Replacement battery needed, For portable sonar

That was for the ion auger battery attachment

I use the lifepo4 since last year no regrets yet .

What charger do you use for the Lifepo4? Can I use the same charger from my Helix SLA factory battery?
Thanks,
John

I use Noco chargers on all my batteries. A Noco charger has settings for Lead acid, AGM and Lithium batteries. On the off season just plug them in and forget them till you need them. They will not burn out your batteries as they maintain them....shutting down when battery is full and firing up again when it needs to. I have had ten batteries on my three Noco chargers for 4 years now and have had no issues like I used to have. None of these batteries have needed replacing in those 4 years. They are a mix of 5 Lead acid zero turn batteries and the rest are lithium. The Noco charger also has a setting that if not too far gone it can revive a battery.

I will recommend this model if you have up to two batteries to maintain. I also have two 4 bank ones and would recommend those if you have more than 2 batteries to maintain...and get them at 10 amps per bank...the other models are cheaper but are slower to charge if you need your battery like asap.

https://www.lakesimcoeoutdoors.com/forums/i...=post&id=440191

Arnie

Thanks Arnie, added to my shopping list

You are welcome. They are not cheap but worth every penny....you will not be sorry.

Arnie

LifePo4 (Lithium Iron Phosphate) batteries aren't prone to explosion/fire like Li-On (Lithium Ion) batteries. The latter is mostly used on smartphones and similar devices. The batteries that replace lead acid ones are LifePo4. It's a different chemistry and it is one of the most stable among Lithium batteries. So don't be afraid to use one for your trolling motor or fish finder.
The only caveat would be they can not be recharged below 0 degree Celsius (32F). If you do, they get damaged. However they can be discharged at temps as low as -20C.

I have a 100Ah LifePo4 battery on my boat for the trolling motor and I am extremely happy with the performance. Also weighs way below what a group 31 lead acid battery weighs. Because they pack more energy in a lighter package, they give you longer run time, plus you can discharge them without worrying about killing the battery. Deep cycle lead acid batteries can only be discharged to 50%. So a 100Ah lead acid is really only giving you 50Ah unlike the LifePo4 which give you full capacity.

As for the brand... Dakota Lithium is no better than many other brands out there. They just have a big promo network and a high price. You can find zillions of test videos on Youtube about these brands, but if you ask me GoKwh brand has an excellent 100Ah battery (the one I own). It also has Bluetooth connectivity to their smartphone app, which can be used to tweak many aspects of the battery and monitor the charge status. It's quite convenient. The price is very reasonable compared to the likes of Dakota Lithium.

If you are interested I can send you a link to their website. They ship to Canada (have a warehouse in Canada) and they have 5 year warranty on their batteries.

You can definitely use a lead acid smart charger on LifePo4. It may not charge the battery to 100% (more like to 90-95%) due to the lower charging voltage compared to a dedicated Lithium charger, but in some way this is actually good, because your battery will never be overcharged, which prolongs the battery life.

I charge mine with a Canadian Tire smart lead acid battery charger and had no problems whatsoever. Just take the battery off the charger once its full. LifePo4 batteries do not need trickle charging to keep them full. They loose little power over time unlike lead acids which need constant topping.

jigwhiz I'd take the link. I'm also concerned about the charging below zero, as I keep my batteries in the boat all winter. How heavy are your 100AH batteries? I have read lots but haven't or don't remember the weight other than they weigh a lot less. I also saw some that were more than 100AH was wondering about them as well as I finally read my manual for my ulterra and it says not to use less than 100ah, so I'm assuming higher the better, but also not to go above 80% power for more than a couple minutes if using lithium batteries.

My 100Ah battery weighs 10.7kg (23.5 lbs). You can keep your battery in the garage if you wish so long as it doesn't get below -20C. I personally take it inside the house during winter just in case. The BT app gives you an option to turn charging and discharging OFF. If you leave the battery on the boat you can turn discharging OFF, so if there's a parasitic draw from something on your boat, it doesn't slowly deplete the battery and make sure it is not discharged below -20C. Similarly you can turn charging OFF to make sure you don't charge the battery when it is below 0C. There is an electronic board inside the battery case called a BMS (Battery Management System) that controls every aspect of the battery operation, and many of these aspects can be customized (if you wish so) via the app.

I have a Minn Kota Terrova (52lbs). I use it as an autopilot when trolling for salmon and for spot lock when I am setting-up my rods in the middle of the lake. After a whole day of trolling I still have about 70% charge left in my 100Ah battery. So I only charge it after every 3 trips. You don't need to top up the battery after every outing (unlike lead acid). Higher Ah will simply give you longer run time not more power output, so if 100Ah isn't good enough runtime between charges, then you can choose a higher Ah battery.

Here's the link: GoKwh

It ships from China. I've got mine in about 20 days.

There is also a non-bluetooth version of the same battery for less, if you don't care about the app you can order that instead.

Link: No Bluetooth

This one has a small display on top of the battery to show you the charge status.
For $10 difference (US), I personally found it is worthwhile getting the BT version.

As an alternative supplier, you can also order the battery from BatteryFinds

Now thinking about it further, that's where I've got mine from. GoKwh is the actual manufacturer in China.

One last piece of info: The battery has the same dimensions as a group 31 lead acid, so if you have a battery tray/box it will fit there nicely.

Thanks for all the info...makes me feel a bit more at ease with the fire issue. Anyone know if the 40V lithium batteries used in outdoor equipment are LiFePO4? I did see in a local news that a woman claimed her 40V battery for her leaf blower blew up and then of course the fire fighters were interviewed, etc., etc. Not sure if she had the battery in her car in the summer though.

I've seen the video on YouTube. It is not a good idea to leave these batteries in a car. Summer or Winter, extreme temperatures are not good for Lithium based batteries. We are all vulnerable with so many Li-ON batteries that we keep in our homes. Every smartphone has one and more and more devices use them. So education and awareness is very important to prevent catastrophic fires from happening. I bet there are a lot of us who keep their phones next to their bed and charge them overnight. That poses a much higher risk of getting roasted! compared to the LifePo4 batteries left connected on outdoors equipment.

LifePo4 batteries can have a thermal runaway but research says: "Thermal runaway in LifePo4 batteries is extremely difficult to achieve and requires very high temperatures to be reached"

As for your question whether outdoors equipment use LifePo4 batteries, the answer is probably NO. Li-ON is cheaper to manufacture. All of my portable tools use Li-ON.

In this particular case you mentioned, the Ryobi 40v battery is also Li-ON.

i have 4 LifePO batteries........20 40 and 2 80's they are all the BMS variety and are used from trolling motors to electronics


have had zero issues even when running at full blast.......may get warm that's all

imo..the chargers should for sure have a lithium feature on it as Arnie has stated


stay away from the lithium ion units.cheaper and there is a reason


I use the 80 at my cottage as well which is off grid and it lass a week quite easily.


lastly..they are not designed to use as a startrng battery for either a boat or car and maybe that's why you are hearing some of these horror stories....do the research and follow the instructions

mine are warranted for 10myears and can be charged countless times so ?i went all in with them

Exactly, they are not designed to draw huge amounts of power at once, which gasoline engines require to start. That's why none of the LifePo4 batteries have a CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) rating on them.