# Choosing a trolling motor battery



## kmfw160 (Jan 25, 2017)

I couldn't find a thread for choosing a high quality battery for my 12v Minn Kota Edge 45lb trolling motor. My old Exide is done...I almost had to paddle today, lol. Please share your experience and advice. Thanks in advance.


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## jyu87 (Jan 25, 2017)

kmfw160 said:


> I couldn't find a thread for choosing a high quality battery for my 12v Minn Kota Edge 45lb trolling motor. My old Exide is done...I almost had to paddle today, lol. Please share your experience and advice. Thanks in advance.



I'm in the same boat as you. I've been looking at a few AGM batteries (interstate, Diehard, and etc). Honestly, you are probably going to get the natural "Optimas" are the best but I hear they are all good and user opinion.

Here are a few I've been looking at;

Trojan
Interstate
Sears DieHards
Optima
Walmart Maxx


let me know which ones you go with.


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## TNtroller (Jan 26, 2017)

There are only a few makers of batteries, and those few make all the different brands you see and hear about. No first hand knowledge but I would assume they are all about the same in component quality except for the really really cheap ones. Each retailer has their own spec's but there are differences as well as warranties.

I would get a grp 27 and that should last all day based on the 45#'r you have. I buy mine at wally world, a decent warranty & price. They last me about 3-4 yrs and I use a TM to troll for crappie the majority of the time. I plug the onboard charger in when I get back home, and leave it plugged up until I go again. I consider them an expense of having a boat (like gas & oil, bait, etc) so I just replace them as needed and go on my way. 

Use a decent quality charger, a smart one and they will pay for themselves before you have to replace the battery in most cases.


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## mrdrh99 (Jan 27, 2017)

X2... Hard to beat the Maxx batteries from Walmart for the $, maybe if I had a 24 or 36v I'd worry more.


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## onthewater102 (Jan 27, 2017)

+1 to the wally world MAXX line of batteries. I've had one of my pair for 9 years and the other for 7 and there is no noticeable difference in between their power capacity. Excellent battery for the $$$


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## Shaugh (Jan 27, 2017)

I'm on 5 years with Walmart and still going strong...


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## marshman (Jan 28, 2017)

I just typed out a response to the post about lighting that would work for this... Two batteries might be overkill for your style, but if you upgrade to a 29, you should be fine...

I have the same trolling motor and I used to burn up a 27 in half a day... I went to 2 29's in parallel and I could fish for 2 straight days I think!! I usually still have 80% battery charge left after a daylight to dark trip running a 45 tm, 2 fish finders all day... I run my tm hard...


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## DPI (Jan 28, 2017)

Does anyone run 2 6v golf cart batteries?

To get similar specs with the 12v, you need 2 in parallel. However , You need 2 in series of the 6v to get 12v.

This info is from sams club. The Duracell batteries are made by East Penn in the USA.

Duracell AGM Deep Cycle Marine and RV Battery - Group Size 31 $180 each
Specifications (double these specs when 2 are ran parallel):
20 amp hour rate:105
5 amp hour rate:86
6 amp hour rate:87.4
Battery Electrolyte Composition:Glass Mat
Battery Purpose:Starting Lighting Instrumentation
Minutes at 25 amps:210
Minutes at 75 amps:53
69 lbs.

Duracell Golf Car Battery - Group Size GC2 $85 each 
Specifications
20 amp hour rate:215
5 amp hour rate:157
6 amp hour rate:156
Battery Purpose deep Cycle
Minutes at 25 amps:395
Minutes at 75 amps:105
60 lbs.


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## Macrosill (Feb 1, 2017)

I don't know about boating but the 6v golf cart batteries are utilized a lot in the RV world, especially by those who boondock.


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## nowgrn4 (Feb 13, 2017)

The only reason I run a twice as expensive than a conventional lead acid AGM is its location way up front under my casting platform. It is a bear to get to, much less maintain (Rewater). Plus up front it takes a pounding when it's rough and AGM's are pretty much vibration proof. Charging a AGM is a PITA. You shouldn't use a charger that charges higher than 15 VDC. That means you're stuck using a 1 or 1.5 AMP charger that puts out less than 15 VDC. It usually takes 12-14 hours to do an overnight 1 amp charge to bring my Duracell AGM group 31 (East Penn Mfg, the maker of Deka batteries) from 12.1 VDC to fully charged for a AGM 12.8 VDC after a day's trolling.

If you're battery is easy to get to and maintain and doesn't take a pounding up front just get a regular deep cycle that you can easily and quickly charge with a 10 AMP charger. Much cheaper (half the price) and more importantly much much easier to charge.

I have a Deka 1,000CCA cranking battery in my Pro-Line that is over 7 years old. Put Deka on your list, their Marine Master batteries are top notch goods.

Edit; One thing I can say about AGM's, I have been running them since '02 and have never seen corrosion on the terminals that is common on regular lead/acid/flood batteries.


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## kmfw160 (May 29, 2018)

...so now I’m building a MonArk 1644 with a new Minn Kota 70lb 24v motor. I now have to find a reasonably priced pair of batteries to power this beast. 
...ugh every time I turn around it’s another cost....she’ll be worth it though!


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## DaleH (May 29, 2018)

onthewater102 said:


> +1 to the wally world MAXX line of batteries. I've had one of my pair for 9 years and the other for 7 and there is no noticeable difference in between their power capacity. Excellent battery for the $$$


Ditto!

Those Walmart batteries are made by Johnson Controls, who also owns Optima batteries. My only other choice would be an Interstate.


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## gnappi (May 30, 2018)

kmfw160 said:


> I couldn't find a thread for choosing a high quality battery for my 12v Minn Kota Edge 45lb trolling motor. My old Exide is done...I almost had to paddle today, lol. Please share your experience and advice. Thanks in advance.



Worrying about paddling I suspect you're running electric only? 

If so there's no substitute for a second spare battery. 

You can get a small and inexpensive "insurance policy" U1 sized 35Ah AGM battery that works great for a TM (or wheelchair or solar application) at harbour freight for ~$58. You never know when you will need it but I have a spare in my boat which I can also use an accessory battery for the DF, bilge pump, and lights etc to take the load off of my main batteries which are also 2x35Ah cells. 

My main cell used to be a 95Ah multi purpose (read as expensive $309+ tax and HEAVY) battery from West Marine. It was very good but I still had a spare cell as a backup just so I did not run the big battery below 12 volts or so. Now it's relegated to my solar system.


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## eshaw (May 30, 2018)

DPI said:


> Does anyone run 2 6v golf cart batteries?
> 
> To get similar specs with the 12v, you need 2 in parallel. However , You need 2 in series of the 6v to get 12v.
> 
> ...


Why would a person want to use the 6v batteries? I don't see any benefit to them on a boat application. You're just getting a big weight penalty. Not worth it to me. Correct me if I'm wrong but the only reason the amp hour ratings, etc., are close to double is because they're half the voltage.


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## Carbut (Nov 19, 2018)

I did some research on this a few days back when replacing batteries in my boat. Seems the Optima Blue Top is the winning choice these days, but I think Kinetik makes amazing batteries.

When I was in high school I did sound system competitions and ran 3-Kinetik HC2000 (deep cycle AGM, 90Ah) on a 10,000 watt system (along with a 240-amp alternator) and they stayed alive through pure hell for years. I threw a party one night and played music out of my truck, didn't realize my alternator had crapped out so the system and vehicle (left it running) were running off batteries only. After 2-hours of that, I drove the truck home (5-miles) and still had juice the next day. (This isn't an exaggeration, just the story the way it happened).

I haven't used Kinetik in a couple of years, but if their quality today is anything like their quality several years ago, then you should give them a look. Last time I checked I saw the HC2000 batteries on eBay NIB for $200.


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## JNG (Nov 19, 2018)

I run two 6 volt Interstate Extreme Cycle GC2-ECL-UTL batteries wired in series. I get 12 volts this way and 225 amp hours @ 20hr and 447 reserve capacity minutes @ 25 amps. Weight is 62# each, which is the same for any group 29 12 volt dual purpose battery. You cannot EASILY buy true 12 volt deep cycle batteries anymore. All the common 'deep cycle' batteries that you see for sale at Walmart, Autozone, Napa, etc are actually dual purpose batteries. They don't have the capacity nor the life of a true deep cycle. For example-

Autozone Duralast Marine 29DP-DL 
63.3#, 106 amp hours at an unspecified rate, 210 reserve capacity minutes at an unspecified rate.

Two of these wired in parallel gives you 126.6#, 212 amp hours, 410 reserve capacity minutes.

You also get shorter life, you better not discharge the batteries below about 75% capacity or charging capacity and battery life suffer greatly, and you also get less capacity. Golf cart batteries are true deep cycle batts and are designed to withstand deep discharges, have great capacity, and still give decent life. The only problem is that they are expensive. Roughly $150 each for mine. Compare to the Duralast at roughly $95 each.


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## bcbouy (Nov 19, 2018)

i run 2 deka agm group 31's in my boat and 2 in my camper.however they weren't cheap.almost 2 k for the lot.these are deep cycle ,not starters.my boat starter is a quicksilver starter/deep that came with the boat.


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## Ryzen (May 30, 2021)

Giving the amount of time that has passed since the initial post on this thread, I guess you've found the battery you need. Let us know what battery did you choose, please. Boat weight is the most important consideration to take into account when choosing a trolling motor. A beginning rule of thumb is that you want a minimum of 2 lbs of thrust for every 100 lbs. For example, if you have a 3000lb boat, fully loaded, then you'll need 60 lbs of thrust. Speaking about batteries, at https://batterytools.net/ you can find a lot of valuable information about batteries.


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## onthewater102 (Aug 3, 2021)

My how things change in 4 years.

Lithium batteries are down to less than $300 for a 50 amp-hour battery...given the weight savings alone they're attractive - ditching the issues of memory and the need for proper trickle charging to avoid sulfating is awesome...faster charge times, no capacity penalties for partial charging and a much more consistent power output curve??? 

I will never be buying another lead-acid or AGM trolling motor battery again.


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## Rebelwork (Aug 6, 2021)

I only run an aluminum boat but about 4-5 hours 3 days a week. I bought 2 Menards FVP batteries for $90 bucks each. I had two trolling motors front and back. Running one to get close and trolling the front when I got there. I eventually disconnected one and run. I run a stereo full time, charger o the phone and bilge. No problems...

If next spring after being in the garage there dead, I'll spend $200 on fresh batteries.,


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## CRS (Aug 11, 2021)

onthewater102 said:


> My how things change in 4 years.
> 
> Lithium batteries are down to less than $300 for a 50 amp-hour battery...given the weight savings alone they're attractive - ditching the issues of memory and the need for proper trickle charging to avoid sulfating is awesome...faster charge times, no capacity penalties for partial charging and a much more consistent power output curve???
> 
> I will never be buying another lead-acid or AGM trolling motor battery again.



Agree 100%


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## LDUBS (Aug 11, 2021)

Be nice to see the prices drop. I'm thinking by the time I need to replace my battery, the lithium 100ah will be at $150!


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## onthewater102 (Aug 12, 2021)

I put my $$$ where my mouth is (or, erm, fingers are? modern times are so confusing adapting old sayings.)

Either way - I ordered a 50amp Ampere Time LiFePO4 from Amazon after reading more reviews of different brands than I can remember. They seemed to consistently get positive comments from people using them in solar home energy systems FWIW. 

We'll see how it stacks up as a trolling motor battery. 

From what I read on lead-acid type battery research reports, we only get use of about 50% of a lead-acid battery's stated capacity before the voltage has dropped low enough that it will start adversely affecting the performance (digital circuits especially). If that's true then I should be getting comparable use time from the 50amp lithium as I was with my size 29 SLA's previously. Hopefully that's true. 

What is definitely true out of the box is that it weighs a bit less than 15lbs instead of 61lbs which will help a lot in a little tin boat, not to mention it's so much smaller that I can tuck it in a recess at the back of the compartment which previously was filled by the big SLA battery.


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## LDUBS (Aug 12, 2021)

The weight savings is huge. I have a grp 31 battery that is about 65#. All that weight I keep adding to the boat really starts to add up.


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## MrGiggles (Aug 12, 2021)

onthewater102 said:


> From what I read on lead-acid type battery research reports, we only get use of about 50% of a lead-acid battery's stated capacity before the voltage has dropped low enough that it will start adversely affecting the performance (digital circuits especially). If that's true then I should be getting comparable use time from the 50amp lithium as I was with my size 29 SLA's previously. Hopefully that's true.




I have read the same things, but most seem to agree that you can discharge a lead acid battery to 70-80%. Those group 29s were probably ~100ah, so that would give you 70-80ah of usable capacity. Most fisherman wouldn't use that much in a typical outing with a 24-36 volt motor, multi day camping trips or tournaments, maybe.

The big difference there being what you said, that lead acids will gradually lose voltage. Lithiums will generally stay pretty flat until they quit altogether.

I would like to make the upgrade, but my current batteries still have a couple years left. Hopefully by then lithiums will have come down in price even more. Right now they are getting close to penciling out for me, but not quite there.


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