Hunting Washington Forum
Equipment & Gear => Power Equipment & RV => Topic started by: seth30 on January 02, 2012, 03:29:49 PM
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I just bought a 40 lb thrust minn kota trolling motor, and have no clue on which battery would be best for it. For you guys that have or had a trolling motor what battery did you have or recommend?
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gel cell for sure
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I used to use a big AC Delco deep cycle with my 30lb thrust Minn Kota and I think I could run it all weekend fishing for trout on one charge.
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I used to run 4 batteries tied together for an electric bass boat when I fished electric only lakes. The Walmart ones usually lasted 2 years, buying the 60.00 ones. The trick is to keep them charged alll year long, but also make sure they discharge between charging, when not in use. I made up a light that clipped to the batteries, just to run em down so I could charge em back up during the winter.
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60 bucks sounds affortable :tup: Thanks for the tip on running the battery down, I did not think of that at all. Is there a certain size or are they all the same size? Are all of them Gel cell?
Seth
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No, those were not gel batteries, those get expensive quickly, but the ones I bought worked fine. They ran 2 55 lb. thrust Minn Kota motors on the back, and one up front for working the bank.
I do know a guy that just went and bought a deep cycle caterpillar battery, of course it almost sunk his little boat when he loaded it. :yike: :chuckle: :chuckle:
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Batteries have an amp hour rating. The higher the amp hours, the longer it will run.
I haven't used the gels but have noticed that my batteries seem to go bad faster if I do not recharge them right away after use. Deep cycle batteries are designed to be recharged more often than starting batteries, I think they have thicker plates in them, though I might be mistaken on that. I think one advantage of the gel batteries is they can take more of a pounding without breaking internally, but again, i am not positive on that.
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Costco has Optima's for about the best deal. Also the best warranties.
MS
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I love Optima's, but I have an Interstate Megatron, deep cell, that I use for my trolling motor. It will run all weekend on one charge.
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Wow a lot of choices to go for. So am I looking for a higher or lower number on the battery? Looking on line there is a metric ton of deep cell batteris. :dunno:
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Higher amp hour rating = more run time, higher model number, I think usually is a larger, and heavier battery as well.
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Thanks, since I could be chasing down ducks and fighting the tide I will want a higher amp and number.
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I have had real good luck with the models from Shucks/O'Reilly's. I think they are Excides? Go with a Group 27, 29 would be better if you can find them. I needed a new one for my camper and bought an Intersate Group 27 and that thing performed brilliantly. I ran a whole week with it out in Montana this year. Mostly lights and furnace backup, but nevertheless.
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Did you do the seat/foam things? If it was me, I'd think about getting a little 1 1/2 to three horse or something to have on just in case you need the extra power or for some reason end up with a dead battery. The electrics are nice for silent sneaking but when you need power, you need POWER. :twocents: You might have a hard time fighting a tidal current and a big wind if they happen to both happen in the same direction.
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I have just made the bench seats but still have to install the foam. The reason Im staying away from the gas motor is due to tides where I hunt. The water can be 5 feet deep, or 2 inches deep. Weight is a big issue, when pulling a boat in the mud. Also the load up to and from the truck. I dont know anybody locally that I could hunt with as much as I hunt, so I plan on keeping the boat at a weight that I can load/unload without help.
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I know what you mean about the weight. My parents used to have a little 1 1/2 hp that weighed less than an electric motor. I, personally, would not trust my getting back home on solely an electric motor when dealing with tides or rivers. The other thing is be sure to rinse that motor really well after using in the salt and be careful about wind blowing salt water up into the head. I have had at least one go belly up because of corrosion.
If you need foam, let me know. I know where a fridge sized piece is washed up above the high tide line.
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Lokidog brings up an interesting point. If it's new and not one of their Salt Water Series, any warranty will be voided even by just putting it in the salt.
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yep plan on rinsing the heck out of the motor afer every use. :IBCOOL: Thanks for the offer on the foam, but I have plenty.
