Firefly Oasis G31 woes

[Cthoops]

Yes, it’s really a shame what happened to the production quality of the FF batteries. We bought ours in late 2017 and they are still going strong even though we have completely ignored them - this includes 5 years of full-time cruising before switching to living aboard for now. If they hadn’t shifted their production, we wouldn’t have hesitated to buy them again. As it is, they aren’t making them anymore so we’ll have to switch (probably to lithium) when they finally die.

[FlyingScot]

Obviously everything fell apart from a business perspective when they had more warranty claims than they could afford. Anyone know the backstory of how they got in that position? Meaning, why did they shift production, was it just for higher profits?

[tanglewood]

Originally Posted by FlyingScot

Obviously everything fell apart from a business perspective when they had more warranty claims than they could afford. Anyone know the backstory of how they got in that position? Meaning, why did they shift production, was it just for higher profits?

I thought the company was sold to an Indian company, and they in turn moved everything to India. Anyone else recall this?

[tanglewood]

Looks like they were spun out of Caterpillar in 2003, went bankrupt in 2010, then assets bought by an Indian gentleman. And now they seem to be defunct again.

[nfbr]

Firefly was always going to fail. >100years now of lead acid. No new inventions in this space. We know how they work.

LiFePO4 is >20years old now

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by newhaul

Cut your losses and upgrade to lifepo4
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...XJLE7BDB9&th=1
Not cheapest but initially but after 15 years it will still be running strong .
Just set your charger to the LFP settings . And enjoy a cold drink and great sunsets

I agree! Our Firefly batteries failed totally at three years. Previous Lifelines, five.

Now Blue Herron LiFePo. Fantastic! We have lithium start and house banks so no goofy DC-DC devices and switch gear, diodes etc.

Hank George. hank@starboardlanding.com Great service, links to all necessary software for upgrading my electronics, patch cords, dongles, etc.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

I agree! Our Firefly batteries failed totally at three years. Previous Lifelines, five.

Now Blue Herron LiFePo. Fantastic! We have lithium start and house banks so no goofy DC-DC devices and switch gear, diodes etc.

Hank George. hank@starboardlanding.com Great service, links to all necessary software for upgrading my electronics, patch cords, dongles, etc.

What start battery?
Alternator regulation for LFP?
Sorry for thread drift

[Peeew]

I have a banking 5 of the original firefly G31s that are still going strong after six years. My understanding is that mine were US manufactured and the failure problem cropped up after production was moved overseas.
But if you used the standard AGM charge settings you might have damaged the batteries. The Manual is pretty clear on using a very low, or none, float voltage. For my chargers the AGM setting was too high. I use a “winter storage mode” setting when I use shore power. This setting on my system is low enough for the FF batteries.

[nofacey]

Sounds like this boat lives plugged in at the dock and seldom even overnights…….pretty minor battery requirements.
Buy a AGM and save your boat bucks for fresh sails!

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by newhaul

What start battery?
Alternator regulation for LFP?
Sorry for thread drift

Photos of house and start batteries. Start set is 2 X 12 volts in series. 105 AH @ 24 volts, high discharge. House is three sets of 2 X 12 volt in series. All 24 volt sets are switched in parallel. The original boat wiring separates house and start but they are easily combined by switches and relays.

Start batteries have internal BMS. The house batteries have external BMS.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by nofacey

Sounds like this boat lives plugged in at the dock and seldom even overnights…….pretty minor battery requirements.
Buy a AGM and save your boat bucks for fresh sails!

You do understand lifepo4 are about the same price as agm now days and easier to take care of .