45 year old weekend warrior here. I fish the local BFL and some regional events when work allows. Nothing serious, but I take it seriously enough that equipment failures drive me crazy.
My boat is a 2018 Ranger Z518c with a 150 Merc and a 24V Minn Kota Fortrex on the bow. Great setup but I've had battery issues cost me fish more than once. Nothing worse than having a good pattern going and your trolling motor starts losing power at 1 PM.
Last season I had two tournaments where I had to limp back early because my lead acids couldn't hold up. First one was a charging issue the night before. Second one was just old batteries giving up in cold weather. Both times, I probably cost myself a check.
This off season I completely redid the power system. Went with a dual lithium setup using two Vatrer Power 12V 100Ah batteries wired in series for 24V trolling motor power. Each battery has its own independent BMS, and I can isolate them if needed.
The redundancy is what sold me. If one battery has an issue, I can switch to the other and keep fishing. In practice, I run both together for normal use, but knowing I have a backup gives me peace of mind.
Tested the new setup at a local tournament last month. Fished from 6 AM to 4 PM in 40 degree weather. Ran the Fortrex on high most of the day, working docks and timber. Finished with 74% on battery A and 71% on battery B. I literally didn't know what to do with myself having that much power left.
The Bluetooth monitoring is clutch too. I can check exact charge levels from the driver's seat without crawling back to the battery compartment. During a tournament every minute counts.
Weight savings is about 80 pounds compared to my old group 31 lead acids. Boat sits better and gets on plane quicker. Trailer tongue weight is down too which my truck appreciates.
Yes, it was expensive. Two lithium batteries plus new chargers ran me about $1,400. But if it saves me from bombing one tournament, it pays for itself. Plus, I should get 10 years out of these vs 3 to 4 for lead acid.
Posted by ApplicationNew4144