Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 43

Hate running the
generator all night
and getting little sleep?
New lithium-ion battery
systems are changing
the face of boating,
bringing new capabilities and incredible
benefits - for a price.

Appliances used in modern boats
are energy-efficient, but we offset
that by loading more and more of
them onboard.

Smaller, lighter and far more potent than
traditional lead acid cells, lithium-ion
batteries are revolutionizing boat systems
just as they have revolutionized everything
else, from campers to mobile phones.
POWER TO BURN
For years boaters have relied on deepcycle batteries to power their electric accessories, including wet-cell lead acid
batteries that you have to occasionally top
up with water, and both gel and Absorbent
Glass Mat (AGM) lead acid batteries
which are sealed and require no maintenance. While AGM represented a clear
improvement over older-technology gel
batteries - and the even older wet cell

Mastervolt Lithium-Ion Battery Lineup.

types - when it first came to market, at the
end of the day even today's latest AGM
batteries still represent an incremental
update to what is an old technology.
Lithium-ion batteries, by comparison,
are a next-generation design that outperforms lead acid batteries in multitude
ways, starting with far longer run times.
Donald Hasler, strategic account manager
for Canadian power system manufacturer
Xantrex, notes that the maximum point of
discharge for a traditional lead acid battery
is to a level that's around 50 percent of its
total capacity. In other words, your 900amp battery is really only good to about
450 amps before it's effectively done.
Drawing it down beyond that level can
significantly shorten the battery's life, says
Hasler, and will likely void the manufacturer's warranty.
By comparison, a lithium-ion battery
can be run all the way to a zero percent
state of charge consistently, and without
doing it any harm. "The fact you can
access virtually all of the battery's capacity
gives it a substantially greater run time,
enabling lithium-ion batteries to power
loads for far longer than traditional cells
can," he says. "In practical use, swapping
out a lead acid battery for a lithium-ion
battery of the exact same rating will give
you approximately twice as much run time
before you run out of power."
That's a huge benefit that cannot be
overstated - especially on a boat where
every cubic inch of space is precious.
Simply replacing a lead acid cell with a
lithium-ion battery immediately gives you
twice as much power without increasing

the number of batteries or the amount of
space they chew up.
So what exactly do you do with all this
extra capacity? For starters, how about
running your air conditioner all night without any need for a generator? Just imagine,
never again lying there blinking like a
pigeon, unable to sleep, while its mechanical humming drones out the loons. Imagine no more awkward stares from people
on the other boats who also couldn't sleep
over the sound of your genset. Imagine no
longer having to deal with refueling the
thing in the middle of the night - as we've
all done at one point or another.
Yes - battery capacity can be a lovely
thing indeed.
LONGER LIFE CYCLES
Another significant advantage of lithiumion batteries is their substantially longer
life cycle. Where a traditional deep-cycle
AGM battery might deliver anywhere up
to 500 charging cycles before it needs to
be replaced, a comparable lithium-ion
battery can last through somewhere
around 3,500 charging cycles before it
gives up the ghost.
"The stat that's used, and that's commonly accepted, is that a lithium-ion
battery has a lifespan that's about seven
times the number of charge cycles as an
AGM battery," says Dave Maryanov, marketing manager for Power Products, the
manufacturer of Mastervolt batteries and
chargers. So instead of replacing a wornout AGM battery after two or three years
of serious use, committed cruisers can run
a lithium-ion cell for 10 to 15 years

w w w. c a n a d i a n y a c h t i n g . c a

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http://www.canadianyachting.ca

Canadian Yachting June 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Yachting June 2020

At the Helm: Uncharted Waters
Special Feature: Canadian Cruising - There’s No Place Like Home!
Travel Destination: The Rideau – Living the Past Today
Travel Destination: From Montreal Fun to Lake Champlain Serenity
Power Review: Axopar 37 XC
Electric Power: Re-powering with Electric
The Port Hole: June 2020
Tech: Lithium Ion and Solar Power
DIY/Maintenance: Synthetic Teak Decking
Crossing The Line: Self-Isolation
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - Intro
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - Cover1
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - Cover2
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - At the Helm: Uncharted Waters
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 4
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 5
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - Special Feature: Canadian Cruising - There’s No Place Like Home!
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 7
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 8
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 9
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - Travel Destination: The Rideau – Living the Past Today
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 11
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 12
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 13
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - Travel Destination: From Montreal Fun to Lake Champlain Serenity
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 15
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 16
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 17
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 18
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 19
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - Power Review: Axopar 37 XC
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 21
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 22
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 23
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - Electric Power: Re-powering with Electric
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 25
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 26
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 27
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 28
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - The Port Hole: June 2020
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 30
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 31
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 32
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 33
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 34
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 35
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 36
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 37
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 38
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 39
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 40
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 41
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - Tech: Lithium Ion and Solar Power
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 43
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 44
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 45
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 46
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 47
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - DIY/Maintenance: Synthetic Teak Decking
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 49
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 50
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 51
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 52
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 53
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 54
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 55
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 56
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 57
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 58
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 59
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 60
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - 61
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - Crossing The Line: Self-Isolation
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - Cover3
Canadian Yachting June 2020 - Cover4
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