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Dakota Batteries


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Anyone have experience with these guys? I ordered batteries for our Maverick 8 weeks ago (with a 6 week lead time) and after harassing them via email it looks like another 3-4 weeks. Unfortunately, their batteries are a drop in size-wise for the AGMs that are in there.

I guess the final question is "Is everyone have this problem over LIO batteries?

Thanks all!

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I've been doing a lot of research lately on the Lithium Ion Phosphate batteries. It seems a new brand or company pops up every day selling these batteries... and for good reason! They are making a fortune on them. I've been through dozens of threads and watched a hundred hours of YouTube reviews. Look up "Will Prowse" on YouTube, he has a ton of great content. He does complete tear downs on new batteries and inspects and reviews all the components. 

https://www.youtube.com/c/WillProwse

The cost from China on Lithium cells is getting cheaper and cheaper every day. The batteries most of these companies are selling for $800-1200 can be built for $300-400. 

The quality of the cells in 95% of the batteries tested are all the same. The major differences seem to be in the quality of the components used to assemble them. Mostly in the BMS (Battery Management System) and also in the connectors and gauge cables connecting each cell. But overall, the biggest contributing factor is the warranty. If you buy the cells independently you normally get 1 year, some are 90 days, some are 3 years. But the 5-10 year warranties are being offered from the companies selling them at a premium. That is great... IF... the company is still around in 5-10 years and if they will actually answer your call or emails. 

All that being said, the independent tests this guy runs show some incredible benefits to Lithium. The realistic usable capacity of the Lithium AH (Amp Hours) over conventional lead or AGM is night and day. It almost makes it impossible for me to buy lead or AGM again after getting all the data. One of the tests that Will ran was comparing lead/AGM batteries to Lithium with a load. Following all of the manufacturers recommendations the lead/agm batteries could only use from 25-35% of their advertised capacity before falling below the manufacturers voltage requirements. Whereas the Lithium batteries would pull 100-110% of their advertised capacity. 

To me, that means I can buy/build a 50 AH lithium battery and it will nearly double the capacity of the previous 100ah AGM batteries I've been using all these years.

The weight savings is just icing on the cake. 

Josh B.

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Great info Josh and thanks. I came to the same conclusion after I swallowed hard over the price. I ended up cancelling my order at Dakota and bought from Impulse. Battery size was the driver for me so they would replace the existing AGMs. Impulse had the batteries in stock and shipped the next day. I saved $200 over Dakota but lost a year of warranty. I can live with that. I have a super mania charger and they work with it so I am good to go. 

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We just started handling Expion 360 LifPo batteries recently, there are many providers out there these days for sure.  The biggest thing that I see is that most all of these batteries are coming from the same production houses in China, all private label and all basically the same, good and bad.  (we call them Lick and Sticks) Costs are going to be varied and remember that whatever ANYBODY tells you these are only house batteries not start batts...  The cells are not capable of handling the inrush and you'll end up replacing the start batteries in the same intervals as a lead acid type, at a cost that is twice the price.  And yes the depth of discharge is far greater and they will recharge much faster as long as your charger is set for that charge rate.  A group 24 LifPo is about 28 / 30 #, so they're about 1/2 the weight as well, nice option but costly. 

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I bought three ChargeX LiFePO4 batteries for my skiff.  12V 100AH (Group 31 size), 28 LBS. each.  One for a cranking battery, and two for the 24V trolling motor.

1000 Cold Cranking Amps and 108 Usable Amp Hours

DROP-IN REPLACEMENT
Plug and Play for any application currently using a Lead Acid, AGM or Gel Battery

Expensive, but with a good warranty, and they've been in business more than 10 years:
Repair or Replace    First 5 Years
Repair or Pro Rate    Life Time

Spec sheet:  https://www.lithiumion-batteries.com/uploads/files/16386/CX100-Data-Sheet.pdf

Main website:  https://www.lithiumion-batteries.com/

The battery charger you use with these batteries is VERY IMPORTANT.  After some trial and error, I found the right one (the only one I trust) - the OptiMate TM-291 Lithium 4s

Going to install the Yandina TrollBridge 12X24, to make it all as easy as possible to maintain.

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1 hour ago, Wanaflatsfish said:

GEEVIAM would be interested to see how you rigged them and your results...

I'll post the results when it's all setup Dino.  The cool thing about the Yandina TrollBridge is, you can save even more weight in the boat by not permanently installing a heavy and expensive 3-bank battery charger inside the boat.  All you need is an inexpensive single battery charger that you connect to the starting battery, and the Yandina distributes the charge to all the other batteries automatically, as needed.  If your engine run times are long enough, your batteries may get enough charge without the need for a battery charger (like with the Stealth system).

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I have advocated the benefits of the yandina system on here for years. Another advantage over the stealth system is that you can switch it from 36/24 volts to all of the tm batteries in 12 volt parallel. For those sand bar days you will never run out of power.

Geeviam,  pm me and I will  explain  how I can  put all 5 of the batteries on my  2200 te into parallel using 2 blue seas switches.

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8 hours ago, Wanaflatsfish said:

does it work with an old two smoker ? 1995 115hp?

 

dc

 

I can't imagine why it wouldn't work with an older alternator, the same as a newer one.  But you can contact Yandina by phone or email.  They are very good about answering questions, and their customer support is great.

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On 9/2/2021 at 2:10 AM, smilemaker said:

I have advocated the benefits of the yandina system on here for years. Another advantage over the stealth system is that you can switch it from 36/24 volts to all of the tm batteries in 12 volt parallel. For those sand bar days you will never run out of power.

Geeviam,  pm me and I will  explain  how I can  put all 5 of the batteries on my  2200 te into parallel using 2 blue seas switches.

If you don't mind, copy and past that into my inbox to. I have an okay set up, but nothing like what you've mentioned. I'm interested! 

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