I use a 12v trolling motor on a dinghy and would like to replace the heavy SLA with something a bit more portable. I don't need a huge capacity, I just want to be able to easily take it home to charge. The motor draws around 53A at full power and I really only need about 20mins endurance, so 20A usable capacity should be plenty.
I've investigated LFP and using conventional (1C) cells I'd need a fairly big and expensive pack. Seems a bit overkill for what I need.
LiPoly however offers crazy high discharge rates, so I could get by with a tiny pack.
My worries are:
- the voltage of a 4x pack is quite a bit higher than the SLA that the motor is designed to use;
- I guess I will still need a BMS?
- the fire risk of LiPoly is much higher than LFP, I think?
Would be interested to hear any thoughts on this, especially if anybody has actually tried it.
I've investigated LFP and using conventional (1C) cells I'd need a fairly big and expensive pack. Seems a bit overkill for what I need.
LiPoly however offers crazy high discharge rates, so I could get by with a tiny pack.
My worries are:
- the voltage of a 4x pack is quite a bit higher than the SLA that the motor is designed to use;
- I guess I will still need a BMS?
- the fire risk of LiPoly is much higher than LFP, I think?
Would be interested to hear any thoughts on this, especially if anybody has actually tried it.