A Group 31 LiFePO4 Comparison for Bluewater Sailing
Coffee, Ospreys, and the Problem of Electricity
I am sitting in the cockpit of EOTI watching an osprey work the shallows off the ICW. The bird circles twice, folds, and hits the water like a guided munition. Comes up with a mullet. A great blue heron stands in the marsh grass about forty yards out, motionless, and then strikes so fast I almost miss it. These animals catch fish with an efficiency I will never match no matter how much gear I buy.
My darling, sweet, sexy wife is aboard today, which means I get French press coffee made with the kind of love you only get after 27 years of marriage. Today that love tastes smooth. Some days it is caustic. But rarely uninteresting. She has settled in with a book and a second cup and the particular contentment that comes from being on the water with nowhere urgent to be.
I am researching batteries. Which sounds mundane until you understand that everything she loves about the adventure has some electric component to it. Winches, bow thrusters, furlers, navigation systems, lights, toilets. Yes, we could go far less modern, and that works fine for some crews. But if you like a little luxury with your adventure, you need great batteries. And right now I am trying to figure out which great batteries belong on this boat.
What I Am Not
I am not a battery expert. I am a cybersecurity professional who spent his career reading technical specifications and assessing risk, which turns out to be a transferable skill when you are staring at datasheets from twelve different lithium battery manufacturers. But I do not pretend to understand cell chemistry the way a materials engineer does. I rely on people who tear batteries apart for a living.
Will Prowse runs the YouTube channel “DIY Solar Power with Will Prowse” and has over a million subscribers. He buys batteries, cuts them open, tests their capacity, examines their BMS boards, and tells you whether the manufacturer is lying about the specs. He is the closest thing the lithium battery world has to an independent testing lab that publishes its results for free. I trust his methodology even when I do not agree with every conclusion. He has skin in the game in the form of affiliate links, which he discloses, and that is fine. Affiliate revenue is an honest way to fund independent testing. What I do not tolerate is the influencer model where the review is the advertisement and nobody says so. Prowse has been on the wrong end of a trade libel lawsuit from Dragonfly Energy over his Battle Born teardown videos, which tells me he is hitting nerves that need hitting.
There are other YouTubers doing solid work in this space. I watch several of them. The ones I trust share a common trait: they buy the batteries themselves, they show the data, and they do not pretend that every product is great. The ones I skip are the ones who unbox a battery they got for free and tell me it changed their life.
Context: The Dragonfly Energy Situation
I have written previously about Dragonfly Energy and the controversy around their Battle Born battery line. The terminal design issue that Prowse documented, the lawsuit Dragonfly filed against him in June 2026, and the broader questions about how a publicly traded battery company handles criticism are all covered in earlier essays on sveoti.net. I have another essay pending on Dragonfly’s acquisition of Dakota Lithium, which closed on July 31, 2026 for $4 million. I am waiting on their next earnings call before publishing that one.
For this essay, the relevant fact is simple: Battle Born’s BB10012 has a 50-amp maximum charge rate. My charging system can push 83 amps per battery under normal conditions. That alone disqualifies Battle Born from consideration, and the terminal design controversy reinforces the decision. I will not rehash that analysis here.
The Setup on EOTI
EOTI currently runs six RELiON RB100 Group 31 batteries in a parallel 12-volt bank. That gives me 600 amp hours of capacity in battery boxes sized for the Group 31 form factor, which is approximately 13 by 6.8 by 8.5 inches.
My charging system consists of three sources. A 170-amp battery charger fed by the generator. A 170-amp alternator on the engine. And four 410-watt solar panels feeding two Victron SmartSolar MPPT 150/70-TR charge controllers, which can deliver about 70 amps each under ideal conditions. In the most common scenario, generator plus solar, I push roughly 285 amps into the bank, or about 47 amps per battery. If all three sources converge, the bank sees about 455 amps total, or 76 amps per battery.
On the discharge side, the biggest single load is the bow thruster at 300-plus amps across the bank, which works out to about 50 amps per battery. That is well within any battery on this list. The charge side is where the constraints bite.
Why Group 31 Matters
I need drop-in replacements for existing battery boxes. Group 31 is a BCI standard that specifies physical dimensions. Any battery I buy has to fit those boxes without modification. Several manufacturers market batteries as “Group 31” that are significantly oversized. I measured. They do not fit. I will call those out as I go.
Someone will read this and say “just modify the battery boxes.” That someone has never done fiberglass work on a sailboat. Battery compartments on a bluewater boat are structural. They are glassed into the hull, often with tabbing that ties into bulkheads and stringers. Enlarging them means cutting out existing fiberglass, building new molds or forms, laying up new glass with resin, fairing, and finishing. You are looking at days of labor if you are skilled and weeks if you are learning. The materials alone run several hundred dollars. A professional yard will charge you in the thousands, and you will wait in line behind everyone else who needs hull work. For a battery that is two inches too long, you are talking about a modification project that costs more than the batteries themselves. It is the kind of project that sounds simple at the chandlery counter and turns into a month-long ordeal once the grinder comes out. I would rather buy batteries that fit.
The Field: Who Makes a Group 31 LiFePO4
I identified eighteen Group 31 lithium batteries from twelve manufacturers. The market splits into two tiers. Premium brands like RELiON, Battle Born, Victron, Expion360, and Epoch design or assemble in North America or Europe, carry recognized safety certifications, and price accordingly. Budget brands like LiTime, Redodo, Enjoybot, and Power Queen source cells and assembly from Shenzhen, China and compete on price through Amazon and direct e-commerce. Both tiers use LiFePO4 chemistry, but the BMS quality, thermal management, certifications, and warranty service differ.
A pattern emerged during research that deserves mention. Power Queen, Redodo, LiTime, and Enjoybot are all headquartered in the Longgang District of Shenzhen. The DIY Solar forum has threads asking whether they are the same company. They are technically different entities, but the products, pricing, marketing copy, and bundling strategies are nearly identical. Whether they share an OEM or buy from the same cell suppliers, the practical effect is the same: you are choosing among very similar products from the same industrial neighborhood.
The Batteries That Do Not Actually Fit
Before discussing the real contenders, I need to dispose of the batteries that claim Group 31 compatibility but cheat on the dimensions.
Dakota Lithium DL+ 280Ah and 320Ah
| Specification | Value |
| Capacity | 280Ah / 320Ah (heated) |
| Price | $1,599 / $2,299 |
| Cost per Ah | $5.71 / $7.18 |
| Warranty | 11 years |
| Dimensions | 14.6 x 7.7 x 10.75 in / 15.0 x 7.2 x 10.0 in |
| Standard Group 31 | 13.0 x 6.8 x 8.5 in |
| Verdict | DOES NOT FIT |
Dakota Lithium markets both as Group 31 but the 280Ah is nearly two inches longer and an inch wider than the standard. The 320Ah is even larger. Neither will drop into an existing Group 31 battery box. The capacity numbers are impressive but irrelevant if you have to rebuild your battery compartment to use them. Dakota Lithium was acquired by Dragonfly Energy on July 31, 2026 for $4 million and will continue as a separate brand. More on that in a forthcoming essay.
Epoch 300Ah Essentials and 314Ah ECO
| Specification | Value |
| Capacity | 300Ah / 314Ah |
| Price | $1,249 / $1,249 |
| Cost per Ah | $4.16 / $3.98 |
| Warranty | 11 years |
| Certifications | NMEA, ABYC, NMMA |
| Dimensions | 13.75 x 7.63 x 10.0 in / 15.5 x 7.63 x 10.5 in |
| Location | Marietta, GA (veteran owned) |
| Verdict | DOES NOT FIT |
Epoch is a veteran-owned company out of Marietta, Georgia with real marine certifications that the Shenzhen brands lack. Their 300Ah and 314Ah batteries are legitimately good products by the specs. But both are wider and taller than standard Group 31, and the 314Ah ECO is a full 2.5 inches longer. The 172Ah dual-purpose model is still on pre-order with no published final dimensions, so I cannot evaluate it yet. Epoch is worth watching but not buying until I can verify fit.
Canbat CLI150-12
| Specification | Value |
| Capacity | 150Ah |
| Price | ~$840 |
| Cost per Ah | $5.60 |
| Warranty | 10 years |
| Location | Toronto, Canada |
| Dimensions | Conflicting: manufacturer says Group 31, dealer specs show 19 in long |
| Verdict | CANNOT VERIFY FIT |
Canbat’s own website says this battery fits any Group 31 tray. Dealer listings show it at 19 inches long, which is absurd for Group 31. One of those is wrong. Until I can get hands on the product or get Canbat to clarify with a caliper measurement, this battery stays off my list.
The Contenders: Batteries That Actually Fit
What follows are the batteries that meet three criteria. They fit a standard Group 31 battery box. They can handle my charging system. And they are actually available for purchase today. For each one I will show the specifications in a consistent table and discuss the trade-offs.
Battle Born BB10012 (Disqualified)
| Specification | Value |
| Capacity | 100Ah |
| Price | $799 sale ($949 MSRP) |
| Cost per Ah | $7.99 |
| Warranty | 10 years |
| Max Charge | 50A (0.5C) |
| Max Discharge | 100A cont / 200A peak 30s |
| Bluetooth | No |
| Self Heating | No |
| IP Rating | IP65 |
| Certifications | ETL listed to UL 2054 / UL 62133 |
| Location | Reno, NV (Dragonfly Energy) |
| Will Prowse | CRITICAL: fire test, terminal flaw, lawsuit |
| 6-Battery Bank | 600Ah / $4,794 |
I have covered the Dragonfly Energy controversy in detail elsewhere, so I will keep this brief. The 50-amp maximum charge rate is a hard disqualifier for my system. At 83 amps per battery under generator-plus-solar charging, I would exceed the BMS limit by 66 percent. That is not a margin question. That is a “the BMS shuts down and you lose charging” question.
The terminal design issue that Prowse documented compounds the problem. High current through a terminal that can develop resistance under vibration generates heat. Heat softens the epoxy holding the terminal post. The post loosens. Resistance increases. More heat. That positive feedback loop is what led to the fire in Prowse’s testing. Dragonfly’s position is that the terminal behavior is an intentional safety feature and that Prowse tested damaged batteries outside their specifications. The lawsuit is pending. I am not in a position to adjudicate, but I am in a position to buy a different battery.
RELiON RB100 (Current Battery)
| Specification | Value |
| Capacity | 100Ah |
| Price | $900 |
| Cost per Ah | $9.00 |
| Warranty | 10 years |
| Max Charge | 100A max (1C), 50A recommended |
| Max Discharge | 100A cont / 200A peak 7.5s (800A 2s on HP model) |
| Bluetooth | No |
| Self Heating | No |
| IP Rating | IP67 |
| Certifications | CE, UKCA, UN38.3, UL1642/IEC62133 (cells) |
| Location | Menomonee Falls, WI (Navico Group / Brunswick) |
| Will Prowse | None found |
| 6-Battery Bank | 600Ah / $5,400 |
These are what I have now. They work. They have never given me trouble. The IP67 rating is the highest water resistance on this list, which matters on a sailboat. The 10-year warranty and US-based support from a Brunswick subsidiary give me confidence in the warranty backstop.
The problem is value. At $9.00 per amp hour, RELiON is the most expensive battery on this list per unit of energy stored. Six of them give me 600 amp hours for $5,400. I can do significantly better on capacity for the same money or get the same capacity for far less money. The RELiONs have served well, but they are the baseline to beat, not the target to match.
Victron Smart LiFePO4 12.8V/100Ah
| Specification | Value |
| Capacity | 100Ah |
| Price | ~$900+ (varies by distributor) |
| Cost per Ah | ~$9.00+ |
| Warranty | 5 years |
| Max Charge | Not verified from product page |
| Max Discharge | Not verified from product page |
| Bluetooth | Yes |
| Self Heating | No |
| IP Rating | IP55 (NG model IP65) |
| Location | Almere, Netherlands |
| Will Prowse | None found |
| 6-Battery Bank | 600Ah / $5,400+ |
I use Victron charge controllers and trust their engineering. But their battery offering is an odd fit here. The price matches RELiON without matching the IP rating or warranty length. IP55 on a sailboat is marginal, and the NG model with IP65 costs more. A 5-year warranty at this price point is half what RELiON, Battle Born, and Ohmmu offer. I love Victron’s charging hardware. Their batteries do not make the case at this price.
Expion360 VPR4Ever Classic 100Ah
| Specification | Value |
| Capacity | 100Ah |
| Price | $899 |
| Cost per Ah | $8.99 |
| Warranty | 12 years (8 full + 4 prorated) |
| Max Charge | Not verified from product page |
| Max Discharge | Not verified from product page |
| Bluetooth | No |
| Self Heating | No |
| IP Rating | N/A |
| Certifications | UL 1973 |
| Location | Redmond, OR |
| Will Prowse | None found |
| 6-Battery Bank | 600Ah / $5,394 |
Expion360 has the longest warranty on the list at 12 years and a UL 1973 certification, which is the relevant standard for stationary energy storage. Designed in Oregon. The 8-year full replacement window is generous. But at 100 amp hours and $8.99 per amp hour, you are paying RELiON prices for less water resistance and no Bluetooth. The warranty is the selling point, and it is a real one. For my use case, though, the same money buys dramatically more capacity elsewhere.
Power Queen 12V 100Ah Group 31
| Specification | Value |
| Capacity | 100Ah |
| Price | ~$200 |
| Cost per Ah | $2.00 |
| Warranty | 5 years |
| Max Charge | Not verified |
| Max Discharge | Not verified |
| Bluetooth | No |
| Self Heating | No |
| IP Rating | IP65 |
| Location | Shenzhen, China |
| Will Prowse | Forum reports of grade B cells |
| 6-Battery Bank | 600Ah / $1,200 |
The cheapest battery on the list by a wide margin. At $2.00 per amp hour it is tempting. But forum reports of grade B cells, no Bluetooth, no self-heating, a short warranty, and no Will Prowse teardown to verify construction quality make this a hard sell for a bluewater boat. Power Queen is a subsidiary of Shenzhen Lizu Time Technology, and their support phone number is a Chinese country code. For a dock queen or a weekend boat, maybe. For EOTI, no.
LiTime 12V 100Ah Group 31 Classic
| Specification | Value |
| Capacity | 100Ah |
| Price | ~$280 |
| Cost per Ah | $2.80 |
| Warranty | 5 years |
| Max Charge | 100A (1C) |
| Max Discharge | 100A cont |
| Bluetooth | No |
| Self Heating | No |
| IP Rating | IP65 |
| Location | Shenzhen, China |
| Will Prowse | UL1973 certification questioned |
| 6-Battery Bank | 600Ah / $1,680 |
The basic LiTime Group 31 without Bluetooth. Cheap, functional, and unremarkable. Prowse questioned their UL 1973 certification claims, which is not a great sign for a brand that competes on trust. If I am going LiTime, I would step up to the 165Ah model. This one does not offer enough over the competition to justify its slot in the bank.
Redodo 12V 100Ah Group 31
| Specification | Value |
| Capacity | 100Ah |
| Price | ~$290 |
| Cost per Ah | $2.90 |
| Warranty | 5 years |
| Max Charge | 100A (1C) |
| Max Discharge | 100A cont |
| Bluetooth | Yes |
| Self Heating | No |
| IP Rating | IP65 |
| Location | Shenzhen, China |
| Will Prowse | 165Ah model torn down June 2025 |
| 6-Battery Bank | 600Ah / $1,740 |
Entry-level Redodo Group 31. Has Bluetooth, which the Power Queen and LiTime Classic lack. Same issue as the other 100Ah options: the 165Ah model packs 65 percent more capacity in the same box for not much more money. If you are buying Redodo, buy the bigger one.
Redodo 12V 140Ah Group 31
| Specification | Value |
| Capacity | 140Ah |
| Price | ~$350 |
| Cost per Ah | $2.50 |
| Warranty | 5 years |
| Max Charge | 150A (1C) |
| Max Discharge | 150A cont |
| Bluetooth | Yes |
| Self Heating | No |
| IP Rating | IP65 |
| Location | Shenzhen, China |
| 6-Battery Bank | 840Ah / $2,100 |
The middle child. Better value per amp hour than the 100Ah, but the 165Ah exists at a similar price point with more capacity. Unless you have a specific reason to want 140 amp hours, the 165Ah is the better buy in the Redodo lineup.
Redodo 12V 165Ah Group 31
| Specification | Value |
| Capacity | 165Ah |
| Price | $430 ($380 subscriber) |
| Cost per Ah | $2.61 ($2.30 subscriber) |
| Warranty | 5 years |
| Max Charge | 165A (1C), 33A recommended |
| Max Discharge | 165A cont / BMS trips ~212A |
| Bluetooth | Yes |
| Self Heating | No |
| IP Rating | IP65 |
| Certifications | UL 1973, CE, FCC, RoHS, UN38.3 |
| Location | Shenzhen, China |
| Will Prowse | 165Ah teardown June 2025, company responded |
| 6-Battery Bank | 990Ah / $2,280 (subscriber) |
The Redodo 165Ah is the value leader in pure cost-per-amp-hour terms. Six of them give you 990 amp hours for $2,280 at subscriber pricing. That is 65 percent more capacity than my current RELiON bank at 58 percent less money. The 165A BMS handles my charging system at 83 amps per battery without breaking a sweat. Prowse tore one open in June 2025, found some issues, and the company responded. That back-and-forth is actually a healthy sign.
The risk is the 5-year warranty and Shenzhen-based support. If a battery fails three years into a Pacific crossing, the warranty process involves email to a Chinese company and shipping a 33-pound battery back across an ocean. That is not a theoretical concern for a bluewater boat. The lack of self-heating also matters for cold-water passages. If you are coastal cruising in warm water, this battery is hard to argue against on the numbers. For bluewater, the warranty gap gives me pause.
LiTime 12V 165Ah Group 31
| Specification | Value |
| Capacity | 165Ah |
| Price | $430 |
| Cost per Ah | $2.61 |
| Warranty | 5 years |
| Max Charge | 165A (1C) |
| Max Discharge | 165A cont / 825A peak 1s |
| Bluetooth | Yes |
| Self Heating | No |
| IP Rating | IP65 |
| Location | Shenzhen, China |
| Will Prowse | UL1973 certification questioned |
| 6-Battery Bank | 990Ah / $2,580 |
Identical capacity and price to the Redodo 165Ah. The LiTime has one advantage: an 825-amp peak surge rating for one second, which is the highest on the list. That matters for bow thruster startup current, where the initial inrush can spike before the load distributes across the bank. If two or three batteries in a six-battery parallel bank absorb the surge before the others equalize, that 825-amp ceiling provides margin.
The disadvantage is that Prowse questioned their UL 1973 certification claims, and at $430 the LiTime costs $150 more than the Redodo at subscriber pricing for the same capacity. They also lack the subscriber discount that Redodo offers. The LiTime is a fine battery, but Redodo edges it on price and Enjoybot edges it on warranty.
The Budget Choice: Enjoybot 12V 150Ah Group 31
| Specification | Value |
| Capacity | 150Ah |
| Price | $346 (sale) |
| Cost per Ah | $2.31 |
| Warranty | 10 years |
| Max Charge | 150A (1C) |
| Max Discharge | 150A cont / 500A peak 3-5s |
| Bluetooth | Yes |
| Self Heating | Yes |
| IP Rating | IP67 |
| Location | Shenzhen, China |
| Will Prowse | None found |
| 6-Battery Bank | 900Ah / $2,076 |
If I were picking on value alone, the Enjoybot 150Ah would be the winner. It is the only budget brand that matches the premium brands on warranty length at 10 years. It is the only budget brand with self-heating, which matters for charging in cold conditions. And at $346 per battery, six of them cost $2,076 for 900 amp hours. That is 50 percent more capacity than my current RELiON setup for 62 percent less money.
The 150A BMS handles my 83-amp-per-battery charging load at about 0.55C, well within limits. The 500-amp peak discharge for 3 to 5 seconds gives adequate margin for thruster startup. The IP67 rating matches RELiON and is the highest waterproof rating on this list alongside RELiON and Enjoybot alone.
The risk is that Prowse has not torn one open. I cannot verify the internal construction or the BMS quality. The company is in Shenzhen. The support hours are UTC+8, which means daytime in China is the middle of the night on the US East Coast. For a coastal cruiser or a weekend racer, I would buy these today. For a boat that might be 1,500 miles from the nearest chandlery, the 10-year warranty is only as good as the company’s ability to honor it.
The Likely Top Choice: Ohmmu Gen 5 180Ah Group 31
| Specification | Value |
| Capacity | 180Ah |
| Price | $999 ($859 with 6-battery bundle at 14% off) |
| Cost per Ah | $5.55 ($4.77 bundle) |
| Warranty | 10 years (4 years full replacement) |
| Max Charge | 100A max (0.56C), 50A recommended |
| Max Discharge | 200A cont (1.11C) |
| Bluetooth | Yes |
| Self Heating | Yes |
| IP Rating | IP65 |
| Cycle Life | 6,000 cycles at 80% DoD |
| Dimensions | 12.75 x 6.9 x 9.0 in (true Group 31) |
| Weight | 38 lbs |
| Location | Tempe, AZ |
| Will Prowse | Tesla replacement reviewed, Group 31 not yet |
| 6-Battery Bank | 1,080Ah / $5,155 (bundle) |
The Ohmmu Gen 5 is the battery I am most likely to buy for EOTI. Here is why.
Start with capacity. At 180 amp hours in a true 12.75 by 6.9 by 9.0 inch case, this is the highest capacity battery that actually fits a standard Group 31 tray. Nobody else comes close. The next highest true-fit Group 31 is LiTime and Redodo at 165 amp hours. Ohmmu packs 9 percent more energy into the same footprint.
Six Ohmmus in parallel give me 1,080 amp hours. My current RELiON bank is 600 amp hours. That is an 80 percent increase in capacity with zero modifications to the battery compartment. And with the 14 percent bundle discount for buying six, the total cost is $5,155. My current bank cost $5,400 for 40 percent less capacity. More amp hours for less money, fewer batteries needed to hit a given target, fewer connections, fewer failure points.
The self-heating system is not optional for bluewater. If I am making a fall passage from New England to the Caribbean, or crossing from the Azores in anything other than summer, the batteries will see charging temperatures below freezing. Without self-heating, the BMS shuts down charging and you are dead in the water until the temperature comes up. Ohmmu and Enjoybot are the only true Group 31 batteries with self-heating. LiTime now sells a self-heating 165Ah variant, but I have not verified its Group 31 compliance.
The 6,000-cycle rating at 80 percent depth of discharge is the highest on the list. For context, Battle Born rates 3,000 to 5,000 cycles. RELiON does not publish a specific number. At one full cycle per day, 6,000 cycles is 16 years. Even if real-world degradation cuts that in half, you are looking at 8 years of daily cycling before meaningful capacity loss.
The warranty is 10 years with 4 years of full replacement coverage. That first four years is where infant mortality failures show up. If a cell goes bad in year two, Ohmmu replaces the battery, full stop. After year four, the warranty is prorated. US-based support out of Tempe, Arizona means I can call during business hours in my time zone. That matters when you are troubleshooting a battery issue from a marina in the Bahamas.
The 100-amp maximum charge rate gives me enough headroom for my typical 47-amp-per-battery scenario with good margin. Under the all-sources scenario at 76 amps per battery, I am within the max but above the 50-amp recommended continuous rate. I will want to manage that by not running the generator, alternator, and solar simultaneously at full output for extended periods, which is an operational constraint I can live with.
What I Need to Verify Before Buying
I do not buy six of anything without doing my homework on the company behind it. Ohmmu is based in Tempe, Arizona. They sell primarily through their own website and Amazon. The Gen 5 Group 31 is their flagship deep-cycle product. But I do not yet know their financial stability, their manufacturing chain, their actual cell sourcing, or how their warranty department performs when someone files a claim.
Prowse has reviewed Ohmmu’s Tesla replacement battery but has not torn open the Group 31. That means the internal construction, BMS board quality, and terminal design are unverified by the independent tester I trust most.
I also need to verify that the terminal post layout on the Ohmmu matches the RELiON RB100’s terminal spacing. Both use M8 threaded inserts, but the position on the case top could differ enough to require new cables. That is a solvable problem but one I want to know about before six batteries show up at the dock.
The Math That Matters
Here is the comparison that frames my decision:
| Battery | Bank Ah | Bank Cost | Cost/Ah | Warranty |
| RELiON (current) | 600Ah | $5,400 | $9.00 | 10 years |
| Ohmmu (bundle) | 1,080Ah | $5,155 | $4.77 | 10 years |
| Enjoybot (sale) | 900Ah | $2,076 | $2.31 | 10 years |
| Redodo (subscriber) | 990Ah | $2,280 | $2.30 | 5 years |
Ohmmu gives me 80 percent more capacity than RELiON for 5 percent less money. Enjoybot gives me 50 percent more capacity for 62 percent less money. Redodo gives me 65 percent more capacity for 58 percent less money. Every option on this table is a significant upgrade from what I have.
The $2,875 spread between Ohmmu and Enjoybot is the real decision. That money buys a lot of other boat gear. What it buys me with Ohmmu is 180 more amp hours across the bank, self-heating I know works (versus self-heating from a Shenzhen company I have not verified), the highest cycle life on the list, US-based support, and the knowledge that if something goes wrong at 25 degrees north and 65 degrees west, I am dealing with a company in Arizona and not a company in Guangdong Province.
Whether that is worth $2,875 depends on where I plan to take EOTI. For coastal cruising, Enjoybot wins and it is not close. For bluewater, Ohmmu is the answer I keep coming back to. And since bluewater is the plan, Ohmmu is likely where I land.
But first, I need to dig into the company. The battery specs are only half the equation. The other half is whether the company behind the battery will still be there in year four when the full-replacement warranty matters most. That research starts tomorrow. Today, the osprey just caught another fish, my wife is refilling my coffee, and the batteries can wait.
About the Author
