Is a Lithium Trolling Motor Battery Worth the Upgrade?

A

apolloorion

New member
Hello everyone.

I’m considering switching to a lithium trolling motor battery and would appreciate some advice from people who have made the change. I currently use lead-acid batteries, but the weight, charging time, and limited lifespan have me looking at lithium options.

For those who use lithium batteries regularly, how much difference have you noticed in runtime and overall performance?

Are they reliable enough for frequent fishing trips, and what capacity would you recommend for a 24V trolling motor?

I’m also curious about charging requirements, battery management systems, and whether the higher upfront cost is actually worth it compared with AGM or traditional deep-cycle batteries.
 
apolloorion said:
Hello everyone.

I’m considering switching to a lithium trolling motor battery and would appreciate some advice from people who have made the change. I currently use lead-acid batteries, but the weight, charging time, and limited lifespan have me looking at lithium options.

For those who use lithium batteries regularly, how much difference have you noticed in runtime and overall performance?

Are they reliable enough for frequent fishing trips, and what capacity would you recommend for a 24V trolling motor?

I’m also curious about charging requirements, battery management systems, and whether a lithium trolling motor battery is actually worth the higher upfront cost compared with AGM or traditional deep-cycle batteries.
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thanks in advance for any help
 
Lithium is all I have run, so can't do the comparison for you. But two 100AH lithiums keep my 80lb thrust motor running almost constantly for two days on the water. I actually "troll" with it. Running the boat about 2mph constantly.

Charge with a Noco, just plug it in and let it do it's thing. No muss no fuss.

Only downside to a lithium, but it's also a positive, is they don't show signs of getting low. They just go from working to not working.

I wouldn't consider not using lithiums, really.

- DAA
 
Thanks, for your answer DAA.
Lithium batteries are coming down in price and I'm thinking about changing over to lithium in my duck skiff just for the weight saving. Taking 40# out of the front will make launching a lot easier. Eventually in my bigger jon boat, while I don't troll much we bow fish from it and spend a lot of time just cruising the shoreline.

Appllorium, good luck with your choice and good fishing.
 
make sure its lithium iron phosphate - LiFePO4 - and not just lithium ion.

those are the ones you want, long charge cycle life (often 3000+ cycles) and good battery usage (90% available Ah capacity)

charging times are going to be longer than an equivilant lead acid battery because you're going to be charging almost double the usable storage (50% vs 90%) but as mentioned above... get a smart charger, and just plug it in when you get home and let it be ready for next time you need it.


not going lithium for the trolling battery on the pontoon was one of the big gripes i have with my dad... he's old school and spent >250 on a pair of 12v lead acids, and now we have two more boat anchors to deal with instead of one significantly higher capacity/usage and weigh less than half than we had before and it would have only been another 100 or so to get there.
 
I misunderstood, I was thinking LiFePO4 didn't have thermal runaway.
Per AI:
"LiFePO4 batteries are susceptible to thermal runaway, though they are significantly more stable and resistant than other lithium-ion chemistries like NMC or LCO.
While they do not exhibit self-sustaining thermal runaway or release internal oxygen to fuel intense fires, they can still enter this state under extreme conditions
such as mechanical abuse (puncture/crush), overcharging, or internal short circuits.

When thermal runaway does occur in LiFePO4, the process is generally non-self-propagating and requires more severe abuse to trigger compared to other lithium types.
The primary risks involve the decomposition of the electrolyte, which produces flammable gases (such as hydrogen and carbon monoxide) that can pose an explosion risk if confined, rather than the battery cells themselves sustaining a high-temperature combustion.

In practical terms: if a LiFePO4 cell reaches roughly 250–270 °F (~120–130 °C) under sustained conditions, you're entering the danger zone where runaway becomes possible, especially at high state of charge."

Given all that, I would still pick LiFePO4 over all others for trolling or power station use.
 
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the keyword is confined. if you have properly ventilated space, the explosion risk goes down to as close to zero as statistically possible.

there was a thing i saw earlier this summer about a guy's power building going all kaboomey on him... but it was also sealed up tighter than a fishes borthole. no air exchange.. and a cell started producing hydrogen gas, which contained, turned the building into a giant kaboom room.

cant find the specific vidjeo, but the house - dozens of feet away - was damaged too. dont think anyone was hurt, but the battery building was a complete loss

but again. - key words, improperly vented space. as long as you're not storing/using them anyplace thats really confined and gets no air exchange, the risk is absolutely minimal


this is a simlar video about an event a few years ago.
 
Heck yea. I went from 2 group 24 Marine LA batteries to a single LiTime 100Ah and i can fish for 3 days no problem.
Ive only got a 16' with a old 45# thrust so it doesnt use much.
I also have all my lights and accessories run off this battery so LED pods on front and rear as well as Interior and exterior lights. Havent drained it yet.
I have a NOCO 5A charger that i use to top it off every couple or few days.

My next one will be a small Start battery.
So going from 3 group 24 LA batteries to 2 Lithiums saved 100# in my little boat.
 
the lithium boat battery deal is very annoying to me. I guess my brain can't wrap my head around why you need all these separate wiz bang chargers and crap. I wanna friggen charge everything with my crank battery! I run my boat for multiple days without coming back home to charge it, I really must charge whatever battery on the water. it seems like there should be some sort of cheap simple voltage regulator that would charge these. there is supposed to be li time batteries that let you do this and claim to be dual purpose. They are 2-3x as much money as the lead acid batteries I use. So they need to last more than twice as long, between that and the lack of ability to charge with my boats alternator I just stick with lead acid and chuck new ones in every 3-4 years. $125 for a new one.

the entire industry seems geared around guys that have bass boats and go home every night. For me its hook all the batteries together and let the charging system keep them topped off.
 
If the weight isn't a problem and the L/A batteries work for you I wouldn't change.

My little 9' marsh boat dropping 40# would be a big deal, Same with my 14' jon boat that I run a starting/lighting battery and a separate trolling motor battery.

They do make a DC-DC charger that will allow the outboard alternator charge a lifpro4 battery. I don't have an alternator on my motor so I haven't really looked into it.
 
I haven't made the switch,yet. I also charge the trolling batteries off main motor alternator when running. I have a switch which powers the on board charger when running either the main or kicker gas motors. I'm running my forward sonar off a 20 Ah 12v lithium battery, really cleans up the screen over running off the main power circuit. I extend my deep cycle and starting battery( in my car and truck also,AGM's) life with an occasional charge cycle with a pulse tech charger which has a lithium setting for my stand alone battery.
 
steve garrett said:
the lithium boat battery deal is very annoying to me. I guess my brain can't wrap my head around why you need all these separate wiz bang chargers and crap. I wanna friggen charge everything with my crank battery! I run my boat for multiple days without coming back home to charge it, I really must charge whatever battery on the water. it seems like there should be some sort of cheap simple voltage regulator that would charge these. there is supposed to be li time batteries that let you do this and claim to be dual purpose. They are 2-3x as much money as the lead acid batteries I use. So they need to last more than twice as long, between that and the lack of ability to charge with my boats alternator I just stick with lead acid and chuck new ones in every 3-4 years. $125 for a new one.

the entire industry seems geared around guys that have bass boats and go home every night. For me its hook all the batteries together and let the charging system keep them topped off.
Click to expand...
Yea that was my biggest deal too.
I like the simplicity of L/A batteries. But its nice to have a very lightweight battery that last a really long time.

On my buddys bass boat i just wired a Inverter to his Starting battery and it powers on 30 seconds after his fuel pump turns on.
I mounted chargers for his lithiums and are wired to the inverter.
Also has a RV style plug so when he gets home or to the cabin he can run a cord out there and power the chargers.

There is some confusion as to if you can charge Lithiums from the engines stator/alternator. Ive not figured it out yet so i just run on board chargers.
 
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