[C320-list] Lithium vs. golf cart

[Troy Dunn]

Jack-

You are on the right track with your assumptions.  It really does boil down
to your own cruising habits and needs.   It doesn’t sound like space or
weight are drivers for you so then it comes down to cost (both long term
and short term).   A few years back Lithium was still around $2000 for
100Ah (the equivalent of roughly 200Ah of FLA…kinda, there are couple other
considerations to consider there) back then unless you were full time live
aboard cruising and passage making, it was hard to argue LiFePO4 was a
winner.   Now the choice gets harder.

IF money is no object go to LiFePO4.

Some other items to consider.

1) your charge efficiency is going to be way higher with LiFePO4.  It
doesn’t have the long tail to get to 100% SOC.   This mean you save fuel
and you also put less wear and tear on the alternator (sort of)

2) your charge efficiency is almost flat with LiFePO4.   Our alternators
were never designed to run full out max for long periods of time.

3) lifetime cycles is way higher for LiFePO4.  So over the very long haul.
You end up with a much longer battery life assuming some sort of average
cycles per year.  Just realize that lifetime is measured in cycles not
time.   If you only cycle the batteries 40 times a year AND you take care
of your FLAs those can last as long as 8-10 years.  How much longer do you
plan to sail? (yeah I know there’s a thread on this topic too LOL)

4) LiFePO4 doesn’t spill.  This is a big plus over FLA.  Not as big a plus
over AGM.

5) LiFePO4 doesn’t need to be watered.

6) LiFePO4 has a higher voltage = more watts…    so…this does mean you
actually get even more useable energy compared to lead acid.   Amp Hours is
a poor measure of energy….watts are better, higher voltage means more watts
per Amp and therefore more  watt hours per amp hour.

I went the GC2 route.   All of my install work and upgrades are documented
in my gallery (including wiring diagrams).  No issues so far.

Cheers

Troy