What experiences have you had with Lithium Batteries?

[wtmjr]

My wife called me because her car would not start. My son had just put a new battery in it. I had bought a lithium-ion jump starter for her car only the week before. I connected the jump starter and the car fired right up, but stopped as soon as I disconnected it. So because she had to get to work and I needed the other vehicle, I left the jump starter connected and drove it to her work a few miles, she followed in the other vehicle. Once there I jumped her car several times while diagnosing her car. It turned out it needed a new cable and terminals. After all that the jump starter still had a 60% charge remaining! And it still works fine! The short of this is that if the extra cost of a lithium battery is not an issue, I would prefer them to lead acid batteries. William

 

[ThreeWheels]

OK. I'm taking the plunge.
I have a 2020 RT Limited. The original YUASA battery failed and left me stranded after I owned the bike for 18 months.
I installed a non OEM Super Start that I've had for another 18 months. I don't trust it.
They don't make them like they used to.
I bought the lithium battery from Lamonster and a new battery tender from Walmart that is designed for Lithium and Lead/Acid batteries.

 

[Border Rider]

I just recently attended a class on lithium ion batteries that was put on by our state fire academy and our state haz mat team.
After seeing what fire departments are going to have to do to try and extinguish these batteries when they ignite I have a total
distain for lithium batteries. With all the push for EV vehicles, they have created an enviromental nightmare.

 

[BertRemington]

Do not use a Lithium-Ion traction battery!

For your Spyder use a LiFePo4 (LFX) starter battery (eg Shorai and several others). If damaged the LFX chemistry is safer than a FLA/SLA battery (won't spill acid, won't catch on fire) although it has higher internal resistance than the Lithium-Ion battery. Apparently Tesla uses LFX in its cheapest car where performance is less important than cost. And using a charger designed for LFX batteries will extend their lives.

 

[MonPaul]

Thinking about getting a lithium battery for my 2018 Spyder RTL. Has anyone had experience storing it in a cold climate? I contacted NOCO (the battery jetfixer bought) and they said: The storage and operating recommended temperatures for our batteries are -4F to 140F/-20C to 60C. I find it hard to believe it can be stored that cold since I lost a few lithium power tool batteries by forgetting to bring them in from the garage over winter. Please let me know good or bad if you have used or stored these in cold weather - I live in Wisconsin, so even though I keep it in a garage it still gets cold!

 

[RayBJ]

Re: Experience with Lithium batteries. I had one in my Triumph Trophy. Spent the night in Fairplay, Co and woke to 26F. Attempted to start the bike and got nada, zip, nogots! Plugged in my heated jacket (direct wired to battery) for 2 minutes and the bike started with no problem after that. I haven't used a Lithium in any of my rides since.

 

[MonPaul]

Re: Experience with Lithium batteries. I had one in my Triumph Trophy. Spent the night in Fairplay, Co and woke to 26F. Attempted to start the bike and got nada, zip, nogots! Plugged in my heated jacket (direct wired to battery) for 2 minutes and the bike started with no problem after that. I haven't used a Lithium in any of my rides since.

I wouldn't be riding it in the cold weather, just storing it. Or will that still do damage?

 

[Raven]

Ok here is my 2ct's.
Lithium batteries weigh less, have higher CCA ratings and are smaller.
No argument.
Years ago Motorcyclist magazine fried the electrical system on a brand new Ducti during testing a lithium battery
From what I have be told, when you hit the starter on one, they crank until the bike starts.( didn't start)
A shop near me catered to motorcycle road racers and sold many because of the light weight.
He had a bunch of guys complain about starting issues on cold mornings.
A friend who lived in the southern US had a built Harley XR 1200.
He had the battery do a melt down while riding. almost lost the bike.
Do I really need one, probably not.
Would I like more CCA's yes. But as long as my bike starts in the morning I am OK.
Would I like less weight. The Ryker weighs over 650 lb's, what is saving 10lb's.
If I would lay off the bacon cheese burgers and fries, I can lose that much.
I have a Delton Battery Tender Jr that I have used for 18 years without any trouble, The Ryker will be the fourth bike it has been on. ( KTM, Buell. Harley XR1200)
I am NOT saying don't buy one If you have and it works for you, great.
If you really want one, it's your choice. Sorry about the long post.
Bruce

 

[PMK]

Still enjoying the Shorai lithium battery installed in the Spyder.

Does not get truly cold here in SoFlo, so warming the battery as stated in the Shorai instructions, by turning on the headlights has not been done and could not happen until the engine starts.

So far, very pleased with the battery and no issues. 50 miles or so of riding yesterday, running errands and visiting my wife's mom.

 

[K80Shooter]

No problems with my Noco NLP20. I've had for only a little over a year.

 

[acdcking12]

Thanks for the info. So using a Lithium-Ion battery in a Spyder would be constantly charged by the 1330 alternator? And the alternator would not over charge or harm the battery? Also, I guess a Lithium-Ion charger would not be needed as long as the Spyder was ridden year round?

I ride my bike year around, and I do not use a tender, conditioner, etc. And My bike might sit for 3 weeks as well. Always starts right up. Now, if I ride it to work and it is really cold out, say 25F, when i get on to leave to go home, it is slightly more sluggish to start. But it has always started.

 

[thereverend]

I just installed the npl20 in my 2015 RT, I believe this is the way to go.

 

[broderp]

The second to last paragraph from the link says it all to me:

"You can use a lead acid charger on a lithium battery if you want, HOWEVER, you must NOT use a lead-acid charger if it has an automatic “equalisation mode” which cannot be permanently turned off. A lead-acid charger that can be set to charge no higher than 14.6v can be used for regular charging and then MUST be disconnected after the battery is fully charged. DO NOT leave the lead-acid charger connected to maintain or store the battery, because most will NOT maintain the proper voltage charge algorithm for lithium batteries and damage will occur to the battery that is not covered under battery warranty."

Sounds like most healthy charging systems (I have not measured my Spyder's charging voltage yet) can charge a LiPo. My concern is the voltage must be removed once the battery is full. I'm not aware of any vehicles where the charging system stops charging the battery with the exception of maybe an EV. This would imply that unless the battery itself has a shut off feature it is very possible to overcharge. It would also need to be able to activate this same circuit and allow vehicle voltage to charge only when needed to minimize charging cycles and maximize battery life.

Unless the battery has built in charging control, a 3rd party circuit exists or can be added, I'm not sold on trying it. Which is a shame because I was interested in this to shed a few easy pounds in the front of my F3S when the time came to replace the OEM battery.

 

[AndysF3S]

I haven't bought a liFePO4 yet but when I do it will be from a US manufacturer like EarthX or Antigravity who have built batteries for colder temperatures and are used in sleds etc. If looking to buy one look at site specific info not generic internet info. If it was built for your application the vehicle charging system should be fine but not necessarily the plug in charger/maintainers that many have at home. FWIW.

 

[BoatFixx]

I don't understand. If the LiPo battery needs a special charger, how does the vehicle charging system designed for a conventional battery work ?
If the battery is dead, can you jumo it using a conventional jump pack or jumper cables to another vehicle ??

Here you go...

https://www.optimabatteries.com/experience/blog/why-does-my-lithium-battery-need-a-special-charger