Lithium Battery Options
The amount of lithium battery choices out there is overwhelming. I hadn’t really planned on diving into this but the lead acid batteries I had on my aluminum boat are fading so I’d been looking around at them. One of those batteries just kicked the bucket so it has made research a little more urgent. Luckily I have an old AGM laying around that still holds a charge to get me through until I pick the bass boat up.
I knew I wasn’t going to go back to heavy lead acid batteries in that boat when it was time to replace the batteries. Dropping 80 pounds in the back of that rig will be something very noticeable. But what is the best replacement? I can tell you right now I’m not dropping the money to put premium lithiums in that rig. It doesn’t get enough use to justify it or when money is on the line. Much different than my bass boat that I’m fishing tournaments out of. I put Dakota 54ah batteries in that a few years ago and while I wish I had found a way to put 100ah batteries (that is a whole different topic the amp hour of batteries) in there I could not justify the cost at the time. But the setup has been good for me and I was replacing batteries every 2 years before switching to lithium. There are lithium options out there now that aren’t much more than a 31 series lead acid battery and they are cheaper than some of the AGM’s.
I see 2 tiers of batteries out there right now. A premium price point like Dakota, Ionic, Millertech, BattleBorn, those are just a few that come to mind. I know there are a bunch more reputable lithium companies out there. That class has been around for awhile, have warranties (although I’m sure they vary greatly) and are proven, but you are going to pay for it. There are few other companies I’ve seen that are a little more affordable, Epoch (these seem really nice and are fishing oriented) and Vmax Tanks (From what I can tell they are a Michigan Company but I don’t know much about them). I’m betting these are good batteries with some customer support as well. Those are attractive especially when you look at their 50ah batteries from a cost perspective. But are there cells different? Am I going to get less run time out of one of their 50ah batteries than I am my Dakota’s? Because I think those would work to power the tin rig just fine if that were the case. However I’m also going to dual purpose this battery and run a dedicated electronics battery in the Nitro and is a 50ah enough?
Then there are a ton of budget options out there. Lot’s of youtube videos around these brands. But really most of the stuff they show is way to technical for my understanding and it's hard to say who's been gifted batteries in exchange for a positive review. Real fishing experience seems tough to come by but there is lots of info on build quality and battery output. So far the budget ones I’m considering are LiTime and Powerqueen. However finding reviews of these from someone who fishes hard and has a similar setup to mine has proven tough to find. The price is right on them for sure and they do have some features on them that not even my Dakota’s have. Like low temp charging protection. I didn’t even know that was a thing when I bought my Dakota’s but the tin rig only gets used when it is cold so that is going to be a must . There are ton’s more brands out there but I don’t have the time or energy to research all of them. Those 2 seem like they’ve been around awhile and have decent reviews. However those reviews aren’t necessarily from people who are hard on their equipment. The price of them sure makes them an attractive option especially the 50ah version (although there is no low temp charging protection) and I’m not sure I would trust anything less than 100ah in those. Anyway if you’ve run any of these cheaper batteries, I would love to hear your experience or if you know someone who is running them send them my way! I’m more concerned with performance and how they hold up. I’m going to assume that the 5 year warranty that comes with them isn’t worth much but who knows maybe I’d be surprised.
I really have no concerns over any of the top tier brands and I do believe you get what you pay for. But at the level of performance I need out of the duck boat, I may just take a gamble on this one. Whichever way I go I probably won't have any feedback for awhile except for running a dedicated electronics battery. That should also be a good test on if I want to get a 2nd one of that brand to power the Terrova. I will let everyone know what I find out and if you've got any experience with the more affordable brands I'd love to hear about it.