Who uses Lithium Pro batteries?

[bass343]

Who out there uses Lithium Pro batteries? I know there expensive costing between $1000-$2000 per battery. But, I like the fact you can run one 36 volt battery for a 112 pound thrust trolling motor and one starter battery cutting half the weight. I hear a couple of rumors they don't work well in freezing temps. The word is they can last up to ten years. Over the last ten years I've bought at least six AGM marine batteries for my Ranger. Can anybody confirm the durability and quality of the Lithium Pros. Thanks

Dan

[scubaman]

I run a RELION 100amp for cranking with no issues.

I made a custom 36v 60amp for my trolling bank that is performing really well. On my 2nd year with no issues.

The real beauty of these is they charge really fast. I don't use a onboard charger anymore. I have separate 36 volt lithium charger and a 12 volt lithium charger and charge while I am getting boat ready. Usually just a couple of hours to get up to full charge. PM with you phone # if you want to chat about them

[Bassfishman]

If you switch get the largest capacity (amp-hr or Ah) rating you can, such as 100Ah or more. Ah equates to how much trolling time you have on the water - the more the better.
Also I think you need a new battery charger designed specifically for a Lithium battery. These batteries cannot be overcharged or trickle charged without damage or degrading their life. Worse case a fire could result.
And remember your outboard still needs a 12V lead acid battery and charger. The outboard electronics isn't set up for 36V.
I'd make the switch but it's still to expensive at $2000 for the battery plus the new charger.

[TravisH]

Ive been running K2 LITHIUM BATTERIES for 2 years now and am very impressed with the performance and benefits from making the change to Lithiums.. It was a simple battery swap.. Im running 3 of the extreme angler series batts for my 36volt system..I know these aren't Lithium Pros but Im very impressed with these Lithium Batteries..

[J. Walker]

To add to Travis' post about TL Batteries, I just got off the phone with Tim Torres, the mastermind behind these. Before this blows up with info about fires, chargers, etc., I highly recommend you give Tim a call to educate yourself about Lithium in general whether you buy his batteries or not. His are very competitively priced along with a bunch of other game changers. Call Tim at (559)859-1822

[Paul Matthews]

I use them. So far so good. Had an issue with the starting battery. Jeff at lithium pro let me upgrade to the 110. Batteries are warranted for 4 years. Good customer service and great product. I run a 36 volt and have never run down. If you run banks all day on hi they recommend 2 36 volt batteries. Pricey but worth it if you can afford it. Do your home work and ask a lot of questions before you pull the trigger.

[mark poulson]

Do you think the Minn Kota Ultrex with Spot Lock will cause all of the pros to go to these lithium batteries?

[scottsweet]

These batteries are proving to be a game changer. There are a couple things to remember:

1. You need a different charger or have yours reprogrammed. While the basic voltage is the same, the peak and bulk voltages needed to shut the charger down properly requires the different charger.
2. There are some people who are finding that less weight is not necessarily a good thing. Our boats are balanced assuming 3 or 4 batteries. With less weight in the stern, some people are experiencing the boat running a little bow heavy on plane. I know one person who had only a cranking and single 36V trolling motor battery actually had to add a second trolling motor battery to get the boat to balance properly. If you have an adjustable jack plate, that might fix the problem.
3. The newer Rangers have a Perko switch to add a second 12V battery to the starter (in parallel) to jumpstart the big motor. If you have only the 12V cranking and 36V trolling, that may not work anymore. Some of the 36V bricks provide for a 12V only on the trolling battery to accommodate this. If the Lithiums are 12V instead of the 36V brick, than it doesn't matter.
4. Batteries are very expensive. Most of us would need to spend $3000-5000 for our boats. While they supposedly last 8-10 years, that is still a lot of cash. Considering a set of traditional lead batteries are about $700-800 a set every 3-4 years, the Lithiums are very expensive. Even if you run the high end AGM batteries such as Odyssey's (like I do), that is still only $1200-$1300 a set for 4 years. In talking to many guys like you all, most people can't even swallow spending $300 a battery, let alone $1000 a battery.

These batteries have been out for a while and learned about them 3 or 4 years ago. The pros are liking them because of the extra power needed with all the electronics (4 graphs instead of only 2). They are pricey...but offer some great power. In the end, you probably aren't saving much money at this time because of the Lithium battery pricing still being quite high...unless you are looking 10+ years out. However, you do get more running time than traditional lead/AGM batteries with less weight.

Hope this helps everyone...

[Rod Martin]

So more jack plate to adjust for less weight in back and more in front due to bigger trolling motor and more and heavier graphs .

Same old dance balance the boat with the jack plate.

[scottsweet]

Yes...but my buddy said he did all he could with the jackplate and it still wasn't enough to get it to balance. An average battery weighs ~60 lbs. The big ones are nearly 80lbs. Taking 2 or 3 batteries out equates to a person or perhaps even 2 people! I guess you could buy 10 or 12 graphs for the front to ensure you have every angle of the boat covered to help but...LOL .

So more jack plate to adjust for less weight in back and more in front due to bigger trolling motor and more and heavier graphs .

Same old dance balance the boat with the jack plate.

[Rod Martin]

Yes...but my buddy said he did all he could with the jackplate and it still wasn't enough to get it to balance. An average battery weighs ~60 lbs. The big ones are nearly 80lbs. Taking 2 or 3 batteries out equates to a person or perhaps even 2 people! I guess you could buy 10 or 12 graphs for the front to ensure you have every angle of the boat covered to help but...LOL .

So more jack plate to adjust for less weight in back and more in front due to bigger trolling motor and more and heavier graphs .

Same old dance balance the boat with the jack plate.

I know, I had at one time put a 6", 8" 10", 2" adapter and different combos of all of the above on my Champion201 to get the right weight distribution . But when rigged right with all power going forward instead of holding the nose up. She would run right along.
It requires a lot of trial and error, or accepting good enough .

[bass343]

Thank you all who replied to my post. I will definitely order the lithium batteries for my new bass boat. After speaking to Tim from TL Batteries he explained the benefits of Lithium vs AGM batteries. There is the initial cost but I like the fact I don't have to buy new batteries every 3-4 yrs. Also the weight is a big difference. If anybody else has any questions or looking to get Lithiums, contact Tim at TL Batteries. He's a really nice guy and will help you out with any questions. It seems Lithium is the way of the future and it's the biggest breakthrough in battery technology in yrs. Thanks Travis for posting the info on TL Batteries.

Dan

[Old School]

[quote="scottsweet"]These batteries are proving to be a game changer. There are a couple things to remember:

3. The newer Rangers have a Perko switch to add a second 12V battery to the starter (in parallel) to jumpstart the big motor. If you have only the 12V cranking and 36V trolling, that may not work anymore. Some of the 36V bricks provide for a 12V only on the trolling battery to accommodate this. If the Lithiums are 12V instead of the 36V brick, than it doesn't matter.

Hope this helps everyone...[/quote]

Thanks for mentioning about the Ranger jump start switch issue.

[Fishfreq]

I run a RELION 100amp for cranking with no issues.

I made a custom 36v 60amp for my trolling bank that is performing really well. On my 2nd year with no issues.

The real beauty of these is they charge really fast. I don't use a onboard charger anymore. I have separate 36 volt lithium charger and a 12 volt lithium charger and charge while I am getting boat ready. Usually just a couple of hours to get up to full charge. PM with you phone # if you want to chat about them

Old thread but deserves a revisit: How are you doing with your homemade lithium scubaman? Care to share how it's doing now? Can you share how you created this welter-weight monster?

[birdman920]

check out “Relions” they are just as good as “lithium pros “ but at a better price !....

[scubaman]

Still running as strong as day 1

[Fishfreq]

Still running as strong as day 1

Nice to hear Scubaman! Got a link to your build thread, if you made one? What type of cells did you tie together? Care to share the approx cost? Has that cost gone down any since you built yours years ago?

[Bassfishman]

I run a RELION 100amp for cranking with no issues.

I made a custom 36v 60amp for my trolling bank that is performing really well. On my 2nd year with no issues.

The real beauty of these is they charge really fast. I don't use a onboard charger anymore. I have separate 36 volt lithium charger and a 12 volt lithium charger and charge while I am getting boat ready. Usually just a couple of hours to get up to full charge. PM with you phone # if you want to chat about them

Nice looking 36V battery assembly. Just in case you werent aware of this I'd recommend you recharge after you come off the water and get home and before you put your boat in storage until the next time you go out. Im sure your battery has a switch or relay you can open after you charge so there is essentially no load on the battery. Lithium batteries have very low self discharge. But the main reason is that if you store lithium batteries at full charge, open circuit, they will have longer calendar life and last longer before you have to replace them. (This is how we stored our lithium satellite batteries where I worked before I retired.) Then just to make sure, give them a quick top off right before you go out the next time.