battery for trolling motor what to look for

[Hellrot]

what should i be looking at for a trolling motor bat. for a sevylor fh301 3.5hp trolling motor? thanks in advance...

starting to like this forum more and more every time i come on here..

 

[sschefer]

Re: battery for trolling motor what to look for

Your primary concern is the Reserve Capacity. It's measured in minutes and equates to how long it takes the battery to reach 60 percent capacity from a full charge based on a 25 amp load. The Optima's seem to have a good Reseve but the Rolls out perform them all the way around. Price is the big difference here. The nice thing about the Optima's is the fairly small package compared to the Rolls. If you have the room and the money go with the Rolls if not then the next best thing is the Optima. I've had both and prefer them over anything else on the market.

Here's the tricky part, make sure you're buying genuine new Rolls or Optima batteries. There are a ton of reman's out there. The price difference is the clue.

 

[Hellrot]

Re: battery for trolling motor what to look for

i am very new to all this so please bare with me..

i know optima does car batts. now is there a major diffrence between car and trolling motor bats other than the minutes thing you were talking about and even that confuses the heck out of me.

 

[Sea Rider]

Re: battery for trolling motor what to look for

No mayor difference, just what sschefer stated + both deliver 12/14 volts.

Happy Boating

 

[sschefer]

Re: battery for trolling motor what to look for

i am very new to all this so please bare with me..

i know optima does car batts. now is there a major diffrence between car and trolling motor bats other than the minutes thing you were talking about and even that confuses the heck out of me.

The optima blue top is the marine version. You can check out their website if you want to compare the red/yellow/blues.

 

[likalar]

Re: battery for trolling motor what to look for

Another thing to look for in a battery for your boat is a built-in carrying handle. Sure makes loading it into or out of a small boat a lot easier.

When I was searching a couple years ago, I learned that some batteries (automobile starting batteries) are meant for lots of power for short bursts. Others (Deep-cycle batteries) are meant to discharge slow and steady, and don't suffer much from discharging fully. Here's a site that gives a simple overview:
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question219.htm
Also, some marine deep cycle batteries have dual mounting posts, and thumb-screw connectors, which make it easier to attach trolling motors, depth sounders, etc...
Some batteries are sealed, some aren't. Some are able to be tilted over without spilling. Some are lead-acid, some are gel cells. I ended up with a blue-top Optima marine dual-purpose battery, and am very happy with the performance.

If your trips are short and your motor not very demanding, you might consider a smaller 12v battery like the ones used on small outboards, golf-carts, etc. Good luck in your search.
Larry

Larry