Boat Batteries 101: AGM, Lithium-Ion, and more EXPLAINED!

Choosing the right battery for your boat is never an easy choice. This video will go over each major marine battery type (Lead-Acid, Gel, AGM, and Lithium-Ion) and go over their pros and cons.
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0:00 Intro
0:11 What Are Marine Batteries?
0:29 Starting vs Deep Cycle
0:57 Main Battery Types
1:11 Flooded Lead-Acid
1:55 AGM
2:58 Gel Cell
3:40 Lithium-Ion
5:13 Which Battery is For You?
5:37 Final Breakdown
6:30 Outro

[@lancelamoon6743]

Mercury and Yamaha have approved lithium cranking batteries as long as they have a BMS system.

[@lancelamoon6743]

Just converted to lithium wish I had done it sooner

[@ekwevugbebonus7642]

Good job

[@Yup2024]

Can I Used AGM with my four bank charger? Thanks.

[@MKultrapdx]

Hello, I was given a boat with a 75hp outboard on it, but it has no batteries onboard. The man I received the boat from died, and that's how I acquired it. (No way to ask him what it was using, and his wife has no clue about anything to do with the boat) Do I need a cranking battery to use the ignition key and a separate deep cycle for the trolling motor and fish finder? Thank you for this video, as it helped me understand a little more about all this. I would not have known to cap the leeds, so that was a big help there. Edit: It also has a 200watt bluetooth ready amp and 4 x 50w speakers, internal and legal night lights, a 9.9 electric start kicker, and 2 bilge pumps.

[@FoothillsMarine]

Hey there! Thanks for reaching out. You'll need a cranking battery for everything (motor, kicker, accessories) except the trolling motor. The trolling motor would have it's own deep-cycle battery(s). With your accessories, you'd probably be good with at least a 800-1000 cold cranking amp battery for everything. Feel free to call us at 828-439-9022! We're happy to help.

[@tomlanchester]

if you have 2 AGM batteries together just for your sterio and amps, could you use a solar panel to charge the 2 batteries together while cranking the tunes ? same for lithium

[@FoothillsMarine]

Short answer: yes! Depending on your system, playing music may discharge faster than it would take for your solar panel to get energy. So, it's a viable option but may not be 100% efficient at offsetting the energy it takes to power your stereo and amps. Additionally, there are more solar panel options and solutions with regards to lithium batteries, but of course, it comes at a higher cost. I will say, solar is only going to become more a more viable and affordable means of powering your batteries.

[@royfletcher8548]

AGMs for me… when I saw company’s want nearly $2000 for a single 36v battery I realized that Lithium is not for the average guy. That is absurd pricing and not to mention I’ve heard horror stories where these batteries aren’t lasting as long as they originally thought. Also you have to gut your on board charging system and buy a whole new one? AGM’s perform nearly just as well for 1/8 the price… easy decision.

[@dannowak8235]

You incorrect, at 3:48 -Mercury has approved Lithium batteries however they need the BMS system on the battery like Ionic has.

[@FoothillsMarine]

You're absolutely right, Dan. Mercury's approved li-ion batteries with BMS systems. However, from the dealer side, it's standard to not recommend this practice as we're not the providers of said batteries - which may not be compatible with certain BMS systems and thus are a risk for the motors. Thank you for your clarification though. It's important to know!

[@CAN43725]

@@FoothillsMarine Have yet to hear of a problem with Ionic batteries for a Mercury or Yamaha. Maybe you could list the proven (if any) Lithium batteries that will harm your Mercury or Yamaha motor rather than not recommending any of them.

[@FoothillsMarine]

​@@CAN43725 You make a great point - would be interesting to make a video going deeper into that topic. As the comment above mentioned, batteries with BMS systems are approved from Mercury. We wouldn't recommend a lithium without it. Truth is, there are too many systems and motors on the market to make a comprehensive video explaining which lithiums are proven to be harmful. For now, standard dealership practice is to operate at the engine manufacturers' discretion. The market is changing, however. More recently, we've seen boat manufacturers factory install lithiums, so we could see boat manufacturers and engine manufacturers alike take a different stance in the near future. Thanks for your comment!

[@sheaffergrubbs6056]

Any problems out of your Ionic lithium battery

[@andyspurlin9165]

I dont believe any of these lithiums are lithium ion. All the cranking and trolling batteries Ive seen are all Lithium iron phosphate or Lifepo4. Different than what comes in say a cell phone or ipad.

[@rickss69]

Exactly