How many charges do you get out of your batteries for your trolling motor?  I feel like mine have lost potency quickly – I make sure to charge them as soon as I get home, etc.  What has been y’all’s experience?

I have 3 batteries in my garage. Two of them are mind the other is a friends. The oldest is 2013 and this one recharges the fastest and holds a charge. The other two I have no problems with either.  The are all Walmart deep cycle batteries. As soon as I get home I put them on the charger.  I also recharge them monthly and check the fluid level monthly.  I've been looking at the Lithium batteries and the jury is still out. My son in law has a lithium and I want to see how it holds up.  It is a war of weight vs. price.  Do I stay with the weight for $80 or go lithium for $500.  If I had a bad back I would go lithium. So I will wait and see how long the lithium lasts.  Maybe you need to try a different brand.  Check the fluid and use distilled water.  The best battery is a paddle or a set of oars, they will always get you back to shore.

Thank you for the info Robert – much appreciated.

Joshua,

I can’t give you a number of cycles before failure (conventional not lithium), but my experience is once they start dropping in potency that death comes quickly.  Like you, I charge them as soon as I return home.  I feel like there is significant battery-to-battery variability even when you buy a “good” brand.

John 

Thanks John for the info, pretty much sums up my experience – just need to find the right batteries. 

Are you using a deep-cycle? Really need a deep-cycle and I’d get an AGM battery. They are going to do way better than the $99 pure lead. I try and find D27M Deep Cycle. I have D31s in my boat but I’m not lfiting those every time. They weigh another 7-8lbs over a D27. D24s are a bit weak for my liking. 

I had a deepcycle 24, and moved to a 27 and it seems to have rectified my problem.  Thank you for the response Greg – you were spot on (at least to my issue). 

Hey Joshua,

I have used a Deep Cycle 29 series for 4 years now and like most, as soon as I come home I put it on charge and leave it connected to a trickle charge till my next outing. Knock on wood...it is as strong as it was the day I first purchased it. Its not anything fancy. Lead battery I bought from academy for around $100. But the draw back is – its not light!

Thank you for the feedback Scott, the bigger batteries are definitely not light!  I don’t have the 29, but when I switched to the 27, it seems to last near all day and has maintained charge well.  The first 24 I bought did not – maybe a bad battery, but post switch bigger definitely seems better.