Battery for electric trolling motor?

[BorntoFish01]

I have a pontoon kick boat and I was thinking of adding an electric trolling motor to it.

In order to limit weight I was wondering if you could use a 12v motorcycle battery instead of the much heavier standard sized 12v marine battery.

Has anyone done this?

If so, what brand, model, etc. did you use or would recommend?

If you used one how much running time did you get out of yours between charges?

What are the specs on the electric motor that you were using?
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[flygoddess]

Answer, yes and yes[] sort of.
Although the best performance unfortunately will come from the bigger deep cycle.
Good friend here "PA" gave me a couple WERKER batteries WKDC12-33JUS. They are small and light which is what I like on my light weight boat. I found it also works fine on my 10 1/2' pontoon and the 14' Aluminum boat
From personal experience, I have run this battery with a Minn Kota MAXXUM 45, a Minn Kota Endura 45 and a Minn Kota 30.
I have been able to run the motors on 1 or 2 for 5 hours easy. In other words, I quit before the battery.
Another nice thing is they seem to charge up a lot quicker.
Just be sure it is a deep cycle. One that can be charge a lot like wheel chair or Golf Cart.
Of course everyone can vary on this. How much you use the motor, the pull on the motor, etc. All will effect the out come. I also use flippers.
Hope this helps, but always take your oars in case.[]
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[cpierce]

How large of a trolling motor? Theoretically a 35 motor is going to use 35 amp hours in one hour if it is run on high. In my experience they don't really use that much, but then I don't run it continuously.

A motorcycle battery isn't a deep cycle and will not last long if you discharge and recharge it. It is also very small, not many amp hours. Not much bang for your buck.

I would go with the wheelchair or golf cart batteries as FlyGoddess suggested. They don't weigh a lot, but can be charged and recharged for years. If you are only using one make sure that it is 12v....a lot of golf cart ones are 6v.

If you aren't too worried about the weight, you might consider a group 24 deep cycle battery. About 40 lbs and about 85 amp hours. That is what I use in my Fish Cat float tube.
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[idahoron]

I will back up 100 % what has been said. Your not going to be happy with a Motorcycle battery.
I have been using a Minn Kota 40 pound thrust endura motor for 4 years. A friend of mine got a 30 pound. After he got the 30 he got a used 50 pound thrust. We had the opportunity to test all three motors with two different batteries. Both batteries were deep cycle Marine. One was a series 24, and mine was a series 27.

We mixed and matched all three motors and both batteries. What we found was actually quite interesting. The 30 pound thrust had the same maximum speed as the 40 and the 50. The 50 gobbled up batteries like a pig on corn. The 30 pound with the series 24 had the same speed and battery life as my 40 with the series 27 battery.

We tested them with our motors dragging us backwards ( this is the normal way for use tooners) not wind to speak of. We were dragging only one leg to cut down on the resistance in the water. We got 3.2 MPH out of all three motors. The 50 gave 2 miles with the series 24. The 30 had almost 6 miles with the 24.
I got 7 miles or 7 hours of trolling at 1 mph with the series 27 but the max speed was still 3.2.

My buddy got rid of the 50 and traded it for another 30. If we race my boat is a pinch faster maybe. He as a FC cougar I have a Sportsman 9. His pontoons are a little wider so that is probably the reason. These results show that a 30 is a very good size for a pontoon and the 40 doesn't give that much more, and the 50 is way over kill and adds nothing to a pontoon but extra weight. I never tested the 40 with the series 24 battery but I know I would get less time and miles than what the 30 did. The best match would be a 30 with a series 27 battery for the longest life and that adds up to longer trolling time if that is the thing you want to do.

I used mine a lot for trolling for walleye. The Electric motor will slow down to a crawl or get right along with the bite is super hard and fast.

Ron
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[flygoddess]

But don't be afraid to go with the bigger motor. A lot will depend on the drag, your weight and sometimes you need that longer shaft.
The 30 was fine on my 11 footer I use to have because the pontoons were 12" diameter. My 10'6" are 15" diameter meaning a bigger foot print. I need more thrust on it as Tube Dude will admit on his float tube. Drag is the issue. Size of prop makes a difference as well.
I still have my group 29 deep cycle I use on occasion, but it is a monster.[]
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[albinotrout]

I use the endura 34 with a standard size deep cycle. The larger batteries I use on my tent trailer and now boat. The toon gets the regular one.
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[OldTroller]

I think you're asking if a smaller battery will run your motor as well as a larger or standard one. The answer is yes but not as long.

There are smaller marine batteries the size of motorcycle batteries but smaller batteries have shorter run times.

If you are limited in weight then by all means get a smaller battery. The only thing they can't do as well is move you around as long. They run just as fast and charge up just as well.

I saw one I liked at a Batteries and Bulbs store. Go in there and ask about their smaller but still 12v rechargeable batteries.
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[flygoddess]

You make an excellent point Troller.

Again, I can get 5 hrs plus out of the Werker (same one I used at SC that time you and Greg came up Ken) and I had it on 2 or 3 because of the wind.

Ronman post occasionally here. He uses a golf cart battery and a larger motor as well.

But, we are all relatively lighter weight. Size will make a difference I think.


So, in a nut shell, we are all saying YES you can use a smaller battery but it needs to be deep cycle , and NO the motorcycle battery[]
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[dayhut]

Very excellent information. Thank you!
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[BorntoFish01]

Thank you all for your very helpful advice and information. Motorcycle batteries are definitely ruled out, however there is a viable option in downsizing recognizing that the compromise would be the amount of running time. I'll be checking with the local [Boise] battery supply businesses. Again, many thanks to you all.
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