Move Over, Lead Acid

Move Over, Lead Acid

- Scott Neuman

Managing a cruising boat’s DC electrical system can feel a bit like performing a juggling act. The demands of modern, power-hungry onboard amenities, such as refrigeration and watermakers, must be balanced against a bevy of charging sources: solar, wind, engine alternators and stand-alone generators. Any miscalculation can send the elaborate network crashing down.

Of course, the heart of it all is the house battery bank. Lead acid flooded cell units were once the only choice; however, in recent years, other types of lead-acid chemistry, such as absorbed glass mat (AGM) and gel cells, have made significant inroads. And now, a small but growing minority of cruisers is opting for a different battery chemistry: lithium-ion, or Liion, the same technology that powers your cell phone.

Ken Jones and his family have been cruising the Caribbean aboard their Catalina 380 Aqua Vida since 2013. A year and a half ago, he needed to replace the house bank of several heavy and cumbersome 4D lead-acid batteries. At the time, Aqua Vida’s sole source of charging was the engine’s alternator. First, Jones decided to add 400 watts of solar panels. Then, a solar contractor steered him toward Clearwater, Fla.-based Lithionics, a pioneer in marine lithium-ion battery installations.

Jones had a lengthy conversation with the company’s engineering manager, Stephen Tartaglia. He even visited the Lithionics facility, and was duly impressed. “Based on [Stephen’s] explanation and with the technical information [available], we made our decision,” Jones said.