Trolling Motor Battery

[skee]

I use a trolling motor on my canoe and jon-boat. Need to get a new battery though. Does it make a difference to buy a marine battery or just a car battery? Would like as much run time as possible. How about amps and such? Any recommendations?

[gruntking]

yes it dose the car battery wont last for nothing there not ment to be draind an recharged

[yankneck696]

You want a deep cycle battery. As it's name implies, it will survive longer with deeper discharge cycles. Also, you could try Gel cell or AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) for no leakage & longer life , of course with higher price. Also, get a computer controlled charger that you can leave on at all times to extend the longevity of the battery.
I am a marine mechanic/electrician.

[skee]

Thanks to all for your feed back. yankneck696, as a marine mechanic, any particular brand/amperage/etc. you can recommend? Something priced reasonably that won't break the bank.

[yankneck696]

Wallyworld actually has a decent charger that looks like a small red briefcase with jumper cables on it. It can do the 3 nessecary stages (Bulk, Acceptance & Float). As for the battery, that is negotiable. The best (NOT chinese) is Dekka. If you go to a local battery/starter shop & they have them, that would be your best bet. If going with a flooded battery (lead/acid), definitely get a deep cycle. If going with a Gel cell, again, Dekka is the best (Gel cell by construction will be deep cycle). As for AGM batteries, Optima used to be the best, but I believe they have outsourced & I have seen alot of complaints. West Marine (yeah, I know about the prices) has a very good line of AGM & other batteries.
Here's how battery charging works on multicell batteries:
Draw a box with 5 separating lines verticaly (representing 6 cells). On the right is + on the left is -. BULK charging will bring the voltage at the + connection to 13.8VDC at a high amperage, but each cell to the left in less. DRAW THIS, as I am going through the time to explain it all !!!
Now, Acceptance levels all of this out as an average (slightly lower amperage & voltage) to even all of the cells.
Float has a 13.8VDC at a regulated amperage (LOW) to gradually bring all cells up to 13.8VDC. Once that is done, the Float just keeps the battery real happy, kinda like.... OK, I won't go there.
When you use the correct charger, you can get much longer life out of your battery investment.

[Green Tide]

Those yellow marine batteries at walmart are a very good value for the price if the gel cell is out of your range.
I have had 3 of them, plus bought one for my bro when using his boat and trolling motor. I'm Talking a two day weekend if you have a decent trolling motor.

[skee]

Thanks again gentlemen.

[crashmister]

You're gonna wanna listen to Yank on this. I spent 30 years in and around the electrical trades. Yank knows exactly what he's talking about. The gel cell's may be a bit more but in the long run they are cheaper becaus they last longer if properly maintained. They also are more powerfull than conventional lead acid. Been using them on big block VTwin's for years because they have the power to spin that big motor over. The lead acid battery's just don't.