LiFePO4 gives $21k Return

[NorthernFocus]

I've now made a couple of cruises with the new battery. It's performing as hoped with no dedicated thruster battery. So I started wondering whether the up front investment pencils out.

The manufacturer claims the battery is good for 6000 charge cycles. I never trust such claims so half it. That's 3000 cycles. At the end of a week on the water it shows two charge cycles. We average 8 weeks on the water every summer so that's16 cycles per year. 3000/16 works out to 187 years. Historically I've averaged $125/yr on batteries for house and thruster banks. 187 x 125 = $23,375 saved less the $2k invested in the LiFePO4 and charger. That's a net return of $21,375. Now I just have to update my will.

 

[Mike and Sarah]

Ha this is funny!
It’s like me trying to justify the value of all the seafood we catch vs store bought.
But I think the lithium upgrade wins compared to seafood vs fuel cost. But then again we always have the freshest best seafood on the table. Plus we have the memory / stories about each catch we make. Priceless

 

[NorthernFocus]

Ha this is funny!
It’s like me trying to justify the value of all the seafood we catch vs store bought...

Typically when we invite friends to dinner we serve halibut and spotted shrimp. It's not the cheap $25/lb stuff from the market. It's the $200/lb stuff we catch ourselves.

 

[Submariner]

I've now made a couple of cruises with the new battery. It's performing as hoped with no dedicated thruster battery. So I started wondering whether the up front investment pencils out.

The manufacturer claims the battery is good for 6000 charge cycles. I never trust such claims so half it. That's 3000 cycles. At the end of a week on the water it shows two charge cycles. We average 8 weeks on the water every summer so that's16 cycles per year. 3000/16 works out to 187 years. Historically I've averaged $125/yr on batteries for house and thruster banks. 187 x 125 = $23,375 saved less the $2k invested in the LiFePO4 and charger. That's a net return of $21,375. Now I just have to update my will.

My first set of AGM's lasted me 90 days. My second set, I got a little over 14 months. Converting to LFP therefore has saved my boating as I couldn't afford to replace my batteries that often, year over year. Not to mention the health care costs associated with moving those heavy lead based batteries in and out of the boat so often.