Re-Imagined, Re-Engineered: Portable Sonar Batteries
Norsk® Lithium makes better the best with improved features & longer warranty
“Everything about our portable battery line-up has been re-designed and improved,” says Norsk Lithium VP of Strategy & Development, James Holst. “And we’ve been able to make all of the improvements to the features, internal components, and overall safety of our products without having to raise our prices.”
Starting with the 14.8 volt line, over the past couple of years discerning anglers have gravitated to Norsk’s higher voltage “orange” batteries due to the increased efficiency and longer runtimes for running everything from 7-inch displays up to 15-inch screens with live imaging/FF sonar and MEGA 360.
The first feature the company has added is Bluetooth® technology, allowing users to connect to the battery via the Norsk Guardian® app, providing anglers the runtime calculation to determine how much longer they can keep their sonar units powered.
“At a glance, you can see the state of charge which is super important with lithium batteries because it’s the only reliable way you can check the remaining runtime of the battery. Case in point, like when a battery is enclosed in a sonar shuttle that has a built-in voltage meter. In this common scenario the angler might be lead to believe that the built-in voltmeter is a good way to check remaining runtime, but nothing could be further from the truth. For example, if the voltmeter shows 13.7V you could be anywhere from a 30% state of charge to a 70% state of charge because the discharge curve is so flat.”
Monitoring the state of charge via the free Norsk Guardian app available for both IOS and Android provides an estimated runtime calculation that is highly accurate and adjusts as the demands of the sonar unit change as is the case when the user adjusts screen brightness.
For those that don’t want to use an app to check state of charge, all 14.8V Norsk portable sonar batteries come with a built-in battery meter that can be used to quickly check state of charge with the push of the Battery Management button found on the top of each 14.8V battery. `The built-in State of Charge (SOC) Indicator panel is incredibly handy and easy to use — and does a lot more than simply show the user the current SOC when they push the Battery Management button. For instance, the SOC Indicator panel will also indicate if a charge is taking place and show the current SOC as the battery accepts the charge. If you’re at 25% state of charge, one light will flash and when you’re at 50% state of charge two lights will flash, simulating the feature set of power tools like drills that you already use at home.
Norsk also added two IPX8 waterproof USB ports to the battery, which means if you expose the battery to water through ice fishing or kayak fishing all you have to do is wipe them dry and you’re good to go. The batteries have an IP67 rating so they are waterproof down to four and a half feet of water for 30 minutes.
“That’s overkill in some ways, but we wanted to build the absolute best lithium battery for the sloppiest conditions an ice angler might encounter.”
- Battery Type: Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC)
- Charge Voltage: 16.8V
- Max Charge Current: 7A
- Built-In Waterproof USB Ports & Battery Meter
- Weight: 4.85 lbs.
- Size: 5.875 x 3.875 x 3.875 inches
- Lifespan: 2,000+ cycles, est. 5-10 years
- Includes: Orange 3A 16.8V Charger
- Part No.: B14032C
MSRP: $279.99
- Battery Type: Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC)
- Charge Voltage: 16.8V
- Max Charge Current: 7A
- Built-In Waterproof USB Ports & Battery Meter
- Weight: 6.9 lbs.
- Size: 5.875 x 3.875 x 5.125 inches
- Lifespan: 2,000+ cycles, est. 5-10 years
- Includes: Orange 3A 16.8V Charger
- Part No.: B14050C
MSRP: $369.99
Holst continues: “Norsk Lithium has also upgraded their battery composition to LG cells, the highest quality lithium cells on the market today. And we’re so confident in the build quality of our portable sonar batteries that we’ve extended our base 2-year warranty to 4 years on our 14.8V batteries, which can be extended to six years if the customer registers their battery through the Guardian App. Consumers are going to love the value of having 6-year coverage on a portable sonar battery.”
The extended warranty isn’t just for Norsk Lithium’s 14.8V 32Ah and 50Ah batteries either. Their 12.8V 10 and 15Ah batteries now feature a 4-year warranty. Long gone are the days of replacing your sonar batteries every year.
- Battery Type: Lithium Ion Phosphate (LiFePO4)
- Charge Voltage: 14.4V
- Max Charge Current: 3A
- Built-In Waterproof USB Ports & Battery Meter
- Weight: 3 lbs.
- Size: 5.875 x 3.875 x 2.625 inches
- Lifespan: 2,000+ cycles, est. 5-10 years
- Includes: Green 3A 14.2V Charger
- Part No.: B12010C
MSRP: $89.99
- Battery Type: Lithium Ion Phosphate (LiFePO4)
- Charge Voltage: 14.4V
- Max Charge Current: 3A
- Built-In Waterproof USB Ports & Battery Meter
- Weight: 3.3 lbs.
- Size: 5.875 x 3.875 x 2.625 inches
- Lifespan: 2,000+ cycles, est. 5-10 years
- Includes: Green 3A 14.2V Charger
- Part No.: B12010C
MSRP: $119.99
Improved, Color-Coded Chargers
Every Norsk Lithium Portable Sonar Battery now comes with an upgraded charger that matches the battery case color of the specific model – green for green 12.8V batteries and orange for orange 14.8V batteries so users can’t use the wrong charger. And even if someone were to use an orange charger with a green battery and vice versa, the battery chargers are “smart” to prevent accidentally damaging the battery.
Norsk Lithium has also added cold temperature protection, so if the battery is too cold to charge, you can connect the charger and it won’t start charging. All you have to do is let the battery warm up naturally and when it reaches a safe temperature for charging the charger will automatically turn on and charge the battery normally—no customer interaction required.
Shuttle-Ready Wiring
New for 2025, Norsk also added full SAE connections from battery to charger so if you’re putting a battery in a shuttle It comes with the included SAE wiring cable set required without buying anything extra.
Increased Safety & Easy “Summer-izing”
“We’ve tremendously improved the safety of our batteries, too,” adds Holst. “Every portable sonar battery now uses internal cell racking as opposed to lithium battery manufacturers who only wrap their cells in paper and tape with little if any space between them. Cell racking provides space between cells for cooling, minimizing the chance that something could go wrong. We’ve also managed vibration to keep our cells where we want them in the battery case which is made of the same polycarbonate material that bulletproof windows are composed of. The ABS plastic used by a lot of other manufacturers actually absorbs water; not the case with our material,” offers Holst.
“We also added Deep Sleep to our portable batteries, an automatic storage setting you can engage from a button on top or via the Guardian app. So, all you have to do to ‘summerize’ the battery is remove connectors from the terminals and hit a button. It’s a great way for ice anglers to put the battery into storage and now it will be good to go the following season.”
One of the biggest trends in ice fishing is supplying higher voltage portable sonar batteries to today’s ice sonar for longer runtime, better operation, brighter screens, and better fish/lure imaging. At first, anglers used the 12.8V batteries we recommend for flashers but have discovered that our higher voltage 14.8V portable sonar batteries provide longer run times per amp because your equipment runs so much more efficiently; 20 to 25% runtime advantage per amp hour. You don’t need to have a 20-pound battery to run live imaging. We offer a 50 amp hour portable sonar battery and our 14.8 volt lineup that weighs right around seven pounds, about the third the weight of a lead acid battery, much longer runtime, and all the cool features mentioned above.
NORSK LITHIUM: WE’VE GOT YOU POWERED!
No matter what you’re using to fish, Norsk Lithium has designed power solutions that are optimized for whatever ice fishing electronics you’re using—from mechanical flashers to today’s most advanced forward-facing sonar.
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