Electric Motor - What's your battery set up?

[Ben Fougere]

I am looking to change the way I use my electric motor battery. Currently, I run my motor and fish finder off one battery. I have heard running batteries in series is the best way to do this for longevity. What is the best way to run an electric motor?

 

[bigbruce]

If you run two 12 volt batteries in series, you get 24 volts, so if your electric motor runs on 24 volts that will work. More likely, though, your motor runs on 12 volts and you will want to hook up your 12 volt batteries up in parallel - which will certainly give you more running time and probably greater battery life.
You could also run two 6 volt golf cart batteries in series, which will provide 12 volts, and also get greater run time and longer battery life.

 

[Ben Fougere]

Thank you

 

[ChilliSpoons]

Be careful running your batteries in parallel. If one battery is weaker then the other it will actually draw down the stronger battery.

Two 6v golf cart batteries will give you longer battery life then two 12v batteries.

 

[ericl]

Ben; You should be using a single deep cycle battery as long as in between charges the battery does not get discharged more that 50% or so of it's full charge. Discharging more between charges will shorten battery life. You also need a battery charger that has a specific charging cycle for the battery you have. Lead-acid, Gel, and AGM deep cycle batteries all require a different charging cycle to ensure long battery life. I would continue doing what you do now unless the above needs are not being met. I would just about always get a single larger battery versus 2 batteries to increase capacity. Your battery charger may tell you how deeply you discharge your battery between charges. If not, the amp hour rate of the charger & the time it take to charge the battery will provide rough information. Cross check this method by calculating how many amps your motor draws times the length of time you run it between charges to calculate your amp hour usage. If the 2 different methods yield answers within 10% of each other I would be very confident. Doing as above should yield many years of use from your battery. Be sure to not let the battery sit around not fully charged for a long time.

 

[Ben Fougere]

Thank you for this information