Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Boat battery

Small lake. Dang deer disturbing the bass.

Lithiums are the best choice if you don't mind the money. They also need a different charger. A standard charger will only charge to about 13.5V. A Li needs one that will charge it to about 14.4v.
A Li is also much lighter. A 100amp will weigh about 25 lb vs 50 for a lead acid or AGM.
If you use the boat in the winter, a Li can't be charged below 32F. You can use it in colder weather but you can't charge it until you take it home and let it warm up. The better ones have a built-in BMS, battery maintenance system, that prevents them from charging when it's too cold.

If it comes down to me needing a $800 battery and a $500 charger to run my trolling motor neither of which will work when it gets cold, I'll just give up and hire a guide.

Correct

12 volt Trojan golf cart battery. Been doing one of these for a while now. Way better than a deep cycle RV battery and way less coin than a lithium.

I concur.

This is what I plan to do. I also have a 300W inverter so I can use it to run my furnace during a power outage.

Is it OK to use that same deep cycle battery to electric start your little 15 hp outboard on your 14 foot aluminum boat and also run your lights, etc?? I remember back in the day most recommendations were to have a separate starting battery in addition to a deep cycle battery. I think now the deep cycles and starting batteries are one and the same thing , Is this correct?

Deep cycles and starting batteries are different. Deep cycle lead plates are designed for lots of mass, to provide many hours of moderate current. Starting batteries have plates with lots of surface area to provide high current for a short time. It's OK to start a small engine with a deep cycle battery, but don't try to run your trolling motor on a starting battery.

I always had a starting battery and Deep cycle. Started the old 25 hp Merc many times with the deep cycle. Depends on how easy your engine starts on the pull. 😎

Absolutely. I need to get a new battery for my little aluminum V hull with 15 hp Yamaha outboard. I’m just going to run one deep cycle battery for the whole boat. It will run the trolling motor and also use to start my little 15 hp Yamaha and run the electric lights.

Buy a deka deep cycle and go fish! Easiest answer i can give. Dont let it be too complicated. These batteries will last years and do everything you need for a fraction of the cost of lithium. Tried and true

This. Screw lithium. Expensive, needs special charger and not well suited for cold weather

cool

Over the long haul you spend more money on batteries, have less power not going lithium... they are 300 bucks not 800 that was 5 years ago, and put out 2 regular batteries worth of power, easy to solar charge... but whatever...

I just use a regular charger, 90% of a lithium is more than 50% of a deep cell, charges in 1/3rd the time, solar panel charges it up fast.

Kent

Probably the stupidest question ever. Are you a man?

Damn. Men know this shhhit at 3 years old.

Going to let my daughter rewire her trailer.

I’ll let her post back.

Bps 800.00 .done

Good luck with that. You’ll get 2-6 hrs of run time at best, depending on the size of the blower motor. That’s if you can even start the motor with such a small inverter.

True for lead batteries. ^^^

For lithium, the cheap ones mentioned (circa $300 for a 100ah) are only good as “deep cycle”, as the BMS (battery management system) will shut off the battery to prevent damage if is sees too much load. This is typically around 100 amps. Some can sustain a little higher for <1 sec.

Therefore these are not suitable as starting batteries unless you are talking about a very small motor.

There are some lithium batteries that are designed as starting batteries, which can supply 800amp +, but those are $800-1000.

Back to the OPs original question…

The correct battery for your application will depend on your trolling motor size (lb thrust). I ran a 36 lb thrust that drew about 45 amps at max power. Considerably less at lower power setting.

A 100 ah lead battery will have a 50 ah usable capacity before it should be recharged, else you will “damage” it. This should last 2-3 hrs of putting around on a small lake while fishing. Recharge immediately after every use.

Lithium at $300 with a $50 charger is very attractive option, considering it will give the same capacity as 2 group 24 lead batteries ($100 each), and will last 2-3 times as long (years). Plus it’s a lot lighter. Don’t worry about the temperature limitations - if it’s that cold, you’ll be ice fishing not out in the boat.

As stated, $90 Walmart deep cycle. Done.

If it works out for you, you're not out a lot of $$$.

If you want to upgrade later, you're not out a lot of $$$.

I use my batteries in the cold and for ice fishing too, so lithium is not an option, and I do just fine.