[papaperch]

The lithium Li-Po4 batteries is the way to go. Lightweight , longer life and way more efficient then any lead acid battery.

The lead acid weakness is its efficiency rating on ice which can degrade to 50%. So in actual field use your 9-10 AH is only lasting half as long as expected. Now for short jaunts on the ice no big deal. But for all day trips and/or overnighters it is of paramount importance.

Using Marcum LX-6 S as an example using a lithium battery rated at 6AH will operate for 17 hours. A 4.5 AH would last for 13 hours. A lithium 6 AH weighs about a pound and can last for thousands of recharge.

When first introduced the initial cost of these batteries was high. Now it is rather easy to find these two I just mentioned for under 70.00. Stick with known brand names and you will never regret going lithium. Do not use regular lead acid chargers to recharge. It does not have the voltage necessary to charge the Lithium to its full capacity.

A lot of sellers will package an approved charger / battery combo pack. Since I am an electronics nut. I ran my own little garage experiments on actual load tests using various graphs and flashers. They will work just as great on the 4-5 inch screens if your ice finder is so equipped. Once you get up to the 6-7 inch screens look into 10-14 AH rated Lithium batteries. Price will rise to just under 100. 8-9 inch screens 20 AH rating minimum.

 

[RStock521]

Good post. Yes, the step up to lithium is a little more $$, but worth it IMO. I went with the Marcum Brute 10ah for my Garmin 73SV and have been very happy with it. I got it on sale last year with the charger for $50, but this year the sale price seems to be $60 or $70. I know Amped Outdoors is another highly regarded brand, and they make a 12ah in the same form factor as the 7/9ah SLA's, so it will fit perfectly in your current flasher/graph setups.

Also note that your standard SLA charger will not work for these new lithium batteries, so you'll need to make sure you get a charger specifiic to your battery to charge to proper voltage and capacity.

If you're doing some research, check out Ice Hole Power's YouTube videos. He does teardowns on all the major brand batteries and gives his thoughts that seem unbiased.

 

[Carpn]

I put a 10 AH lithium in my helix 7 last yr . No doubt the way to go . Better battery life and saves substantial weight . Definitely the way to go .

 

[tomb]

It will be nice not to have to care for it in the off season anymore.

Thanks for the insights.

 

[Steelheader88]

Can someone explain why these lithium batteries are jot affected by the cold like the 18650 lithium batteries are?

 

[Rooster]

I don't know how they are different from 18650s. Not sure there is any difference?

I've never had a problem with 18650s in the cold. I'm a chain vaper, and my 18650 performs the same as in July. I use 18650 in my flashlight, headlamp, and overhead lamp in my shack. Zero problems with the cold.

I use either a 12Ah (sold 8hr on the ice), or 30Ah (been on the ice over 14hrs without any issue) lithium. I use panoptix on the ice, and used these batteries down to under -10 degrees. Never any problems with the cold.

Only issue that I have ever had was with my drill battery. It was outside in extremely cold temps for hours. And, even then, after warming-up but running drill without cutting ice, it was back in business.

Unless i was fishing in the arctic, I would not be overly concerned about temps impacting lithium batteries....any more than other battery chemistry.

 

[trapperjon]

Lithium batteries are great but I'd recommend watching Ice hole powers videos on YouTube before purchasing, Jeremy breaks down "voids warranty" of the major battery manufacturers out there. Ya just might learn a few things.

 

[LipRipper79]

I went from 6 hours tops to 12+ hours on my Helix 5 once I switched to Dakota Lithium. Lithium is well worth the money in my opinion

 

[Deadeyedeek]

Litium hands down..I love mine. Just put one in quad and what a difference

 

[RStock521]

Glen's Outdoors has the Marcum Brute on sale for $59.99 with free shipping. Almost a no-brainer if you need a new battery right now. Comes with a charger too.

Marcum Brute 12V 10aH Lithium Ion Battery with Charger

Leave the weight behind this winter with the MarCum Brute 12V10AM Lithium LiFePO4 battery. With half the weight and twice the run-time, MarCum's Brute shaves pounds while improving performance. In the past, increased run-time went hand-in-hand with heavier batteries.

www.glensoutdoors.com

Search YouTube for "IceHolePower Marcum Brute". He did a teardown on one and seemed to rate it well. Amped Outdoors is another highly regarded brand that I considered, but for $120, I could have gotten two of the Marcum Brutes at the $60 sale price (were $50 last year).

 

[Kenlow1]

Thanks, RStock for the heads up. Ordering one today, no brainer and free shipping-cant beat.

 

[FISHIN 2]

Got same deal for same battery from Sportsmans Warehouse, bad is, a new pair of gloves too, free shipping on all products. Glad the new clam mizzo lures wasnt on sale..