Right battery for trolling motor ?

[kyron4]

Right now I have a EverStart 24DC-6 (500 cranking amp) battery and 30# Motorguide on my 10' jon. It works fine and Usally go out for 1.5-2 hours run time and never run it dead. I'm planning on going to a 50# motor this spring, and again run times will be around 2 -2.5 hours tops. Will my battery work fine or will I need a larger battery ? I just bought the battery last year and don't really have the money for "the best in class" battery either.
-Thanks

[DemolitionMan]

I would try it out and see....Only buy a battery if the one you got don't work....However, I wouldn't wait on a "fishin trip" to try it....Charge the battery and take it out and time it on a continueous run and see how long it last....DemoMan

[tarheel]

For 2 to 2.5 hours of run time my bet is you will be fine. If you start going for 4+ hours of continuous use, you may need to upgrade.

[Barnacle Bill]

You can figure that out and get an approximate time it will last. Somewhere on your battery it will tell you how many amp hours it is rated for then when you get your new motor it will tell you max amps it draws at full power. For example lets say your battery is rated at 120 amp hours and your motor draws 40 amps at full speed. Divide 120 by 40 and you get 3 hours of use running the trolling motor wide open. If you only run the motor at 25% then it is only drawing 10 amps and the battery will last 12 hours. Keep in mind that this is approximate as a lot of other things come into play. Like condition of battery, clean and tight connections, length and gauge of wire, fishing line wrapped around the TM prop, etc. I'm sure you get the idea. Hope that helps.

[CatFan]

If you only run the motor at 25% then it is only drawing 10 amps and the battery will last 12 hours.

That's only true with a digital motor. The regular ones just waste the extra power and use the same current all of the time.

[Barnacle Bill]

That's only true with a digital motor. The regular ones just waste the extra power and use the same current all of the time.

Who in the world told you that? It only uses what it needs.