I am looking for a new trolling motor battery. I have a Grumman canoe and use my 30lb. motor on it and on small aluminum rental boats. These are my needs to consider.
1. Weight
2.Price
3.Run time ( 2 hrs or more)
4. Longevity of use full life
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I am looking for a new trolling motor battery. I have a Grumman canoe and use my 30lb. motor on it and on small aluminum rental boats. These are my needs to consider.
1. Weight
2.Price
3.Run time ( 2 hrs or more)
4. Longevity of use full life
Get you a group 27 deep cycle from Walmart. Probably best bang for your buck. What are you running now and have you been satisfied with run time? Secret to longevity is charging soon as you get off water if possible.
Hard to beat a paddle in those 4 categories :biggrin
Quote:
Originally Posted by addictedangler
If 62lbs of battery weight isn't too much for you to handle ... you can get a Series 29 Everstart for ~ $100 at Walmart and it will run your 30# thrust TM (probably) all day. A series 27 Everstart Deep Cycle Marine battery is around $80 and weighs around 50lbs. And take into account what Cray says about charging them asap after use.
The Optima Blue Top equivalents to these two Everstart batteries are 2-3 times more expensive and are only lighter by a few pounds in weight. They may also require a charger specifically designed for charging an AGM battery.
My Walmart has been out of deep cycle batteries all winter. Do they only get shipments near Spring?
A group 24 will run all day with a small trolling motor on a canoe.
I am very great full for the information. Our Walmart did not have a battery for my 2014 buick a few weeks ago. I went to tractor supply and they did not have one either. Then to Autozone and it was around $170.00 for the top of the line battery. That was the only one they had and this is not a very high amp battery.
I assume there is a difference in a marine battery,trolling motor battery. Also what about the ones they say are for golf carts and so on? Yesterday I went to Wallmart for a few items. One was generic Excedrin. They were out. The lady next to me had the same problem with her on the shelf med. needs. She said look at the shelf! They were about 1/4 empty. What is going on?
There is a battery shortage especially in the Midwest according to the people in our local Walmart due to extreme cold weather. I had to replace battery in wife’s car last Sat. And people lined up buying them. Every store around me is all but out and they have no idea when they are getting a load in. Same on meds, cold is hammering everybody.
I have a few more questions:
1. I assume after I use my motor I should charge it with a regular charger to achieve full charge for the next day?
2. At what rate of charge ( size of charger) for this size battery? Example would be a 10 amp overnight.
I used to be in charge of our Delco battery warranty for our trucking company 20 years ago. We used to check electrolytic levels clean battery and terminals then charge at a low rate for a few days. To test we removed the surface charge then tested for warranty. I assume this is still how it is done?
Depends on what charger you have. Most modern chargers will have a setting like 2-10 and boost. You would want to run it on 10, as it charges the amps will drop off and eventually be just a trickle. And some will actually shut off at end of charge. So first thing is figure out what charger you have and how it operates. Most of us today run a onboard charger that is fully automatic. I also was in the truck leasing business for 31 years. So I understand what you did back in the day. That’s just not feasible or nessecary in your situation. Best investment you can make is a cheap multimeter if you don’t have one. Put battery on charge and let it charge up, then remove charger and let sit for about 30 minutes. Check voltage with meter. It should read in the 13.7 13.9 range when fully charged and can drop on down to 13.5 after a period of time.Quote:
Originally Posted by addictedangler
I have 3 or 4 chargers. The newest one (perhaps 20 yrs.old) is 10 amp and it does cut back amps as battery charges. However I do not have a small maintainer type.Walmart has several styles. Yes I have a multi meter as well as a old military volt meter so I should be able to maintain a good environment for the battery. Some may think I am just cheap but I may only use this a few times each year. I am reducing my work load so hope to put more time on the water.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cray
The old 10 amp is what I would use then. As long as you remember to keep an eye on it. With your experience you shouldn’t have a problem.Quote:
Originally Posted by addictedangler
Golf cart batteries are 6v, but are deep cycle. Marine/deep cycle batteries are designed to be discharged and recharged regularly. If you do that to a standard battery, it will fail quickly. They also have a thicker case to take more abuse.Quote:
Originally Posted by addictedangler
Anywhere from 2-10 amps would be plenty. More amperage means a faster charge.Quote:
Originally Posted by addictedangler
You should put it on the charger as soon as you get home. Letting them sit while discharged is one of the worst things that you can do.
I have two Ph12350 Group U1 batteries 35ah that I like. They weigh 23 pounds each which makes them comfortable to carry. I picked them because their small size means they can be comfortably placed between my legs in a kayak. They probably cost me a little more, maybe $20, than a single battery. The thing is that I spend more than $20 on gas and food every time I go fishing. These batteries are typically used in wheelchairs if you were curious. That means they normally get abused by being run to low. The guy at the battery story says his wheelchair customers use these batteries every day and typically run them down to under 20 percent and they still last a year.
People look at the battery thing wrong. They are not an investment but an expendable item like fuel. I can understand that if you have a boat with two $160 batteries to run a 24 volt trolling motor and it's a hassle to replace them that you may not think of them as expendable. Batteries for a kayak or a canoe is completely different because you are taking them out of the boat every time you fish and there is no reason to spend $320. I fish all day on one 35ah battery and the second is a reserve. Of course I have a 12lb thrust trolling motor so a 30 will use more power.
What I get with two small batteries is ease of transport, small size that fits anywhere, the option of lugging one 23lb battery if I'm not going to fish long, $60 dollar replacement cost if one goes bad, a spare if one wasn't charged properly or was damaged, SLA security against leaks, quick recharge with two chargers, and relatively low overall weight.
As I said earlier I think of batteries the same way I would fuel. The guy that sold them to me said he expected them to last 3 years. I got them on a good sale for $50 each. If I use them 10 times a year for 3 years that is thirty uses. That works out to be $3.33 dollars a trip. I spend more than that on lost lures. If you go more often than 10 times a year then you will want to take good care of them which mostly means not running them down below 50 percent charge and recharging them as soon as possible. My situation is a little different because since I don't use them a lot I don't care if I go below 50 percent and shorten their life. Batteries have a shelf life regardless of how many times you cycle them so the guy at the battery store told me to not worry too much about damaging them. I know some people on here will tell you they have used there batteries for a lot more than three years but they probably paid more for them and they are probably heavy as hell. Let's say you double their life by 3 years and they last 6 years. That means cost for 30 uses is $1.66, does anyone who fishes really care about an extra $1.66 a trip? I would rather replace them than use a heavier more expensive and less convenient battery for the small additional cost.
I would like to get Lithium batteries but for 70ah the cost would be $900 dollars and because you can run them down to 0 it would be the equivalent of 140ah battery but there is no way to justify the cost. I see where you can get them from China for less than $300 but with a minimum order of 10. If you used them everyday that would actually be a good deal because you can recharge a Lithium battery 2000 times. That could be something to look into if a couple of us wanted to get together and order them but I'm leery of all things Chinese.