I agree with you on the bigger one though. It took me a solid hour at 100% with me paddling as well to get from Westminster park to midway up fewwel island at 10,500cfs!!! If I did it over again, I would save another 5-600 and get the 150AH, or at least the 100AH. A lot of people that have boats tell me it’s too expensive, but I didn’t have to buy a 5-10K outboard😂😂 Are you on messenger? I’d love to fish the river with you one day. We’re river rats on the same river👍🏻

@@FlintHillCatfishing - Heck yeah. You can shoot me a message on FB or email abidefishing@gmail.com

Awesome man I think you’ll be happy with it… Thank you for taking the time to watch and I’m glad the video was helpful!

Thank you for the comment Bill… And thank you for taking the time to watch!!!

Hey Michael, thanks for watching! I was very impressed that it lasted that long using just a 54 AH. FYI… There are some really good lithium battery companies coming out that have Bluetooth technology built in the battery… You can check the actual percentage of battery life left on your phone using an app.

Yessir!!!

Yessir! Thx for watching Willip!!!

Thanks man… I would consider the 23 amp hour for boat electronics! I have 2 seven AH lithium batteries wired in parallel for my electronics....they charge my go pros continually along with my sonar, NAV lights and filming light. I think I wouldve fared better going with the 23 AH. They only died on me once though while fishing all day and part of the night. Thanks for watching Mark🔥

😂😂thx man....I appreciate the support. Happy new year to you and yours as well!!!

So glad it was helpful and entertaining! I appreciate you watching👍🏻

Awesome! I found a way to keep my battery in the kayak so I charge it while it’s in there so I don’t have to take it in and out. It really is a pain in the butt to take it out for charging, but it’s way more of a pain with a heavy battery that’s for sure. Thanks for watching man and good luck on the water!!!

I don’t remember right off hand right now but I do remember Seeing this on their website when I was researching the battery and they specifically stated how often to charge it to maintain stability.

Hell yeah man… I hope to see you on the water as well. I live in rock Hill just south of Charlotte North Carolina. I like to eat good!

They are pricey… But in my situation, I don’t have to buy an outboard or a full-size boat so I’d say the investment is not too steep for me in my kayak. According to Dakota’s research, a 54 amp hour lithium is equivalent to 108 hour lead acid. Thanks for watching brother!!!

@@FlintHillCatfishing hey it has to be a good investment there's not a lot of room in a Yak and it saves on weight

I’m glad it helped man… Good luck on the water!

I appreciate that Elstan! Thank you for the support brother👍🏻👍🏻

Alex! I really appreciate you taking the time to watch and I’m glad the video was helpful. I felt the same way you did before I made the video because when I was trying to decide on the battery I wanted, I didn’t see any real time test on the battery yet so I made up my mind I was going to do one myself!!!! Thank you for the like and subscribe brother!!

Thx Lyle!

Thx Chad!

Thanks Robby! Yeah the steaks and shrimp were awesome. I haven’t been fishing much this week I’m hoping to get out there weather pending.

Honestly I’m not sure. The only way you would know is to look up the exact dimensions of the battery And the exact dimensions of the Minnkota battery box. Sorry I couldn’t help more on this one.. Thanks for watching!

I never said there was anything wrong with paddling… I love paddling. That’s why I have a kayak. If you watch some of my videos, you’ll see that I primarily fish the river and paddled upstream for a half mile against 7000-12,000 CFS for 3 years before getting the trolling motor. I am healthy and get my fair share of solid paddling in.....the main reason I got the trolling motor is because it saves me a boatload of time. Instead of spending an hour paddling upstream it takes me 20 minutes. Time is a commodity I don’t have with five children👍🏻

@@FlintHillCatfishing I’m sorry wasn’t criticizing you. I was a subscriber before I deleted my RU-vid channel. Love your stuff. It’s just that theirs not much about just enjoying the day and sharing. It’s become some much about sales. Buy this buy that. This is the best. People after money. Sponsorship. I miss the American Sportsman with Kurt Kowdy !

I agree with you about the marketing stuff… I wasn’t offended in the least, my apologies if it came across defensive. I actually hated to put the big old clunky thing on my kayak but it was a great assist to go up river to some of the spots that I can’t generally get to very easily at all by paddling. On another note I took a spectacular trip that I’ll be putting a video out in the near future… I did about a 12 mile stretch of the Catawba and it was gorgeous. One of the things I love about paddling a kayak is your senses are heightened. You can see and hear everything. No loud outboard, just your strokes and the kayak gliding along. Have a great day and thanks for the support!!

@@FlintHillCatfishing Absolutely agree. Sounds like we are in same location. I live on lake Mitchell. We should do a trip together. I have actually paddled up on catfish suspended just a few inches from the surface. Could have grabbed them. It’s amazing just how much more you see

Thanks man! I haven’t seen any either so I wanted to see for myself! Thx for watching👍🏻

Hey Dan great idea about testing the battery at lower speeds. I may consider doing another video just for that purpose. I do have some input for you on low speed however. Are usually run the potentiometer between 30% and and I can get to about 9hrs. That’s pretty dang good for a 54aH battery but if I were you… I would not get anything less than 100 amp hours if you would like to be using it for 16 hours. I think you would be guaranteed 16 hours with no problem at low speed settings … Just remember that wind, current etc. can affect that as well.

I can’t remember right off hand but I think the number was 500 recharging cycles meaning, it would take 500 times to ruin the battery. Don’t quote me on that but I do remember looking at it. The Dakota Lithium website is a wealth of information they have very comprehensive information on Dakota Lithium Batteries as well as lithium batteries in general. You do not you need to use a trickle charger… Lithium batteries don’t discharge anywhere near as fast as lead acid. They just recommend you don’t leave the battery on a low percentage for a long period of time and not to charge it for over 16 hours. Like I said, there’s tons more information on the Dakota lift the website. I have a link in the description. Thanks so much for watching and have fun and be safe on the water👍🏻

@@FlintHillCatfishing Thank you. I will be safe and hope to catch a lot of fish soon.

Yeah man! That was me and Dean. Man I gotta get your contact info..would love to fish with you one day Matthew. Did you have any luck yesterday?

@@FlintHillCatfishing Message me on facebook, put 11 cats in the boat, nothing over 18 lbs, next time I see you out there I'm going to stop!

Do it man...stop by anytime... I’ll hit you up on Facebook soon!!

😂😂😂😂 dude if you like fishing, you should check out some of my other videos. I love putting food porn in my videos sometimes. I insert some sexy R&B and eat gross gas station food in slow Mo. OK that sounded weird even after I wrote it

I just bought one at dakotalithium.com/ use the coupon code for 10% off

Dude I can see your comment about using the battery with my graph in my notifications, but when I click on it it doesn’t show up so I’m responding in one of your other comments so I didn’t forget your question! The answer is no I do not use this battery for my electronics I only use it for my trolling motor. There are cheap ways to run your electronics with cheap small lead acid batteries. Don’t quote me on this because I forgot the price, but I bought two Dakota Lithium seven amp hour batteries for under $200 to run my electronics. I used two $30 lead acid batteries before I got those. Hit me up on messenger if you want any more details and I’d be glad to answer any questions you have batteries are a big investment so you definitely wanna be sure you have what you need before you put them in

@@FlintHillCatfishing sounds good I’ll hit you up

Hey thanks for the comment Vance! Make sure you do some research on your lithium batteries because there are even better ones out now. Some have Bluetooth technology so you can see the exact amount of runtime you have left according to the amount of load on the battery. The weight difference is enormous… A 54 amp hour lithium battery is equivalent to a 108 amp hour lead acid battery. My 54 amp hour lithium battery weighs 17 pounds and a lead acid 108 Amp hour battery weighs about 75 pounds. really big deal when you’re in a kayak. Big up front investment but long term return in my opinion.

@@FlintHillCatfishing hey brother. What would you recommend is the absolute, best lithium iron battery out today that will give me the most time hands down on the water. I do saltwater fishing, i have an ascend 133x that can hold 550lbs of weight, 55lb thrust minn kota endura, amd usually fill my kayak up with bait, cooler, big lead acid deep cycle battery but i want to be out there all day without a problem. I dont mind spending a pretty penny lol. I just want the longest lasting best one!

@@lazzero99 If I were you bro, I would get at least 100AH and a 120AH would be even better especially if I was out on the ocean. Things like current wind and the swell on the ocean will shorten your battery life because it’s working harder so if you could afford it somewhere around 120 amp hour would be amazing. As far as lithium batteries are concerned, there are a lot of new companies coming out they have some great products and they come with onboard Bluetooth technology etc. so you can monitor the percentage of power you actually have left or run time so to speak. Google ionic lithium batteries. They are a local company in our area. I have several friends that have bought their batteries and are extremely pleased, especially with the Bluetooth monitoring technology.

@@lazzero99 If I were you bro, I would get at least 100AH and a 120AH would be even better especially if I was out on the ocean. Things like current wind and the swell on the ocean will shorten your battery life because it’s working harder so if you could afford it somewhere around 120 amp hour would be amazing. As far as lithium batteries are concerned, there are a lot of new companies coming out they have some great products and they come with onboard Bluetooth technology etc. so you can monitor the percentage of power you actually have left or run time so to speak. Google ionic lithium batteries. They are a local company in our area. I have several friends that have bought their batteries and are extremely pleased, especially with the Bluetooth monitoring technology.

@@FlintHillCatfishing ty brother! Will do

Thanks Dan!!

Thx man!! I appreciate you watching👍🏻

Great question man and thx for watching! Before I answer any of those questions, what is the model/make/thrust of your trolling motor?

@@FlintHillCatfishing Minn Kota Riptide 45

So for a 45 pound thrust trolling motor, the rule of thumb is whatever the thrust is usually equals the amperage drawn on 12 V trolling motors. However, check your manual to make sure that is correct. I use eight gauge stranded copper THHN which is rated to 55 A. So in theory, eight gauge should work just fine for your installation. One thing to think about with the PWM is that the particular one that I am using will only except a maximum wire size of eight gauge. As I mentioned though, eight gauge should be sufficient for your trolling motor. You don’t have to have a reset on your fuse but it’s nice to have. Just make sure you put it on the positive line... I have another video on my trolling motor install for my kayak that has a detailed drawing on how to do this if you need it for reference. Heat is not a big deal as long as the wire size is adequate. Hope this helps man and feel free to reach out if you have anymore questions and I’ll try to help🤙🏻 I love your channel name by the way😁

@@FlintHillCatfishing thank you so much! I have an Old Town canoe that my girlfriend and I recently started modding and adding lights. We named it the Critter Gitter, lol. We hope to start making some fishing/island camping edits pretty soon. The PWM will definitely help with the range. Thanks again for the advice. Tight lines bud!

I’ll drop you a sub and check your channel out man!

Hi Allan… Thanks for taking the time to watch and I’m glad you were able to get something out of the video. That is a great question, and you are correct! If you run your trolling motor on the highest speed setting with or without a pulse with modulator, then the results would be the same. But like you said, when you decrease the speed even slightly you will see a big difference in the long run. The reason is that because the type of electronics in the speed control that comes stock on the trolling motor drawl the same amount of amperage whether it’s in the highest speed or the lowest. The pulse width modulator speed control determines the amperage drawn from your trolling motor. Just for reference, I have cruised around the lake at 50-75% for 6 to 8 hours. Happy trails man👍🏻

@@FlintHillCatfishing I ordered a 50ah lithium and I’m gonna use it with a pwm box that I built. Regular trolling motors will draw full power from a battery all the time. When you lower the speed the motor electronics introduce a series of resistors that convert the excess draw into (waste) heat. A pwm reduces the draw as you reduce the speed - no heat wasted. Minn Kota now has that circuitry built into their Endurance Max motors - they call it a “digital maximizer”. Thanks for the great info and the culinary break. I have the same stove!

17 lbs.👍🏻👍🏻

That’s where the pulse width modulator comes in to play…

@@FlintHillCatfishing if that’s the case, then I’d love to just copy your setup. Which motor did you have for that test?

@@travis091491 I bought the minn Kota C2 30 pound thrust… When I bought it last year it was $99 at Cabela’s. 30 pound thrust has plenty of power for most kayaks. I’m 6’4’ and 230 pounds and my kayak is 13 feet long and weighs 100 pounds with nothing in it and it pushes it with no problem. I even go straight upstream on the river I fish about 250 yards pushing against 3000 to 4000 CFS and it does great. I have to paddle a little bit in heavier current than that, but it makes it so much easier! Feel free to reach out if you have any more questions, and thank you for watching bro🤙🏻 i’m not sure if you’ve seen it or not but I have a video that shows you exactly how I did the trolling motor install. Check it out on my channel it has some good information on us that could probably help with your build👍🏻

@@FlintHillCatfishing very helpful man, thanks again for responding. Sadly those batteries are way out on shipping dates now but none the less this is exactly how I’m gonna do it 🤘🏻

@@travis091491 Fortuately for you, the prices on lithium batteries as well as the amp hour rating are “neck and neck”. … so if it’s a reputable company you’re not gonna go wrong if you have to buy another brand. Where do you live?

They are quite pricey...The front and investment there’s a lot but you save money in the long run. The website has a ton of great information. Check out the links I left in the description. They have different sizes of course so depending on what you’re looking for the price will vary accordingly. The one I have is a 54 amp hour which is equivalent to 108 amp hours lead acid. Since I don’t have to buy an outboard for my kayak, the investment is rather small considering what it cost to power a boat. 500 for the battery in this video.

Do it!!!

Man I appreciate that!!..dropped you a sub and checked out your channel too! Keep on keeping on man!!

you’re exactly right about that. The 11 year warranty that Dakota offers is the ONLY thing that balances the risk.

That’s what the warranties for. What battery company does 11 years warranty . Most ev car manufactures won’t warranty that long.

Precisely….. also divided by unknown wind factor or unknown current factor on a river or both🤙🏻 oh…. and what percentage you run your pulse width modulator at depending on whether you have one or not. I was an electrician for 20 years so That part is easy for me… Adding in the different variables Like wind, current etc. was not as easy so that’s why I did the test. They can all diminish your run time significantly. I appreciate you taking the time to watch!

😂

Yes this is true. Upfront cost more but you save money in the long term. I only had to buy one and weight was a huge issue for me in thekayak so for me it was the smartest option. 65 pounds versus 17😂. Also I don’t have to pay for an outboard motor on my kayak so it’s a rather small investment considering 😉 Thanks for watching brother

@@FlintHillCatfishing always watching my friend. I been eyeballing em myself

Check out the links in the description...really good info

I agree with the initial investment being higher. However, they'll be closer to the same cost over time and I myself am using the C2 30 in a kayak. Space and weight matter a lot and I don't want to carry a 60lbs battery to my boat much less have it weighed down (the weight in the back for my 35 amp hour battery at 23lbs already makes the front of my boat stick out of the water) by a big heavy battery. Plus, you can run a lithium down to almost nothing without damaging it, unlike the way you would with a more traditional set up. If you look at it as a long term investment, the battery will allow you to charge it many more times over it's life while still retaining a good charge much longer. So if you take the price of 2 quality 100ah batteries and factor in the lower weight, I'd say you can figure a lithium battery is about twice as expensive over it's life but has many advantages such as lower weight, better ability to be pushed to the stated Ah on the battery, quicker charging, and more recharges before your battery ends up in the grave. Also keep in mind Dakota lithium batteries are pretty expensive. They seem to be like the Cadillacs of lithiums but there are other options for about 2/3 of the cost with similar reviews (however I can't provide any scientific comparison between brands, I'm only going off of people on RU-vid and Google saying how much they love Dakota).

Well said and very accurate. Thanks for the comment Wayne. There are definitely other brands out there that can compete with Dakota Lithium... The warranty was one of the most alluring things about Dakota to me, along with the great reviews from customers. Since it’s the first lithium battery I’ve ever owned I want for the Cadillac😂 people that have traditional boots say how expensive they are, and they would be right however, that motor on the back of my car that cost a whole lot less than the outboard that they have. So I’ll look at it as an investment that lightens my kayak and just so happens to be my main means of propulsion.👍🏻 happy kayaking Wayne! Thanks for watching.

I’ve had several of those reputable hundred amp hours for $400. They were great! However, if you are 64 and 235 pounds and have 100 pounds of fishing gear and the boat a trolling motor on the back and anchor etc. etc. etc. weight is everything. If I did it again, I would not buy Dakota lithium for the mere reason that new lithium battery manufacturers are coming out with removable and replaceable cells which is very appealing. The other thing that I love about lithium batteries, and I believe this is the most important reason for me, is that your trolling motor does it start to slow down gradually the last hour of life that you have in your battery ( lead acid/Agm) all that to say… The way that I fish and the locations that I fish… I.e. rivers with current, it is very helpful to not have a motor that is slowing down because my battery is gradually dying while I’m trying to make my way up stream against 10,000 CFS….I get it though bro, I wrestled with this for three years before I finally pulled the trigger and bought a lithium. I’m not sure if you know this or not, I didn’t until I did more thorough research… I 54 amp hour lithium battery is actually 108 amp hours lead acid or AGM. Lithium is twice the amp hour capacity. I appreciate you taking the time to watch and I appreciate the honest comment. Believe me it hurt my feelings to spend $500 but it wasn’t without careful research to make sure that it fit my style of fishing in the locations that I fish… oh, and by the way the number one reason I would never buy Dakota lithium again is because their customer service sucks. You’d think if you spent $500 on the battery a real person will be on the other end and you wouldn’t have to correspond via email🙄

That’s a great question, and you’re the first one who’s asked. For comparison, a 100 amp hour lead acid battery would die in the same amount of time running at full capacity with a trolling motor draw of 30A. When I run at 50% power or less I can run 8 to 12 hours easily. In fact I’ve never had it die running below 50%. Lithium batteries are basically double the amp hours of lead acid. So… 108 amp hour lead acid battery is equal to my 54 amp hour lithium battery. Not to mention, it only weighs 17 pounds as opposed to 65 which is pretty critical to me maintaining load capacity in my kayak. You may already know this, but a 54 amp hour battery should run 54 hours with a 1A draw per hour. This would be true with a lithium battery but not with a lead acid… A lead acid would drop off far earlier and you would start losing speed exponentially before it finally died. The lithium battery keeps going at 100% power and just dies immediately kind of like a battery drill. Let me know if this makes sense, I was kind of rambling. 😂 thank you so much for watching, and thanks for the comment!

@@FlintHillCatfishing thanks for the quick reply!!

Which one do you have and what made you feel this way about them? Their customer support SUCKS but the battery has been fine. There are other manufacturers that are making them with Bluetooth monitoring technologies which Dakota lithium does not offer. I wouldn’t buy Dakota again just because of that reason. But as far as performance, it’s performed as good as any of the other batteries in its category so no complaints there. And FYI…I never said made in America made it better.

@@FlintHillCatfishing No but FYI in your video description it says 11 year warranty and 100% made in USA for starters. But you could have ment is some other way. I have the Dakota 12v 10ah for my Helix 7 and I have the dakota charger for it and still can't get over 50% of battery life out of it. I'll just stick to the lead battery that came with it. That last for 4 days without charging. I have to charge the Dakota every day I want to use it. So yeah complete shit. Yeah there support sucks

I have Heard the same thing from other people and I’m getting ready to try a new company called “ionic” out of Mooresville North Carolina. You should check them out. They have great warranties, real people on the phone that talk to you and help, Bluetooth technology in every battery so you can monitor your percentage of usage and time left on the battery in real time, and the biggest thing is this… They designed the batteries so that each cell can be taken out and replaced which is better than anything out there currently. If I can get my hands on one I’m going to use it for six months and do another review and do pros and cons of Dakota versus whoever. Anyway thanks for the comment I appreciate the honest feedback🤙🏻