So… are the starter lead acid, agm,tppl batteries in their final few years?

[Fuss]

Could this be?

no longer much cheaper than other solutions..and the other solutions getting cheaper by the day.

heavy,
sometimes complicated charging regimes,
after 3 years, will it still start your engine reliably for the next 2+ years..
surprisingly finding them swollen and very hot one day, then big emergency removal.
Surely, the writing is on the wall …
Will sailors 2 years from now seriously consider buying for starting…

[donradcliffe]

I can't tell you how many shirts and shorts got holes in them after handling lead acid batteries.

[rslifkin]

I expect lead for starter batteries will eventually go away. It's just a question of when the all-in cost of an alternative, its charging systems, etc. becomes reliably lower. And also when the alternatives have enough in service experience to be widely accepted as simple to use and reliable.

At this point I could ditch my lead start batteries and replace them with something else. But I have no compelling reason to. They last well in my application (6 years and counting for the current AGMs) and they just work. The weight doesn't matter in my application either. Charging setup for the start batteries on my boat is also built with lead in mind, so some alternatives might need changes there.

At this point I avoid flooded lead even though they're cheaper than AGM. Just because they're more of a pain to work with as Don alluded to.

[wholybee]

I'm not sure they are in their final few years. Technically, LFP can replace them, but the characteristics of LFP are not ideal, and it's expensive. I expect a newer chemistry will replace them soon, but I don't think it will be LFP.

Interestingly, a friend of mine recently missed a concert we were going to because his EV would not start. The issue was the 12V FLA battery in the car had died. That is an application I thought would have gone away, since it doesn't even have an ICE. But whoever engineered the car thought it best that the interior electronics and control systems run off a FLA instead of the large Lithium battery. Maybe so the computer, doorlocks, etc. will all still work if you drive until the main battery is dead?

[Tillikum]

Lithium: good for environmental schizophrenia.


Hot and swollen batteries are probably preferable to flames and smoke, unless you're looking for an insurance settlement.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Tillikum

Lithium: good for environmental schizophrenia.


Hot and swollen batteries are probably preferable to flames and smoke, unless you're looking for an insurance settlement.

Not all lithium chemistries are dangerous though. LFP is easily as safe as lead acid, for example. Some other chemistries wouldn't be an option on a boat for safety reasons though.