Humminbird® and Minn Kota® fishing electronics tester and passionate angler, Tim Winterhalter, makes the switch to lithium; here’s why and how

While many anglers have already rigged their boats for this open-water season, there are still countless others out there re-rigging their fishing rides with new electronics, including forward-facing sonar and updated trolling motors.

Minnesota-based passionate angler and longtime Johnson Outdoors electronics (Humminbird® & Minn Kota®) beta tester for Wellman Sports Marketing, Tim Winterhalter, is one of these anglers. And what he discovered given the number of screens and technology on his boat is it was finally time to go fully lithium.

“I was holding out for the right moment to switch all my boat batteries to lithium but was waiting for the perfect solution. My research and word of mouth led me to Norsk Lithium,” said Winterhalter.

“After learning more about Norsk Lithium’s products, I knew it was time. Their technology feature set and solutions for everything from my main outboard to four Humminbird screens, forward-facing Humminbird MEGA Live 2, and Minn Kota Quest Ultrex was exactly what I was looking for—and the common-sense convenience of the Norsk Guardian™ App to monitor everything in real time off- and on-the-water was an added bonus!”

Winterhalter’s VEXUS® DVX20 is a big-water fishing machine with a total of four Norsk Lithium batteries from transom to bow – a 12-volt 180AH Norsk Lithium Heated Starting Battery for his 300 Mercury ProXS outboard motor, lighting, bilge pump, livewell, accessories, and Minn Kota Talon shallow-water anchor; a 16-volt 135AH Heated Battery to run (3) Humminbird APEX 13 units; (1) Humminbird XPLORE 12; MEGA Live 2; MEGA 360; and two ethernet switches to network everything.

“I’m also running two Norsk Lithium EVO-TEC™ Onboard Chargers – a 12-volt and a 16-volt – and running two Norsk Lithium 36V + 28V 60Ah Heated Batteries in parallel for my Minn Kota Ultrex Quest 112 trolling motor off a separate charger, 10 amps per bank, one for each 36-volt battery.”

“In Tune Marine, in Richmond, MN did the install and did a nice, neat job by taking out my old rigging and replacing everything. They also installed the Norsk Lithium run and gun EVO-TEC™ 16V 15A DC to DC Charger, off my 12V 180AH battery, and once it hits over 80%, the charge diverts to my 16V 135AH battery to make sure my electronics have the biggest charge possible. They installed a switch under the console so I don’t need to run it all the time, but if I see that my 16V battery is going down in charge on the Guardian app, I can hit that switch and everything charges off my outboard motor alternator. Works awesome! I was out doing Scheels University for 8 hours at a crack and I’d get done and still have 100% of charge on my electronics battery just idling around occasionally throughout the day with the big motor.”

Winterhalter says everything has worked flawlessly so far this year and he’s put in some serious hours on the water.

“First, I was really waiting to go completely lithium until a company had a proven starting battery option for Mercury. Secondly, Norsk Lithium’s Thermal Core Heating Technology™ was a big deal for me, so I’d have problem-free charging and operation in the early-spring and winter open-water fishing, which I do a lot of. Without this unique technology, it's harmful to lithium batteries to charge them under 32 degrees, so it was a no-brainer for me. Now I simply plug in, the batteries come up to temp, and they take a full charge safely.”

“Another thing: the Norsk Guardian App works well, allowing me to see every battery and how much juice is going in or going out, anytime I want. Works awesome on the water. I’ve been super impressed with it.”

“Norsk Lithium’s Deep Sleep™ mode is another game-changer. You can push a button on the app and select individual batteries, so no juice goes in or out, and with the press of another button, bring them back to life. They come right back out of Deep Sleep and start running again. Also, when I'm fishing on one spot for awhile, I don't have to worry about my accessories draining my starting battery. I can access ESR (Emergency Start Reserve) through the Guardian App or with the button on top of the starting battery and get back to the ramp every time!”

POWERED FOR THE FISHING SEASON

Now that Winterhalter’s boat is completely rigged to run long hours flawlessly, he’s looking forward to chasing walleyes on the MN Walleye Opener, but also loves fishing big smallmouths and largemouths – whatever it takes to both enjoy himself and do his job.

Winterhalter concluded: “For 30 years I have been on staff with Johnson Outdoors to test new products and software as they’re ready to be introduced, so I fish a lot of different species and really put the equipment through the ringer. I take my findings, communicate with product managers and engineers and improvements are made based on what’s discovered. It’s a fun second job. Plus, I get to teach others how to use their electronics more effectively at opportunities like Scheels Universities. I’m glad that I now finally have power in my boat that allows me to do all of this without worry! I can’t say enough about Norsk Lithium’s solutions – everything from their batteries to chargers to the app. It’s a turnkey system that removes hassle from a long day or weekend on the water.”