Battery size, durability questions.

[bigchromedog]

Getting ready to overhaul my 14' aluminum semi-v hull boat. I have a foot controlled tm for the front and have a marine batter for it in the front of the boat. Now, I am adding my bow and stern lights and two 8" strings of led lights. I also have to hook up a bilge pump. Lastly, I am building a livewell out of cooler that can be taken in and out of the boat. Here comes the question, would you run this all off of the one battery? Add another marine battery? Get a lawnmower battery to run lights, bilge and livewell. For weight purposes, I would like to go as light as possible, especially since I am adding floors etc. But what would be my best direction? Not going to be fishing all night or anything, and the livewell doesn't need to recirculate the water for 8 hours. Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[Loweman]

My 17 footer came equipped with just one battery powering everything and did everything fine (TM, bilge, good times radio/cd player, lights, FF.) I added a second battery (and an on board charger) dedicated to the TM when I bought the boat from a friend last year. A deep cycle battery is best for TMs and a cranking battery is best for the outboard, but many use a "dual purpose" marine battery for everything. You didn't mention an outboard on yours... You want to make sure to fully re-charge whatever batteries you have after each outing. Good luck.

 

[Bob Landry]

Dual Purpose batteries are starting batteries with a little heavier plates. They will handle light loads like a fishfinder, but they will not hold up to the repeated deep discharges such as from a trolling motor. There is no reason not to use a true deep cycle for everything, and that allows you to swap them if needed or you can replace just one.

Size does not determine the longevity of deep cycle batteries. The less you discharge them below 50%, the longer they will last.

 

[shawnfish]

Dual Purpose batteries are starting batteries with a little heavier plates. They will handle light loads like a fishfinder, but they will not hold up to the repeated deep discharges such as from a trolling motor. There is no reason not to use a true deep cycle for everything, and that allows you to swap them if needed or you can replace just one.

Size does not determine the longevity of deep cycle batteries. The less you discharge them below 50%, the longer they will last.

unless its a dual purpose deep cycle i would not rely on it starting my outboard every time, and its only a 25hp

 

[shawnfish]

Dual Purpose batteries are starting batteries with a little heavier plates. They will handle light loads like a fishfinder, but they will not hold up to the repeated deep discharges such as from a trolling motor. There is no reason not to use a true deep cycle for everything, and that allows you to swap them if needed or you can replace just one.

Size does not determine the longevity of deep cycle batteries. The less you discharge them below 50%, the longer they will last.

unless its a dual purpose deep cycle i would not rely on it starting my outboard every time, and its only a 25hp

i forgot to mention, starter batteries are made to give you a very fast and strong jolt of power to start an engine. a true deep cycle is in no way intended to start an engine(although it will work, if you ever have trouble starting your motor for some reason and have to keep trying to turn it over you will kill that battery and be trolling back. deep cycles are designed for slow steady voltage to last longer btween charges so i would not use an deep cycle if i were you.

 

[Blackdogxx]

Trolling motor, lights use a deep cycle true marine battery. They are sometimes called AGM batteries. I had a WalMart dual purpose $70 battery for 5 years and it finally stopped taking a recharge this spring. It weighed a ton!

I got a VMaxTank with plenty of power for a 30 lb troller to run full out (30 amp draw) for 2 hrs. about 120 bucks delivered to my door. Small, fairly light and when I use it on a 30 lb or 42 lb troller on a 1/2 day of use, I still have nearly 100% chargve at day's end. Just run the troller at speed 2-4 and its plenty.

 

[nomowork]

I bought a small 500 CCA as a backup battery for both of my boats. In a pinch, it has enough juice to start my 40hp outboard and work the hydraulic lift and trim. It's small size makes it convenient to store and it is under a hundred dollars at Wally world. It even has a full replacement warranty for two years!