Marine Battery Options

[elway1983]

Advantage and disadvantage to Wet Cell, Gel Cell, AGM and Lithium? Thanks

[gim]

You're going to get a mixed response on this all across the board.  A lot is user dependent based on temperature, charging, and personal time use.  Obviously the more often you use a battery, generally the quicker it wears out.

 

Standard lead acid batteries are the most reasonable in cost.  But their life is generally the lowest too.  AGM is the next step up.  You're probably looking at at least double the cost and in theory, you should get double the life span but there's no guarantees.  Lithium is relatively new technology and I saw some advertised by Bass Pro this spring for $500 each.  That is pretty steep for a battery and if I'm going to pay 5 times the cost of a standard lead acid battery, I better get 5 times the life span.  Maybe someone else will comment on the lithiums, as I am not very familiar with them.

 

I used size 27 standard lead acid interstates in my boat, both deep cycle (2) and cranking (1).  The cranking battery is still the original that came with the boat in 2015.  I had it load tested last fall and it was still good.  I may replace it before the season is over here.  I replaced my deep cycles last June so they lasted 4+ seasons.  I feel like this is a pretty good lifespan for a battery that costs in the area of 100 bucks each.

[elway1983]

I was reading about the lithium batteries and the articles suggested 10 years on battery life. 

[MN Fisher]

Also, there's a limit to how many times you can cycle (charge-discharge-charge) a battery. Lead-acid batteries run in the 500-1000 cycle range where-as Lithium batteries run in the 3000-5000 cycle range. Depending on how often you discharge-recharge your batteries, 10 years or more isn't out of the question with Lithium

 

One other advantage of Lithium batteries is operational capacity. Batteries can be 'drawn down' to a certain level without affecting their recharge. For lead-acid, this is around 50% - so a lead-acid battery rated at 100AH, you have around 50AH of 'usable' capacity. Lithiums, on the other hand, can be drawn down to 10% or less without affecting their operation, so a 100AH lithum has 90AH+ of usable capacity...in fact, they recommend you draw it down to zero occasionally to extend the life.

 

Note that lead-acid refers to wet-cell, AGM and Gel-cell batteries...those are just different technologies to contain the acid component.

[elway1983]

What about high temps fishing in the summer. I was reading they need be at 64 degrees before becoming a possible explosive issue.

[TnRiver46]

I’ve never had much trouble out of the regular ones 

[fishingram24]

If a 100 to 150 dollar lead acid battery last 3 years, which it should easily do, then will a lithium costing 5-10 times as much last 5-10 times longer, very doubtful. Weights of a lithium batteries are about half of lead batteries, also sealed so you don't add water. Lithium's have many advantages over lead or AGM's but personally I have a hard time justifying the cost difference, even though I can afford them I'd rather spend the dollars on something else. Plus at 66 years old I may die before the batteries do and then I wasted them on whomever gets my boat.

[galyonj]

On 7/6/2021 at 11:05 AM, TnRiver46 said:

I’ve never had much trouble out of the regular ones 

 

After Monday's adventure, I think I'll just stick with the regular ones. ?

[elway1983]

What happened?

 

[InfantryMP]

I have ran AGM's for multiple years without issues. Also think about the cost. Some lithium setups are over $800. The AGM's cost me like $129 a piece. 

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, elway1983 said:

What happened?

 

His gas motor died and he trolled nine miles with a lead acid battery 12v troller 

[Bankc]

On 7/6/2021 at 8:54 AM, elway1983 said:

What about high temps fishing in the summer. I was reading they need be at 64 degrees before becoming a possible explosive issue.

That's in celcius.  That's a little over 145° F.  Not temperatures that you'll likely experience on a lake.  Still, a short, whether inside or outside the battery, could run it up over that temperature in a few seconds.  That's why it's important to choose a good lithium battery with a quality BMS (battery management system) that will shut it down before it reaches a critical condition.  Even then, you're not 100% safe.  But I wouldn't even consider using a lithium battery without one.  

 

Also, keep in mind that lithium is a very broad category, and not all lithium batteries are the same.  There's Lithium Ion, LiPo, LiFePo4, and probably a few others.  They'll all have different characteristics.  

 

Basically, batteries are a huge subject.  Too big to really explain in a forum.  If you really want to know all of the subtleties between them, I'd recommend spending an afternoon or more on Google.  Though generally, a good rule of thumb is the more expensive the battery, the better it is.  

 

[Junk Fisherman]

19 hours ago, fishingram24 said:

If a 100 to 150 dollar lead acid battery last 3 years, which it should easily do, then will a lithium costing 5-10 times as much last 5-10 times longer, very doubtful. Weights of a lithium batteries are about half of lead batteries, also sealed so you don't add water. Lithium's have many advantages over lead or AGM's but personally I have a hard time justifying the cost difference, even though I can afford them I'd rather spend the dollars on something else. Plus at 66 years old I may die before the batteries do and then I wasted them on whomever gets my boat.

 

I agree.  I have been in the market in batteries and I just couldn't justify the costs of going with an AGM starting battery.  I did not even consider lithiums.  My thinking was I had gotten 5 years out of my wet cell Duracell starting battery and it hadn't shown any signs of slowing down when I replaced it.  My trolling batteries are also 5 years old  wet cell Duracelles and are still going strong.  The AGM comparable starting battery was $100 more than the wet cell.  ($150 to $250).  Am I really going to get 8-10 years out of the AGM compared to 5-6 from the wet cell?  Maybe, maybe not.  I decided to save the $100 and go with the wet cell.  

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, Bankc said:

That's in celcius.  That's a little over 145° F.  Not temperatures that you'll likely experience on a lake.  Still, a short, whether inside or outside the battery, could run it up over that temperature in a few seconds.  That's why it's important to choose a good lithium battery with a quality BMS (battery management system) that will shut it down before it reaches a critical condition.  Even then, you're not 100% safe.  But I wouldn't even consider using a lithium battery without one.  

 

Also, keep in mind that lithium is a very broad category, and not all lithium batteries are the same.  There's Lithium Ion, LiPo, LiFePo4, and probably a few others.  They'll all have different characteristics.  

 

Basically, batteries are a huge subject.  Too big to really explain in a forum.  If you really want to know all of the subtleties between them, I'd recommend spending an afternoon or more on Google.  Though generally, a good rule of thumb is the more expensive the battery, the better it is.  

 

As useful as the Google machine can be, I prefer talking directly to individuals with real life experience. There’s a lot of misleading info out there

 

now if google takes you to bassresource.com, you’ve done it right! 

[NHBull]

You can't tell the cost of something until the accounting  period is over.  You then have to take other issues into consideration.

I run size 31 tank AGM'S and expect to get 6 years out of them.

I will look at LI next time around.

I keep my boat on a slip.

Use an MK alternator to charge the batteries after my cranker is recharged.

Upon getting to the dock, I plug it in to a 2k inverter to keep it at 100%.

For me the AGM 's were the best choice at the time. Who knows what my options will be in a few years

[Bankc]

34 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

As useful as the Google machine can be, I prefer talking directly to individuals with real life experience. There’s a lot of misleading info out there

 

now if google takes you to bassresource.com, you’ve done it right! 

No doubt.  And if the question were more specific, it would be easier to answer in a forum post.  Right now, we don't even know if this is for deep cycle, starter, or both.  I even started to write up all of the differences between the batteries, but realized it would take me over an hour to just hit the main bullet points without going into the technical details.  

 

For me, I use the standard lead acid batteries.  My theory behind them is that lithium batteries may come down in price in the future.  I believe that the price of lithium batteries will drop more in the next 3-5 years than the current cost of lead acid batteries.  

 

 

[WRB]

Marine 12V-105+ Amp hr. Group size 31.

Wet Cell, lower cost highest maintenance. Mid range performance, shorter life & warranty. 10 amp charging.

 

Gel Cell , lower cost, maintenance free, lower performance, limited life & warranty. Prone to overcharge issue, 10 amp.

AGM, higher cost, maintenance free, high performance, longer life and warranties. Standard 10-15 amp charging.

Lithium Ion are very high price, no maintenance, 1/2 the weight, can be 12V, 24V, 36V  battery, special charging.

 

It’s hard beat AGM’s for value vs performance.

Tom

[slonezp]

A good quality wet cell and proper charging practices should get you 4-5 years of use.

8 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

His gas motor died and he trolled nine miles with a lead acid battery 12v troller 

Been there done that. Had my water pump take a crap. 12 miles on a 36v trolling motor on high speed. Got me back to the ramp.

[galyonj]

37 minutes ago, slonezp said:

Been there done that. Had my water pump take a crap. 12 miles on a 36v trolling motor on high speed. Got me back to the ramp.

 

Dude, it suuucked. My ignition switch shorted and made it so the starter solenoid was seeing 12V constant, and I had to cut power to the whole boat except for the trolling motor. We got back to the ramp right as the sun went down, then the handle on the winch broke. lol

 

That old group 24 that I've got hooked to the TM still showed like a 25% charge when I put it on the charger this afternoon. I was amazed.

[Tennessee Boy]

51 minutes ago, galyonj said:

 

Dude, it suuucked. My ignition switch shorted and made it so the starter solenoid was seeing 12V constant, and I had to cut power to the whole boat except for the trolling motor. We got back to the ramp right as the sun went down, then the handle on the winch broke. lol

 

That old group 24 that I've got hooked to the TM still showed like a 25% charge when I put it on the charger this afternoon. I was amazed.

I’ve been there also.  My first boat just would not run unless there was gas in the tank.  I had to troll back to the ramp more than once because of that defect.?

[galyonj]

17 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

I’ve been there also.  My first boat just would not run unless there was gas in the tank.  I had to troll back to the ramp more than once because of that defect.?

 

I only have a 6gal tank, so I gotta gas it up one the way to the ramp just about every time. I have a thing about running out of gas. 

[schplurg]

And if the OP were in a kayak the conversation would be different because weight is more of a factor. AGM/lead are great but weight and the fact that you can only drain them 50% make them a bummer. Performance per pound is depressing. So is carrying them.

 

Of course the price of Lithium is crazy.

 

Maybe I'll do pedals.

[elway1983]

How do you the boat back on the trailer with only a trolling motor?

[MN Fisher]

1 minute ago, elway1983 said:

How do you the boat back on the trailer with only a trolling motor?

Boat I had - the winch-strap was long enough to pull the boat all the way up...no motor needed to get the boat on the trailer.

[elway1983]

Thanks. Just trying to pickup as much as I can before the boat ownership begins