Lithium battery for electric outboard motors: Which one to choose


With lithium batteries, you will take your fishing experience to another level. We have been selling lithium batteries since 2015, and many of our models have been specially designed for electric vehicles. They have high discharge currents, allowing high performance for longer. We also give away a charger for every battery purchased! Our smart batteries have an internal protection system (BMS) and can be directly replaced with your 12V/24V/36V/48V electric outboard motor.

 

Some of the disadvantages of conventional lead acid batteries

 

It won’t take us long to convince you why you should use lithium electric outboard batteries instead of lead/AGM/gel batteries. Before explaining all the advantages of LiFePO4 smart batteries, let’s look at the disadvantages of lead-acid batteries. You will quickly realize that these batteries are full of flaws and compromises you continually make to enjoy a good fishing boat/kayak/rib with an electric motor.

OVERWEIGHT

A 12V 100Ah battery weighs about 30kg. More weight means less manoeuvrability and less speed.

SHORT LIFESPAN

300/600 cycles with 30/50% depth of discharge. If you have a 100Ah lead battery, you cannot use more than 30/50Ah. That is, you can use only half of the declared capacity. Below a certain threshold, there is such a drop in voltage that the lead battery can no longer deliver power. On average, they should be changed every 2/4 years if used well. After that, the capacity is greatly reduced, and they become unusable.

LONG RECHARGE TIMES

They have very high resistance and very low efficiency. Sometimes a whole night may not be enough to recharge them.

HIGH COST IN THE LONG TERM

They cost more than lithium batteries!

What??? You must think that the price is the only disadvantage of lithium batteries. But no, continue reading the article to the end. We will prove that lithium iron phosphate batteries cost much less than lead acid batteries and that after replacing them only once, you will have already spent more than one of our lithium batteries.

LOW PERFORMANCE

It loses power rapidly as it runs out, forcing you to accelerate harder to maintain speed.

POLLUTION

Lead-acid batteries pollute.

DANGER

Lead acid batteries are dangerous. If not used correctly, they can even explode. Especially when you are on the water, you need the most reliable technology on the market regarding safety (LiFePO4 batteries), not the worst (lead/AGM/gel batteries).

And there are other defects, and we have limited ourselves to the most important ones thinking about the batteries for electric outboard motors. Many electric outboard motors run on all 12V deep cycle batteries. But for many reasons, which we will now list, we recommend lithium-iron-phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries.

SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT BATTERIES

The incredible weight saving stands out among the various advantages of lithium batteries for fishing boats with electric motors.

Our 100Ah 12 volt battery weighs just 11kg, while a lead-acid battery of the same capacity weighs over 30kg. In addition, the usable capacity is twice that of old lead-acid batteries.

A lithium battery can be completely discharged!

Thus a 50/60Ah lithium battery has the same usable capacity as a 100Ah lead acid battery, which can only be discharged to half its capacity at best.

The comparison between lithium and lead acid batteries should not be made with the same capacity. A 100Ah lead acid battery can be replaced with a 50Ah lithium battery.

Our LiFePO4 12V 50Ah battery for electric outboard motors weighs only 7kg! A 100Ah lead acid battery weighs 33kg.

Another example. Our 36V 50Ah boat battery weighs 18kg, while 3 12V 100Ah lead acid batteries in series weigh 100kg!

LITHIUM BATTERIES AND FISHING

What are the advantages of LifePO4 batteries over lead acid batteries for electric outboard motors?

MAXIMUM SECURITY

LiFePO4 smart batteries are the safest type of batteries on the market. They contain an internal BMS device, which constantly monitors the battery’s state. Especially when you are on the water, you need the most reliable technology on the market regarding safety. A LiFePO4 battery without the BMS device is not safe. The BMS is included in all our batteries. We have been offering quality products with 11 years of warranty, and 100% satisfied customers worldwide since 2015. Read our dedicated BMS article by clicking here.

LIGHTNESS

70% savings in weight, leading to greater speed, manoeuvrability, and portability.

LIFETIME

More than 2000 cycles when discharged to 80% of rated capacity and more than 5000 cycles when discharged to 50%. Therefore, if discharged to 80%, they last 6/7 times longer than lead batteries. If discharged to 50%, they last at least 10 times longer than lead-acid batteries.

So by replacing even just once a couple of good AGM batteries with new identical batteries, you are going to spend more than a LiFePO4 battery.

Cost details are below

In order not to reduce the life span of lithium batteries, always recharge the LifePO4 battery with 12v battery charger. We send one charger for every battery purchased for free!

FAST RECHARGE

They have very low resistance and high efficiency, close to 100%. They accept higher charge currents than lead acid batteries.

VERY LESS COST IN THE LONG TERM

The cost per kWh is much lower than lead batteries.

A lead-acid battery costs around €0.80 per kWh.

Our lithium-iron-phosphate batteries cost €0.12 per kWh.

HIGH PERFORMANCE

The voltage is high and constant most of the time, and they don’t lose power as they discharge. They can hold the whole load to near complete discharge, guaranteeing infinite accelerations and lower fuel consumption to maintain speed.

POLLUTION

LiFePO4 batteries are the cleanest type of batteries on the market. They contain no liquids, gels, or gases (they can be mounted at any angle). By using our lithium batteries with outboard electric motors, you also contribute to a cleaner world.

ARE LITHIUM BATTERIES ALL THE SAME?

No, there are many different types of lithium batteries. The most durable and reliable in terms of safety are lithium-iron-phosphate or LiFePO4 or LFP batteries.

Which lithium battery to choose for your electric outboard motor?

An electric outboard motor has a maximum consumption more or less equal to the thrust of the engine, expressed in lbs. The operating time is significantly extended if you don’t use it at maximum power.

When fishing with an electric outboard motor, horsepower depends on the type of application. Navigating a river with strong currents requires more horsepower than navigating close to the shore of a small lake.

These are the consumption of the MINN KOTA ULTREX 112 lbs and the relative operating time with our 36V 50Ah lithium-iron-phosphate battery.

On average, an angler uses the motor at full power 30% of the time. If you buy a lithium battery with a capacity (Ah) greater than the maximum absorption of the motor (lbs), you will likely be able to stay in the water fishing for a whole day.

Testing our 54Ah 24V lithium battery with an 80lbs thrust motor, the run time was 12 hours.


Kossi Adzo

Kossi Adzo is a technology enthusiast and digital strategist with a fervent passion for Apple products and the innovative technologies that orbit them. With a background in computer science and a decade of experience in app development and digital marketing, Kossi brings a wealth of knowledge and a unique perspective to the Apple Gazette team.

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