IceForce Lithium battery & charger no longer sold by Rapala?

All mentions of the lithium battery and charger have been removed from the IceForce/Marcum/Rapala website? Why?

As an owner who has read constant posts from other owners who couldn’t get a years use out of it before it went bad, I paid $150+ for the battery & charger and want to make sure my investment is warranty protected.

If they don’t sell it anymore and my battery goes bad how would they replace it? It’s a sealed battery…

Wow that is interesting. Just two weeks ago I was debating pulling the trigger on one of those, but given you had to buy a separate charger I just went with a normal SLA battery. Glad I made the choice I did.

They probably have a stash of batteries and chargers set aside specifically for warranty replacements?

My guess is they are going to have an updated and advanced offering available for next ice season.

I gotta believe they weren’t profitable to carry. Not many guys willing to spend that kind of dough in a flasher battery.

fishinfreaks wrote:

I gotta believe they weren’t profitable to carry. Not many guys willing to spend that kind of dough in a flasher battery.

Agreed.

I remember hearing a lot of buzz about them a couple years ago, but then haven’t heard anything for awhile.

I remember the IDO crew singing their praises for awhile too, but again, not for awhile.

I mean it sounded awesome, lighter, holds a charge longer, would be a bummer if they all die within 1-2 years but would explain why you don’t hear a lot about them anymore.

I’ve had one for two years now and so far so good. I’m using mine with a Lowrance HDS7. Finally got to use it for an extended period of time this year. I used it for probably 20 hours and still had 12.9 volts when I got home.

Like I said, so far so good. I’m a little hesitant now with all the complaints though.

I’ve had two lithium chargers go bad this season so far…

Lithium technology should be getting better as time passes. It’s just a matter of when the technology that powers Tesla etc. trickles down into our little 12V batteries.

Going to be a while yet especially after hearing all these failures but I believe it will happen eventually.

I tore apart a bad battery I had sitting on the shelf. Attached are images of a Clean Republic Bamboo Lithium with the bamboo removed. This battery is very similar to the Ice Force battery.

It’s a series of 4 sets of 3 cells in parallel. The cells come with tabs attached, ready to solder together. Depending on quality and quantity, I’m seeing cost between $1-$13. The ones in the battery above are considered reasonably good quality.
http://www.batteryspace.com/lifepo4-26650-rechargeable-cell-3-2v-3300-mah-19-8a-rate-10wh—un38-3-passed-ndgr.aspx

Attachments:

1. 

   20170305_090527.jpg
   

2. 

   20170305_092805.jpg
   

3. 

   20170305_092418.jpg
   

I forgot to add, the cells are all good and it should be an easy fix. The solder came loose on the negative contact inside the battery.

I THINK THE REASON FOR THE REMOVAL OF THEM IS THE FACT THAT RAPALA IS LAUNCHING A NEW LITHIUM SHUTTLE THIS UPCOMING SEASON. 40 HOUR RUN TIME, FITS IN A 5G BUCKET, YA JUST TAKE UR LX DISPLAY OFF AND MOUNT ON THE SHUTTLE. VERY EXCITED FOR MINE TO SHOW UP WHEN MY ICE SHIPMENT SHOWS UP

JoeMX1825 wrote:

All mentions of the lithium battery and charger have been removed from the IceForce/Marcum/Rapala website? Why?

As an owner who has read constant posts from other owners who couldn’t get a years use out of it before it went bad, I paid $150+ for the battery & charger and want to make sure my investment is warranty protected.

If they don’t sell it anymore and my battery goes bad how would they replace it? It’s a sealed battery…

.

Lol…

So my IceForce lithium battery went bad after ONE charge cycle! It could have just been a lemon or maybe they knew about the issue and that’s why it was pulled? anyways I got my money back and now will wait to see what this shuttle looks like…

I LOVED the weight savings, but spending that kind of money for a battery, it better last a LONG time!

R and D battery in Burnsville rebuilds all kinds of batteries, If you have a bad one like these or a Electric Auger they can do it.

philtickelson wrote:

I remember the IDO crew singing their praises for awhile too, but again, not for awhile.

I’ve been running the same lithium battery for the last four + years. No issues. Not much new to add over the last couple years about them to be honest. And of all the guys that I fish with that use them I’ve never heard of anyone having one go bad prematurely.