Old car battery for trolling?

[fly-in]

If it is your only option, and it lasts five minutes, I would consider 5 minutes better than nothing! lol


Like ya said, at least you have a core now.

LOL, I would rather NOT go five minutes with wind, then spend the rest of the day walking around the lake to get home. Just me though

[RIVERRAT2]

i use 2 old car batterys and i can get 2-3 hours out of each them with my 55lb thrust minnkota. i only use the 2 or 3 setting on it. 2 batterys would last e all day if i was trolling for brookys. but i needed 3 old batterys to troll for salmon. i cant afford a new deepcycle so i just use what i got. works for me. good luck

RIGHT ON,do what you need to do its all about fishing
 
RAT

[flyboy]

I like  the post from catfish 78.  run her til she stops then row  back to the launch :-)

It wont hurt anything.     btw --- I got one of those  walmart  everstarts --   I never had a problem with them on the water,  but after a couple of  seasons they are shot.

[evanesce]

Used that battery on the lake today, worked like a charm, i'll just keep using it until it's shot then get a marine and use it as the core.  BTW how in the heck do you catch a walleye on Sacandaga Lake in NY lol.  I am out all day and I never catch anything on that lake.

[Dabluz]

Cranking batteries will work fine for trolling.  The only difference is the fact that cranking batteries are not made to be discharged until they are empty.  They break down fast.  However, they will work just as well as a deep cycle battery.  The only difference is the fact that they get damaged way faster than deep cycle batteries.

[jimi changa]

Dabluz.. Pretty much summed up the whole issue quite accurately.
 So like the saying goes... "Smoke'um if you gottum."

JC

[backwoodswalker]

My brother is one of the "cheapest" people on earth. He bought a wally world battery and it only lasted him about 4 months (dont think he charged it properly) He took it back and they replaced it. He sold it for 50 bucks. When he goes fishing now he goes past local junkyard with multi  tester in hand and finds a charged battery and they give it to him if he takes it out himself. He has done this for 2 years. I have seen him siphon gas from junk cars even. It is a gamble on used bats, But if you have nothing in them you cant go wrong.   Steve

[evanesce]

I'm guessing a way of extending a car battery's life in marine use would be to NOT use it till it's completely drained, and keep it topped off often?

[stripernut]

Having been in the battery charger industry for years, I can tell you that it must of been some one that wanted to sell more batteries that came up with that. Running the battery all the way down will SHORTED the life of the battery!
There is LOTS of misinformation out there about batteries, I have even had a store managers that sold AGM (Absorbent Glass Mat) batteries (like a Optima/6 pack) say that they were Gel (two very different type of batteries). It took me about a year, but I tracked it down where they got the BAD info and it turned out to be the marketing department of a major battery manufacturer. They had put lots of money into plugging GEL batteries and then AGMs came along. Instead of telling every one the difference, they just told them it was a Gel battery... When I met the head of Marketing and the President of the company, I asked them why they did that and they said, it all came down to the money already invested in the marketing of Gel batteries! At that point I asked them about their high failure rate on their batteries and told them that it was at least in part to charging there batteries as Gels and not as AGM (different charge rates). They were on the phone to corporate before I had walked away!

The point is there is lots of bad info out there and even people that sell batteries are not always give the correct info!

[jopes]

I'm guessing a way of extending a car battery's life in marine use would be to NOT use it till it's completely drained, and keep it topped off often?

10.5 volts is considered a dead battery.   It is best to recharge the battery after every day on the water and as soon as you get home.  If you have room a onboard charger is the way to go.


As for those swearing Optimas are the best or Interstate ie better than brand X, A good part of the batteries on the market are made by Johnson Controls.  These include Walmart's everstart, Energizer's, AC Delco, interstate, Optima, diehard, as well as many others.

[backwoodswalker]

recharging the battery is the biggest secret of all. Deep cycle batteries need charged SLOWLY, 10 amp or less. The newer chargers that float are the way to go. My snap on starts out at 10 amp and as bat charges it reduces to 5 and then to one as needed (so tool truck guy said) It works great. I have seen guys try to charge them with fleet chargers on 30 amp for a quick charge, 1 interstate exploded after about half hour. All got hot. Not good. Just slow charge or trickle charge overnight and they will last a long time    Steve

[pole-ska]

My father in law always brings up the story about him pulling the battery out of his old van. using it on his canoe. and putting it back to drive home. Probably a chance i wouldn't be able to take.

[lowjack12]

Wast of time get a job and by a new one

[d4ng3r3ux]

I cant beleive people say its a waste of time, If you have an old battery that could give you a few more rides, why not use it! evanesce will get a new one soon, so insteed of telling him not to use it, give him advice and knowloge that you have,
For a fact is that a car battery wont last too long if it gets drained to low. try to keep a solar panel attached and you might last a little longer while not in use.

[hounds]

I have a hard time believing you get more than a few minutes out of an Auto Battery.  A friend of mine made the mistake of buying one for his trolling motor years ago and spent several hours in the middle of a lake waiting for a tow, because his second mistake was not taking a paddle or a set of oars for back up.   If it works for you great, " if it ain't broke don't fix it"  til its broke, but have a back up in case it breaks.