hotsky Posted July 20, 2012 Report Posted July 20, 2012 I'm taking my boat licence course online and planning to get a trolling motor. I'll probably going to get an inflatable boat (due to lack of storage and towing capacity of my car) so figured a small 30lb motor will be fine, maybe 40 if I get a good deal... Who has a best deal on trolling motors? I hear a lot about Minn Kota so figured can't go wrong. I know a place that sells 30bs ones for $115 is that the best deal I can get? Also, I was looking at batteries today, is deep cycle battery all I need? Or do I need another battery to start the motor? Is there a limit on how long I can use the motor for? I've never really used them before so don't know much about them. Also I heard Costo has a good deal on them. Thanks!
Sinker Posted July 20, 2012 Report Posted July 20, 2012 Best advice I can give is to get the bigggest deep cycle battery you can afford, and a deep cycle battery charger. The motor is the easy part, the battery is the key. S.
d_paluch Posted July 21, 2012 Report Posted July 21, 2012 (edited) Best advice I can give is to get the bigggest deep cycle battery you can afford, and a deep cycle battery charger. The motor is the easy part, the battery is the key. S. What he said! I have an inflatable that I used all last season and with a 32lb thrust motor and deepcycle, it pushed me around quite well! All you need is 1 battery, but like Sinker said, get the biggest one (highest amp hour & reserve capacity) you can find. Good luck and be safe out there! Don't try to be a hero and take an inflatable on Lake O or similar Also on the charger note, make sure you get a smart/intelligent charger. That is the key to prolong the life of your DC battery! On one full charge my boat lasted 2 days of use, not consistently on but used for a good chunk of it. Edited July 21, 2012 by d_paluch
hotsky Posted July 21, 2012 Author Report Posted July 21, 2012 Thanks, so DC battery is not self charging than? Just passed the exam with 90% sweet!!
smally21 Posted July 21, 2012 Report Posted July 21, 2012 Ah, no. They are not self charging. Congrats on the exam
Sinker Posted July 21, 2012 Report Posted July 21, 2012 I don't know of any self charging batteries.....if you know of some, please let me know LOL Get the biggest DEEP CYCLE you can afford, then get a good DEEP CYCLE charger, and you will be fine. S.
scugpg Posted July 21, 2012 Report Posted July 21, 2012 Get a minn kota with digital maximizer and it will last much longer on a charge if you aren't going at full speed all the time
ld17 Posted July 21, 2012 Report Posted July 21, 2012 I use a minn kota maxximizer and you can run it all day if you have battery power. Never had an issue. Now the battery I run is an optima battery and it is well worth the money. I paid about 100 more for the same class battery but this batter has been great. You will get a long life with this battery and it will pay back for it's self. Good luck on whatever you get.
Dabluz Posted July 21, 2012 Report Posted July 21, 2012 You can get a 32 lb thrust electric motor for about 60 dollars if it is on sale. The one I got was at Canadian Tire. Yes....a larger electric motor is recommended. With a large electric battery, when you go slow, you will consume the same amount of energy than a small electric motor. However, with a stronger motor, you will be able to move faster when there is current or high winds. Get a real deep cycle battery. If you cannot remove the caps on the battery to check the level of the liquid.....it is not a deep cycle battery.....no matter what is written on the damned thing. Real deep cycle batteries are very expensive (a good 300 dollars) but there are batteries out there that seem to do a good job in that departement. From what I have heard, Optima is a good battery. I have a Demon and have been using it for 2 years now and it is still in perfect condition. I almost lost it the first year by trying to use a Motomaster battery charger to charge it. Get the largest battery you can find. The higher the reserve capacity the better. Reserve capacity is marked in minutes. 200 minutes means that the battery can give you 50 amps for 200 minutes before going dead. A 30 lb thrust electric motor at full speed consumes about 30 amps. Calculate 1 amp per lb of thrust. Going at half throttle will consume about 1/2 of the energy but going full throttle will not make you go 2 times faster. So you rarely need to go full throttle except for emergency situations. Most battery chargers are not made to recharge deep cycle batteries. Right now, I am using a charger made by Schumacher that is sold at Walmart's. Very inexpensive and works marvelously so far. Get the 10 or 15 amp mmodel. Also get a hydrometer to check the specific gravity of the liquid in each cell and buy some distilled water to top off the cell. Top off the cells before charging but do not add too much water....it will increase the charging time. Do not discharge your battery. Even deep cycle batteries can get damaged from repeated discharges. If you want to use your battery for 2 days....use it sparingly the first day because the longer a weakened battery is left partially discharged, the more damage will occur. If you plan to do outings that last 2 days....buy 2 batteries. You will save in the long run. Do not expect your charger to recharge your battery as fast as you had consumed energy. Using a battery for 2 hours at 30 amps will take at least 10 or 12 hours to recharge. An intelligent battery charger varies it's output according to the charge state of the battery. Keep the battery super clean and dry because dirt and humidity will cause and electrical leakage between the terminals. An inflatable boat takes a bit more energy to operate because every slight wind makes it move a lot therefore the electric motor is needed more often. I do not believe the "maximiser theory". Everyone knows that it takes a certain amount of energy to move an object. I don't see how using less energy can make that object move just as well. Yes, some electric motors are better made and probably use electrical energy more efficiently.
hotsky Posted July 21, 2012 Author Report Posted July 21, 2012 And I thought this is going to be simple lol! Thanks everyone.
d_paluch Posted July 22, 2012 Report Posted July 22, 2012 It really is. Dabluz just said too much! No offence though, a lot of great info given! Long story short, get a good DC battery and an intelligent charger for it. Go to Canadian Tire, get a Nautilus DC battery. Aim for the highest RC(reserve capacity) and amp hours your budget can afford. Then get a charger, I too bought a cheaper charger from Walmart made by Schumacher. No problems so far! Battery has been going strong for 2 years now. And it is my main source of power, so I use it to get across the lake and back, as well as finding structure, pounding the shores, and trolling. Don't look into this too much. I'll restate. Get the best battery you can buy, and then get an intelligent charger. You will be good to go for ATLEAST a full day of use. Just be sure to charge it after every use! Good luck and have fun!
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