firefly oasis batteries?

[Takeum]

Says it's a new technology in batteries,,,, anyone know anything about these new so called carbon foam type batteries and are they worth the extra money?

[CatFan]

They seem to have overcome some of the standard AGM power density issue.

I did these figures a while back:

Optima 34M 120 minutes/43lb=2.8 minutes/lb
Optima 31M 155 minutes/59.8lb=2.6 minutes/lb
Trojan SC225 225minutes/66lbs=3.4minutes/lb
Cabela's AGM 30 190minutes/62.8lbs=3.02minutes/lb
Cabela's X 900 Pure Lead AGM 195 minutes/68lbs=2.87minutes/lb
Diehard PM-1 205 minutes/75lbs=2.73minutes/lb
Typical Grp 27 Conventional (Everstart, Interstate, Exide etc.) 180minutes/55lbs=3.27minutes/lb
Deka DC 27 175minutes/53lbs=3.30minutes/lb

As a comparison of power density among batteries. The Oasis weighs in at 75lbs, just like the Diehard PM-1, but it has 220 minutes RC. That puts it at:

Firefly Oasis 31 220minutes/75lbs=2.93minutes/lb

So it is a reasonable battery.

One downside is that it has a maximum chaging voltage of 14.4V, which would rule it out for use with most chargers and probably a lot of outboards.

The key advantage seems to be increased cycle life. The Oasis is claimed to have about twice the cycle life of the Diehard Platinum while being much more resisitant to other problems that can cause early failure in batteries.

If it really has that kind of cycle life. A fair retail price would be around $500. As far as I know, they are not being mass-produced yet. I'll let others be the guinea pigs.