LiFePO4 Battery that can be used on its side

Does anyone know of any of the more affordable trolling motor LiFePO4 batteries that can be laid on their sides? My old lead acid deep cycle is finally giving up on me and if I am getting a new battery I want a lithium. The boat is a 1648 Alumacraft flatbottom with a factory 4' front deck with a small cubby under it, which I where I want the battery to go. I need a 12v 100ah one and the issue is, is that all of those are too tall to fit in there, however, they will work if they can lay on their long side. The one below is the one "affordable" battery I have found so far that supports side installation. Just wondering if anyone knew of any others that had the same specs and are in the ballpark from a price point.

Amazon.com

I was under the impression that any Lithium battery will function just fine on its side, just like a sealed AGM battery will.

As far as that particular brand & price ... I'm not familiar with the brand, but I've seen 100AH Lithium batteries with the same stats for half that price to two to three times that price, depending on brand & vendor. I'm too new to the game to recommend any particular brand.

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Originally Posted by scout-j-m

Does anyone know of any of the more affordable trolling motor LiFePO4 batteries that can be laid on their sides? My old lead acid deep cycle is finally giving up on me and if I am getting a new battery I want a lithium. The boat is a 1648 Alumacraft flatbottom with a factory 4' front deck with a small cubby under it, which I where I want the battery to go. I need a 12v 100ah one and the issue is, is that all of those are too tall to fit in there, however, they will work if they can lay on their long side. The one below is the one "affordable" battery I have found so far that supports side installation. Just wondering if anyone knew of any others that had the same specs and are in the ballpark from a price point.

Amazon.com

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I've got a TimeUSB brand battery which has been great. 50ah. Just stipulates to not mount it with the top, or front side down. Other sides are OK. I think some of the other models using the front down works. Use the "ask a question" on their website they are pretty responsive.

The link you provided says it can be installed in any orientation. Even upside down. That should work.

https://www.crappie.com/crappie/imag...AAAElFTkSuQmCC

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Originally Posted by CrappiePappy

I was under the impression that any Lithium battery will function just fine on its side, just like a sealed AGM battery will.

As far as that particular brand & price ... I'm not familiar with the brand, but I've seen 100AH Lithium batteries with the same stats for half that price to two to three times that price, depending on brand & vendor. I'm too new to the game to recommend any particular brand.

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I was under that impression too. But after I got more into the weeds on the various ones, it seems most say that you can only set them on the short sides. Ive also watched a teardown video of one on youtube and the guy explained the reasoning for this but its over my head so I cant speak to the why on that.

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Originally Posted by MDCrappie

I've got a TimeUSB brand battery which has been great. 50ah. Just stipulates to not mount it with the top, or front side down. Other sides are OK. I think some of the other models using the front down works. Use the "ask a question" on their website they are pretty responsive.

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Thanks. That was the brand I was initially going to go with I just had trouble finding any info on that. I'll go ask them directly like you suggest.

Which charger did you go with? Im not sure if I will get a Noco or one from the battery manufacturer.

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Originally Posted by NCkenner

The link you provided says it can be installed in any orientation. Even upside down. That should work.

https://www.crappie.com/crappie/imag...AAAElFTkSuQmCC

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Yep this is one of the few I've found that says that. This one is also a "mini" so it's also a couple pounds lighter than similar sized ones. But honestly I would trade off the extra trimmed weight for one with bluetooth if the cost remained the same along with the mounting options I need.

I bought (3) 100ah mini's for my 36V trolling setup. I haven't taken time to install them yet. Hopefully soon.

Good luck with yours!

I bought a ECO-worthy 50ah battery & their charger, since my MK220 charger is not for Lithium batteries. It was basically a "test run" to see if lithium was "worth it" to me. I didn't have it charged 100% when I first used it to run my Livescope & Garmin 93sv setup ... but it did run them just fine for 6hrs continuous use, then quit. I figured at full charge it should last for the 8hrs I originally planned for it to work, but I haven't used it since that first trip. Since then, however, I have purchased a NOCO Genius Pro 10x3 charger ... and can now charge my lead acid starter battery, 68ah AGM TM battery, and the lithium battery at the same time.

On a side note, about the NOCO charger : It charges my lead acid & AGM batteries just like my MinnKota charger did, BUT they seem to hold their charge for a much longer period when charged by NOCO. And, even after charging those batteries with the MK charger, & putting them on the NOCO ... they did not register as 100% charged (all green lights) like they did on the MK. Not sure if the "digital" aspect of the NOCO is the reason or not, but the MK charger is not digital & is just a straight charger ... so that may be the case. :dono

(Just a FYI in case you have any doubts on getting a NOCO charger)

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Originally Posted by scout-j-m

Thanks. That was the brand I was initially going to go with I just had trouble finding any info on that. I'll go ask them directly like you suggest.

Which charger did you go with? Im not sure if I will get a Noco or one from the battery manufacturer.

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I got the below charger when it was $22.49. Been great so far. You can watch the voltage, current and temperature while it is charging.

Amazon.com: 10A 12V/24V Trickle Charger, Smart Automatic Battery Automotive 7-Stage Charging Battery Maintainer with Pulse Repair Function, for Car Truck Motorcycle Lawn Mower Boat

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Originally Posted by CrappiePappy

I bought a ECO-worthy 50ah battery & their charger, since my MK220 charger is not for Lithium batteries. It was basically a "test run" to see if lithium was "worth it" to me. I didn't have it charged 100% when I first used it to run my Livescope & Garmin 93sv setup ... but it did run them just fine for 6hrs continuous use, then quit. I figured at full charge it should last for the 8hrs I originally planned for it to work, but I haven't used it since that first trip. Since then, however, I have purchased a NOCO Genius Pro 10x3 charger ... and can now charge my lead acid starter battery, 68ah AGM TM battery, and the lithium battery at the same time.

On a side note, about the NOCO charger : It charges my lead acid & AGM batteries just like my MinnKota charger did, BUT they seem to hold their charge for a much longer period when charged by NOCO. And, even after charging those batteries with the MK charger, & putting them on the NOCO ... they did not register as 100% charged (all green lights) like they did on the MK. Not sure if the "digital" aspect of the NOCO is the reason or not, but the MK charger is not digital & is just a straight charger ... so that may be the case. :dono

(Just a FYI in case you have any doubts on getting a NOCO charger)

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Yes, I am a big fan of the NOCOs. I have another one of their chargers which is not an onboard one but it will auto detect what type of battery it is and charge accordingly.

TimeUSB got back to me and said that the 100ah group 31 pro could be laid down on its front face, but not the back face or the top. So this battery would work for me. I'm waiting on a follow up to confirm if the same is true for the smaller group 24 size version as well as waiting on replies from a couple of other vendors. Power queen has a group 24 size that also has bluetooth for a bit over $200 so I'm hoping that one can be oriented how I need it as I love the options and size for the price of that one.

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:popcorn

I ordered the WattCycle 12V 100Ah Mini Bluetooth yesterday from their Ebay store. Initial price was $10 higher than on their website but Ebay had a coupon for $40 off. Total price including tax and free shipping was $202.

I ultimately opted for this battery because it is the only mini version that had the bluetooth feature and it does have the low temp charging protection. I was leaning towards the Power Queen group 24 with bluetooth, however, the group 24 is about 1/2 - 3/4" too big to fit inside the compartment opening and I didn't want to have to trim it out any larger. Plus the WattCycle has a 7 year warranty as opposed to a the 5 year most of the others in this price range offer. There were plenty of positive reviews of both teardowns and load tests on this model so I feel confident in the quality. My only hesitation is that the Power Queen bluetooth app looked better.

WattCycle 12v 100Ah Mini LiFePO4 Battery - Bluetooth – Wattcycle-US