Lithium Batteries, the ugly truth, good things, bad things and great things. What do you guys think? Do you run lithiums or AGMs??? www.russellmarineproducts.com
I've been running ETERNAL LITHIUM batteries for a couple year now. Haven't had one issue. I have one 12V X 100AH Lithium cranking bat for everything....Raptors, wells, pumps, bilges, graphs, etc. Then I put one 36V Lithium for my TM. 2 bats. That's all I need. No problems.
I switched my main battery the LiFePo last year and love that it maintains 13+ volts all day. There is no voltage drop off to effect my electronics. I also switched to two 12v LiFePo for my 24v trolling motor and love them as well. I can easily fish all day, in most cases, I could go to days without charging. They charge much faster than AGM as well. I would be hard pressed to go back to AGM. In my 01 Triton, I went from a Fury prop to a Tempest to regain the bow lift that I lost from the rear weight. The boat will run about 4mph faster as configured.
Removing weight from my boat didn't make it go faster, but I saved a lot of fuel, on a good day about .2 litres per kilometre, very significant when running 50 or 60 km off shore.
Loved the review and I would add a piece about USABLE capacity. It is this attribute that makes LiFePO4 incredibly attractive. 90% or more of the rated amp hours can be consumed without significant voltage drop-off. Traditional SLA or AGM batteries cannot touch this. Anyone who uses their trolling motor extensively should seriously consider going to Lithium on their next battery change. Also, when you factor in the cost per usable watt hour, Lithium is actually cheaper. I run an AGM battery for cranking, a stand-alone 12v Lithium for my sonar systems, and a single 24v Lithium battery for my trolling motor. I also run separate Victron chargers for each battery.
Agree - my boat did not go any faster with 3 LiFePo 12v 100ah batteries that replaced 3 Grp 31 FLA batteries until I went up 1" in pitch on the same style prop. I don't expect the same improvement when I replace the cranking and house AGMs but it might surprise a few bass boat types when they can't shake off my walleye cruiser. :)
I'm also an AGM guy, however this year I went to one 36 volt for my ghost trolling motor, still running an AGM on my cranking side but I also added power pole charge and I have to say it's an unstoppable package. But I've used AGMs for a lot of years. The last boat I had I got over 10 years out of my AGM batteries. Kind of unbelievable
More interested in info about lithium batteries used for cranking, but good info is like pulling teeth. All I want to confirm is the lithium cranking battery is not going to cause my PWC's charging system to fry if the battery's BSM kicks in.
Justin Absolutely go with a company that stands behind their products. At MillerTech Energy, we do just that. We support the fishing industry at all levels and work very hard to bring everyone the best products and a fair price.
Kinda pointless video if you are not going to share you testing/ research data for the various brands. Everyone can NOT afford to buy multiple batteries to do their own discovery.
a suckers warranty. not only do some charge that fee (basically covers BMS replacement when it fails) but at least one considers an LFP at 70% a good battery. for $800-1000 a battery inwould expect for them to be at least put together in the US but most arent. they are basically mediocre chinese batteries with their sticker slapped on them. to be honest most of the li time, power queen, etc are better made batteries than some of these "American engineered".
Put sand bags in boat? Lmao just use lead acid and go fish most never run out of power in a day fishing with a 24 or 36 volt. Most of us lead acid are fine.
I'm running a Minn Kota Ulterra 24V trolling motor with a single LiFePO4 24V 100ah battery that weighs ~45 lbs. I've had no problems at all, and the battery life is unbelievably long.