My johnboat is powered by 32 pounds of thrust trolling motor. I need to get a new battery for it. Does the new battery need to be trickle charged at the end of every day? Also how many hours will the battery last for average? The one I have came used with the motor sink don't know. I can charge this one overnight and after about 5 minutes, it goes dead. It's about 7 years old.

At 7 years old it's time to replace the battery as it's probably a victim of "sulfation".

 

 In fact 80% of all battery failure is related to sulfation build-up. This build up occurs when the sulfur molecules in the electrolyte (battery acid) become so deeply discharged that they begin to coat the battery's lead plates. Before long the plates become so coated that the battery dies. The causes of sulfation are numerous. Check out these links for more info:
 

 

http://www.batterystuff.com/kb/articles/battery-articles/battery-basics.html

 

http://jgdarden.com/batteryfaq/carfaq13.htm

 

http://jgdarden.com/batteryfaq/index.htm  There is a lot of good info here if you want to understand how batteries work, and you want to do some reading.

 

Hope this helps.

Your battery is shot. You definitely need a new one. A new battery will generally run about $80-100 if you buy one at Walmart. (Been using them for years and for the abuse I give batteries they are the best for me).

 

To answer your other questions,

 

yes, the batteries should be charged as soon as possible after you get off the water. The lead plates in deep cycle batteries sulfate when they are not fully charged so leaving them for any period of time at all will harm your battery and not let it get to full charge in the future. A 24-27 size battery on a 32 lb trolling motor will last quite a while, given that you are not going around the lake on full power the entire time. Use it only as needed and it should last all day.

Wow!  7 years old?  My experience is 2 years on top of the line batteries.

Be sure to check out our new sponsor, most guys swear by Optima.

 

 

 

Thanks Koofy!

Yep, the battery stamp date is 10/2005

Wow!  7 years old?  My experience is 2 years on top of the line batteries.

Be sure to check out our new sponsor, most guys swear by Optima.

 

 

 

Optimas are great, I run them as my starting/accessory battery but I cannot justify the price to use them as a straight trolling motor battery. The Everstarts do just fine

The main thing you want to look for in a deep cycle battery to use on a trolling motor is (reserve amps or reserve capacity).  Some call it one of those and some call it the other.  The larger the reserve is the longer you can stay on the water with your trolling motor.  I recommend that you get 180-200 reserve amps.  That will be a 27-29 series in most batteries.

 

Your battery needs to be recharged after every use for longevity.  Trickle charging is not the  best way to go.  You should use 10-15 amps to charge the battery.

Thanks jig man!

Walmart batteries along with several other large brands are manufactured by Johnson controls. I contacted them last year when I was looking for a new trolling motor battery as well and was able to speak to an actual engineer who was extremely helpful. Although he would not comment on the specific line to line differences in brands he was pleased with their Walmart branded construction/performance. When I asked him about chargers he kind of chuckled and said that most "smart chargers" are actually really dumb and not suited for deep cycle marine batteries regardless of their advertising claims. He recommended purchasing a dedicated deep cycle charger designed specifically for that purpose with the same amp capacity as recommended by Jig Man above for my needs. That range is well above all the compact form factor "smart chargers" I researched. The battery should never be left in a discharged state any longer then absolutely necessary. Get home and get it back onto charge.

 

As for Optima batteries, there's one in my truck, top notch, but you pay a premium for it. For that reason, there's a Walmart Maxx in the Jon Boat with zero complaints as well.

I went and checked out that Maxx one at Walmart today not bad at $99

my Walmart battery is on it's fifth season