If my cranking battery went dead, could I just swap it with a trolling motor battery?

[Natty Light]

I was thinking about this the other day. If for some reason my cranking battery went dead (radio, depthfinder, whatever reason), could I unhook one of my trolling motor batteries and use it as a temporary cranking battery? Any danger to this? Thanks. I'll hang up and listen.

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: If my cranking battery went dead, could I just swap it with a trolling motor batt

No problem at all.

 

[cayman drew]

Re: If my cranking battery went dead, could I just swap it with a trolling motor batt

You mean with jumper cables right? Absolutely, it's 12v right? Same as the cranking battery?

 

[Mason78]

Re: If my cranking battery went dead, could I just swap it with a trolling motor batt

I'm no expert on the subject but I have done it on my buddy's Tracker.

 

[Natty Light]

Re: If my cranking battery went dead, could I just swap it with a trolling motor batt

You mean with jumper cables right? Absolutely, it's 12v right? Same as the cranking battery?

I meant more along the lines of completly removing the cranking battery and replacing it with a trolling motor battery. The thought of jumping off the trolling motor battery makes me nervous for some reason. yes all batteries are 12 volt

 

[cayman drew]

Re: If my cranking battery went dead, could I just swap it with a trolling motor batt

I meant more along the lines of completly removing the cranking battery and replacing it with a trolling motor battery. The thought of jumping off the trolling motor battery makes me nervous for some reason. yes all batteries are 12 volt

Seems like a lot of work? Why replace the dead battery with one that works? The idea here is to jump the dead battery so your engine will start and recharge it. And then you still have your charged trolling motor. Unless your engine does not have an alternator?

 

[Don S]

Re: If my cranking battery went dead, could I just swap it with a trolling motor batt

I meant more along the lines of completly removing the cranking battery and replacing it with a trolling motor battery. The thought of jumping off the trolling motor battery makes me nervous for some reason. yes all batteries are 12 volt

Of course that will work, as long as your trolling motor battery is 12 volts.

 

[Natty Light]

Re: If my cranking battery went dead, could I just swap it with a trolling motor batt

Thank y'all for the responses. Peace of mind = found

 

[Chris1956]

Re: If my cranking battery went dead, could I just swap it with a trolling motor batt

Just so you know, the plates of the trolling motor are softer and thinner than cranking batteries. This allows for deep discharge and recharge, w/o damage. The high current from a starter can melt these thinner plates over time. A single use of the deep cycle battery to start the motor will not usually damage it, however, you do not want to make it a habit.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: If my cranking battery went dead, could I just swap it with a trolling motor batt

Just so you know, the plates of the trolling motor are softer and thinner than cranking batteries. This allows for deep discharge and recharge, w/o damage. The high current from a starter can melt these thinner plates over time. A single use of the deep cycle battery to start the motor will not usually damage it, however, you do not want to make it a habit.

I thought it was just the opposite. The thick plates tolerate the deep cycling and are vibration resistant. Problem is however that the battery has a limited volume so if you use thick plates you reduce the number. Reducing the number reduces the surface area of the lead to the chemical solution. Area of the interface is what allows high amperage like needed with a starting battery.

On hurting the battery, once I bought a used JD 70 hp, 360 cubic inch diesel tractor with an Exide trolling motor battery, 1 each and was the only battery. It was not a dual purpose, just TM. The battery was in rough shape when I bought the tractor but it did the job. I used it for several more years and had no problems with it, changing it out one day when I had the money and figured that my luck was running out and I didn't want a surprise....dead battery one morning. It even had enough capacity to crank my tractor in the N. TX. winter. So after that, I had a new respect for so called low current capacity deep cycle batteries.

Mark

 

[H20Rat]

Re: If my cranking battery went dead, could I just swap it with a trolling motor batt

Just so you know, the plates of the trolling motor are softer and thinner than cranking batteries. This allows for deep discharge and recharge, w/o damage. The high current from a starter can melt these thinner plates over time. A single use of the deep cycle battery to start the motor will not usually damage it, however, you do not want to make it a habit.

deep cycle battery plates are substantially thicker... You won't damage a deep cycle by using it as a starting battery, I've done it on quite a few different vehicles. My motorhome has a deep cycle starting battery right now, and that is turning over a massive ford 460 engine...

The only drawback to using a deep cycle for starting is that your cranking amps are reduced. For most rv's and boats, this isn't really a problem. Don't usually start those things at -40 below.

Also, deep cycles shouldn't actually be deep cycled all the way down to flat. They can withstand it better than a normal battery, but going from 100% to 20% (or less) affects battery life. A deep cycle that is used down to 50% will last 3x as long.

 

[saumon]

Re: If my cranking battery went dead, could I just swap it with a trolling motor batt

BTW, that's exactly the purpose of a 1/2/Both/Off battery switch; usually on "1" (cranking) for starting but can be switched to "2" (deep cycle) or "Both" if "1" is low or dead.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: If my cranking battery went dead, could I just swap it with a trolling motor batt

A pair of jumper cables is all that's necessary. Cheap and effective emergency tool. No need to disconnect or move anything. Great for small boats with a trolling motor.