trolling motor battery run time

[toadhunter]

wondering what kind of run time you guys are getting out of your deep cycle batteries. I am currently running 2 cheapie Walmart everstart group 29 deep cycles at 12 volts to all my accessories 2 starter. Seems like my batteries go dead after 6 or so hours if I'm on my trolling motor a lot witch is starter. Seems like my batteries go dead after 6 or so hours if I'm on my trolling motor a lot witch is most of the time. My batteries both check out OK. What are u guys running and what type of run time are you getting? most of the time. My batteries both check out OK. What are u guys running and what type of run time most of the time. My batteries both check out OK. What are u guys running and what type of run time are you getting?

[Anonymous]

Mine runs about 2 hours. Last year they'd run about 5 hours. Before that they'd run about 10 hours.

Did I mention I have a bad battery? The volts on one is 12.5 or so, the other is 8.7 or so, just checked them. Starter battery is 12.5 or so. All bought at the same time 3 or 4 years ago.

[BentRod]

I found it a little difficult to picture your setup, but FWIW, I run a single (fully charged when I go out) group 27 Marine/RV deep cycle battery. The battery is about 1 year old and I run a 12v, 55 # thrust trolling motor and a fish finder off the battery. I can troll around for 6+ hours easily on speed setting of 2 without noticing any power difference (I usually don't fish longer than that and have never run this battery down). All batteries are different and depending on their age, maintenance, and your setup (power requirements), run time will be variable.
I used to have an old group 27 marine/RV battery that came with my used trolling motor and it would last about 3 hours after a full charge just running the trolling motor alone. It was pretty much toast when I got it.

[G-Man]

There area few factors to consider regarding overall run time. You batteries have a capacity rating called "RC" or Reserve Capacity. This is supposed to be the number of minutes that the battery can deliver a 25 amp current at 80 degrees F. Another useful number is the "AH" or AMP Hour rating. This is the number of amps that the battery can deliver over the course of one hour. If you know how much your trolling motor will draw at various settings, then you have an idea of your minimum and maximum run times. Of course, wind, temperature, trolling speed, etc will effect what power setting you use and ultimately your run time so keep that in mind.

[hewesfisher]

There area few factors to consider regarding overall run time. You batteries have a capacity rating called "RC" or Reserve Capacity. This is supposed to be the number of minutes that the battery can deliver a 25 amp current at 80 degrees F. Another useful number is the "AH" or AMP Hour rating. This is the number of amps that the battery can deliver over the course of one hour. If you know how much your trolling motor will draw at various settings, then you have an idea of your minimum and maximum run times. Of course, wind, temperature, trolling speed, etc will effect what power setting you use and ultimately your run time so keep that in mind.

Like G-Man said, reserve capacity is the number you need to know. :thumright

[Trent Hale]

I have two batteries on my bass boat with one battery that starts the outboard and runs the live wells,lights,fish finder. The other just for the trolling motor. I last all day out on the water. I charge the batteries after every trip, as soon as I get home to keep the batteries in good shape. There the cheap 12v deep cell's Walmart batteries I've had for 3+ years.

[Rich McVey]

I have a lead acid crankin battery and two parallel 12v deap cycle for trollin. So far with the Minnkota Powerdrive V2, we have not exhausted the trollng batterys yet. We also have an onboard charging setup, so long runs up the lake put a lot of the charge back.

[Anonymous]

My rig is manual start with no charging circuit. The 12V is in support of a 12 volt 40# trolling motor, fish finder and a 12V accessory socket. I have a single group 27 Marine/RV deep cycle battery, now almost 2 years old. It is stored on a maintainer and is fully charged at the start of each trip. While varying between setting 2 and 3, I get about 8 hours of run time before there is noticeable performance loss. I am lucky (although planned as part of my purchase research), my main motor will idle down and troll at less than 1.0 MPH (unless I get a load of crappy or old gas). Although, overall I am happy with the 12V performance I am contemplating replacing the electric with a 4 HP 4-stroke and am actively saving up for one. I think that I would have better control of the boat when I am fishing in less than ideal conditions, the Columbia or other big water.

[FishingFool]

Now I dont know how accurate the battery meter is on my Minn Kota box, but I tell you.

I have Cabela's AGM group 24 battery. As of right now, I only have a Minn Kota Traxxis 55 hooked up to it. It does have the digital optimizer.


I was out using it for the 1st time today. About 4 hrs of heavy duty use. According to the meter, it shows I used about 25% of the battery.


But I dont know if it was just me or what. But the trolling motor felt slower after the 1st hr or so.

[leadfoot067]

i use a yellow top optima(deep cycle starting) and it will troll for 8 hours..and still not be dead..and still easily start the gas motor...

[hewesfisher]

A 12v trolling motor will "consume" 1.1 - 1.2 amps per pound of thrust, so a 55lb thrust trolling motor at full power will consume between 60.5 amps to 66 amps. Most deep cycle batteries are rated in amp hours or with reserve capacity. Amp hours tells you how many hours the battery will last with a 10 amp load - so a 60 amp hour battery will run a 10 amp load for 6 hours, a 5 amp load for 12 hours, a 20 amp load for 3 hours, and so on.

Reserve capacity (RC) is more meaningful for those of us with trolling motors, as it describes the number of minutes a given battery will maintain a useful voltage to drive the load. The standardized measurement of reserve capacity tells you how long a given battery will support a 25 amp load at 80°. Using the same 55lb thrust trolling motor example, and a 12v battery with 120 minutes reserve capacity, we know we can run about 2 hours at 1/2 power before needing to recharge the battery. I say "about" because half power is 30 - 33 amps and RC is stated at 25 amps.

If I take my 75lb thrust bow mount and run it hard for an hour, I will notice a decrease in speed because as I draw amperage out of the battery bank, the battery voltage also drops. So, yeah, a decrease in performance will be noticed after even an hour's use if you're running it wide open.

I use my trolling motor on high speed in short bursts, or at slow speeds for long periods of time. I can enjoy a 3-day weekend using my trolling motor without needing to recharge my trolling battery bank (2 - 12v in series), and FWIW, my trolling bank is not wired into my motor's charging system.

Giving usage times without quantifying what's being powered and at what level isn't very meaningful.