36v

[dam0007]

Anyone running a single 36 lithium? How was the switch from 3, 12s? Better or worse? What's your experience. 

 

Buying a new boat interested in hearing real world experiences as it's a option to go with day 1. 

[Fishing Rhino]

You'll need to consider how you are going to charge a single 36 volt battery.

 

I'm a bit confused about it being an option.  Is that by your choice, or does the company that makes the boat offer it as an option?  If so, I would think they'd install a 36 volt charger to go along with it.

[Angry John]

What is the cost of the battery and how many cycles is it good for?  This leads to replacement costs and how long it will last.  You can pick up a spare 12 in a pinch if something goes wrong, most likely will not be able to be helped with this type of battery.

[Scott F]

I just looked up a 36 volt, Lithium Ion battery kit. The cost, $3,900. It is 3, 12volt 100AH batteries in a kit. It includes a 3 bank charger. I found a complete 36 volt unit which was 12- 3.2volt batteries in series for $6,300

[dam0007]

3 hours ago, Fishing Rhino said:

You'll need to consider how you are going to charge a single 36 volt battery.

 

I'm a bit confused about it being an option.  Is that by your choice, or does the company that makes the boat offer it as an option?  If so, I would think they'd install a 36 volt charger to go along with it.

Option with the boat order through the dealer. Basically everything in the compartment is set up differently for the single 36v. It's cost is about double from doing 4 North Star Batteries. Warranty is 10 years. Only downside is lithium itself shipping it back and waiting for repair/replacement which I found out after I made this thread. Advantages are 4-5hr charge time and supposedly a full charge will last twice as long as doing the 3 in series. About 200lbs in weight savings as well. 

 

Idk if it's worth the advantages over the disadvantages... 

[Angry John]

The cost is out of this world as far as i can see.  How many times could you change your batteries before you start saving money.  If your any thing like me you have more than 200lbs of plastics alone in your boat.  Only you can decide the value but you could outfit the rest of your boat for that price alone...

[slonezp]

You should be able to get 4-5 years out of a $150 wet cell battery and 10 years out of a 15amp per bank charger. Total investment over the course of 10 years is going to be $1200. If you opted for AGM's, your going to be at 2k after 10 years.  The extra 2-3k you will save will put a lot of gas in the fuel tank.

[WRB]

How long do you plan on owning this new boat...10+ years? 200 lbs savings is a big deal with boat performance.

Tom

[dam0007]

2 hours ago, WRB said:

How long do you plan on owning this new boat...10+ years? 200 lbs savings is a big deal with boat performance.

Tom

For awhile lol it's my first new boat. So just doing research, at first reading about it it seemed like I would future proof my self but then as I dug deeper doesn't look like it's worth it in the long term. 

 

15 hours ago, slonezp said:

You should be able to get 4-5 years out of a $150 wet cell battery and 10 years out of a 15amp per bank charger. Total investment over the course of 10 years is going to be $1200. If you opted for AGM's, your going to be at 2k after 10 years.  The extra 2-3k you will save will put a lot of gas in the fuel tank.

Yeah I was planning just to do 4 North Star AGM31Ms day one. Figure $1500 every 4-5 years that route. 

 

Im more interested in peoples experience that are actually running a single 36. There's really not that much I can muster up in the different forums. 

[WRB]

I know Aaron Martens was running a 36v lithium battery, don't know if it was a single or 3 12v? I run VMax MR137-120 AGM's for 6 years now without any issues, they are a heavy battery @ 75lbs., $289 ea, free shipping and 10% discount.

Tom

[Jig Man]

North Star batteries are supposed to be really good batteries.  They are made less than 10 miles from my house.  I tried to buy some and was referred to a dealer in Virginia.  I called them and the price was way too high when you consider shipping which was crazy since they are so close.  So I just went to Auto Zone and bought Optimas.  They are doing fine.

[dam0007]

On 2/15/2017 at 9:45 AM, Jig Man said:

North Star batteries are supposed to be really good batteries.  They are made less than 10 miles from my house.  I tried to buy some and was referred to a dealer in Virginia.  I called them and the price was way too high when you consider shipping which was crazy since they are so close.  So I just went to Auto Zone and bought Optimas.  They are doing fine.

Heard mixed things on those in the Tournament realm. Leisure fishing no problem tho. I had Yellow tops in past trucks

[WRB]

Optima AGM circular cell marine blue top batteries were state of the art when first introduced and being sold by Trogan and other battery dealers. Along came Interstate and purchased the Optima battery co., the warranty and the quality changed. Today Optima is a average battery at a high price point and availble from every discount supplier across the country.

Tom

[dam0007]

10 hours ago, WRB said:

Optima AGM circular cell marine blue top batteries were state of the art when first introduced and being sold by Trogan and other battery dealers. Along came Interstate and purchased the Optima battery co., the warranty and the quality changed. Today Optima is a average battery at a high price point and availble from every discount supplier across the country.

Tom

Spoke to the local battery guy last night, looks like I'm doing either 

(1) 31 and (3) 27s

or 

(4) 31s

all North Star AGMs

just have to verify the sizes the compartment is set up for with the boat dealer. 

 

Lithium is completely out of the question at this point. 

 

 

Mentioned Optima again to him he said they are now made in Mexico. Fwiw

[iabass8]

Just something to think about, I personally spend top dollar on a cranking battery due to it running everything except the TM. As for TM batteries, get something that you can replace locally. You should always be replacing all of then at once, not one at a time. Having them locally makes things a lot easier. 

[Angry John]

The problem with dealing local is availibility.  Trojan or interstate are the two that I trust and I can't find them local.  Quality products I am willing to go out of my way to find and obtain.  Batteries will not be dead all at once unless your prepping for spring and they should be checked over the winter to protect your investment as good ones are not cheap.  As an aside I am looking at MK battery's because they are made in the usa.  I will not recommend them yet because I have no experience with them.

[iabass8]

21 minutes ago, Angry John said:

The problem with dealing local is availibility.  Trojan or interstate are the two that I trust and I can't find them local.  Quality products I am willing to go out of my way to find and obtain.  Batteries will not be dead all at once unless your prepping for spring and they should be checked over the winter to protect your investment as good ones are not cheap.  As an aside I am looking at MK battery's because they are made in the usa.  I will not recommend them yet because I have no experience with them.

Obviously a quality battery is better, however, by locally, I'm referring to something that is available in more places than not. He's a traveling tournament angler and many high quality batteries aren't within a 90-120 minute drive of some ramps. Having a battery that is found easily rather than having to add 2-3 hours to a tournament trip is more sensible. If one dies, you can replace it quickly and easily to get you through the tournament and worry about the others later. 

[WRB]

3 batteries in series = 3 X the volts if all 3 are fully functional. If 1 of those batteries is dead  the volts can drop to 0 depending where it's located. 1 poor performing battery in a series affects the other batteries and is the reason all batteries should be the same volts/amps. For this reason buy high quality deep cycle marine batteries, trouble free is peace of mind. 

Tom

[RoLo]

15 hours ago, WRB said:

Optima AGM circular cell marine blue top batteries were state of the art when first introduced and being sold by Trogan and other battery dealers. Along came Interstate and purchased the Optima battery co., the warranty and the quality changed. Today Optima is a average battery at a high price point and availble from every discount supplier across the country.

Tom

 

Unfortunately, that's exactly right.

Optima blue top used to be my brand of choice, but consolidation in the leyden jar industry ;-)

has totally rearranged the hierarchy.

 

Roger

 

 

[A-Jay]

23 minutes ago, RoLo said:

 

Unfortunately, that's exactly right.

Optima blue top used to be my brand of choice, but consolidation in the leyden jar industry ;-)

has totally rearranged the hierarchy.

 

Roger

 

 

 Well I've got a boat full of them. 

So you know I'm expecting the type performance, durability & longevity that enabled them to garner the reputation that drove me to dump that kind of $$$ in the first place.

I'll do my part.

A-Jay 

[dam0007]

1 hour ago, iabass8 said:

Obviously a quality battery is better, however, by locally, I'm referring to something that is available in more places than not. He's a traveling tournament angler and many high quality batteries aren't within a 90-120 minute drive of some ramps. Having a battery that is found easily rather than having to add 2-3 hours to a tournament trip is more sensible. If one dies, you can replace it quickly and easily to get you through the tournament and worry about the others later. 

I wish there was more real world experience of guys running the single 36V Lithium in a tournament setting. While not the same, it's similar to what a Prius runs on. There's Prius' on the road today that have been for 8-10 years still on Original battery. $2,500-$3,000 in one shot for 10 years rather than $1,500 or if costs rise maybe more $$$, 2 or 3 times in 10 years  seems more beneficial in the long run. 

 

The way the Lithium warranty works scares me tho. I'm sold on just doing the 4 AGMs and callin it a day. 

[slonezp]

If I never hear the word battery again, I will be a happy man. In the last 3 months I replaced 4 batteries in the boat, one in my truck, and 1 in the ol lady's car   FWIW, for the trolling motor I went with 3 group 31 wet cell NAPA deep cycle batteries which are made by Deka. $128 a piece

[A-Jay]

17 minutes ago, slonezp said:

If I never hear the word battery again, I will be a happy man. In the last 3 months I replaced 4 batteries in the boat, one in my truck, and 1 in the ol lady's car   FWIW, for the trolling motor I went with 3 group 31 wet cell NAPA deep cycle batteries which are made by Deka. $128 a piece

 

I feel for ya brother. 

 Despite Battery replacement being part of the deal but doing so doesn't make it any less painful when it's time.  And the bend over factor seem higher when the circumstance surrounding said replacement occur prematurely.  I went the route I did hoping to perhaps delay what you just went through for as long as possible. Time will tell if it pays off. 

If decent results are not seen, I'm very ready, willing and able to do the same (wet) route as well. 

Especially when considering & comparing the buy-in price for both . . . . .

A-Jay

 

[WRB]

I ran Trogan SCS225's during the 80' & 90's because they were top quality and I knew the engineer who designed them and could get them at cost! My friend told me he was changing jobs, the company isn't the same quality anymore, he also told me about changes in the work for Optima, this was around 2005. VMAX battery was suggested because it has a very stronge case, good design AGM and warranty. Over 10 years now with no more worrying about over charging or low water levels or any other maintenance issues. North Star looks like a good high quality battery, I just don't have any experience with them.

Optima Blue tops are very popular and easy to find a replacement, the issue is IMO you need replacements too often. AGM's are the way to go until something else is more reliable at a reasonable price point that last 5 to 10+ years.

Tom

[slonezp]

28 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

 

I feel for ya brother. 

 Despite Battery replacement being part of the deal but doing so doesn't make it any less painful when it's time.  And the bend over factor seem higher when the circumstance surrounding said replacement occur prematurely.  I went the route I did hoping to perhaps delay what you just went through for as long as possible. Time will tell if it pays off. 

If decent results are not seen, I'm very ready, willing and able to do the same (wet) route as well. 

Especially when considering & comparing the buy-in price for both . . . . .

A-Jay

 

Got 6 years out of both the car and truck batteries. 4 out of the boat starting battery it froze this winter while sitting outside at the dealer waiting to get winterized. As far as the TM batteries, 2 of them were group 27 Dynamic batteries that the dealer installed when the boat was new. The 3rd was a group 29 Everstart that I installed a year later when I upgraded to the 36v TM. I was losing performance last fall and I'm sure some of that had to do with them being mismatched. I figured what the hell, instead of chancing another year I'll just replace them. Based on my research, as far as wet cells are concerned, the Deka's are top of the line. All 3 have a manufacture date of 01/17 so they haven't been sitting on the shelf like what I've seen at walmart.