Professional BoatBuilder - December-January 2018

38 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

SYSTEMS: Battery Technology

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predict that, in time, problems with the

chemistry will become as rare as they

now are with gasoline and propane.

Drop-in Replacement?

In the meantime, various lithium-

ion battery manufacturers advertise

their products as “drop-in” replace-

ments for lead-acid batteries. It would

be foolish for re t and repair yards to

interpret this too literally. Fundamen-

tally, an energy system built around

lithium-ion batteries needs to be a

fully engineered system in which the

BMS is integrated with, and has a

degree of control over, all the charging

devices on the boat. In the absence of

this, the default safety mechanism for

the BMS is to disconnect the battery

from the boat if the BMS perceives a

condition that threatens the health of

the battery. But if this disconnection

takes place without  rst shutting down

charging devices, a voltage spike

To put this in perspective, we

had similar problems with gas-

oline and propane when they

were  rst introduced to boats.

 ere were numerous  res and

explosions. We learned how to

handle these substances, with

various organizations promul-

gating standards to ensure safe

installations. Notable amongst

these is the American Boat & Yacht

Council (ABYC).  e ABYC is cur-

rently working on a standard for lith-

ium-ion batteries and installations. I

designated parameters. An e ective

BMS is expensive to develop and

implement. Without it, the battery can

threaten the health of the boat.

Because they contain a  am-

mable electrolyte, lithium-ion

batteries should be installed

with a battery management sys-

tem (BMS) that monitors voltage

and temperature, and shuts the

battery down if necessary. Note

the  re extinguisher in this

battery compartment.

COURTESY LITHIONICS

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