Thread: Lithium Battery Capacity

Most lithium batteries depending on the cells used to make them are larger by 2-4 amp when purchased. For example,,this 20 amp battery actually is a 22 amp battery as each cell used in making the battery is equal size and will end up being alittle more than advertised size.

Cevans this is awesome information and thank you. I am very mechanically minded and can figure out most anything unless it has to do with electrical or computerized. So a lot of what you were saying has to be way dumbed down for me as we are once again talking about amps, volts. I tell folks I grew up with a family of carpenters and millwrights, welders and mechanics. So reading blueprints and diagrams not a problem. But reading an electrical diagram just as well be in Chinese. Makes no sense to me. In short I need help but would really like to move my boat over to something better than traditional batteries. One question how long to these batteries last verse traditional ones.


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From studying some of these different batteries, most have a charging cycle of 3000 to 5000 cycles. A cycle is charging the battery from 0 total dead to 100% fully charged. If your battery has been 35% used,,,that is only 1/3 of a cycle. If you look at my phone app. That 20 amp battery has been charged a total of 2 cycles as it’s only 6 months old and slightly used. How many times will you fully charge a lithium battery in a year of fishing? One thing everybody warns users is not to take these lithium battery’s down to 10% or completely dead,,and during winter storage, store them with about 40 to 60% fully charged. It protects the life of the batteries. A couple of manufacturers say it’s ok to store your batteries long term at 100%. Warrranty on a lot of these batteries are around 5 yrs. mIonic just bumped theirs up to 8 yrs. Battle Born is 10 yrs. I think my Ionics will be around a lot longer than me at 71. There is a few guys on BBC Forum that are in their 7th year usage of the same batteries. They sell and upgrade their boats, but keep the same batteries when switching to new boats. There is one guy in MInnesota that stored his lithium batteries at 45% charged all winter outside frozen for 6 months, Ionics! Each month he would go outside with the phone app and measure the amps available in his 3 lithiums, and only lost 1 amp in storage of cold weather depleting the energy out of those batteries where as, our wet cell and AGM’s loose a lot of amperage when stored for winter storage. How long will they last? I don’t think we have heard or found a answer out yet and it’s going to be a few years before we have a answer to that question. I do know as you use lithiums just like wet cells and AGM’s. As they get older with usage..if the lithium eventually only produces or charges to say, 80% due to age..the amps they provide even at 80% are the same if they were at 100% brand new. As your wet cell ages,,you get less power,,your run time decreases, they become charged quicker as the cells are weaker..and you then decide you need new batteries. Only way to know with a lithium drill battery is when it quits taking a charge then it’s time to buy a new drill battery. I guess same will be said with lithium 12 volt batteries.

The phone app also tells me, my batteries are 100% efficient so I think when the battery ages,,so will that percentage slightly drop.

Here is a really interesting 20 minute video on amp usage of batteries. It’s about amp usage and what your battery may provide.

How Battery Manufacturers Rating Standards Mislead Consumers - YouTube

Something else I didn’t know. When using a lithium battery as a starting battery. Make sure the battery you buy has a BMS build in it for starting motors. Check with all these manufacturers as a couple new ones don’t have it and are in the process of testing and building a BMS for a starting lithium battery. I think Amped as a 60 amp starting battery. Battle Born and Ionic has couple as a example 100 amp and 125 amp sizes. So shop around. Here is a interesting quote from Ionic on how low a starting lithium works.

the 100ah and the 125ah now have the same BMS allowing it to start the bigger motors and be charged by high amp charging systems without issues with voltage spikes
the starting capacity would not be affected until the 100ah reached a very low percentage but I have seen them easily start a 250 at 20%

IONIC LITHIUM BATTERIES . We carry all Brands of Trolling Motors and Graphs, Minnkota, Lowrance, Garmin, Motorguide
910-722-0001 call or text
info@drewcraft.com

Hate to ask dumb question and may have missed it. What is a BMS?


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