San Diego & SoCal Fishing Forums

Hello, for anyone using a 12v lithium battery for their trolling motors, what Ah battery are you using all day?

Is a 12v 50Ah big enough for a full day on barrett?

12v100Ah overkill?

any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated.

I have 2 100ah Lithium batterys for barrett i havent gone threw a battery life on 1 trips so far, my batterys this time around lasted me 2 3 barrett trips..and i went from pigs to back of pines to hauser,also took me about 1hour to travel cause i had it on low speed.for the extra 60$ 70$ i would get the 100ah instead of 50ah amazon has them on sale for 250 i got the li-time batterys and they work well keep in mind chargers are about 100$ too.

Thanks EL_prowler

aby wrote: Mon Aug 12, 2024 11:20 am Hello, for anyone using a 12v lithium battery for their trolling motors, what Ah battery are you using all day?

Is a 12v 50Ah big enough for a full day on barrett?

12v100Ah overkill?

I have used the Dakota Lithium 12V 54Ah battery for the last (at least) 3 years at Barrett Lake. I have never run it completely dry and become gradually more aggressive with how much I use it. Two weeks ago, I really thought I would run it dry and actually tried to do so. I was unsuccessful. I was there from 4am to 6pm. Used my trolling motor instead of an anchor during the windy times. I'm headed out tomorrow and determined to drain it this time...

Unless you have other uses for it, save your arm and back and wallet and get the smaller battery.

I also purchased the Dakota Lithium 12V 10Ah battery for my portable Garmin Striker Vivid unit. The old battery dropped dead by noon every visit with the display brightness at 60%. This battery has never run dry despite constant use at 80% brightness on the display. It fits perfectly in the portable case.

Needless to say, I'm happy with the lithium batteries despite their cost.

Good luck

Edit: I'm in a boat, not a tube or kayak

Math is pretty simple on the # of hours u can get on a lithium battery......divide the # of watts the device draws by the # amp hrs of the battery and that will yield an idea of run time.....of course there are other factors that come into play......what speed u run it at.....wind, etc. I use Mr 100 ah LiTime from my boat on my tube and can run it all day with only a 10-15 % draw down. Those batteries are worth the $$ spent.

TommyP

Weight wise my battery weights 17 pounds which is not heavy the mini battery i believe is 11 pounds unless you dont work out or in the worst shape of your life the extra 8 pounds isnt too much to carry and the extra 50$ is worth getting double the power IMO. As for trolling motor i have always use minn kota i would stay away from the 30lbs they dont push as good very least get a 40 lbs trolling motor even if you on a kayak. With barrett winds i wouldnt risk it

Get a mini 100ah. Better to have and not need.

I've got a LiTime 100ah that I run my Mototrguide Xi3 on. I've only run out one time and it was on San V, but I was heading back and pretty close to the docks at the end of the day. Also, I was using the spot lock all day and it was windy.

100ah get it with bluetooth you can track as you use it.

100 without a doubt. You will easily blow through the battery on a 50 on a windy full day of fishing. The way I lay the hammer on the trolling motor, I have even managed to get through the 100 on occasion.

Definitely go with the 100 AH lithium. It's definitely more expensive but you'll be glad you spent the extra money after a long, awesome day of fishing!

The first two times fishing Barrett on a rental boat I brought a 30 lb trolling motor and a deep cycle marine battery.... Well, the trolling motor was definitely not strong enough for the size of the boat and the battery only lasted us 3/4 of the whole day of fishing. On this last trip, the three of us, used a 55 Lb trolling motor and a 100 Ah lithium battery and boy that thing moves and it lasts the whole day of heavy use with no issues.

Side note:
I have the battery in a battery box where I mounted the quick connect receptacle for the trolling motor power and the bracket for the sonar screen, as for the transducer I made a special bracket that attaches to the transom kinda like the trolling motor and then I just run the cable to the fish finder, this battery box also holds USB charging receptacles and volt gauge. It's a great 12 volt power source for other things like camping.

Ok so this was a test ... I have gone a full day and half of non stop trolling on a 100mh with a 55lbs trolling motor.. yesterday I tested the same set up from parking lot to pines and back zig zag threw the lake really trying to kill the battery and it made it with some life left on it....