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10-07-2019, 07:02
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#106
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Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 1,225
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Re: Any two years reviews for Firefly batteries?
Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyingScot
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Thanks. It's interesting that none of that is from the manufacturer except the sales flyer.
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10-07-2019, 07:10
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#107
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2015
Boat: R&C Leopard 40
Posts: 864
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Re: Any two years reviews for Firefly batteries?
Quote:
Originally Posted by tanglewood
Thanks. It's interesting that none of that is from the manufacturer except the sales flyer.
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Bruce (Ocean Planet) is a member here. Hopefully he will chime in.
I believe they have the exclusive North American rights for FF Oasis batteries.
__________________
-Chris
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10-07-2019, 07:14
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#108
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Seattle, WA
Boat: 1980 Pacific International Marine 41.5
Posts: 710
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Re: Any two years reviews for Firefly batteries?
Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyingScot
Bruce (Ocean Planet) is a member here. Hopefully he will chime in.
I believe they have the exclusive North American rights for FF Oasis batteries.
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I know fisheries supply sells them. Not sure if hes supplying them, but they definitely have them
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10-07-2019, 07:24
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#109
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2015
Boat: R&C Leopard 40
Posts: 864
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Re: Any two years reviews for Firefly batteries?
Quote:
Originally Posted by chowdan
I know fisheries supply sells them. Not sure if hes supplying them, but they definitely have them
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Their website shows both the G31 and L16+ in stock. I'm not sure I believe that, but I'm not in the market. I bought mine about a year ago and I've been very happy with them.
Going to LiFePO4 would only help me with reduced weight and less voltage sag. Although voltage sag hasn't been an issue for me yet despite pulling 140+ amps using our microwave, hair dryer or heat gun.
If I were to do it again, I might bite the bullet and go LiFePO4 since I only charge from solar. I was fearful of swapping alternators on two engines plus replacing my current inverter/charger combo.
When these wear out, I'll swap. It might be a while.
__________________
-Chris
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11-07-2019, 03:02
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#110
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 303
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Re: Any two years reviews for Firefly batteries?
Quote:
Originally Posted by chowdan
To firefly battery owners - If you did it over again, what would you change now that you've been using them for a bit?
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I've had mine now for about 3 years.
Sooooo much better than the Lifeline's they replaced.
Boat is/was set up for liFePo's but lack of availability of cell caused me to go with FF's.
I have never had any electronic issues with the 11.63v @ 20%. And I have a bunch of electronics.
The only thing that I might do different is to go with the L-16 batt's over the G-31's. But that just be being anal about series strung cells.
FWIW.
I have not gotten ANY of my FF's from Bruce. Nor any of his retailers.
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11-07-2019, 13:51
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#111
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Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Indonesia
Boat: Outremer 55L
Posts: 3,804
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Re: Any two years reviews for Firefly batteries?
Quote:
Originally Posted by missourisailor
I've had mine now for about 3 years.
Sooooo much better than the Lifeline's they replaced.
Boat is/was set up for liFePo's but lack of availability of cell caused me to go with FF's.
I have never had any electronic issues with the 11.63v @ 20%. And I have a bunch of electronics.
The only thing that I might do different is to go with the L-16 batt's over the G-31's. But that just be being anal about series strung cells.
FWIW.
I have not gotten ANY of my FF's from Bruce. Nor any of his retailers.
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Good to hear, starting to sound like my worries are groundless.
Did you purchase from the factory in India? Where did you take delivery? How did the shipping process work out?
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11-07-2019, 16:29
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#112
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 303
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Re: Any two years reviews for Firefly batteries?
Quote:
Originally Posted by fxykty
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Look at my user name and then research FF (mainly dwell on original location).
I think it will then become clear.
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11-07-2019, 17:20
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#113
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cruiser
Join Date: Jan 2017
Boat: Retired from CF
Posts: 13,317
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Re: Any two years reviews for Firefly batteries?
Such a tease
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12-07-2019, 03:55
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#114
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Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Maryland, USA
Boat: 58' Sedan Bridge
Posts: 5,420
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Re: Any two years reviews for Firefly batteries?
Quote:
Originally Posted by missourisailor
I've had mine now for about 3 years.
Sooooo much better than the Lifeline's they replaced.
Boat is/was set up for liFePo's but lack of availability of cell caused me to go with FF's.
I have never had any electronic issues with the 11.63v @ 20%. And I have a bunch of electronics.
The only thing that I might do different is to go with the L-16 batt's over the G-31's. But that just be being anal about series strung cells.
FWIW.
I have not gotten ANY of my FF's from Bruce. Nor any of his retailers.
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Can you say more about WHY they're better for you? What is it about your application or situation that leads you to that? Et cetera?
-Chris
__________________
Chesapeake Bay, USA.
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12-07-2019, 06:06
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#115
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Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Toronto summer rest somewhere else
Boat: Outremer 45/pdq36
Posts: 1,169
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Re: Any two years reviews for Firefly batteries?
Quote:
Originally Posted by ranger42c
Can you say more about WHY they're better for you? What is it about your application or situation that leads you to that? Et cetera?
-Chris
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I can say why thet where better for me , fyi I destroyed my first set and have orderd a second.
My wife and I winter on an Outremer 45 with 3 refrigeration units ,toaster ,hairdryer, usual electronics,watermaker,electric head and this coming year a laundry machine .
I did look at lithium but it was and is beyond my budget .
Because we charge pretty much only with solar (950) watts I wanted batteries that would charge quickly and where able to with stand sulfation when charge cycles were not optimum.
In the 3 years we had the first set,we never ran out of power and used the power as we wished , the high charge rate meant it was very rare for us to not to be back up to close to full capacity every day .
The acceptance rate is the critical factor in getting the batteries back up imo.
Except for fuel our boat is autonomous.
__________________
“Growing older but not up”
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12-07-2019, 09:27
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#116
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cruiser
Join Date: Jan 2017
Boat: Retired from CF
Posts: 13,317
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Re: Any two years reviews for Firefly batteries?
The unique factors that justify paying more for Firefly are
1. resistance to premature EoL in a context where PSOC abuse is unavoidable
If you know you can very regularly get to 100% Full, then the case is not so compelling.
Also, if you could just buy quality FLA at $1/Ah @12V and were willing to just replace every few years, that may well end up cheaper.
2. resistance to premature EoL from high DoD cycling
That can be solved by going to a bigger Ah capacity bank, but that adds weight, takes more space.
There is no magic bullet, no black and white, it's all greyscale decision factors and a question of cost/benefit.
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12-07-2019, 20:17
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#117
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 303
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Re: Any two years reviews for Firefly batteries?
Quote:
Originally Posted by ranger42c
Can you say more about WHY they're better for you? What is it about your application or situation that leads you to that? Et cetera?
-Chris
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I really don’t know how to answer your question/s.
Fire Fly’s were not my first choice. As I have stated in the past, I have set my boat up for LiFePo. Including LiFePo friendly charging sources, split buss’s, HVC & LVC contactors, even provisional wiring for BMS.
Only after the cell sourcing problems became main stream, did I start looking for alternative storage devices. Which is when FF appeared on my scope.
Now that I do have them installed, I don’t think that I ever will finish the LiFePO conversion.
As far as I’m concerned, FF are the consumer friendly version of LiFePo.
All the good and very little of the bad.
Here are some of my observations.
FF vs LifeLine
4 G-31 FF replaced 8ea LifeLine 6v AGM batts. With the 50% DoD rule for AGM’s Both banks have the same usable Ah.
And now I’ve added two more FF (total of 6). All 6 occupy the same space as the 8 LifeLines. I now have more usable Ah cap., than the old bank. In the same space. And less weight.
Also, as a side note, I spent less on the six FF’s than I would have on 8 LifeLines.
I have pretty much a consistent 5~6A load on my boat. With the 4ea FF’s, I can go three days with zero charging. With 6ea, five days with out charging is common.
By zero charging I mean NO shore, wind, solar, gen, aux, nada!
I like to use may batteries not just have them sit around charged all the time.
No way in hell would the LifeLines even come close. But truth be told, they were tired. So new ones most likely would have faired better.
FF vs LiFePO
LiFePO bank with the same capacity as FF, will use less space and weigh less.
If you have the available power, you can charge LiFePO at 1C.
LiFePO operate at a higher voltage. Although I don’t think this is a real issue, others seem to have had problems with FF lower voltage.
LiFePo don’t like to operate or be stored in sub freeze or hot temps.
LiFePo only like to be stored at a partial state of charge.
For optimum life, LiFePo require some sort of management system. Including charging sources that are catered to their needs.
And the final nail in LiFePo coffin is that prismatic cells, with capacity of 400Ah or greater, are a real PITA to get!!!!
Once again, in all fairness, FF’s are a pain to get also.
So to recap, My first choice was LiFePo, but as sourcing became more of an issue, FF's became a very good option "B".
LifeLines would have been option "D" as I would have gone with FLA's before choosing them again.
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13-07-2019, 04:27
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#118
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Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Maryland, USA
Boat: 58' Sedan Bridge
Posts: 5,420
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Re: Any two years reviews for Firefly batteries?
Quote:
Originally Posted by missourisailor
Here are some of my observations.
FF vs LifeLine
4 G-31 FF replaced 8ea LifeLine 6v AGM batts. With the 50% DoD rule for AGM’s Both banks have the same usable Ah.
And now I’ve added two more FF (total of 6). All 6 occupy the same space as the 8 LifeLines. I now have more usable Ah cap., than the old bank. In the same space. And less weight.
Also, as a side note, I spent less on the six FF’s than I would have on 8 LifeLines.
I have pretty much a consistent 5~6A load on my boat. With the 4ea FF’s, I can go three days with zero charging. With 6ea, five days with out charging is common.
By zero charging I mean NO shore, wind, solar, gen, aux, nada!
I like to use may batteries not just have them sit around charged all the time.
No way in hell would the LifeLines even come close. But truth be told, they were tired. So new ones most likely would have faired better.
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Thanks. FWIW, casual comparison around here suggest 6x FF G31s would cost more than 8x Lifeline GC2s. How old were your Lifeline GC2s?
Anyway, I asked more specifically because next year I'm planning to replace 3x Odyssey G31s (going on 11 years old now) with either 3x Lifeline G31s (375 Ah total initial) or 3x Firefly G31s (300 Ah total, initial). The space will only accommodate 3x G31s, or 2X GCs, latter being a step backwards. Another casual comparison: the initial cost of 3x FFs greatly exceeds the cost of the 3x Lifelines. We are almost always plugged in at the end of a day. When we do anchor out, that's usually for usually no more than 2-3 weeks at a time, and that's rare.... more likely a few days at a time and then back to the dock.
-Chris
__________________
Chesapeake Bay, USA.
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13-07-2019, 06:27
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#119
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 303
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Re: Any two years reviews for Firefly batteries?
Quote:
Originally Posted by ranger42c
Thanks. FWIW, casual comparison around here suggest 6x FF G31s would cost more than 8x Lifeline GC2s. How old were your Lifeline GC2s?
Anyway, I asked more specifically because next year I'm planning to replace 3x Odyssey G31s (going on 11 years old now) with either 3x Lifeline G31s (375 Ah total initial) or 3x Firefly G31s (300 Ah total, initial). The space will only accommodate 3x G31s, or 2X GCs, latter being a step backwards. Another casual comparison: the initial cost of 3x FFs greatly exceeds the cost of the 3x Lifelines. We are almost always plugged in at the end of a day. When we do anchor out, that's usually for usually no more than 2-3 weeks at a time, and that's rare.... more likely a few days at a time and then back to the dock.
-Chris
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Useful capacity of the FF is about 240Ah compared to 187Ah for the Life Lines. So FF give you more useful Ah in the same space.
My old Life Lines came with the boat. So I don't really know their true age.
An educated guess would place them around 8 to 10 years old at time of replacement.
You are correct, at MSRP, 6ea FF price out more than 8ea Life Lines. But I wasn't BSing when I said they were less.
I won't tell you what to do. But I will tell you that you won't be disappointed with the FF's.
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13-07-2019, 08:29
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#120
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Jacksonville/ out cruising
Boat: Island Packet 38
Posts: 31,351
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Re: Any two years reviews for Firefly batteries?
The Lifelines are way more available from many different sources than FF.
So you can shop around and get them at much reduced price.
However I don’t think they are a good battery for the average cruiser, especially for a full time cruiser, and if your trying to go full Solar, even more so.
I think they are a great option for a part timer who spends a lot of time plugged in and or motors often and or runs the generator often.
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