Blog

August 9, 2011

Recently, Lithium Pros has expanded to a new market for 12v, 24v, and 36v marine trolling motor batteries. One of our first customers to try one of these products is a local Knoxville fisherman named Jr. Bailey. He has been fishi

ng since the mid-80s in a variety of boats with all different kinds of batteries. Currently, he is running a 2000 Bullet 20-XD with a Minn Kota Four-trex 24v trolling motor, rated at 80 lbs of thrust. Recently, he tried our new M3400-24 to see how it stacks up against the “regular” deep-cycle lead acid/AGM competition.

Here is what he had to say:

“I charged battery to a full charge, and then made these fishing trips.

1. fished 4 hours with (wind 5 mph) slight current

2. fished 5 hours (wind calm) slight current

3. fished 4 hours (wind calm) no current

4. fished 6 hour tournament (wind 10 mph) slight current

5. fished 6 hour tournament (mild wind) fishing against strong current all 6 hours

6. fished 4 hour tournament (light wind) slight current

7. started tournament after sitting for 1 week and the battery was dead.

Summary: Battery lasted a total of 3 weeks and 29 hours of use on initial charge. The best thing other than the 29 hours is that it was as strong on hour 29 as it was on hour 1.. Also, when I put battery back on charge it was fully charged in a little less than five hours. That is very impressive.”

Our batteries are perfectly suited to this application. For deep-cycling (taking a battery down to almost empty, then charging it back to full and doing it over again), lithium-ion packs are similar to deep-cycle marine AGM batteries, while maintaining a high discharge capability. The voltage also remains very stable, all the way until the pack is empty; this is why it performs the same, no matter if it has been running for 29 hours or 1 hour. With our batteries, the useful capacity will generally be greater, as well.

“Before the M3400-24, I might have been able to get 12 hours with two batteries with power gradually decreasing from hour 5 or 6, until they were fully discharged. Then it would take from 12-15 hours to recharge.”

For most users, a battery with double the useable capacity, half the recharge time, and more consistent performance is a no-brainer. However, there is another, less-obvious benefit. Read on:

“Also, while I was testing I thought I would see if the difference between one light weight 24 volt lithium battery versus two Everstart Extreme 115 amp-hour batteries would transfer to more speed in the boat. So with boat loaded to fish and with two people in the boat with my two batteries, top speed was 79.75 mph. Then, by taking my batteries out and installing the 24 volt lithium battery, with same load and same people, top speed was 81.25 mph, which translates to 1.5 mph faster which was also impressive.”

To sum up, there are several benefits to running a lithium battery on your trolling motor:

-Capacity. It lasts longer on one charge than regular batteries.

-Recharge. Can be charged up much faster than regular batteries

-Voltage. They perform consistently, from full until empty.

-Deep cycling. Running these batteries low will not hurt them.

-Weight. Less of it equals more speed, and better fuel economy.

We are enthralled Jr. is getting great performance out of his new battery. We wish him the best of luck in upcoming fishing tournaments, and can’t wait to hear another report after some hard testing!

12/11/2012 UPDATE

The battery in Jr. Bailey's Bullet boat

It was good to get a chance to test this battery after heavy use for the past year and a half. Jr. has been using this battery at least two times a week and three to four times during summer months with great results. We were pleased to see that the capacity of the cells had only dropped 1% and was still above the rating. Jr. we wish you well for 2013. Stay in touch!

Earlier this year, a crowd gathered at Texas Motor Speedway for a race event–but not the kind one might expect. There was no telltale roar of internal combustion engines in the pits, only the sounds of battery chargers and teams preparing their v

ehicles for the upcoming race. This race is not driven by gasoline or methanol, or even the batteries themselves–instead, the primary power source is the sun. The Solar Car Challenge is an annual competition open to teams from high schools across the country. The intent is to foster student’s interest in science, engineering, and alternative energy. 65+ schools in 20 different states are currently involved.

Team picture after the race. From l-r, Peter Oelschlaeger (Faculty Sponsor), Tony Licata (Safety), Taylor Matthew, Sean Stuart, Brandon Augustus, Murphy Johnson (Driver), Rick Hochenedel (Driver), Leslie Morgan (Driver), Van Le (Master Mechanic), Alidia Findley (Captain), Kevin Stuart (Parent/Chaperon).

Given the obvious advantages of lithium batteries over lead-acid, a few of the preeminent teams are making the switch to gain a performance advantage. One such team is the Chariot of Helios. Hailing from Baton Rouge Magnet High, these students designed and constructed a fully functional solar car. Unfortunately, they were plagued with mechanical issues early on and were never able to recover the lost ground. Given their performance before the issues, they could easily have won the race with the Lithium Pros Powerpack. We wish them the best of luck next year, as the competition moves off the racetrack and onto the streets…a trip from Texas Motor Speedway all the way to Los Angeles. We have no doubt the team will be back with the kinks worked out and ready to beat the competition. Our batteries will be there to provide safe, reliable energy storage along the way.

History was made this weekend, when Cagnazzi Racing’s Erica Enders drove her Chevy Cobalt into the winner’s circle, narrowly beating four-time class champion Gregg Anderson in the O’Reilly’s Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway.

This may develop into a friendly rivalry, as last year she became the first female to qualify #1 and race in the final round…but lost to Anderson on that day.

The Cagnazzi cars, Ender’s included, run T1600 Lithium Powerpacks, a great choice for anyone in the Pro Stock class. This battery has plenty of reserve capacity and cranking power, yet still weighs under 10 pounds. It features a full charge protection circuit and, when paired with our 1008 charger, can be topped up easily between rounds. We are also currently running a summer special on this part number (call to see if it is still available).

Congratulations to Erica and the entire Cagnazzi team!

Update 5/15/12

There are big changes underway for the Competition Race Parts World Challenge team this year, with a switch from C6R Corvettes to the Nissan GT-R, as well as a new driver.

We are very proud to be a continuing part of the CRP team, and wish them the best of luck on the remainder of the season. They have had a solid start to the season, and should have the new chassis dialed in soon. We are looking forward to seeing our C925s power them into the winner’s circle in the future!

Update 11/11/11

We caught up with the CRP team at SEMA recently, fresh from a successful season in World Challenge. Mike Skeen ended up 3rd in GT points, with teammate Patrick Lindsey in 7th. The team accumulated three wins, two poles, seven top-5 finishes, and five top-10 finishes–an impressive feat on a twelve race season!  Congratulations to them, and we look forward to powering their cars next season!

Notice our sticker in front of the rear wheel:

“Our change to Lithium Products has helped us move forward to make our cars lighter, faster and more reliable.”

Nicholas Short, Owner
Competition Race Parts, Inc./CRP Racing

Update 6/1/2011

Lithium Pros is proud to be working with Competition Race Parts, Inc. in their efforts in the World Challenge Series.  CRP chose the Lithium Pros C925 to power both W/C cars as well as their Baja UTV.

Lithium Pros continues its efforts to make the safest and lowest ESR lithium-ion batteries in the racing market and they are available from your favorite performance warehouse.

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