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Reply With QuoteQuite a few lithiums now. Lighter and strong, but really pricey.
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Crappie.com 2K Star General
Any new developments in trolling motor battery products? Need new battery
I haven't been keeping up with fishing "stuff" in a few years, but cabin fever has me daydreaming of hitting the area reservoirs when warmer weather returns. My trolling motor battery is 4 years old and will need replacing. It's your run-of-the-mill group 27 battery from Walmart, been needing to be replaced for 2 years so you know it's been that long since I used it. I'm really good about charging them immediately upon return home, but am hoping maybe a newer technology battery style might last longer?
And maybe be a little lighter? I can probably get away with a group 24 battery as I don't push my boat great distances at high speeds. I have a lot of quality lithium battery tools around the house now - surprised we're not seeing them in deep cycle trolling motor products.
Small Boat Pro Staff
Crappie.com Legend and 2021 Crappie.com Man of the Year
Quite a few lithiums now. Lighter and strong, but really pricey.
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Crappie.com Legend and 2021 Crappie.com Man of the Year
Crappie.com Legend and 2021 Crappie.com Man of the Year
Crappie Wall Hanger II
I bought two 35 AH deep cycle batteries because they are easier to handle. I'm pretty happy with them. I got them for less than $50 a piece and consider them disposable, as in I will run them down to less than the recommended discharge dramatically reducing their life expectancy. I think it all depends on how often you are going to use them. If you are going to go fishing 3 times a week for 10 months out of the year you would never want to discharge batteries below 50 percent. On the other hand if you go fishing once a week for 6 months a year chances are your batteries will die of old age before you ruin them by discharging them a few times to less than 25 percent. Even if your battery only lasts a year what is a hundred bucks considering how expensive everything else is. I just spent $20 on plastic baits I may never use. It costs me $30 dollars just to drive to a nearby lake Car cost mileage calculator in my case it costs me 77 cents per mile to operate my vehicle. The lake I fish the most is only 20 miles away and most people will be driving much further. Then you have boat gas and maintenance which can easily be more than the cost of using the truck or car.
Ignoring the fact that fishing is inherently expensive if you don't fish from the bank and don't live on the water there are other advantages to smaller batteries. Weight and size was my primary concern but if you have two batteries and only connect one at time as I do you will never run out of battery because you didn't watch the discharge. You may use them both up but at least you get a half time warning. It is also the case that if one has gone bad without you noticing at least you can have half a fishing trip instead of one.
I'm no expert but I thought I would share how I have come to look at trolling batteries.
Crappie.com 2K Star General
Which of these 35ah batteries did you get? My little 8' boat only has room for 1 battery.
I don't mind paying a little more to get what I want, just trying to figure out what that is ��. But I also don't want to overpay for something if it's going to perform the same as something significantly cheaper in my usage.
Small Boat Pro Staff
Crappie Wall Hanger II
I got the cheapest 35ah batteries I could find. Recycle them after a year and you are still money ahead in my opinion unless like I say you fish constantly. Two 35ah batteries weigh just a little more than a 75ah and take up about the same space. As I use them in a kayak they are a better fit because they are narrow and placed end to end fit more comfortable between my legs. I find carrying one in each hand much more ergonomic than lugging a single heavy battery and much easier to load in the boat as well.
Like you I don't mind spending money on something I really want. I looked at the lithium batteries and the fact they can be fully discharged without damage is a selling point. If they were twice as expensive they would be worth it. Even lithium batteries however have a life expectancy that makes cost per use excessive. If we were talking bicycles then lithium regardless of price would be worth it because weight and size matters a lot more but boats don't really care how much weight you put in them up to some reasonable point.
It is all about personal preferences and how you use the batteries.
One piece of advise that I'm confident about is get a small trolling motor that has a Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) motor controller to extend battery time. The hull speed for an 8' boat means that most trolling motors will waste energy trying to push it into a speed where it tries to lift up in the water. You can find hull speed calculators by doing a google search but you will find that the max speed for an 8' boat operating efficiently on a trolling motor is probably no more than 3 mph even though the hull speed is 4. If you don't have a motor that can lift the hull out of the water speed is optimized by long and narrow hulls as you will find on ocean going kayaks. I consider 17' to be about the right compromise between length and weight if you have to fight currents even then the hull speed is probably only 6 mph. My kayak is 8' because again it is all about preferences and I like to put it into my minivan. I have a 12' kayak I use if I have to fight currents.
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