Dual purpose starting/deep cycle battery?

[jcb42]

I have an Everstart Dual Cycle ((starting and deep cycle)Marine 24DP-4 on my boat. 675 cranking amps, 140 reserve capacity.

It has worked fine for starting motor and running lights, bilge, power tilt trim, but i just bought a 12V 55# trolling motor i plan to throw on boat this weekend. I'm thinking i need to run the trollng motor off it's own seperate deep cycle battery, but curious if i could get away with the one battery i already have for everything including starting. How long do you think i could run trolling motor for on this dual cycle battery? Anyone running a trolling motor off same battery used for starting, and if so is it dual cycle or deep cycle?

Thanks!

[croixflats]

How well does your boat moter start with a pull rope. I twould be verry risky Starter batteries dont have the storage capacity of the big boys.

[Tom7227]

Depends on how much you use things. A second battery sure seems to make sense. Make sure it's a deep cycle but not the starter battery type. The starters have a lot of initial oomph but not a whole lot of staying power for things like the troller. You may want to sort out what works off which battery. Like Croix said - how's the pull rope deal sound?

[Eric Wettschreck]

Do some pull ups to increase your arm strength prior to heading out. You will be rope starting your motor if you do this.

Trolling motor should run off of it's own seperate deep cycle battery.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

Yes, it does depend on how much you use the trolling motor. I did this for 20 years on one of my rigs and it worked great. I used a large capacity Stowaway dual cycle and never once ran out of battery power.

My bow mount was a lot smaller than yours, which makes a big difference in amp load.

Your gas motor will charge the battery when you are running it, but you must always be aware of your battery charge status. If you are a heavy user of the bow mount you better plan on two batteries. If you don't use it that much, you might be fine.

I agree with the posts about the pull start as a backup. If you can't pull start your motor, don't even think about doing the one battery thing.

[Eric Wettschreck]

At the minimum, I'd have a spare battery on the boat. Just in case you have to do a quick swap out.

[rockman]

What boilerguy said.Nothing worse than not having any juice for the trolling motor when you need it.Spare battery is good insurance to have with you.

[upnorth]

I have room for 2 starting batteries and a trolling motor battery in my boat and all spots are filled. I also have a 2 battery switch and use it, nothing will spoil a trip like a dead battery. The switch came with the boat and an extra battery or two ain't that expensive in the grand scheme of things today. A battery costs me about as gas in the truck and the boat for a trip to the lake . Cheap insurance

[jcb42]

yeah i figured the trolling motor would need it's own deep cycle. i tried to pull start it once. I think I'd have better chance of reeling in 20lb musky on an ultralight with only my feet.

I see there is a battery charge indicator on the trollin motor, maybe i'll try it out once and see how it does before i buy another. I have a jump starter i can bring just in case.

Thanks!

[copperjohn]

The jumpstarter is a good back-up for sure. Just don't try jumping your motor from another motor like my buddy did. He fried the ECM on his newer 90hp and he had to be towed in. Pricy lesson to learn.

[rtwills]

I aleays keep a jump box in the storage compartment , just in case. They dont take up much room and can be a real lifesaver.

[Iambjm]

would the dual starter/deep cycle be good for running the motor/lights and a locater? Then use a second battery for the trolling motor?

[jwmiller33]

Ok, so heres the deal. I originally had a 35 hp Johnson tiller and the lower unit blew out on me and now the motor I am getting is a newer 35hp Johnson long shaft tiller, only difference is this one is electric start and my old one was a pull start. What this means is that how I originally had designed and planned my boat is not going to work because I have one deep cycle in the back for the trolling motor, and then I have another battery up front in the front storage that runs the depth finder and lights. I know the second battery in the front just for the depth finder and lights is a little excessive, but I really liked the idea of having the weight of a battery in the front of the boat for safety and stability purposes (on my 1985 S-16 Lund). So I am pretty sure I have two deep cycle marine batteries. Now, I need to purchase a starting battery for the electric start motor, right? So does this mean I am going to have 3 batteries on board now?

I heard that you shouldn’t run the graph off the same battery as the trolling motor, which is another reason I had gone with 2 batteries over one. Can I have my trolling motor and lights hooked up to one battery in the front? And then have the battery in the back be the starting battery and run my graph off of that?

Here are pics of my two deep cycles I have right now:

Can you guys give me some advice on how I should do my batteries now that I need a starting battery? I am thinking about just getting a starting battery and having that in the back along with my trolling motor battery and keep the graph and lights running off the one in the front. I don’t really care about the added weight as my motor is plenty big for my boat, I just really want/need to have one battery up front for weight distribution means. I really don’t want to have to run the trolling motor chord all the way to the front, as I already redid my entire boat project and I don’t want to have to tear it up and redo the wiring.

How many cold cranking amps do I need for a starting battery? If I was going to get a third battery and its only job was for starting the motor, what kind of battery should I go with? Thanks for your help guys and sorry for yet another battery question.