Lithium Batteries

[HJS]

At 72 years of age I’m starting to have difficulties lugging around two 54 pound lead acid batteries that power my canoe’s 40# thrust trolling motor. Sometimes I can get away with just one battery, but I do like the security of 2 batteries just in case. So I am in the market to switch to one, maybe two, Lithium batteries of comparable storage capacity as the lead acid batteries I currently use. The lead acid batteries I have been using for decades are BPShop’s deep cycle 175. They have served me well over many years. Following are the specs for the BPShop's 175 lead acid battery.

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I’m getting help from my BIL who is an expert in the field.

But he does favor a particular brand of Lithium. Any suggestions from those of you that use Lithium batteries for trolling motors would be appreciated. I am looking at a couple of quality Lithium batteries designed for trolling motors that cost a little over $1000 each. Pricy!!!

Question: Are lithium batteries just as freeze resistant as lead acid batteries? Thanks Howard

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[Memory Maker]

I would get a Torqeedo and adapt it to the canoe. The total weight is less than 20 lbs including the battery. Let me know and I’ll help you.

[MetroMan]

At 72 years of age I’m starting to have difficulties lugging around two 54 pound lead acid batteries that power my canoe’s 40# thrust trolling motor. Sometimes I can get away with just one battery, but I do like the security of 2 batteries just in case. So I am in the market to switch to one, maybe two, Lithium batteries of comparable storage capacity as the lead acid batteries I currently use. The lead acid batteries I have been using for decades are BPShop’s deep cycle 175. They have served me well over many years. Following are the specs for the BPShop's 175 lead acid battery.

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I’m getting help from my BIL who is an expert in the field.

But he does favor a particular brand of Lithium. Any suggestions from those of you that use Lithium batteries for trolling motors would be appreciated. I am looking at a couple of quality Lithium batteries designed for trolling motors that cost a little over $1000 each. Pricy!!!

Question: Are lithium batteries just as freeze resistant as lead acid batteries? Thanks Howard

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I've never had any temperature-related issues on either end of the spectrum with my Lithium battery. You wont have any issues with cold temps...

[silasvirus82]

I didn't have good luck with my StarkPower 20Ah. After 3 years of use it completely crapped out and my repeated attempts to have Stark fix or refurbish my battery have been fruitless.

For my next battery I'm trying Bioenno Power.

[HJS]

The two Lithium batteries providers I am looking at are Trillium and SmartBattery. SmartBattery sells a model touted as "for electric trolling motors". Dunno if that is BS or totally true.

[Oldbayrunner]

Any Lifepo4 Lithium battery is made for automotive, marine or solar use and perform very well. I've been using lithium's now for about 3 1/2 years on my trolling motor. Depending on the AH size your looking for you can, in todays market, find 50ah lipo4's that weigh around 15 lbs for as Little as $399.00 from China but there are a few that are well made that compete with what is considered the major brands that hold up just as well but better priced. I've used my Bioenno 100ah lifepo4, weighing in at 28lbs, for the last 3 years and it's performance has been great. The cost factor for it was $862.00 which is around $200 or so less than what I looked at with Smart battery, Re-Lion or GreenLife. Another good lesser expensive one is the Dakota Battery.

https://www.bioennopower.com/collect...tteries?page=2

[dirtyjake237]

I would definitely say that a lifepo4 marine grade battery would be the recommended solution. And the best thing I can recommended is say +1 to Oldbayrunner's suggestion for lithium power solution.
2 x 90 ah batteries seems like a lot of juice for a 40 pound thrust motor, you must be going all day under motor power or as you said always nice to have a backup.
So for about $1,700 or more you'll be getting rid of 90 pounds of batteries and now having ~56 pounds of batteries.
I know this isn't in any way related to your original posted question but just out of curiosity have you ever considered a small gas outboard engine?
Below are two links to a reputable online company that I have purchased 2 outboards from before and they ship fast.
https://onlineoutboards.com/collecti...sepower_-2-5hp weight 29 pounds cost $769
https://onlineoutboards.com/collecti...sepower_-2-3hp weight 29.5 pounds cost $949

So if weight is the issue, as you can see both these engines are under 30 pounds!!! That is almost as light as even one 100 ah lifepo4 and they are about the same price.
You can save the most amount of weight and save $$$$$ at the same time. Just my 2 cents and you'll also get a lot more power than 40 pounds of thrust and the new 4 strokes are surprising quiet and smoke free especially the little guys like this with the exhaust above the water line. But if the absolute silence and stealth of an electric motor is a must then I understand.
Or buy the gas outboard for the long runs to the fishing spots and then get a little 55ah lifepo4 that weighs less than 12 pounds when you need to sneak up on your prey???

[bignose]

Due to shoulder surgery last year I went from a heavy Walmart deep cycle lead acid battery to a WaterBlade Li Ion 50ah battery. It's listed use is a "trolling motor" battery
The price seems to have gotten a lot higher since last year, I think I paid under $400.00 for it. Currently on the website it is "out of stock."

I also went from the 55 lb, thrust motor to a 30 lb thrust motor. Yeah, it's a bit slower.......but like you, I am fishing from a 16' Old Town Camper with a clamp on mount.

I get 4+ hours of service from this, enough to fish the smaller creeks near Annapolis with enough reserve juice to get me home. I don't know if I can get an 8 hour trip out of it. Hell, I don't know if I can get an 8 hour trip out of me!

I have yet to try this in moving water on the Upper Potomac. I'm also going to try this with the 55 lb thrust Minn Kota to see how well it'll hold up.
But I like it a lot.

About 20 years ago I tried a 2hp Honda outboard on my side mount. It totally unbalanced the canoe (I had to add pontoons to use it) and overpowered it as well. Pulling the starter rope without turning over was interesting.

[HJS]

Thanks guys… bigtime. You all collectively dope-slapped me into opened my eyes to other ideas and battery options out there.

MetroMan – Right now I’m going to stay with my 40# Motor Guide, 30” shaft trolling motor. I’m happy with it and it provides ample power/speed for my canoe. And I realize that any more thrust power could get me into deep water, literally. Once I accidentally switched on my troller set at full speed at a 90 degree angle to the canoe. Dang near rolled me over but I saved myself just in the nick of time. That was years ago and I’ve been very careful ever since. BTW, I do love the stealthiness of an electric troller.

Silasvius – I’ll stay away from that one.

Oldbayrunner – Thanks for the other options and suppliers. My BIL said that as a rule, Japanese made Lithiums are the best quality… not by much, but they tend to be the best. But its dang near impossible to find out where a Lithium battery is made. Generally that’s kept under tight wraps in the slick videos and brochures available from various providers.

dirtyjake – You kinda dope-slapped me also into realizing that I was indeed trying to carry too much “juice” in my canoe to power my troller. Even way back in my salad days, only on rare occasions would I have to switch over to the second battery. I use to fish the inner Middle Branch of the Patapsco. I’ve launched at the Harbor Hospital ramp a couple 100 times over the decades and would sometimes fish from the Hospital to the Fort McHenry rip-rap and back. Always had to switch batteries halfway back to the ramp. But I’ve waaay aged out of that long of an excursion...I just don’t want to admit it. Growing old truly sucks. So now I’m thinking that maybe just one 60amp or maybe 70 amp Li battery will do just fine. Also, as long as there is not a long carry involved, like over 20’, I can still wrestle my trusty old, heavy as lead, lead acid battery to my canoe as a backup. The only place where that much juice would be needed is on the Susky Flats chasing stripers during the C&R season.

Bignose – I like to fish the big freshwater rivers for smbass, like the Potomac and the Susky up at Harrisburg. I especially like to fish them at summer low flows. I wouldn’t attempt to use a troller in either river at low summer flows… way too many shallow rocks to deal with. It’s hard enough at times having to paddle through rocky gravelly rubble on the Susky without getting hung-up. As of recent I have fallen in love with the Susky above Harrisburg. For comparisons, take a normal day of smbass fishing on the Potomac… add 4” to each bass you catch, and you have the Susky experience. Truly amazing fishery up there. And at low flow the Susky rock gardens where I fish would just eat-up and spit out a troller within 50 feet.

As I remember, you are a Fletchers/shad ohfishynado too. Shad is only a couple weeks away. I’m foaming and find myself starting to fondle my shad darts.

Thanks everyone for your input. Howard

Susky smallmouth.
susky, 10-3-13 B.jpg

[CHOC]

As MemoryMaker suggested, you can't go wrong with the Torqeedo. It's pricey, but worth every penny.

[bignose]

Howard,
The Upper Potomac was pretty much unfishable all of last summer. There was no low water flow!

I use the Canoe in places like Brunswick and Taylor's Landing to motor up stream a couple of miles, and then to drift down, sometimes hitting different routes down stream, no trolling, just the occasional drag and lift over some ledges.
There are places near Brunswick, where in my younger days, I stood in the canoe and poled it upstream using an old fiberglass high jump pole I got from my local High School. I don't trust my balance to do that anymore. I'm not much younger than you are.

When fishing the tidal creeks, I don't usually troll, I "dock hop" as I prefer structure fishing, so the motor isn't running continuously.

I too used to fish the Middle Branch out to Fort McHenry, never had my single battery give out, but I did manage to melt the wiring in my trolling motor by the Fort once, and had to paddle all the way back to the Harbor Hospital ramp into the wind. I couldn't pick my arms up over my head for 3 days afterwards.

I'm hoping the Potomac level comes down soon. It's still a tad high at Fletcher's. The Susky has been up and down all week. Give it 2-3 weeks........and hope the rain lets up a little. I'm looking forward to some shad action. I met a local young fella who posts on YouTube under 1Rod1Reel Fishing, and he has never been shad fishing, so I'd like to give him an introduction to this.

Last year, I had a bang up day at Fletcher's (literally-I took a bad fall on the rocks after a good fishing day).
A week later the rocks I fished from were under 10 feet of water!

[curtisakatoyo]

https://dakotalithium.com/?v=7516fd43adaa