TECHNICAL HOW LITHIUM BATTERIES ARE CHANGING ONBOARD POWER

Everyone has their own theories and experiences of what type of battery is best for use in the liveaboard marine environment. Traditionally, the choice was always big and heavy, open flooded lead-acid (FLA) batteries and many still swear by this simple technology. The main benefits being that you can top them up with distilled water easily and test the capacity of each cell using a hydrometer. They’re also easy to source and less expensive than newer tech batteries.

Their main drawbacks are their size, weight and tendency to lose their capacity over time. The old saying ‘heavy is best’ referred to the fact that the heavier it was, the thicker the plates and the longer they would last.

However, being so heavy persuaded many to build their service bank from easier to manhandle 6V batteries (often golf-cart