Now that I have the trolling motor, it is time to start looking for a deep cycle battery for my pontoon boat.
Any recommendations?
Lead Acid or Gell Cell or??????
Brands? Sizes?
What is good & what is trash?
What do you use?
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I just use the BIGGER marine batteries. Around $60. NAPA
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Trojan Batteries are nice.
Very good batteries made to last.
I would recommend a sealed battery just in case your toon decides to change it's name to "Flipper".
[url "http://www.trojanbattery.com/index.aspx"]http://www.trojanbattery.com/index.aspx[/url]
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I'm prayin' that the 'toon boat stays right side up!!!![angelic]
I looked at the sealed batteries by Optima & Les Schawab and they were close to $200.00. A little more than I want to pay so I got a standard group 27 180min @ 25 amp deep cycle and a battery box for about $90.00.
Now I have to register the boat, put the registration numbers on the pontoons before I can take it out with the trolling motor. I will probably use it this weekend without the motor if I don't have time to do all that.
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A little FYI. The numbers/letters don't stick on the boat itself well specially if you inflate and deflate. I used a piece of Plexi-glass about 20" X 4" but a really inexpensive way is a piece of Vinyl siding. It is flexable and harder to break. Like a license plate, then you just strap it to the side of the frame.
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thanks for the tip
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Forgiven, remember that the Optima Spiral wound lasts three to four times longer, plus they produce the same power level until they are almost out of juice. They also heat up less and weigh less. For the long run they are much cheaper. Acid on the 'toon is almost unavoidable with regular batteries. Sure you can rinse it out all the time, its just the time you spill a little and don't see it. Sumthin' to think about.
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Battery Acid spills on a boat? That is a new one to me. How the heck do you do that?
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I believe Costco has the marine blue top 27 series Optimas for about $130 (my wife asked them about a month ago). Thats with a core deposit and rebate. I'll know for sure what the price is next week, because I'll be picking up 3.
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Oops, I just reread your post and I see you already picked up the batteries.
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All i got to say is go with optima! they are way lighter and smaller that other deep cycles, which is important when you are putting them on a pontoon. o yeah they last forever and they don't get week after you use half the power out of them. They deliver the same amount of power the whole way till you run the charge completely out of them. Another nice thing is they don't have any memory which means you don't always need to discharge them after you are done before recharging. Most marine bats need to be dead before your recharge them or you will damper there life span.
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[quote bigpikeguy]Most marine bats need to be dead before your recharge them or you will damper there life span.[/quote]
Actually this will hurt marine/rv or deep cycle batteries the most. Lead acid batteries do not like to be drained. They should be kept at 50% or more of their total charged capacity.
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3][font "Times New Roman"][size 3]
[left]Discharging
[/size][/font][/size][/font][font "Times New Roman"][size 3][font "Times New Roman"][size 3]
[left]Discharging batteries is entirely a function of your
[left]particular application. However, below is list of helpful
[left]items:
[/size][/font][/size][/font][font "Wingdings"][size 1][font "Wingdings"][size 1]
[left]q [/size][/font][/size][/font][font "Times New Roman"][size 3][font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Shallow discharges will result in a longer battery life
[/size][/font][/size][/font][font "Wingdings"][size 1][font "Wingdings"][size 1]
[left]q [/size][/font][/size][/font][font "Times New Roman"][size 3][font "Times New Roman"][size 3]50% (or less) discharges are recommended
[/size][/font][/size][/font][font "Wingdings"][size 1][font "Wingdings"][size 1]
[left]q [/size][/font][/size][/font][font "Times New Roman"][size 3][font "Times New Roman"][size 3]80% discharge is the maximum safe discharge
[/size][/font][/size][/font][font "Wingdings"][size 1][font "Wingdings"][size 1]
[left]q [/size][/font][/size][/font][font "Times New Roman"][size 3][font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Do not fully discharge flooded batteries (80% or
[left]more). This will damage (or kill) the battery.
[left]Equivalent to overheating a car’s engine, extent of
[left]damage unknown.
[/size][/font][/size][/font][font "Wingdings"][size 1][font "Wingdings"][size 1]
[left]q [/size][/font][/size][/font][font "Times New Roman"][size 3][font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Many experts recommend operating batteries only
[left]between the 50% to 85% of full charge range. A
[left]periodic equalization charge is a must when using
[left]this practice.
[/size][/font][/size][/font][font "Wingdings"][size 1][font "Wingdings"][size 1]
[left]q [/size][/font][/size][/font][font "Times New Roman"][size 3][font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Do not leave batteries deeply discharged for any
[left]length of time.
[/size][/font][/size][/font][font "Wingdings"][size 1][font "Wingdings"][size 1]
[left]q [/size][/font][/size][/font][font "Times New Roman"][size 3][font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Lead-acid batteries do not develop a memory and
[left]need not be fully discharged before recharging
[/size][/font][/size][/font][font "Wingdings"][size 1][font "Wingdings"][size 1]q [/size][/font][/size][/font][font "Times New Roman"][size 3][font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Batteries should be charged after each period of use.[/size][/font][/size][/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"][size 3][font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Information from Trojan Batteries.
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I can see the advantages of the optima for sure. Well I have already bought the lead acid so maybe next time.
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I get at least 4 years out of my Napa Special @ $58. (or more)
So, going with say $60 for 4 years, at the price of an Optima, that is more or less 3 batteries and 12 years....can the optima last 12 years? Weight...I carry mine to my boat and once on my boat no big deal.
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im going on 7 years with my Optima now [
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Impressive! That is the best I have heard from all the people that I know that use them. Five seems to be their max.
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Hi, I'm new to the list and have been tinkering with pontoons for many years. I built my own trolling motor and battery system because there wasn't anything on the market that fit my needs. My drive system and battery weighs under 9 lbs and can drive my pontoon for 4 hours at 3mph top speed. It uses a lightweight cordless drill battery that has been encased to be waterproofed and a specially designed very efficient motor and prop that can be steered with my legs. Don't have pictures or know how to post yet. No offense to anyone, and I know this sounds like I'm a jerk, but some details are proprietary and may not be able to post on advise of counsel.
Anyway if you're using the standard troll motors, it depends on how often you go out and how far or how long you go under power.
The cheapest way to go is the 7ah gels (SLA) used for UPS for computers which have by far the highest mass production rate by industry. Sometimes you can get these free from businesses that routinely rotate them out and which are essentially new for the most part. Surplus mail order places pick these batteries up, test and resell them at very low prices if you can't find them locally. Even new they are very reasonable. You can wire as many as you want in parallel to get whatever range you might want. You can also spread out the weight when you connect them, so everything remains balanced on your float tube.
The AGMs (Optima, etc.) are meant for very high current (power) draws such as electric vehicles and are overkill for troll motors IMHO. They do last longer under high stress conditions but are a waste in low power situations and especially if you only go out on holidays, etc. They will expire after maybe 400 of 80% cycles or about 8 years whether you use them or not (shelf life), even with proper maintainence.
Deep cycle flooded cells can be found cheaper than the larger sizes of SLA or AGM and are very rugged but require more maintainence and care about corrosive acid leaks. They are used in golf carts because of low cost.
All deep cycle batteries are hurt by deep discharge, so you normally want to buy something at least twice as big as you really need. That way you can keep discharges under 50% so they last longer, if you are a frequent user. Regular car batteries are not meant for deep discharge and won't last more than 20 deep discharges, though they are cheap if you only go out twice a year or so.
Hope this helps.
Pon
[quote forgiven]Now that I have the trolling motor, it is time to start looking for a deep cycle battery for my pontoon boat.
Any recommendations?
Lead Acid or Gell Cell or??????
Brands? Sizes?
What is good & what is trash?
What do you use?[/quote]
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Pon,
Ok i admit you sound like you know your stuff! I was just wondering how many of those 7ah gel cells would i need to get 120min out of them? Im thinking to match my Optima, which is 55ah i would need about 8 of them which would cost around $160.00 plus the cost of the material to link them all together. If that is the case it would be cheaper to buy an Optima, plus the Optima would be slightly lighter. Help me out here, im not really smart in this field here lol.
So if i do decide to get the Gel cells how do you correctly link them all together? What would be a good way of charging them?? i got a 2 amp charger with a trickle would that work?
BTW your battery and motor system sounds really impressive!! How the heck do you get 4 hours out of a drill battery!?!?! PM me, i would love to hear all about this contraption of yours! I tend to be crafty so maybe i can make myself one [
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[quote bigpikeguy]Pon,
Ok i admit you sound like you know your stuff! I was just wondering how many of those 7ah gel cells would i need to get 120min out of them? Im thinking to match my Optima, which is 55ah i would need about 8 of them which would cost around $160.00 plus the cost of the material to link them all together. If that is the case it would be cheaper to buy an Optima, plus the Optima would be slightly lighter.
Help me out here, im not really smart in this field here lol.
My experience with electrical comes from tinkering with battery bikes and motorcycles. Yes, that works out correctly, 8 would match your optima and you would have to get them for less than $10 each including shipping to be worth the trouble. If you live near a big city you might find out who does the UPS maintainence and how often they switch out (1yr are usually like new) and if they will check and sell cheaply. Electric scooter/wheel chair companies are another source. Might be more practical to go to 2 or 3 larger capacity 28/20 ah batteries (or duct tape 7ah in groups of 2 or 4)which could be balanced for your pontoon/float tube to get better weight distribution. The last batch of SLAs I bought for my riding battery EV mower 2 years ago were internet specials of 40ah for about $40 each delivered.
So if i do decide to get the Gel cells how do you correctly link them all together? What would be a good way of charging them?? i got a 2 amp charger with a trickle would that work?
You wire them in parallel (all + together, then separately all - together) and make your connections at any available + and - as you do with a single battery. You can leave them connected that way to charge them (don't remove from charger as it is not a good idea to leave this many connected in parallel at rest) with a charger that cuts back to proper trickle. SLA, AGM and flooded chargers are all very slightly different in terminal and trickle parameters so you get best cycle life by using the proper one.
BTW your battery and motor system sounds really impressive!! How the heck do you get 4 hours out of a drill battery!?!?!
Use the 36v dewalt Li-ion system and a special proprietary motor that draws 0.5 amp, see amazon link for battery. Commercial troll motors are very wasteful of electric power since they are designed to move very heavy loads at slow speeds. Their props are hidden behind the motor body and designed to be weed free which creates tremendous losses by blocking off water and causing slippage and water friction by the immersed motor.
PM me, i would love to hear all about this contraption of yours! I tend to be crafty so maybe i can make myself one
You can get the idea by mounting the smallest troll prop you can find on the end of a long shaft and connecting to a cordless drill. This will only run about 15-30 minutes though....
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