Battery Opinions/Experiences

Energy One

Jersey Big Mike

100K mile club
I would never put a standard Lithium Ion battery in my bike -- I did do a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery in -- Had it less then 3 weeks before it went to being a problem.
Lithium batteries do not like COLD. You need to turn the bike on and let the battery warm up from the power draw of the headlight before starting or it might not crank over.
The biggest reason I would not install one is the number of fires being attributed to Lion batteries, This just made the news the other day https://hardware.slashdot.org/story...ies-nearly-doubled-this-year-in-new-york-city

I'll pass and continue with a Deka which is KNOWN to be reliable.
 

Jwooky

Well-Known Member
Fear mongering aside, yes I bought that exact battery this year. There is another post on the subject also.

I was skeptical also, but I’m tired of feeding my bike batteries every few years. I have decked jugs, heads with higher compression and the Deka(s) etc never turned it over competently, even new, let alone a few years old.

This battery spins the motor over very fast and hard. Better than any I’ve seen on any bike.
First year I have not had to worry with a sluggish start. It tends to live ~13.5 V. Never drops.

It is very compact and extremely light. Comes with spacers to fill the space. Very nice terminals too.

That’s the good, but it’s only been 6-7mo to be fair.

The only issue I have had is the BMS (Battery Management System) kicked it off one time for reasons that are not clear to me for about 10 sec. I had just keyed on then no power till it reset. I talked to the company, and they said I could send in for diagnostics, but it never happened again and I didn’t want wait during our short riding season.

I’ll report back, if anything interesting happens and how it holds up.
 

Jwooky

Well-Known Member
I would never put a standard Lithium Ion battery in my bike -- I did do a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery in -- Had it less then 3 weeks before it went to being a problem.
Lithium batteries do not like COLD. You need to turn the bike on and let the battery warm up from the power draw of the headlight before starting or it might not crank over.
The biggest reason I would not install one is the number of fires being attributed to Lion batteries, This just made the news the other day https://hardware.slashdot.org/story...ies-nearly-doubled-this-year-in-new-york-city

I'll pass and continue with a Deka which is KNOWN to be reliable.
This is a lot of half truths, maybe things that happened 10 generations ago, sorry.
Kinda like saying, don’t use gas because ford pintos were exploding.
Technology evolves.
 

Mickmorris

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
This is a lot of half truths, maybe things that happened 10 generations ago, sorry.
Kinda like saying, don’t use gas because ford pintos were exploding.
Technology evolves.
I agree about the half truths part. I use them in my R/C racing boat. I have seen them take a over charge and burst into flames. But if maintained correctly and stored at the correct charge they pretty much last forever. Not tried one on my bike yet.
 

Mikeinjersey

Well-Known Member
Fear mongering aside, yes I bought that exact battery this year. There is another post on the subject also.

I was skeptical also, but I’m tired of feeding my bike batteries every few years. I have decked jugs, heads with higher compression and the Deka(s) etc never turned it over competently, even new, let alone a few years old.

This battery spins the motor over very fast and hard. Better than any I’ve seen on any bike.
First year I have not had to worry with a sluggish start. It tends to live ~13.5 V. Never drops.

It is very compact and extremely light. Comes with spacers to fill the space. Very nice terminals too.

That’s the good, but it’s only been 6-7mo to be fair.

The only issue I have had is the BMS (Battery Management System) kicked it off one time for reasons that are not clear to me for about 10 sec. I had just keyed on then no power till it reset. I talked to the company, and they said I could send in for diagnostics, but it never happened again and I didn’t want wait during our short riding season.

I’ll report back, if anything interesting happens and how it holds up.
Is the battery you have the NOCO NLP 20? Can you explain the BMS and its purpose? I couldn't find info about it. Thanks
 

Jersey Big Mike

100K mile club
This is a lot of half truths, maybe things that happened 10 generations ago, sorry.
Kinda like saying, don’t use gas because ford pintos were exploding.
Technology evolves.
The biggest thing is more are LIFePo (LithiumIronPhoshphate) which is FAR FAR better than normal LION.
I did the Lithium thing in 2011, not going to do it again in the BDM without a LOT of research and some serious changes to the charging system and a BMS that I am satisfied with.

MikeinJersey -- BMS is Battery Management System and is used when charging Lithium batteries so that each cell can get charged properly -- charging cells in the Lithium is not like in a Lead-Acid battery, there is much more to it to make it safe, hence the BMS

Jwooky -- If you've got something that works -- stick with it. My Lithium when I had it spun my motor great. When my Lithium went, it went hard and fast (it was not a NoCO) but whatever black clouds followed me that day decided that when I hit the start button that it would keep the starter on even after releasing the button (never did it after that or prior) and damn near melted wires etc to the battery. Switch and EHC tested OK and after putting in new battery to starter wire and groundnever happened again. I can't tell you what happened for sure as I don't know. All I do know is that it never happened with the prior AGM batteries or ones that went in that bike up unti it got totalled in an accident.

I will say the one thing to look out for and hopefully you'll never have it happen, but if while checking under the seat, you see that battery swollen even in the least bit -- get it checked out -- that's the biggest warning sign.
 

kickstart

Well-Known Member
Was just looking at Deka ETX 20L and damn did the price go crazy like everything else, 169.95 Amazon plus S&T, 129.99 Battery Warehouse Free shipping.
Still the best one for our Dogs.
 

Jwooky

Well-Known Member
Is the battery you have the NOCO NLP 20? Can you explain the BMS and its purpose? I couldn't find info about it. Thanks
Yes I have the 20.

There are multiple sensors within modern Li batters for temperature, current, voltage. Etc.

The BMS monitors the health of the cells and will disable them if the are out of range.
This is what keeps them safe, but also can extend the life of the battery. If one or two goes bad, it’s generally fine the keep using the battery as they are overpowered.

I get there is concerns over some of the old ones, but they have evolved. Time will tell.
 

Jwooky

Well-Known Member
The biggest thing is more are LIFePo (LithiumIronPhoshphate) which is FAR FAR better than normal LION.
I did the Lithium thing in 2011, not going to do it again in the BDM without a LOT of research and some serious changes to the charging system and a BMS that I am satisfied with.

MikeinJersey -- BMS is Battery Management System and is used when charging Lithium batteries so that each cell can get charged properly -- charging cells in the Lithium is not like in a Lead-Acid battery, there is much more to it to make it safe, hence the BMS

Jwooky -- If you've got something that works -- stick with it. My Lithium when I had it spun my motor great. When my Lithium went, it went hard and fast (it was not a NoCO) but whatever black clouds followed me that day decided that when I hit the start button that it would keep the starter on even after releasing the button (never did it after that or prior) and damn near melted wires etc to the battery. Switch and EHC tested OK and after putting in new battery to starter wire and groundnever happened again. I can't tell you what happened for sure as I don't know. All I do know is that it never happened with the prior AGM batteries or ones that went in that bike up unti it got totalled in an accident.

I will say the one thing to look out for and hopefully you'll never have it happen, but if while checking under the seat, you see that battery swollen even in the least bit -- get it checked out -- that's the biggest warning sign.
I appreciate that, that’s a bad experience, I would be concerned too.

I’m the kind that likes to be always improving, and a tech guy. I do as much research as possible, and has generally paid off for me.

It as also true there are times that it’s better to stay with tried and true and let things evolve.
I took an education chance, so far so good, let’s see how it holds up.
 

Jersey Big Mike

100K mile club
I appreciate that, that’s a bad experience, I would be concerned too.

I’m the kind that likes to be always improving, and a tech guy. I do as much research as possible, and has generally paid off for me.

It as also true there are times that it’s better to stay with tried and true and let things evolve.
I took an education chance, so far so good, let’s see how it holds up.
I too am a tech guy. I did the try the new thing and it failed so I'm now retired and not going to risk the funds on experimenting again.
BMS is ABSOLUTELY the most important aspect of any goof LIFePo4 battery.
Mike-in-jersey == here's the laymans version of what it does https://lithiumhub.com/product-information/ionic-batteries/lithium-battery-management-system/
 
The MAJOR thing to bear in mind with any Lithium battery is never cause the battery to be excited in sub-38-degree weather, unless you have a heat blanket wrapped around it to keep it warm.
The suspension liquid freezes, and it turns into little crystals that look like the maces the knights used to carry around.
When the battery is excited in any way those crystals start to move and then penetrate the divider material.
Once penetrated the battery cell goes into a meltdown mode and it is extinguisher time.
Customer installed a new Elektronik EHC, new charging system and a Noco Lithium battery.
I haven't heard good things about their longevity though in BDs and I think that may be due to their low amp hour rating.
Anyway, customer had company over, and his friend wanted to check out his BD.
They go out in the garage; he turns the bike on and fires it up for a minute and then shuts it off.
So, they are standing there talking and the next thing he knows smokes starts coming out from under the seat.
While we are still not sure exactly what happened as he is waiting for his insurance company to look at everything before he cleans it up and starts checking things out but once I saw the Noco and he told me it was about 20 degrees outside I knew right away what happened.
 

Jwooky

Well-Known Member
Horrific Keep us posted on what they find out.

One of the things I specifically looked at was all the reviews, several thousand and it included many from cold weather usages and regions and folks using them in snowmobiles. The BMS should manage any condition.
 

kickstart

Well-Known Member
The MAJOR thing to bear in mind with any Lithium battery is never cause the battery to be excited in sub-38-degree weather, unless you have a heat blanket wrapped around it to keep it warm.
The suspension liquid freezes, and it turns into little crystals that look like the maces the knights used to carry around.
When the battery is excited in any way those crystals start to move and then penetrate the divider material.
Once penetrated the battery cell goes into a meltdown mode and it is extinguisher time.
Customer installed a new Elektronik EHC, new charging system and a Noco Lithium battery.
I haven't heard good things about their longevity though in BDs and I think that may be due to their low amp hour rating.
Anyway, customer had company over, and his friend wanted to check out his BD.
They go out in the garage; he turns the bike on and fires it up for a minute and then shuts it off.
So, they are standing there talking and the next thing he knows smokes starts coming out from under the seat.
While we are still not sure exactly what happened as he is waiting for his insurance company to look at everything before he cleans it up and starts checking things out but once I saw the Noco and he told me it was about 20 degrees outside I knew right away what happened.
Smoke coming out from under the seat causes a few intense moments, my EHC did that on my 05 Bulldog. The intense moments are looking for a 10 mm wrench, I have one in each jacket and vest I own. Never leave home without one.

Curtis, Thanks for the Battery source.
 
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