Lithium starter battery and cold weather

I was thinking of purchasing a lithium starter battery for my Yamaha outboard. Started to think about usage below freezing temps. With trolling motor batteries you can some what pick and choose when you charge them or control the battery temp prior to charging. With a cranking battery you would not have this flexibility.

The battery itself would have a low temp shut off for charging but I am curious how well they play well together when you are trying to run your outboard when your battery temp is below 30 degrees. What experiences can any one offer on this subject?

Another item to consider is that some outboards specifically state they cannot be used with a lithium starter battery. I don’t know the status of a Yamaha.

I believe Yamaha is one of the ones that clearly states don’t do it.

I would call yamaha to be sure you can.

I can’t get a great read on Yamaha recommendations. Seems like some of the concerns/issues might have been from earlier models of batteries. Seems like a lot of people are using them with Yamaha SHO motors which I have but from the limited research that I have done I did not see any one addressing the cold temp issue that we experience around here.

However, for me the staring battery is the easiest to access and and just switch out during the freezing temp time frame of the year.

I have a 21 Yamaha 150 SHO and called Yamaha about lithiums for starting batteries. I was told NOT to use a lithium battery for starting.

Just say no to a lithium starter battery.

They have been running Lith starting batteries with Yamahas for years without any issues, but,but, you need a good battery with a proven BMS and if you plan on fishing where the temp is below apx 28 deg or so, you would want a battery with a built in heater that will not allow charging till it’s heater warms up the battery if you plan on starting your engine. It’s also a good idea to have that built in heater, to seamlessly charge them in the winter.
Batteries such as Ionic have these features available. Yes they are not the cheapest, but they use the best cells, have heated options available, and have proven BMS’s.
With their heated starting versions, it would be perfectly safe to start your boat motor up at the launch on a cold morning as when your engine starts and starts to charge, The BMS would sense if the temp was too cold and not allow any charging to the battery, but use that charging current to first run the built in heater and when the temp rises to where it is safe to charge, would just automatically switch over to normal charging. Also when you plug in to charge at home, it wouldn’t matter if it is too cold as the BMS would sense that and run the heater first. There are many good Lith batteries out there now, but the reality is they are not all the same, there is different grade cells, different warranties, some, not all, have heaters that will allow charging and running of your engine in cold temps, and some have proven BMS’s that not only protect your battery, but fully protect your engine and make everything seamlessly work together.
Battery prices are dropping, but your better ones are still slightly more expensive. With your better Lith ones you are getting 10-11 years warranty, AGM’s 1-3 years.
Forgot to add, the importance of a good BMS isn’t just for cold weather and charging, it’s also to manage the battery and how it behaves with your engine running and charging. I think all Lith batteries have BMS”s but they are not all the same. Just because it says it has a BMS, that is meaningless, it’s how it is designed and programed to function and function with your engine that is important.