another battery question

[jammer]

I have a transom mount 38lbs thrust trolling motor... its on a 14' aluminum... i need a decent battery that will last the day out fishing... will mostly use it to keep my drifts straight and to slow some of the drifts down... i know battery questions have been asked before but i never read them cause they didn't pertain to me... any help would be appreciated... Trying to watch cost also... i know you get what you pay for but it would be nice to trim some spending...

[SkeeterJohn]

I have a 40lb minn-kota power drive with a 15ft boat. I had a nautilus deep cycle battery with a 160 minute reserve from cdn tire and it lasted about 3 seasons, which i suspect is average.

Unfortunately at Westmeath the battery was officially dead so i was forced to get what i could locally. I managed to go for a deep cycle ever-ready with a 140 minute reserve which i think will be more than enough for a day on the water. The total cost was about $80 incl taxes.

I found the 160 minute was still holding a reasonable charge after a full day of heavy use and opted for a slightly smaller reserve capacity to save on the weight side of things.

Only time will tell if that's a better sized battery for my application.

[Crawler]

Hi Jammer,

I have a 55PD Minn kota and have recently bought a deep cycle battery. There is 3 groups to look for the 24, 27 and 31 Deep Cycle. 31 usually has a 225 minutes reserve and gives 130 Amps/Hour.

I chose between the marine master at 125$ (Group31) or the Trojan (150$) (Group31). The nautilus at C.T. Group 27 is about 110$....

I can tell you that any of these 2 batteries will last you all day if your motor does not draw to many amps.

Verify how many amps your motor draws at full speed.

Example: Minn Kotta 55PD draws 50 amps at full speed. The battery will run 1 hour at 130 amps. Do the math ! At low speed the motor can take 5 amps or 10, depending...This should give you a good idea.

Go with group 31 if you can add an extra 60 pound to your boat !

Good Luck...

[ady]

I also had a CT Nautilus 31 it lasted 3 seasons. On FH advice I picked up the Trojan 31 new for this year - fingers are crossed but it has been great so far. Heavy 16ft Alum 55APD Minn

[Flipper]

My latest deep cycle is the Trojan 27 group and I'm pleased with it so far after two seasons. I can go two days on a charge with a 48lb thrust. My last was interstate which lasted 5 seasons.
I went with group 27 for the lighter weight - have to carry it from the house to the river frequently.

[fishcharmer]

Hi guys. I have a question regarding marine battery as well. After consuming all or most of the battery-life, how do I charge it? I was thinking of purchasing a battery at BPS (since they're having a sale in the marine department right now), but I need some input before buying one. I've read above that on average, the battery last for 3 seasons. Are we talking about 3 seasons of frequent use and recharging? Thanks for your help!

[jammer]

Thanks for your help fella's, i picked up a Nautilis today should do the trick....

[Rideaufish]

For the charger get one for deep cycle batts that maintaines the charge a regular charger charges at a set amp and that will toast your new purchase. the best would be high amp then down to low or no charge then monitors the volts and charges as needed.