# Type of battery help



## firstresponder01 (Jul 30, 2015)

I'm putting LED lighting in my boat along with a bilge, and running lights. At some point I'm adding a trolling motor. My question is what kind of battery should i get to run my lights and pumps? and when I get a trolling motor what kind of battery for it should i get for the trolling motor?


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## cocopuff (Jul 31, 2015)

Depends what your budget is, size of the boat, and how many batteries you want to run. I use a deep cycle marine battery from walmart that does just fine for my trolling motor, but optima sealed batteries are supposed to last longer. https://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStart-Maxx-Group-Size-29-Marine-Battery/20531539


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## Johnny (Jul 31, 2015)

Take into consideration that your bilge pumps probably won't be running that much
unless you have some serious leaks.
The new LED lights draw minimal current and how often do you go night boating ?

+2 what cocopuff said


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## firstresponder01 (Jul 31, 2015)

very minimal night fishing. But want the lights just in case. Its 1468 SEMI V. I was thinking two batterys. One for the lights and pumps and one for the trolling motor.


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## cocopuff (Aug 1, 2015)

Depending on how long you go out for you might not even need two. I have a bilge pump but have ran it exactly once to see whether it worked or not. Not sure how much your lights will draw, but you could definitely run both lights and trolling motor from one battery if you don't go out for all day long. Having a backup battery definitely wouldn't hurt, but it will add considerable weight to your boat that might be unnecessary. What I would do is after you have set up lights and the trolling motor buy one battery, borrow one from a buddy in case you completely drain it and test whether you completely drain the battery. That would give you a good idea of whether you need one or two batteries without becoming stranded with a dead battery (paddling a jon boat against the wind after killing your battery sucks from personal experience). Again it comes down to your budget if you have a spare 100 bucks it never hurts to have an extra battery (lets you use a trickle charger and just swap them out so your boat always has a fully charged batt in it. Depending on what kind of trolling motor you want you can get really good deals on a cheap transom mount on craigslist if you look around. I've seen a ton of 30 lbs minn kotas in my area for around $50. I have one in my garage I used less than ten times and keep just on the off chance I will need it again. That would get you out fishing cheaply without having to paddle everywhere - it will be slow but you can always upgrade in the future. Of course if you have the budget you could get a 55 lbs thrust for $220 or so from walmart https://www.walmart.com/ip/Minn-Kota-Endura-C2-55-Freshwater-Transom-Mount-Trolling-Motor-55lb-Thrust-36-Shaft/15686837


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## firstresponder01 (Aug 1, 2015)

Well I currently have a minkotta im not sure what model it is but I was wanting a bigger one that has the foot driven controls. The Trolling motor is not my main power source. I have a gas powered outboard on the back. The trolling motor is for fishing.


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## TNtroller (Aug 1, 2015)

I suggest you get a $25 riding lawn mower battery for the bilge and LED lights, and then a regular deep cycle battery for the TM, no problems at all if you run the TM battery down and THEN have a leak.


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## bamabill (Aug 7, 2015)

I run my lights and bilge off my cranking battery and have a dedicated deep cycle from Wal Mart for my trolling motor.


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## Captain Ahab (Aug 8, 2015)

bamabill said:


> I run my lights and bilge off my cranking battery and have a dedicated deep cycle from Wal Mart for my trolling motor.





What he said - do this you will be forever happy.

Plus, if you ever drain your TM battery you have backup


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## duckfish (Aug 8, 2015)

Do you have electric start on your outboard? If so I agree with with bamabill. If not, I'd goo with TNtroller's idea.

Either way, I prefer AGM batteries for trolling motor. I'm getting far longer life and better performance out of them than lead-acid


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## firstresponder01 (Aug 8, 2015)

No its an old Wizard pull start. I think I will do the smaller battery for lights then a dedicated tm battery upfront.


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