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.
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
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?
Small Boat Pro Staff
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.
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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.
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