battery (s) for my minnkota?

[taotao61]

hey all.

im about to go buy a new deep cycle battery for my boat. I have a minkota 40lb thrust trolling motor,running lights, bilge, and hummingbird fish finder.

I have run all of that off of two marine starting bats. for a while....like a dummy. i did not know any better or just never thought about starting vs deepcycle!!
Now the batterys i have, run out of juice after an hr or two of running the minkota

will one good DC run all of the equip i listed and still give me 5 to 8 hrs of power on the minkota? or do i need two DC's?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: battery (s) for my minnkota?

Batteries are like buckets of electricity. A bigger bucket will obviously provide longer run time than a smaller one. How long the motor will run depends on what speed you run at. Just like a gas motor, the faster you push it the more fuel you consume. With an electric, the faster you run it the quicker the battery goes flat. The rule of thumb here is to buy the largest capacity deep cycle you have room for and your budget allows. A group 27 DC will run five hours at moderate to slow speed settings. If you need to troll at high speed settings or for 8 hours of solid use, you will be in a two-battery situation. The number you are looking for on a battery label is "RESERVE MINUTES: xxx @23 Amps (some will say 25 amps). The higher the reserve minutes, the longer the motor will run on a charge. If you have a farm store (they are called Fleet Farm or Farm & Fleet in my area), check the automotive area for DC batteries. They generally have the lowest prices.

 

[moi]

Re: battery (s) for my minnkota?

FWIW, I'm using a Group 24 deep cycle Die Hard with a 40 pound bow mount MinnKota in a 14 foot Sylvan Sport Troller. Got a bilge pump, Humminbird 570 in the stern and an older Eagle 168 in the bow. I can work a shoreline in & out of some pretty heavy weed growth for 6-7 hours a day and still come home with nearly a full charge.