Lithium Batteries...what say you?

[MJE]

Probably being a stickler...and it's not necessarily for my 17' GP1800 that still hasn't seen the water yet . I seem to be replacing batteries every 2 seasons with my GPR skis...and I just replaced a battery on the ATV I bought for my niece with a lithium powered one.

Are they safe for the rougher ride of a jetski?

What, if installed before was your experience with them?

Sizing...yeah. Are these typical as the AGMs are which are smaller in size?

[K447]

'Sizing' is somewhat different for Lithium Powersports batteries. Physical size is one thing, but most are marketed with 'lead-acid equivilent' (aka Pb equivalent) ratings, which are not actual ratings.

With a Lithium battery the engine starting power can be quite good even from a modest capacity lithium battery pack.

The actual available amp-hour capacity (not the Pb equivalent, the actual capacity) is important if you ever need to run the bilge pump for a while with engine off or the charging system fails while riding. Then you need the Lithium battery to deliver energy to run the engine while you ride home or to just keep running that bilge pump. The available amp-hours capacity is what determines how long the bilge pump or engine can run without the charging system.

If you decide to go Lithium my suggestion would be to lean towards the largest amp-hour capacity Lithium battery that will physically fit, not the less expensive model with less storage capacity. Yes, the larger capacity battery will cost more.

The smaller capacity Lithium batteries will probably start the engine just fine, unless there is something else that needed power and has consumed too much of the energy capacity.

[DR2006RXP]

'Sizing' is somewhat different for Lithium Powersports batteries. Physical size is one thing, but most are marketed with 'lead-acid equivilent' (aka Pb equivalent) ratings, which are not actual ratings.

With a Lithium battery the engine starting power can be quite good even from a modest capacity lithium battery pack.

The actual available amp-hour capacity (not the Pb equivalent, the actual capacity) is important if you ever need to run the bilge pump for a while with engine off or the charging system fails while riding. Then you need the Lithium battery to deliver energy to run the engine while you ride home or to just keep running that bilge pump. The available amp-hours capacity is what determines how long the bilge pump or engine can run without the charging system.

If you decide to go Lithium my suggestion would be to lean towards the largest amp-hour capacity Lithium battery that will physically fit, not the less expensive model with less storage capacity. Yes, the larger capacity battery will cost more.

The smaller capacity Lithium batteries will probably start the engine just fine, unless there is something else that needed power and has consumed too much of the energy capacity.

I had a ballistic back in 2012 if I recall 16 cell and it lasted maybe one season before one cell went out got a 2nd and again same issue , did I get 2 defective units back to back very unlikely but I have used lithium in RC cars and Helicopter and they don't like to be over charged they like to be balance charged unless they implement something new to the design I personally won't spend another penny in one, if they rundown to 0 v they are ruined unlike oem battery it can't recover .

[txgp1300r]

I use and always will the AGM battery's

[DR2006RXP]

I use and always will the AGM battery's

Am sticking to that also, the lithium is wonderful for laptops , Rc cars, drills, etc but not for PWC just my own personal experience .

[TimeBandit]

MJE - I run lithium-irons in my motorcycles and in my ski - love them. “If” you make the move to lithium technology, I would suggest you also look into what type of regulator/rectifier is in your craft. By "type" I'm referring to MOSFET -vs- SCR-based. The later being more commonly outfitted by OEM unfortunately. The MOSFET-based R/R in my experience are better suited to re-charge lithiums. Thus, on top of being more efficient, they have a higher voltage charging potentials (14.4v) and stability that is more complementary to lithiums. I have a thread on here somewhere about this very topic. So while most lithuim battery vendors will claim their packs are a drop-in replacement for AGM, I feel the LI pack will do better and last longer with a mosfet reg.

Am sticking to that also, the lithium is wonderful for laptops , Rc cars, drills, etc but not for PWC just my own personal experience .

No all lithiums are created equal. Laptops, RC, & cell phones commonly use the cobalt chemistry (LiPO). After-all, it offers the highest energy-density, yet that’s what makes it also the most volatile - thus your comment above is somewhat warranted. That said, the automotive/motorcycle industry uses the Iron chemistry (LiFePO4), which is way safer.

[spaceman]

Cheap lithiums have habits of wearing through and bursting into flames.

If you want reliability, buy a "motorbatt agm and keep it on a battery tender when not in use, you will get 5+ years out of it.

As for the Battery Tender get a good brand either the optimate or ctek

[DR2006RXP]

MJE - I run lithium-irons in my motorcycles and in my ski - love them. “If” you make the move to lithium technology, I would suggest you also look into what type of regulator/rectifier is in your craft. By "type" I'm referring to MOSFET -vs- SCR-based. The later being more commonly outfitted by OEM unfortunately. The MOSFET-based R/R in my experience are better suited to re-charge lithiums. Thus, on top of being more efficient, they have a higher voltage charging potentials (14.4v) and stability that is more complementary to lithiums. I have a thread on here somewhere about this very topic. So while most lithuim battery vendors will claim their packs are a drop-in replacement for AGM, I feel the LI pack will do better and last longer with a mosfet reg.




No all lithiums are created equal. Laptops, RC, & cell phones commonly use the cobalt chemistry (LiPO). After-all, it offers the highest energy-density, yet that’s what makes it also the most volatile - thus your comment above is somewhat warranted. That said, the automotive/motorcycle industry uses the Iron chemistry (LiFePO4), which is way safer.

Just vented out my personal experience with 2 new battery perhaps the reg has something to do with this since it was on a 2006 Rxp , any how when you spend top dollar on a battery you expect no issues went back to oem and am a happy camper , my 2 cent ...

[albecool]

I wish i had read this post sooner. I switched to Lifepo4 batteries for my Fishpro last year and love them as well. Much better cranking power, light weight and while fishing I can run the bilge pump, and stereo without the annoying low battery warning. What I didn't know about was the voltage regulator, I have been using my OEM with the lithium batteries and I think I fried the Regulator last week. I was getting erratic behavior on my instrument panel and I also have a VHF radio installed on the boat that was giving me Battery High warnings. I checked the charge voltage and is was exceeding 15.3V and was very unstable jumping from 13.5-15.3V, just learned about the Mosfet, and I have ordered one from eBay for $129, it sounds like it should resolve the issue.

[FXSlowKroozer]

There is no reason to run anything other than a AGM on a ski unless its strictly for Racing.For skis that have hard starts because of wild cam timing, multiple fuel pumps, E85, or high compression guys will run just one large $250 AGM from either XS power or Odyssey side mounted in the factory location.For serious skis that only see 100% racing use usually run $1000+ 16 volt batteries which are a 1-2 mph gain.The factory stator will not charge 16 volt so after a speed pass it has to go right back on to a dedicated charger.