LiFePo4 batteries have taken over the boat world BECAUSE they're so much safer than Lithium-Ions. You pretty much have to destroy the battery to get it to produce heat that would cause damage in your boat...and that damage would be constricted to basically the battery compartment.

 

Personally - with the prices of LiFePo4 batteries coming down, I'm looking to replace my AGMs with them next year.

I’ve got 2 lifepo4 batteries on the boat now. So far they’ve been great. Light weight, tons of power, easy to charge. 
 

I can’t see any reason to go back to the lead acid at this time. 

On 3/13/2025 at 1:16 PM, Alex from GA said:

How would anyone not go with lithiums.  The cheaper ones are less $ than lead acids or AGMs and weigh 1/4 as much.  Plus they last much longer and the boat will go faster on the trolling motor.

 

Where are you seeing lithium's for less money than lead acid or AGMs?

On 4/2/2025 at 3:45 PM, Dogface said:

 

Where are you seeing lithium's for less money than lead acid or AGMs?

There’s a lot of them on Amazon. And I mean a lot. Listings upon listings for dirt cheap that no one has ever heard of.

 

If I was going to buy some, I’d do it soon. All lithiums are imported from China and tariffs will be implemented soon on them.

 

BPS/Cabelas sells some called Tracker lithium. They cost more, but Bass Pro is not going out of business anytime soon like a knock off version might. Those are the ones I’d buy.

I run a Phoenix 721.  I have 3 Ionics that run my ghost  50ah.  and then I have an ionic 125 that runs my graphs and some other acc.  So far all my experience has been positive.  I do have a 2 stroke Merc that I run a standard lead acid battery for a starting battery due to Mercurys specs.

On 3/14/2025 at 10:15 AM, MN Fisher said:

I'm still sticking with Mighty Max - Home Depot and now Menards carry them, so getting warranty support isn't an issue either.

 

I just looked at Mighty Max. They have a lot of models. Is there a model you recommend? 

16 hours ago, gim said:

There’s a lot of them on Amazon. And I mean a lot. Listings upon listings for dirt cheap that no one has ever heard of.

 

 

Thanks! There are a lot more than the last time I considered buying one. 

I ordered a Weize battery from Amazon. I'll be using this one on a small boat I use on the Susquehanna. The boat has a 20HP Suzuki on it. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJ395FTR?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

 

Should the Suzuki charging system work with the lithium battery?

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 hours ago, Dogface said:

Should the Suzuki charging system work with the lithium battery?

 

Are you planning to use it as a starting/cranking battery?  I thought you were going to use it as a battery for your trolling motor or graphs/pumps/lights.

 

Some outboards specifically state not to use a lithium battery.  Better check Suzuki's website.

On 3/12/2025 at 9:32 PM, Glenn said:

Skip the lithiums and go with solid state.  While a little more expensive than lithiums, they're 1/2 the weight of lithiums and take less than an hour to fully charge.  

 

One thing to consider is the age of your outboard.  If it's an older outboard, you can't have a lithium cranking battery because the voltage from the alternator oscillates so much that it can damage the lithium battery.  Lead acid batteries are more tolerant.  Newer engines have more stable alternators, so you shouldn't have that issue if you have a newer outboard.  You can still go with lithiums for your trolling motor though.

 

I don't know if it's the same situation with solid state batteries.  But I'm sure there's more than a few folks here that are smarter than me on that subject.  Let's see what they say.

 

 

I certainly have no basis from which to claim I am smarter. However, given that the solid state batteries I have looked at start at around $1,000 for a 12v 90ah battery, the cost to be an early adopter is a bit rich for my budget. Looks like  a great solution to have a battery that is a quarter of the weight of a lead acid battery though as I would love to have one as my starter and electronics battery. I couldn't find much about chargers for a solid state battery, but for one from the company I bought my lithium charger from for about $200 would cost over $350 for one that supposedly charges solid state batteries.

 

I paid $550 for a 24v 100ah lithium with low temp charge protection (not heated) which should be fine for me in southern California. To replace the 100ah (only 50% of which is truly usable) 12v agm batteries I had would have cost about $450. I can easily go three trips before I need to recharge with the lithium trolling battery. I don't need to charge the starting battery much, if ever. I can check the charging status with an app on my phone, and I can actively monitor the status of the battery with my phone as well. I did have to buy a new charger for my lithium trolling motor battery and that cost close to $200. You can buy lithium chargers for less, but this had some very nice features and is waterproof.

 

The TL/DR is that solid state looks to be something that would work well, but the cost to play in that sandbox (some might call it the perceived value) may not quite be able deliver the actual bang-for-the-buck. . . . yet.

7 hours ago, Dogface said:

I just looked at Mighty Max. They have a lot of models. Is there a model you recommend? 

Long as it has the AH you want and the connection type (I like top threaded-sockets) any will do

6 hours ago, Dogface said:

Should the Suzuki charging system work with the lithium battery?

As Gim said - check Suzuki's info - and also make sure the charging system is Lithium compatible to boot.

16 hours ago, Dogface said:

I ordered a Weize battery from Amazon. I'll be using this one on a small boat I use on the Susquehanna. The boat has a 20HP Suzuki on it. 

 

Should the Suzuki charging system work with the lithium battery?

 

I just bought a Weize battery for my boat (Yamaha F175) and my research said the charging system would work on the motor and it was recommended the battery have BMS which the battery has.  After a couple trips the performance has been excellent and the battery has stayed around 13.38 V.  

I can fish sunrise to sunset on a single 12v lead battery that cost $99, no reason for me to get anything else 

On 4/3/2025 at 6:47 PM, gim said:

 

Are you planning to use it as a starting/cranking battery?  I thought you were going to use it as a battery for your trolling motor or graphs/pumps/lights.

 

Some outboards specifically state not to use a lithium battery.  Better check Suzuki's website.

 

One battery for sonar and starting battery

1 minute ago, Dogface said:

 

One battery for sonar and starting battery

 

Make sure that a Suzuki can be used with a lithium.  The one for sonar is perfectly fine.

On 4/4/2025 at 7:33 PM, gim said:

 

Make sure that a Suzuki can be used with a lithium.  The one for sonar is perfectly fine.

 

I called the dealer and according to him, the motor will charge the lithium. 

 

 

On 4/4/2025 at 8:12 AM, TnRiver46 said:

I can fish sunrise to sunset on a single 12v lead battery that cost $99, no reason for me to get anything else 

 

I can usually get 3 to 5 years out of a good lead acid battery, but all of my batteries are 4 years or older so it is coming up on decision time.   

1 hour ago, Dogface said:

According to the dealer, the motor will charge the lithium. 

 

Ok.  Are you sure that the battery can be used as a starter for the outboard though?  Make sure it also has enough CCA for it.

I went lithium (LifePo4 specifically) for my kayak. They are much lighter and last much longer both per charge and more cycles.

 

Not all lithiums are created equal either. A cheap lithium may get half the life that it originally did. If you want it to hold up, I would get a LifePo4.

I just purchased two (LIPULS 12V 100Ah LiFePO4 Lithium Battery), for my other boat to be used for just the electronics and the trolling motor. I thought it would be a good move before/if the tariffs kick in. 

 

I guess I'm committed now. 🤩

Weize LifePo4 for my trolling motor. 
The guru of solar and batteries Will Prowse

51 minutes ago, Motoboss said:

Weize LifePo4 for my trolling motor. 
The guru of solar and batteries Will Prowse

 

Thanks

I bought one Weize Dual Purpose battery and started watching Prowse two days ago. A knowledgeable guy, for sure.