Picking the Best Battery for Your Trolling Motor
- by Joe Weber - updated on 3/22/2024
It's time to get the boat out and catch some fish. Whether you are a professional angler or a weekend warrior, having a reliable trolling motor battery is incredibly important. Using the wrong battery could leave you ending your outing early, spending the rest of the day charging back up.
Use these helpful tips when researching your trolling motor battery to ensure you get the best one for your fishing adventures.
What Chemistry Battery is the Best for Trolling Motors?
There are three different chemistries of batteries that you'll see on the shelves for your trolling motor: Flooded Lead-Acid, Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) and Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4). Each one is good in its own way and it's important to understand the differences between them when deciding on a new battery.
Flooded Lead-Acid
The oldest and most common battery around, the flooded lead-acid battery is the workhorse that can get any job done. They are the most reasonably priced batteries and are suitable for most recreational power demands.
Expect flooded lead-acid batteries to last roughly 2-3 years. Many times they will last longer if you maintain the battery electrolyte levels, charge it properly and keep the terminals free of corrosion. They are not as durable as other types of deep-cycle batteries.
AGM
A great upgrade if you are looking for a more powerful and durable battery is the absorbed glass mat (AGM) battery. While still a lead-acid battery, AGM uses an electrolyte-soaked fiberglass mat tightly woven in between the lead plates instead of a free-flowing electrolyte.
Thanks to their rugged design, AGM batteries provide more durability, power and life compared to their flooded counterparts. You can expect to get 3-5 years of battery life out of AGM batteries and even longer when you properly charge them and clean any corrosion.
LiFePO4
The ultimate deep-cycle battery. Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries are the cutting edge of battery engineering, providing up to 10 years (or more) of usable service life. Packing the most power, longest runtime and lightest weight, lithium batteries will power all of your gear as long as you need them to.
They are the most expensive option out of the three. However, considering their lifespan you will more than likely make up the difference by not replacing batteries nearly as often.
Which is best?
The best chemistry for you depends greatly on your boat's power demands and your budget. If you want powerful and reliable batteries our premium X2Power brand includes batteries in both AGM and Lithium categories and they have enough power to run anything your boat can throw at them. Take a look at them today to see why the pro anglers choose X2Power batteries for their boats.
What Type of Battery is the Best for Trolling Motors?
No matter which chemistry you go with you should use a deep-cycle marine battery. Unlike the battery in your car that provides a large burst of energy at the turn of the key, deep-cycle batteries are designed to provide smaller amounts of energy over a long period. They can be charged and discharged over and over for hundreds if not thousands of cycles.
All of those high-tech accessories on your boat, the fish locators, depth finders, trolling motors and so much more that you run non-stop during your fishing day without a hitch? Thank the deep-cycle battery.
Can I Use A Dual-Purpose Battery to Run My Trolling Motor?
Another type of battery that you are likely to see when shopping for a trolling motor battery is a dual-purpose battery. These batteries pack in the best of both worlds, starting power to crank the engine and deep-cycle power to run your electronics. The short answer is, yes you can use these batteries but they are best suited for smaller boats with fewer power demands.
Important Note: If you are using a 24V or 36V trolling motor system with multiple batteries you will want to avoid using one of the batteries to crank the engine. Connecting batteries in this manner creates current imbalances, leading to uneven discharge and potential damage to the battery. Use dedicated trolling motor batteries configured in series for optimal performance and lifespan. You should also never mix chemistries when batteries are wired in series or parallel.
What Amp-Hour Rating Should I Look For?
Think of the AH rating as the fuel tank, the bigger the rating, the longer you can run your gear before you "run out of gas". Amp-hours (Ah) is the number of amps the battery can supply for one hour. So, a 100Ah battery can provide 1 amp for 100 hours, 2 amps for 50 hours, 10 amps for 10 hours, you get the picture.
When you take your trolling motor into account, in the simplest terms, if you have a 100 Amp Hour battery running your trolling motor that draws 20 Amps, that battery will be able to run your trolling motor for 5 hours.
Refer to your trolling motor's owner's manual for more information on specific battery requirements there are for your trolling motor.
Remember, depending on your situation you may have multiple batteries wired in series or parallel to increase the total voltage or amp-hour rating of your system.
Battery Buying Tips Summed Up
Here is all the information we just laid out for you in a nice easy-to-follow guide.
- Battery Chemistry
- Don't mix chemistries if you use batteries in series or parallel.
- The best chemistry is whatever is best for your budget and power demands.
- Battery Type
- Deep-cycle is the best. Dual Purpose can also be used for boats with fewer power demands.
- Don't use cranking batteries.
- Amp-Hour Rating
- The higher the amp-hour rating, the more time your trolling motor will run.
- Connecting in Series or Parallel
- Sometimes one battery isn't enough. In some scenarios, you will want or need several batteries that you connect together to achieve the desired power output.
Batteries Plus is Here to Help with Your Marine Batteries
We understand that buying new batteries for your boat can be an investment. If you are unsure of which path to take, don't hesitate to stop by your local Batteries Plus or visit us online for all the help you need.
Not sure if your marine deep-cycle batteries are still good? Bring them by and one of our battery experts will test your batteries, free of charge, to determine if they are still good or if they need to be replaced.
If you do need new batteries, or you are just looking for an upgrade, we carry a large selection of marine deep-cycle batteries from X2Power, Duracell Ultra, Optima and Odyssey to provide you with power for all of your gear.