12v battery for my troling motor - two connected in paralel or single?

[jwardmagic]

I have a 55lb thrust troling motor that I am looking to buy a 12v deep cycle battery for. I found that I could buy two 85ah batteries for £60 each, or a 135ah battery for £150. To me, buying two 85ah batteries and connecting them in parallel seems better as I'd be basicaly then using 170ah for a lot cheaper than buying a single battery.

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The 85ah batteries say they are sealed (suitable for marine) and deep cycle.

My question is, would my assumption that two 85ah batteries be better than the single one correct? They would also weigh less.

What are the pro's and cons?

If anyone can help I'll be very grateful!

Thanks

[CAMAN]

You are correct in your thinking.

Batteries in parallel multiplies your Amp hours by the number of batteries in the circuit.

Batteries in series stay the same Amp hours but increase voltage.

Just be sure to keep up on the maintenance of the batteries, if one dies or goes bad it will quickly kill the one it is connected to. I recommend you disconnect one of the jumpers during periods of non-use so this does not happen.

[BobT]

CAMAN is quite right and his advice to disconnect the jumper is a good one.