Batteries?

[thrash]

Has anyone used a 12volt APC backup battery that computer UPS uses for livewells or electronics for your kayak?

I have a few at work laying around.

[Where Y'ak?]

I use them. Not sure if it's exactly the same as you have, but I have several computer back-up batteries and the work fine. 12 volt, sealed battery.

[Branch_Office]

I use the "deer feeder" type battery for my electronics and lights with no problem. Last for several trips without charging...Livewell may be a different story.

[thrash]

yep looks like the samething.

[Speck Tackler]

Deer feeder as well. Bought the solar charger to use when I get home. Bought them at Tractor Farm Supply

[Battery Doctor]

To help your batteries last longer, charge them after each trip and keep them charged. Use 2 amps or less only on these small batteries. No high amp fast charges. Better yet, keep them permanently connected (when not in use of course) to a 1 to 2 amp maintainer/charger/desulfater. Allowing a discharged battery to sit without recharging causes them to die quicker. Same goes for boat batteries. We love people who don't take care of their batteries and we get to see them often!

[Branch_Office]

Thanks for the tips!

[MDR]

BD thank you for the tips. I have been leaving my trolling motor battery hooked up to the charger though I was not completely sure if this was either a "do it" or "don't do it" thing. Nice to know I made the correct choice.

I'm still not real sure just how good this battery is since I got it used. Do the testers do a pretty good job of determining how good a deep cycle battery is?

[Hobie1Kenobie]

Go to an auto parts store with a battery checker if you are unsure and have them test it. Not all testers actually put a load on the battery.

[MDR]

Kind of what I thought; just wasn't sure if one at say, Auto Zone, can test deep cycle.

[Battery Doctor]

It depends what kind of tester you are talking about. Most people use load testers that only put up 100 to 135 amps. This only tells you that the battery is or is not bad, but not how good the battery is or how much life is left. For a load tester to be accurate, it must be capable of putting up one half the rated load of the battery which is about 250 amps and above. Also, load testers check for cold cranking amps, not amp hours which is how deep cycle batteries are rated. These load testers sell for about $275 and up. Deep cycle batteries can only be tested accurately with a meter that measures the actual amp hours left in the battery. To my knowledge, we are the only one in the area that has this type of test equipment - including Baton Rouge (but I could be wrong). Some of the local auto parts stores send there customers to us for testing batteries. We test batteries for free. Just make sure that it has been fully charged and bring it in for testing. A battery must have at least 12 volts (preferably 12.6 volts) to test accurately. If we have to charge the battery, we charge $3 and it could take 1 to 24 hours. We don't do high amp fast charges. This is not good for the battery. We can tell you if it is good or bad and how good or bad. We can give you some idea of future performance. We also have test equipment that measures accurately the cold cranking amps left in starting batteries for auto, marine, etc. Come see us, we can help.

[Surfmonkey]

Okay, from your perspective, what is the best battery for trolling motor in a yak. Got 30# Thrust Minn Kota on a Malibu X Factor...Looking for lightest but not particularly the cheapest, but don't need to spend any more $$$ than required.

Also, have a 55# Thrust on my 16' Flat boat...what would be best bang for the buck here also?

[Battery Doctor]

This depends on how long you want the trolling motor to run throughout the day. Basically, you don't want to run the battery below 50% of its rated capacity, i.e. an 85 amp hour battery should not be discharged below 42.5 amp hours. Discharging repeatedly below this will drastically shorten the battery useful life. Then you will become one of our much appreciated regular customers. To determine the capacity battery that you need, first determine how long you want to use your trolling motor during a normal trip; second, find out the amps that your trolling motor draws on high speed (check your manual). Multiply the time by the amp hour draw. For instance, if you want to run for 2 hours and your trolling motor draws 25 amps (which is about right for a 30# thrust), you need 50 amp hours to run. Multiply this by 2 to keep from drawing the battery below 50%. Therefore, you need a 100 a/h battery for this purpose. Buy a battery a little above this to give you some room for error or those abnormal situations. Also, using the amp draw on high speed gives you extra room for error since most fishermen do not run full speed all the time. Your 55# thrust trolling motor should draw somewhere between 40 and 45 amps on high speed. You can buy a group 24 battery, which is the smallest and lighest marine deep cycle, in about 85 to 100 a/h. When you get too much over 100, you will have to go to a group 27 which is a bigger and heavier battery. If memory serves me, our group 24 with 85 a/h sells for about $75 to $80. Call the store for an exact price. 225-644-7812. Remember, ALWAYS keep your battery connected to an automatic charger with float charge capabilities when not in use and be sure to check the water regularly and do not overfill. Use only distilled water. Hope this helps. Thanks.


Okay, from your perspective, what is the best battery for trolling motor in a yak. Got 30# Thrust Minn Kota on a Malibu X Factor...Looking for lightest but not particularly the cheapest, but don't need to spend any more $$$ than required.

Also, have a 55# Thrust on my 16' Flat boat...what would be best bang for the buck here also?

[MDR]

Thank you very much for the really good info. I look forward to bringing mine in to get it tested.