Anyone using a Lithium cranking battery for their Mercury 4 stroke?

Have a friend using an Ionic 125a with no issues. Another one using same on a late model optimax. Also myself and another friend using the same on 250 SHO’s. Here’s a bulletin from Mercury where is dispels the myth that it voids your warranty.

I will be getting one soon, current is a 95 200 xri/efi but looking to upgrade to a 250 or 300.


just put 3 of the 50ah in for the trolling motor, got to replenish the cash supply.

Thanks guys for the replies. Im gonna start with the cranking battery and then the trolling motor batteries.

That's pretty backwards for the most useful benefit of the battery technology - the discharge curve for slow/steady drains such as a trolling motor. You also get the most weight jettisoned when replacing TM batteries instead of a single main battery.

Two things if you go that route — 1. Some outboard warranties are void if you use lithium batteries for cranking. My Mercury Four Stroke 200XL explicitly requires an AGM battery for cranking. 2. Not all Lithium batteries are rated for cranking. Buy one that is if you go that route.

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No outboard warranties are voided if you use a lithium cranking battery. Yes, they say to use an AGM and that’s because not all lithium batteries are made the same. If you buy a good one (lithium), with the proper BMS, it’s fine to use with the new Mercs.

This is a Dual Purpose Cranking / Deep Cycle Battery
Comparable to 900 cranking amps
This battery can be used as a starter battery for 250 hp Yamaha or Mercury motors
Battery Management Systems (BMS) with power terminal cut-off and recovery
Ionic batteries have proprietary software embedded in the BMS to make our batteries 100% compatible with Yamaha or Mercury motors
70% lighter than lead acid batteries
https://drewcraft.com/product/125ah-12v-ionic-lithium-battery/

i'm not very smart.

why would a cranking battery void a warranty?

lithiums have a pc board in them, it probably conflicts with the charge output from the outboard. my best guess.

It don’t

Currently we don't recommend running Lithium on cranking applications. Not that it can't be done, just the cons outweigh the pros at this point. I go into more depth on this in an article I wrote on the hull truth: https://www.thehulltruth.com/russel...introduction-into-lithium-batteries.html

And yet countless boaters are using them without issue, me included.