Trolling and fish finder battery

[southernbass]

I have a pontoon that I'm looking to get a battery (fairly cheap as possible) to power a trolling motor and a fish finder. So my question is where is a good place to go and what's a good size to go with that I can use that won't die after just a few hrs of using? Thanks for the help.in adding a pic of my toon and I haven't got a motor yet for it seeing I'm still trying to figure out what size I should go with
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[SkunkedAgain]

What you need to look for is the amp-hour rating on the battery. The higher that number is, the longer the battery will last on each charge. As far as cheap batteries go, good luck, they are all pretty expensive lately... I use a deep cycle size 24 battery that usually works fine for all of my trips... I typically only go half days though... The size 27's will usually last longer, but you pay a weight penalty with them... If you have the bucks to spend those new lithium batteries are much lighter, but wow they are out of my financial reach... The gell cells sound good on paper, but the higher price and relatively similar numbers in performance sends me back to the lead acid batteries and I found a pretty good deal at Sam's Club on my last battery. It has been a good one and lasted a long time... Hope that didn't just jinx it.... I bought a prior set at WalMart, they looked really good, but they were junk, didn't even get 3 years out of those... Well good luck, hope you find a good one... Later J
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[Majja]

I would say a 40 lb or 45lb thrust motor would be all that you ever need on a toon. Wallmart or Costco/Samsclub will probably get you the most inexpensive batteries. On thing to consider is if you go with a true deep cycle battery it will be more expensive but will last longer.

When you talk about being on the water longer then a few hours are you looking at trolling or using the motor to just get you there and back?

And don't forget once you have a motor on the toon you will need to license it with the state.

Happy fishing!
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[dubob]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]Best price is probably going to come at Costco, Sam's, or Walmart. You'll want a deep cycle marine so you can discharge/recharge over and over. You can't do that with car batteries. Group size doesn't really matter but you'll want to keep it small for obvious reasons. Group 24M or 34M are the most compact you can get for your purposes. By the highest amp/hour rating your budget will allow. You'll want at least an 85 a/h or higher. The higher the amp/hour rating, the longer it will go before running out of juice.[/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]I think the AGM batteries are best because they will last longer than wet cell and are completely sealed. I've been using the same one for duck hunting going on 8 years now. But on sale they cost about $150 or more.[/#800000][/font]
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]A 30# thrust motor will be all you need for that pontoon. And you have gotten good advice on the batteries. I use a series 27 AGM battery, with my 40# thrust motor...on my tube. I need more power because there is more drag on my tube than you will have in your toon...riding with your feet out of the water.

I once checked on the power consumption of a 30# motor. It was easy to remember because it was 30 amps per hour at high speed. Theoretically that would give you over 3 hours of full speed with a 100 amp/hour battery. But most batteries will not put out their complete charge at full power so you will start slowing down as you get closer to battery failure.

Also, unless you have a motor with a "maximizer" you will not get proportionately more power just by running at lower speeds. Yes, the battery will run longer. But most batteries use just about the same amount of battery power at lower speeds, but dissipating the rest of the juice as heat.

For a lot of us, having an electric enables us to get further away from the launch site...and return...much more quickly. And it is good for making short moves during the fishing day. But using fins and/or oars for minor moves and for holding position is better for your battery than using the motor for all propulsion.

Not sure if you want to use your toon for trolling. The electric works well for trolling and bottom bouncing. Just be sure you don't troll several hours away from your launch spot and have the battery die...and the wind come up...when you want to return.

Whatever you get, be sure to get the right charger. Also good to have a voltage tester...to check the batteries both after returning and before leaving. Recharge your battery as soon as you return. And if it has been a few days since you recharged, top it off before your next trip. That will prolong battery life and give you longer and better output.

If you monitor your actual usage time each trip, vs the used voltage and the amount of time to recharge, you will get a feel for what your capacity and your limitations are. And your actual usage will vary on most trips. It is also different for each toon and motor combo. A lot depends on the actual "footprint" on the water, the depth it rides, what you have hanging in the water for drag (fins, net, sonar, stringer/basket, etc.)
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[southernbass]

Thank you for all that info. I will be using it for trolling but only at some lakes (mostly willard I will be trolling) other lakes I will be using it to just move around. I'm in the process of making a rod holder set up for my toon. I have a visual of what I want, now to actually get it on paper so I can measure what I want is the fun part. .again I want to thank all of you for the great info that you have me. I would have probably got one that would have died on me in an hr if it wasn't for you guys. Also one more thing what all will I need to get it registered?
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[fish_hntr]

Not sure if it was mentioned or not, but you do not want to run the fish finder and trolling motor off the same battery due to interference issues, google will explain in detail.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]To get it registered you will need to go to an office of the DMV that is set up to handle boat registrations. Not all offices do that. Call to find a location.

Even if they are set up for boat registrations, most of their personnel are clueless about registering tubes or toons with motors. They want a "hull number", and you don't have one on a pontoon. Take a picture plus a receipt for the purchase of your craft. They need a value because the first year they charge tax on the purchase as well as the license fee. After that you pay only the license fee each year. Since our recent bump for AIS fees it is now over $50 a year.

Let me know if you need some help with setting up some rod holders and your sonar transducer. I have put together a whole lot of different tubes and toons and can probably give you some good ideas. That's one of the things that is easy if you've done it but a head-scratcher if you haven't. All tubes and toons are different and you have different options.

About the dual battery thing. You CAN run both sonar and an electric motor off the same 12 volt battery. There is more chance of interference with a gas engine. But it is still a good idea to have separate batteries.

Most of us use the small 7 ah batteries sold by Cabelas, Sportsmans or any other place that sells sonars. If you use Amazon they often have some good buys. But you also need a small trickle charger to recharge at about 1/2 amp per hour. Don't use a charger you would use for a car. Those batteries are SLA (sealed lead acid). They are not designed as deep cycle batteries so you should never run them to complete discharge...and you should always recharge them immediately after use.

[inline "CABELAS BATTERY.JPG"]

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[BoatsandHoes]

To register it you'll need to find the vin number located somewhere on your pontoon. If it has a serial number instead of a vin, you'll want to go to the manufactures website and usually they will let you print a certificate of origin. Take that, along with a receipt of purchase showing you've already paid utah sales tax, to the dmv and you'll pay $45-$65 to have it registered and get your decals. The decals don't stick very well to the pontoon so use some kind of glue to make it hold better.
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[Hey_Bassman]

I have a pontoon similar to yours. I have a 30# thrust motor (which is totally sufficient) with a walmart battery that is a 29DC series marine battery (It's huge!). I run it on my toon and to power my big boat trolling motor. I'm going on 4 years with this battery and have only taken moderate care of it. I strictly troll, so it is running the whole time and I get 4 hours out of it, with enough juice to get back with a little wind. I have also loaded down my toon with all the tube dude special pole holders and fish finders and I built a PVC rack in front of me to hold the motor in front so I can steer better and I bring everything I think I could ever need, plus, I'm a big guy. No problems handling the weight in 4 years. Being on the pontoon is my happy place and my only regret is that I didn't find it sooner. Enjoy!

P.S. I just found out from this thread that the trouble I've been having with my fish finder may be coming from not having a separate battery. That is why this site is so amazing!
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[fish_hntr]

[quote Hey_Bassman]I have a pontoon similar to yours. I have a 30# thrust motor (which is totally sufficient) with a walmart battery that is a 29DC series marine battery (It's huge!). I run it on my toon and to power my big boat trolling motor. I'm going on 4 years with this battery and have only taken moderate care of it. I strictly troll, so it is running the whole time and I get 4 hours out of it, with enough juice to get back with a little wind. I have also loaded down my toon with all the tube dude special pole holders and fish finders and I built a PVC rack in front of me to hold the motor in front so I can steer better and I bring everything I think I could ever need, plus, I'm a big guy. No problems handling the weight in 4 years. Being on the pontoon is my happy place and my only regret is that I didn't find it sooner. Enjoy!

P.S. I just found out from this thread that the trouble I've been having with my fish finder may be coming from not having a separate battery. That is why this site is so amazing![/quote]

Some good reading here [url "https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=fish+finder+and+trolling+motor+same+battery"]https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=fish+finder+and+trolling+motor+same+battery[/url]
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[southernbass]

I was looking at that battery from cabalas because it comes with the charger for my sonar. After looking at prices is going to be awhile before I get my motor ready to be put on so I'm just going to just run the sonar til I get the money to do the rest. Thank you again
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]If, like most of us, you have to stay within a budget, it can take a while to put a complete system together. But the total cost for a decent tube or toon setup...with motor, sonar and every stuff...is still a lot less money than a boat. Less than a down payment on some boats.

Plus, once you are all rigged there is very little upkeep on an ongoing basis. No gas, no insurance, no monthly payments, no towing or trailer launching, etc. Plus, the up-close-and-personal approach to fishing is kinda nice too...until the power squadron shows up.

Let me know when or if you need help with designing or attaching. Be glad to have you bring your craft to my "tubeatorium" for some looksee and suggestions.
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[southernbass]

I'm having a little trouble trying to figure out how to put the transducer on. Do you have any suggestion by chance?
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Here are some pics from past posts. Let me know if you have questions or need assistance. I have put together a bunch of different tube and toon sonar systems.
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[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=34121"]SONAR COMPONENTS.jpg[/url] (218 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=34122"]SONAR ASSEMBLED.jpg[/url] (289 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=34123"]SONAR INSTALLED.jpg[/url] (277 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=34124"]'DUCER UP.jpg[/url] (236 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=34125"]'DUCER DOWN.jpg[/url] (223 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=89605"]LEFT SIDE SETUP 2.jpg[/url] (314 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=77371"]10. SONAR INSTALLED.jpg[/url] (480 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=48406"]'DUCER ON SHAFT.jpg[/url] (214 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=48407"]WIRE TAPED.jpg[/url] (238 KB)
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[southernbass]

Thank you again. Looking at that last pic Gave me an idea.right now I have my 2 rod holders just tied to the back right now and it works. I'm going to use something very similar to that last pic. I'll post a pic of it when in done (maybe Sunday being the earliest)
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