New Lithium Battery

[Jersey]

Since it was time to replace the battery, decided to go Lithium.  Installed the NOCO Lithium NLP14, 500A Lithium Powersport Battery.  Also had to get a new charger since regular chargers can't be used.  Went with the NOCO 5W Battery Charger, although they do offer higher output versions that can charge it full in about 24 mins!  Total cost about $200.

Right away I noticed much stronger starting power... even on the cold mornings! 

Installation was a breeze.

A few things I like:
-Adjustable Height: Battery is the same footprint, but only about 3 inches tall.  They include a combination of different 'spacers' to snap on the bottom to adjust the height. VERY Convenient!  I set it up so it'd be about about 3/4" lower than before to give a little extra room for installing the battery cover.

-Multiple Post mounting options:  Each terminal has 3 sides for bolting cables. VERY convenient!

-Higher amps (500a vs the normal 200CCA)

-Slightly higher min voltage:  Lithium provides a higher minimum voltage than lead acid types.

https://no.co/nlp14


Hope this helps!
Cheers,
Jersey

[hubcapsc]

I got this seven(?) years ago. It is still going strong.



-Mike

[RonW]

Jersey, unusual.

[Louis]

In what country is it made?

[Jersey]

In what country is it made?

USA

https://no.co/about-us

[Jess from VA]

Serious question..... aren't you guys a bit concerned about fires?

Or does that only happen with electric cars? 

[Jersey]

Serious question..... aren't you guys a bit concerned about fires?

Or does that only happen with electric cars? 

No. Our batteries don't run electric motors, so no where near the use. It's just a regular use battery.  Also, while some fires have made the news, weren't they only a few instances compared to the total number of electric cars on the road?

[Louis]

In what country is it made?

USA

https://no.co/about-us

I just called NoCo and was told "not" made in USA.

[Led]

Don't cell phones have lithium batteries?   I heard about a LOT of fires with those......even on Airplanes.

It that from People charging them wrong?  Or is there some inherent risk with Lithium batteries, in general? 

Sort of like Covid.....NO one seems to have a SOLID answer to questions!

Beats me!

[hubcapsc]

I've heard of lithium batteries, especially cheap ones, catching on fire,
but have never seen it. I have a lot of things that run on lithium batteries,
I sure do like them...

https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/20/iphone_xr_inflight_fire_british_airways/

I've seen regular car batteries explode, though... man oh man...

-Mike

[Jess from VA]

I've seen regular car batteries explode, though... man oh man...

Me too, but you have to do something stupid like cross the terminals with steel wool.

They just don't blow up (or in flames) by themselves.

[hubcapsc]

I've seen regular car batteries explode, though... man oh man...

Me too, but you have to do something stupid like cross the terminals with steel wool.

They just don't blow up (or in flames) by themselves.

No. They just blow up. I sat down in my car that generally turned
on every time. Until the time the battery blew up and deformed the hood.

I looked up a recent lithium iphone battery fire that didn't seem to be
a "someone said it just caught on fire" story, and deforming  the battery
seemed to be an important part of the fire.

-Mike

[Jess from VA]

Well I stand corrected Mike, I never heard of such a thing.

[hubcapsc]

Well I stand corrected Mike, I never heard of such a thing.

That's OK. It was Carolyn's car anyhow  ...

-Mike

[Jess from VA]

I will never forget her telling the story of getting pulled over for speeding with you in the passenger seat... and you telling the officer... thank goodness you pulled us over officer, I was scared to death. 

 

[mello dude]

In what country is it made?

USA

https://no.co/about-us

I just called NoCo and was told "not" made in USA.

Looks like the battery is designed and developed in Phoenix and then manufactured in Hong Kong. (Typical of most Asian products we buy, a US company has manufacturing in China/Taiwan/Vietnam etc.)

It's a Lithium Iron Phosphate design, (LiFePO4 or LFP)  which typically dont catch fire, It has different chemistry than a cell phone battery...... (The Autocraft one in the pic above is LFP)

I like this battery, looks like they tried to cover most power sport concerns... nice design.

[Bigwolf]

Well I stand corrected Mike, I never heard of such a thing.

That's OK. It was Carolyn's car anyhow  ...

-Mike

I too had a battery blow up when I turned the key to start the engine in a van that I had.

[Bigwolf]

Serious question..... aren't you guys a bit concerned about fires?

Or does that only happen with electric cars? 

The early lithium batteries were a mix of several different chemical combination.  Some of those were unstable at higher temperatures and did result in fires.  However, the LiFePO4 is pretty stable and that is the combination in the modern automotive lithium batteries.

Quoting a couple of lines from a search on early lithium battery development: “ LiFePO4 has a remarkable thermal stability, but its redox potential (3.5 V vs. Li+/Li) is small. LiCoO2 has a rather poor stability, but it belongs to the class of 4 V cathodes. Therefore, in parallel to the development of the LiFePO4 battery, further research was done to improve the thermal stability of LiCoO2 by the synthesis of solid solutions involving doping by Ni, Mn, and non-transition elements.”

I don’t think that fire is a concern with the LiFePO4 combination.

Bigwolf

[RonW]

good info especially on the distinction of the LiFePO4 (LFP)

[h13man]

Had one a 3 yr. old Delco freeze up and split in the winter as it got so cold the door panel on my 94' S10 shrunk and allowed the dome light to come on. I've heard of batteries blowing up being jumped in the winter time, hmmm.

As for lithium from my experience with the power tools, they don't give much if any warning when they quit unlike a AGM battery besides I don't need another charging device to lose in the garage.  True lithium performs better in extreme cold but I don't ride much under 55 degrees.

[SPOFF]

Another (serious) question. Lithium batteries require a special charger but most of the I'd be charging it with the old-fashioned Valkyrie charging system. And this works okay? The battery looks good but I typically get 5 to 10 years out of an AGM so I won't be in the market anytime soon.

[Jersey]

Another (serious) question. Lithium batteries require a special charger but most of the I'd be charging it with the old-fashioned Valkyrie charging system. And this works okay? The battery looks good but I typically get 5 to 10 years out of an AGM so I won't be in the market anytime soon.

The bike's charging system does work with Lithium... at least on mine.   

Same here. Did fine with regular batteries, but it finally died.
Cheers,

[Jersey]

Another (serious) question. Lithium batteries require a special charger but most of the I'd be charging it with the old-fashioned Valkyrie charging system. And this works okay? The battery looks good but I typically get 5 to 10 years out of an AGM so I won't be in the market anytime soon.

I have charged mine with a regular charger. No problems. I think there are different kinds of lithium batteries. Some probably require a special charger.

As I understand it, Lithium requires a higher charging voltage...  While the motorcycle produces this when running, the standard battery chargers may not have this.

[Craig9409]

Since it was time to replace the battery, decided to go Lithium.  Installed the NOCO Lithium NLP14, 500A Lithium Powersport Battery.  Also had to get a new charger since regular chargers can't be used.  Went with the NOCO 5W Battery Charger, although they do offer higher output versions that can charge it full in about 24 mins!  Total cost about $200.

Right away I noticed much stronger starting power... even on the cold mornings! 

Installation was a breeze.

A few things I like:
-Adjustable Height: Battery is the same footprint, but only about 3 inches tall.  They include a combination of different 'spacers' to snap on the bottom to adjust the height. VERY Convenient!  I set it up so it'd be about about 3/4" lower than before to give a little extra room for installing the battery cover.

-Multiple Post mounting options:  Each terminal has 3 sides for bolting cables. VERY convenient!

-Higher amps (500a vs the normal 200CCA)

-Slightly higher min voltage:  Lithium provides a higher minimum voltage than lead acid types.

https://no.co/nlp14


Hope this helps!
Cheers,
Jersey

Just a word of warning. These lithium batteries are popular in the snowmobiling community of which I am part. I haven't personally installed one but several friends have. One of my closest friends put one in his new Polaris. We had just returned from an Idaho trip. He unloaded his sleds into his garage from their trailer and plugged in the lithium battery tenders. While he and his wife were eating dinner, they smelled smoke. The new $14,000 Polaris Axys 800 was fully involved in the garage. It spread to other near by combustibles and the structure before the FD could arrive and set up. His whole house was smoke damaged and the 3 car attached garage was totaled along with most everything in it. The manufacturer advises not charging these batteries unattended. But, they are a fraction of the weight of a lead acid battery, and more compact in size requiring a spacer to fit the battery box properly. I'm a bit gun shy of these batteries as he's not the only one to have one burst into flames.

[agrady1995]

I just bought one of these batteries, and after reading thebuiltn safety info on them I am feeling comfortable. About to install in my IS, but I'll check my insurance first just in case.

I was under the impression these are not the same lithium batteries that blow up, as the lithium is bonded with something else? Anyone have any insight? A 5 year warranty on a battery is incredible!

[gordonv]

You don't want lithium batteries. You want the lithium Iron Phosphate ones. They can't explode like the older Li battery could.

As already mentioned, they need warming up, usually turning on the vehicle for up to 5 min, to start a draw on the battery, before you have full power.

[Jess from VA]

I think lithium batteries are better in sheds and unattached garages, than attached garages.

Just like my 30 gallons of no-corn (and propane tanks when I used them) sit out in my backyard sheds.

Both my Interstates have sat on plugged in Battery Tender Juniors for about 15 years, 24 X 7 when not riding.  Even with the low charge rate and safety of the tender brains, I feel better about it out in sheds (than an attached garage).  

All GFCI too.  There's only one circuit of house power out there, and it will pop easily if overloaded.  Done it with power tools.  

My small lithium drill is in the house however, but no fires or explosions yet.

[RonW]

Both my Interstates have sat on plugged in Battery Tender Juniors for about 15 years, 24 X 7 when not riding


24 x 7 did this to my alligator clips. (Battery Tender®, Interstate Motorcross battery)

[Jess from VA]

Huh.  That's not good.  Was that the brand name Battery Tender, or some other tender?

I never used the clips, I installed the supplied pigtails to batteries with SAE dual prong plugs (they may be coax plugs now).  So ride in and plug in.  Never had any heat or other damage I could see.

And never installed a fuse block either.

I'm no electrician, but wonder if that could be due to the current at the plug you used?  Moisture?

In all those years of use, I've only ever lost one Tender (it just stopped working).   Never had to repair either alternator either, so as soon as I notice any hesitation in firing up (after about 5 years), I put in a new battery (Yuasa).  I let the first battery go 9 years, trying to see how long I could go on a battery, until I was told about weak batteries and our alternators.

[RonW]

I still have the Battery Tender® rings perhaps better for 24 x 7 charging. The alligator clips were the clips that came with the Battery Tender®. It's plugged indoors living room.  
Probably the Motocross battery (below).

Didn't notice the corrosion because the Battery Tender and battery was behind the tv.

[Jess from VA]

Crap, I've never seen corrosion like that on a bike battery.  Car battery yes.  I've never had any corrosion to speak of on any of my bike batteries (all Yuasas).

The BTender I lost (failed after a few years) was the Plus model like in your picture (which came used with one of my bikes, so no idea of age or prior use).  It charges at a higher rate than the Jr's which is all I use on my bikes (and generator battery, which is half the size of a bike battery).

I still have a bag full of the unused parts of my 4 Tender Jr's (including those clip sets).

Again, I'm no electrician (or mechanic) but maybe the contact between the clips and small battery terminals made for a poor contact over time and caused resistance, heat and corrosion?

And I think that positive clip has an in line fuse, which never blew?  Weird.

[RonW]

Yes, the fuse was still good. Obviously, back to Yuasa batteries.

[jdp]

I use lithium batteries in my dirt bikes and never had any issues never tried one in my street bikes because of the cost but seems like that’s the way to go now days

[da prez]

  I just read the caution sheet on the battery. It says not to get it wet.  Did I miss read. I have been in rain storms that were wetter than a swimming pool. 

what about washing the bike.  I need a battery and after reading the caution sheet , those that use them should be able to answer.

                                             da prez

[da prez]

  i just did a search on the battery.  Fresh water has little effect. Salt water will quickly damage the battery. The batteries should not be left wet.
  I should have done more search before asking.

                                                       da prez