How To Choose The Right Salt Water Trolling Motor Battery
How To Choose The Right Salt Water Trolling Motor Battery
Choosing the right battery for your trolling motor is crucial for ensuring reliable performance and longevity, especially on saltwater fishing boats. It’s important to select a battery with sufficient capacity to handle the power demands of your motor, even in extreme conditions. Our batteries are specifically designed for marine use, built to withstand the harsh saltwater environment and resist corrosion with the highest waterproof rating of IP67. They also feature deep cycle capabilities and the fastest recharge time in the industry. <br>
What are Solid State Batteries?
Solid State Batteries represent a new technology for marine power applications. Unlike AGM and LFP batteries, they use a solid electrolyte instead of a liquid or gel. This enables solid state batteries to have higher power densities. Since space is limited on boats, smaller, lighter batteries are important. More power means longer run times for extended fishing trips and longer running at max power. Our motto: “Run your battery, not your engine” to save fuel, reduce engine wear and tear, and save you money.<br>
Why are Solid State Batteries Better than AGM or LFP?
1. Significantly Longer Run Time: Almost 6x the run time compared to traditional lead-acid and AGM batteries.
2. Extremely Lightweight: Solid-state batteries offer a 400% average reduction in weight compared to traditional AGM batteries and are 50% lighter than LFP.
3. 100% Depth of Discharge: This means you’ll have full power regardless of the level of charge. AGM batteries tend to lose power as their charge is depleted.
4. More Power: Due to the consistent, sudden fluctuation in speeds, trolling motors require a fair amount of cranking torque (aka thrust). Solid State Batteries offer higher continuous and peak currents, supplying more power due to their negligible voltage drop when rapid acceleration is required.
5. Smaller Footprint: Not only are solid state batteries lighter, but they also take up less space. Instead of buying 2 or 3 batteries to get 24 or 36 volts, you can buy a single solid-state battery. This means less complexity, fewer points of failure and connections, and a single BMS controlling and balancing all of the cells.<br>
How Many Amp Hours Do You Need?
A big consideration in choosing a trolling motor battery is the Ampere Hour (Ah) Rating. This indicates how long a battery can supply a consistent amperage. The larger the rating, the more power the battery can hold, and the longer it will be able to power a motor at a given speed. To approximate how long a certain motor will run on the water, simply take the battery’s amp hour rating and divide it by the amperage draw. For example, for a motor that pulls 20 amps at medium speed using a 100-amp hour battery, the run time would be 5 hours.
Why 100Ah May Not Be Enough: Effect of Bad Weather and High Currents
It’s important to note that water and weather conditions can significantly affect battery performance. A motor drawing 20 amps to move a boat at medium speed in calm conditions may need 30 amps to move the same boat in strong wind or waves. Considering the possibility of windy or stormy conditions, we recommend getting as high an Ah rating as possible.
Which battery to choose?
Our recommendations for voltage and current based on estimated Amp draw currents
| Motor Thrust | Max Amp Draw | Vtg | Amp Draw Med-Max Speed | Run Time Med -Max Speed | SSM Battery |
| < 45 lbs | 42A | 12 V | 15 - 30 A | 10 - 5 hrs | SSM 12V150Ah |
| < 70 lbs | 50A | 12 V | 20 - 40A | 10 - 5 hrs | SSM 12V 210Ah |
| < 100 lbs | 50A | 24 V | 25 - 50A | 6 - 3 hrs | SSM 24V150Ah |
| > 100 lbs | 50A | 36V |
25 - 50A 25 - 50A |
4.4 - 2.2 hrs 12 - 6 hrs |
SSM 36V120Ah SSM 36V300Ah |