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Some cruisers purchase the most recent electronics, engine, sails, communications equipment but when the time comes to purchase new batteries, sometimes pick the now 100-year-old technology of lead acidity batteries or the newest improvement to guide acidity technology (age forty) that are AGM batteries, that have almost exactly the same negatives because the original lead acidity battery. Lithium batteries only have lately become readily available for marine use but they’re rapidly becoming the most well-liked option for experienced cruisers and racers worldwide.
Why? Since the batteries are among the most significant items you could have onboard. Consider what can happen in case your batteries eliminate at ocean or perhaps in an overseas port. Another inconvenience is the procedure of buying, transporting and replacing the batteries inside a foreign port which may be costly should you must remain in a marina and also have the batteries shipped.
Lead acidity batteries come with an average life time of 6 several weeks to four years but 70% don’t allow it to be beyond the third year. With respect to the kind of usage, the final 1/three of the lead acidity life time could be disappointing in the performance because it takes longer to charge the batteries plus they drop current much faster especially at greater loads. Lithium includes a greater energy production but because we’ll demonstrate in a number of illustrations, there is a less expensive of possession and therefore are more reliable.
Lithium batteries provide typically 4 occasions the quantity of charge and discharge cycles in comparison with Lead Acidity /AGM batteries which greatly reduces the quantity of occasions you will need to replace them. Lithium batteries still provide consistent performance and current in their lifecycle which (as pointed out formerly) within the situation of Lead Acidity/AGM batteries diminishes substantially throughout their last 1/3 of existence.
To precisely compare the 2 technologies let us bring your believed daily consumption onboard and look at how big batteries you’d need with every type.
For those who have an believed daily consumption onboard of 150 Ah, the general rule is that you simply take that quantity and multiply it by 4 within the situation of lead acidity because it is highly suggested that to get the most from the batteries you shouldn’t discharge greater than 25% to 30%. This means that within the situation of lead acidity/ AGM you’d need 600 Ah within your house bank along with a beginning battery.
Because Lithium batteries will go around 90% discharge with no harm to battery you will get away with significantly less amp hrs, while using example above, you might think about a 200 AH Lithium battery which may provide you with all of your daily consumption plus greater than a 30% safety internet for beginning functions, (could be set to seal lower at 20% charge) eliminating the requirement for another beginning battery. It makes sense an enormous decrease in weight included and a rise in performance.
Growing the present draw (because the graphs below show) can impact the useable energy available and battery current. This effective shrinkage within the rating is called Peukert’s effect. With lead acidity, the greater the burden, the greater you have to boost the Ah capacity of the battery to assist alleviate this. With Lithium, however a lot of even 10 occasions greater at .5C can continue to possess a terminal current of 24V at 80% DOD/20% SOC, without rising around the Ah rating from the battery. This is exactly what makes Lithium particularly appropriate for top loads.
Note: Within the graphs below Discharge Capacity versus Terminal Current is proven. Usually you will notice AGM graphs as Discharge Time versus Terminal Current. The main reason we plot Discharge Capacity (rather of Discharge Time) is the fact that Lithium includes a greater and much more stable terminal current than AGM, so plotting the curves with Discharge Capacity in your mind provides a better comparison from the chemistries, showing that Lithium increases useable energy at greater loads because of greater and much more stable terminal voltages. It’s most likely the only real true method to compare the technologies.
Lithium – Discharge Capacity versus Terminal Current
Lead Acidity/AGM – Discharge Capacity versus Terminal Current
(Spot the tremendous stop by current when greater current draw is used around the lead acidity/ AGM batteries )
The comparison of these two graphs clearly illustrates how Lithium maintains its current and useable energy even in the greater current draws.
Experienced cruisers realize that the price of replacing your batteries is really a recurring cost. By purchasing Lithium batteries that initial price is disseminate more than a considerably longer period. You’ll lower your actual price of possession, improve your performance, reduce charge occasions by 75%, reduce engine/generator deterioration, save money on fuel costs with less weight and charge occasions, reduce noise, reduce maintenance, reduce substitute costs and hassles.b
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