Lithium Batteries for Small Boats: A LiFePO4 Buyer’s Guide

In a LiFePO4 market awash in exaggerated specs and shifting brand names, we break down what to look for—and what to ignore—when choosing a house battery for your sailboat.

By
Stephen Burnage
-
0

In the series of articles "Lithium Batteries for Small Boats," "Lithium Batteries for Small Boats: Install Guide" and "Lithium Batteries for Small Boats: Troubleshooting" we concluded that a practical configuration for the typical sailboat is to retain lead acid on the start side and upgrade to LiFePO4 technology on the house (or leisure) side. This article builds on that by exploring what to look for in selecting such a LiFePO4 battery.

To continue reading this article or issue you must be a paid member.
JOIN NOW

Join Practical Sailor

Get full access to Practical-Sailor.com – more than 4,000 articles – for just $34.
Join today and save 42% off our full price.
Already a member?
| Forgot your password? | Activate Web Access
Stephen Burnage
Stephen Burnage is a full-time cruiser, having retired in 2017. He left Vancouver, Canada and headed south for warmer climates, on his 1975 Cal 34 sailboat “Moonrise”, in 2018. Since then, Stephen, Moonrise and occasionally his wife Anita, have cruised the West Coast of North and Central America. They are presently in Boca Chica, Panama. Stephen originally trained in the UK as an Electrical Technician Engineer and then proceeded to have a forty-year career, managing high voltage electrical systems around the world. Career highlights include building new power infrastructure on six continents; writing a comprehensive paper on how the North American Power Grid operates (and needs to be rebuilt) and; later, owning and operating his own renewable energy business. Stephen is a joint Canadian and British national and a resident of Chile, with an extended family across the world.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR