Installation and Review: AntiGravity 12 Cell YT12-B Ultra-Lightweight Lithium Battery

bholmlate · Jan 30, 2012

Hey Christopher
I think what ever battery you are using better be in good shape if your are riding in these sorts of temperatures. My only concern now about the battery i have is If it is repeatedly exposed to those types of temperatures will the battery last.
Since it is a known fact that cold temperatures are Kryptonite to the new style of lithium batteries, how long will they actaully last in this type of evironment. Also if keeping them warm will help the longevity of said batteries. Over on TY there is another debate going on about this same thing. One rider came up with a really nice way of keeping his battery warm with a toggle switch right under the back of his seat. It is hooked to a heating element much like the grip heaters that wraps around his battery. He doesnt show any pictures of the heating element just the location of the switch. Slick idea but a concern would be how to protect it from getting turned on by accident and either draining the battery or over heating it if it was left on a warm day. Someone is bound to come up a niffty idea that will work and is safe to use.

up-high · Jan 30, 2012

Cold is hard on lithium ion batteries but shouldn't matter to a lithium ferrous battery. I think people just have to get used to the idea of warming the battery (causing a draw) before starting.

christopher · Feb 21, 2012

Finally got some real world COLD weather to test in.

Over the weekend we were up at Togwotee Lodge.
Evening temps were right around 0 degrees.
So the battery had a chance to get good and COLD.

Morning temp when I started the sled was low single digits. So the battery should still have been at 0.

First Try.
Cranked the engine over 5 times.
Cranking was slow, but steady.
Never caught.

Waited 15 seconds.

Second Try.
Cranked the engine over 5 times.
Cranking was slow, but steady.
Never caught.

Waited 15 seconds.

Third Try.
Cranked the engine over 5 times.
Cranking was still slow, but steady just as before.
Engine tried to catch once.

Waited 30 seconds.

Fourth Try.
Cranked the engine over and it caught on 2nd or 3rd revolution.
Ran for a moment and quit.

Waited 30 seconds.

Fifth Try.
Engine caught almost immediately and ran fine.

Total time to start LESS than 2 minutes.

So far I am still liking this battery given the huge weight savings.

Turbo11T · Feb 21, 2012

christopher said:
Finally got some real world COLD weather to test in.

Over the weekend we were up at Togwotee Lodge.
Evening temps were right around 0 degrees.
So the battery had a chance to get good and COLD.

Morning temp when I started the sled was low single digits. So the battery should still have been at 0.

First Try.
Cranked the engine over 5 times.
Cranking was slow, but steady.
Never caught.

Waited 15 seconds.

Second Try.
Cranked the engine over 5 times.
Cranking was slow, but steady.
Never caught.

Waited 15 seconds.

Third Try.
Cranked the engine over 5 times.
Cranking was still slow, but steady just as before.
Engine tried to catch once.

Waited 30 seconds.

Fourth Try.
Cranked the engine over and it caught on 2nd or 3rd revolution.
Ran for a moment and quit.

Waited 30 seconds.

Fifth Try.
Engine caught almost immediately and ran fine.

Total time to start LESS than 2 minutes.

So far I am still liking this battery given the huge weight savings.

Chris, try three times. . . in a row maybe 5 sec each. Don't wait in between. Then wait two minutes and I would bet money it would start right away. I have a ballistic on my m1100t and that is what I have done and it works every time. This was in 0 to -15 in west yellowstone.

bholmlate · Feb 21, 2012

Sounds promising Christopher that was way quicker then my time in January of this year. I have been hearing people having good luck with using small grip warmer elements on a seperate switch to help warm the battery before the initial cranking. I am sure someone will be selling a kit here by next year for these typse of batteries.

Up-High A lithium ferrous battery is still a chemical reaction and will still be problematic in cold temperatures. Cold temp slow down any chemical reaction. It might be less effected but it will still have problems in cold weather.

christopher · Feb 22, 2012

No Argument.
I suppose what we are trying to determine is just what temp is the bottom of the safe range where we can still rely on this battery to start a cold sled WITHOUT having to take any additional measures like warming the battery up.

At least for my supercharged sled, 0 degrees F is solid.

MTdream · Feb 22, 2012

christopher said:
No Argument.
I suppose what we are trying to determine is just what temp is the bottom of the safe range where we can still rely on this battery to start a cold sled WITHOUT having to take any additional measures like warming the battery up.

At least for my supercharged sled, 0 degrees F is solid.

wrote a write up in another forum on this...but my experience on the Lithium batteries is they are great!!!

I had a "waker upper" installed on mine...which is a switch with a grip heater attached to the battery...but the heat is not what is "waking up" the battery, it is the current pulsing through the battery...

Most recent experience with the Ballistic 8 cell (the small one) I turned the switch on, put stuff away in sled like gloves in tunnel pack, goggles etc. came back 3+/- minutes later and sled started on first crank, sled, had been sitting for a week....and overnight temps were at 0 zero...week before temps were in low teens no issues at all...

Spaarky · Mar 7, 2012

MTdream.. what sled are you starting? I put, if I remember right a 12 cell on a XP for a buddy, and he couldnt get it to work. It was no where near that cold either. Maybe its the technique. When I called Ballistic, and I said it was on a sled, they just groaned.

justinkredible56 · Mar 7, 2012

I run a ballistic 12 cell and I've had 0 issues with it on my nytro.When it's REALLY cold you have to cycle it and wait so I just turn the Key on while I get dressed and it works every time, couldn't be more happy! The battery is so light I just used Velcro to keep it in place, I roll my sled to get unstuck and it hasn't budged.
-Justin

Spaarky · Mar 8, 2012

he must have something else going on, that the sled isnt charging the battery or something is drawing power. He even brought the battery inside one night.

christopher · Mar 8, 2012

justinkredible56 said:
I run a ballistic 12 cell and I've had 0 issues with it on my nytro.When it's REALLY cold you have to cycle it and wait so I just turn the Key on while I get dressed and it works every time, couldn't be more happy! The battery is so light I just used Velcro to keep it in place, I roll my sled to get unstuck and it hasn't budged.
-Justin

That draws enough current to WARM the battery?

justinkredible56 · Mar 8, 2012

christopher said:
That draws enough current to WARM the battery?

Sure does! For clarity's sake this is my exact procedure.

Get to the parking lot, park my truck. Jump out and turn my sled over a few times.

If: It does start up I just let it idle until my belt starts to squeal.

If: It doesn't start up at first

Then: I just leave the key in the "On" position so my HUD is on while I get my gear on. Once I have my gear on I go back and turn it over, starts right up every time! If it didn't I would just crank it over a few more times and just wait a while. I figure the colder it is the more cycles I will need to perform before it starts but I've dealt with it enough that I'm 99% sure it will get my sled started every time.

christopher · Mar 8, 2012

Many Thanks for the Tip!!

nathaniel11 · Mar 9, 2012

Does anybody have a tip on how to do this to an xp since we dont have a key to just turn it to the on position?

christopher · Apr 29, 2012

Had NO issues with this battery for the rest of the season.

adairtd1 · Sep 11, 2012

I ordered me one of these batteries today to run in my Nytro this season. In case anyone else was wanting to try one, I found that the promo code "ADVENTURE" is good for 12% off, it was working today at least.

christopher · Sep 11, 2012

Other than taking a little bit of work to get it properly fitted into the battery hold nice and TIGHT, I have had NO ISSUES at all with this battery!

adairtd1 · Sep 11, 2012

They did mention they ship them with some foam to fit in there to make them fit, but did you need extra above and beyond what they included?

bholmlate · Sep 11, 2012

I ordered the extra pad fit kit and did not need it. I actually went to walmart and got some stick on velco strips and used that to hold the battery in place and then used the foam that came with it to hold it in place. <O

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I only had a slight issue last year with a cold start in <ST1

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at -17 degree F. Even The door of my motel room was frozen shut and i had to yank on it to open it so things were not moving very fast that morning including me. In really cold weather you just have to take your time and bump the battery to wake it up. I know one person who hooked a grip heater to a switch directly from the battery to warm his up. it warmed it up internally by drawing power and warmed it up on the outside through the element. All you need is something to draw power from the battery to wake it up.<O

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christopher · Sep 12, 2012

When I first got mine it did not come with the fit kit.
I had to order the foam blocks separately.

And yes, when its VERY cold, you just have to allow the battery time to warm itself.

Installation and Review: AntiGravity 12 Cell YT12-B Ultra-Lightweight Lithium Battery

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