Our first year with lithium

[geem]

Why the big drama with lithium? Why cant I go into the store and buy a kit with everything needed? Perhaps I need to decide how big a battery I need.Am told I need a thorough understanding of lithium.

You can just go and buy a lithium battery no problem. Its how you integrate the battery into your system thst creates the problems. Do you want to charge with the alternator? Do you have solar? Are you living aboard? Do you have large loads? All of these questions and more will influence what you do to integrate the lithium battery into your system. To charge lithium at high charge rates may need a new alternator, external regulator and a lithium battery that has a bms thst can communicate with the alternator external regulator. Victron produce lithium batteries that can do this but they are super pricey.
On some boats you can drop lithium in very easily. Others need a certain amount of rewiring. There is no 'one size fits all' with lithium