Troll motor battery suggestion.

keithdog · 06-01-11, 11:05 PM

I have a Motor Guide 55# thrust troll motor on the back of my 12 foot Jon Boat. A couple years ago I replaced my leaking battery with a new Cabelas AGM class 24 deep cycle/starting battery. I thought this battery would take care of getting me around for a good days fishing. I thought wrong. After 5 hours of use, I have to start rowing in order to have enough juice in the motor to get the boat back on the trailor.

My back does not like that one bit! So now I'm having to get another battery, I just don't know what I should get. Will a dedicated deep cycle battery last longer than a combination deep cycle/starter battery? I don't want to spend $300.00 on a new battery, especially since this AGM battery is fairly new. I'm going back and forth on buying say a class 27 battery and using that as my main battery and having the currant battery on board as a back up, or getting a large deep cycle battery which should last me through out the day. And should I get a dedicated deep cycle battery or would a combination deep cycle/starter battery sufice? I was at a battery store in town here and they have a large Deca deep cycle that the salesman says will run me all day long, but it's $329.00! OUCH!!! My old WalMart battery started leaking into my boat after having it for 3 years and so I'm shy of buying another one of those. A maintenece free battery would be great if I could get a good deal on one. Any suggestions? By the way, my boat does not have an outboard so the trolling motor is my main mode of transport.

bassboogieman · 06-02-11, 12:15 AM

Sorry to hear you're not getting what you expect from the AGM - they are what I use and have NO issues. Then again, I'm using four size 27 batteries. I do think it is difficult to find a battery that will run a 12v T/m of the thrust you have all day by itself. What other load to you have on it? Sounds like it it the ONLY battery on your boat, and while it's a small lightweight craft, running electronics is a further drain. If you're really considering $300 for a battery, consider the size 31 AGM, that is a beast of a battery (and a few $$ cheaper than the Deca). You could also consider 2 batteries in paralell to reduce you battery drain and possibly get a full 8 hour day out of them, but if you're going to use two batteries the best bet would go with a 24v T/m, which would likely get you around all day.
My first boat was a 16' alum. with a 12v, 46# T/m and it wouldn't go more than 4 - 5 hours on a single battery. Unfortunatly, I don't see a very economical solution for your issue, other than another size 24 battery and use it in pararell with your current battery. I'd ask someone familiar with battery characteristics wether different types of batteries, i.e wet cell, AGM or maintence free can be mixed when hooked in paralell together or if you need to stay with similiar style batteries in that set up.

nobass · 06-02-11, 05:06 AM

keith you can buy two good interstate and hook them pararell for what you paid for the agm , that will solve the problem, i do not like wally wrolds never starts sems you must go two or three to get one that will even hold a charge. but deep cycle is all you need deep crank is for the big motor. just get thw marine use ones not automotive as far as hooking a wet cell and gell tytpe together i do not know but do not see why you could not i would check with your battry store

keithdog · 06-02-11, 07:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassboogieman

Sorry to hear you're not getting what you expect from the AGM - they are what I use and have NO issues. Then again, I'm using four size 27 batteries. I do think it is difficult to find a battery that will run a 12v T/m of the thrust you have all day by itself. What other load to you have on it? Sounds like it it the ONLY battery on your boat, and while it's a small lightweight craft, running electronics is a further drain. If you're really considering $300 for a battery, consider the size 31 AGM, that is a beast of a battery (and a few $$ cheaper than the Deca). You could also consider 2 batteries in paralell to reduce you battery drain and possibly get a full 8 hour day out of them, but if you're going to use two batteries the best bet would go with a 24v T/m, which would likely get you around all day.
My first boat was a 16' alum. with a 12v, 46# T/m and it wouldn't go more than 4 - 5 hours on a single battery. Unfortunatly, I don't see a very economical solution for your issue, other than another size 24 battery and use it in pararell with your current battery. I'd ask someone familiar with battery characteristics wether different types of batteries, i.e wet cell, AGM or maintence free can be mixed when hooked in paralell together or if you need to stay with similiar style batteries in that set up.

The trolling motor is the only thing I have running off the battery and I use it a lot. I don't want to pay anywhere near $300.00 for another battery. What I was thinking was to get another battery so I have two in the boat. When the first battery is pretty well used up, I would simply switch the trolling motor power cables over to the new battery. I've never had a boat with batteries hooked up in paralell before. Do I buy special hookup cables for connecting more than one battery together?

nobass · 06-02-11, 07:26 AM

you need to wire them neg to neg and pos to pos, you will need just cables and terminals lugs to do it. just goggle paralle wire it will show you how to do it

Embrey · 06-02-11, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keithdog

The trolling motor is the only thing I have running off the battery and I use it a lot. I don't want to pay anywhere near $300.00 for another battery. What I was thinking was to get another battery so I have two in the boat. When the first battery is pretty well used up, I would simply switch the trolling motor power cables over to the new battery. I've never had a boat with batteries hooked up in paralell before. Do I buy special hookup cables for connecting more than one battery together?

i dont see how youre running that down that quick in a jon boat. i had the same size motor on a fiberglass boat. i had 2 everstarts on it and ive been out for 16 hrs in it and it still wasnt dead. i actually forgot to charge it once and i went for 2 whole days.wiring it up is easy, just jump the connections over to the other battery going with the polarity. and everstarts are good to me...i have 3 in my boat from 07 that still work like new...

Embrey · 06-02-11, 09:54 AM

oh and dont hook them up seperately...run them together. a much better setup. youre basically making one big battery out of it.

nofearengineer · 06-02-11, 10:38 AM

Keith, I think you just got a bad battery. There are bad ones in every batch.

If money is tight, I would get a standard wet cell battery, but get a battery tray that is sealed, so if it were to leak, it wouldn't spill.

In a jon, maintaining the batteries isn't that inconvenient. You're probably pulling the battery out of the boat regularly anyway, right?

keithdog · 06-02-11, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nofearengineer

In a jon, maintaining the batteries isn't that inconvenient. You're probably pulling the battery out of the boat regularly anyway, right?

No, I keep the battery in the boat and hook the charger up to the battery as soon as I get back from the lake. The battery stays in the boat untill I put it away for the winter. Then it gets stored in the garage kept hooked up to the charger which maintains the charge. While were talking on batteries I must admit a bit of ignorance on my part here. When picking a deep cycle battery for trolling motor use what should I be most concerned with regarding the batteries specs? The reserve capacity or the amp hours? The guy I talked to at the battery store told me going by group size is not always an accurate way to choose a battery. I always thought a group 31 would last longer than a group 27, but he said some times thats not true.

I also wonder if perhaps there is something wrong with my motor that is causing it to use more of the charge than it should be. But I know the group 24 battery I bought isn't that big.

nofearengineer · 06-02-11, 06:54 PM

Keith,

The group size is just the physical dimensions of the thing. As a general rule, a 31 will have a lot more capacity than a group 24, but like the guy said, there might be an exception somewhere (I haven't seen it).

The two most common ways of describing how much capacity a battery has, amp-hours, and reserve capacity.

Amp hours is what it sounds like: a number of amps for so many hours.

However, the problem is, two very different batteries might have the same amp-hour rating. One battery might be designed to output 100 amps for 1 hour, and another might be designed to output 10 amps for 10 hours. Same number, but they're definitely not designed to do the same job.

So they came up with a more standard version of the amp-hour rating; reserve capacity (RC). It's usually denoted by a "C/25". This is the number of minutes a battery is meant to last at a discharge rate of 25 amps until the battery drops to 10.5V (fully discharged).

RC is the one you want to pay attention to for a trolling motor battery.

keithdog · 06-03-11, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nofearengineer

Keith,

The group size is just the physical dimensions of the thing. As a general rule, a 31 will have a lot more capacity than a group 24, but like the guy said, there might be an exception somewhere (I haven't seen it).

The two most common ways of describing how much capacity a battery has, amp-hours, and reserve capacity.

Amp hours is what it sounds like: a number of amps for so many hours.

However, the problem is, two very different batteries might have the same amp-hour rating. One battery might be designed to output 100 amps for 1 hour, and another might be designed to output 10 amps for 10 hours. Same number, but they're definitely not designed to do the same job.

So they came up with a more standard version of the amp-hour rating; reserve capacity (RC). It's usually denoted by a "C/25". This is the number of minutes a battery is meant to last at a discharge rate of 25 amps until the battery drops to 10.5V (fully discharged).

RC is the one you want to pay attention to for a trolling motor battery.

Thankyou Bryce. That clears it up very nicely!

06-01-11, 11:05 PM	#1
keithdog BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: IN Posts: 8,308	Troll motor battery suggestion. I have a Motor Guide 55# thrust troll motor on the back of my 12 foot Jon Boat. A couple years ago I replaced my leaking battery with a new Cabelas AGM class 24 deep cycle/starting battery. I thought this battery would take care of getting me around for a good days fishing. I thought wrong. After 5 hours of use, I have to start rowing in order to have enough juice in the motor to get the boat back on the trailor. My back does not like that one bit! So now I'm having to get another battery, I just don't know what I should get. Will a dedicated deep cycle battery last longer than a combination deep cycle/starter battery? I don't want to spend $300.00 on a new battery, especially since this AGM battery is fairly new. I'm going back and forth on buying say a class 27 battery and using that as my main battery and having the currant battery on board as a back up, or getting a large deep cycle battery which should last me through out the day. And should I get a dedicated deep cycle battery or would a combination deep cycle/starter battery sufice? I was at a battery store in town here and they have a large Deca deep cycle that the salesman says will run me all day long, but it's $329.00! OUCH!!! My old WalMart battery started leaking into my boat after having it for 3 years and so I'm shy of buying another one of those. A maintenece free battery would be great if I could get a good deal on one. Any suggestions? By the way, my boat does not have an outboard so the trolling motor is my main mode of transport. __________________ Just one more cast, and then some!

06-02-11, 05:06 AM	#3
nobass BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: clarksville, tn, Posts: 1,690	keith you can buy two good interstate and hook them pararell for what you paid for the agm , that will solve the problem, i do not like wally wrolds never starts sems you must go two or three to get one that will even hold a charge. but deep cycle is all you need deep crank is for the big motor. just get thw marine use ones not automotive as far as hooking a wet cell and gell tytpe together i do not know but do not see why you could not i would check with your battry store __________________ the only easy day was yesterday

06-02-11, 07:26 AM	#5
nobass BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: clarksville, tn, Posts: 1,690	you need to wire them neg to neg and pos to pos, you will need just cables and terminals lugs to do it. just goggle paralle wire it will show you how to do it __________________ the only easy day was yesterday

06-02-11, 10:38 AM	#8
nofearengineer BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Southwest IN Posts: 5,630	Keith, I think you just got a bad battery. There are bad ones in every batch. If money is tight, I would get a standard wet cell battery, but get a battery tray that is sealed, so if it were to leak, it wouldn't spill. In a jon, maintaining the batteries isn't that inconvenient. You're probably pulling the battery out of the boat regularly anyway, right? __________________ Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after.

06-02-11, 06:54 PM	#10
nofearengineer BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Southwest IN Posts: 5,630	Keith, The group size is just the physical dimensions of the thing. As a general rule, a 31 will have a lot more capacity than a group 24, but like the guy said, there might be an exception somewhere (I haven't seen it). The two most common ways of describing how much capacity a battery has, amp-hours, and reserve capacity. Amp hours is what it sounds like: a number of amps for so many hours. However, the problem is, two very different batteries might have the same amp-hour rating. One battery might be designed to output 100 amps for 1 hour, and another might be designed to output 10 amps for 10 hours. Same number, but they're definitely not designed to do the same job. So they came up with a more standard version of the amp-hour rating; reserve capacity (RC). It's usually denoted by a "C/25". This is the number of minutes a battery is meant to last at a discharge rate of 25 amps until the battery drops to 10.5V (fully discharged). RC is the one you want to pay attention to for a trolling motor battery. __________________ Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after.

06-02-11, 12:15 AM	#2
bassboogieman BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Parkesburg, Pa. Posts: 3,762	Sorry to hear you're not getting what you expect from the AGM - they are what I use and have NO issues. Then again, I'm using four size 27 batteries. I do think it is difficult to find a battery that will run a 12v T/m of the thrust you have all day by itself. What other load to you have on it? Sounds like it it the ONLY battery on your boat, and while it's a small lightweight craft, running electronics is a further drain. If you're really considering $300 for a battery, consider the size 31 AGM, that is a beast of a battery (and a few $$ cheaper than the Deca). You could also consider 2 batteries in paralell to reduce you battery drain and possibly get a full 8 hour day out of them, but if you're going to use two batteries the best bet would go with a 24v T/m, which would likely get you around all day. My first boat was a 16' alum. with a 12v, 46# T/m and it wouldn't go more than 4 - 5 hours on a single battery. Unfortunatly, I don't see a very economical solution for your issue, other than another size 24 battery and use it in pararell with your current battery. I'd ask someone familiar with battery characteristics wether different types of batteries, i.e wet cell, AGM or maintence free can be mixed when hooked in paralell together or if you need to stay with similiar style batteries in that set up.

06-02-11, 09:54 AM	#7
Embrey BassFishin.Com Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 505	oh and dont hook them up seperately...run them together. a much better setup. youre basically making one big battery out of it.

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