Buying a new minn Kota motor any recomendations on a good battery.

What size are you looking at ?? i tend to use golf cart batteries. Amp hour for Amp hour they are as good as it gets. usually they are 6 volts so you have to wire them up right. I buy batteries at interstate, but I have a reseller account with those guys so get better deals then most folks.

Just a 30 lb minn Kota.

one of the few times I recommend Walmart

but my dad was reading about how the MAXX Everstart batteries tested very well and were listed as a best value in his boating magazine back in 2011

I bought one that was January of 2012 and the longest any battery ever lasted in my van 2001 van went 5 years on the first and 3 years on the 2nd and 3 years on the 3rd the 4th the everstart got me till jan 2018 , he has gotten them for his boat , and I have purchased 2 more for other cars.
save a copy of the receipt they now require that for warranty I scanned it in and saved it to my drive so I can print a copy when I need it or even pull it up on my phone, receipt paper left in a glove box looses it's printing over time.

If you have the space, slap a couple of those golf cart batteries in the boat and be done with it for the next 5 years or so if you use it a lot more if its fun a twice a month thing. keep an eye on the fluid levels and if needed top them of with DISTILLED WATER NOT THE STUFF OUT OF A TAP yes i did just shout that as it is very important as the calcium in tap water kills the acid in the batterie.
Test that if you like and get a quart or muriatic acid 32% or there about get a couple of clean gallon jugs and put a quart of water in each.... one distilled and the other from the tap. Spit the amount of acid in two and pour it into the water. If you put your hand on the jugs, the one with tap water will be warmer then the other one. That is the exotermic reaction of acid and calcium, neutralizing the acid. And in that path killing a batterie

Walmart MAXX Everstart is what I used when I was into bass boats, just make sure you charge them (or any deep cycle) every time you get done using them.

And always pour acid into water and never water into acid...

Get a sealed maintenance free battery. The last time I looked Walmart no longer has them. Cabelas has some. they are more expensive and worth it. I had one in my boat for 9 years and finally replaced it. i keep it charged, setting on the bench in case I need it. Still good after 12 years.

Not always, depends on how far down they are. Batteries can develop a memory, best to run them down as far as you dare.

Both the starting and deep cycle batteries in my flat bottom are Everstart and are dated 2013. I never kept a charger on them over the winter. I ran just my trolling motor one day this year while out for 6 hours, including dragging my sister and her friends around on their kayaks, and finally got it drained. Great for the money.

Yep..I was once recommended to put a 30lb thrust on a vessel..I put a 55lb thrust on it instead..I'm glad I did for many reasons..One thing for sure make sure you get a battery that lasts all day of use..I see people all the time changing battery's at the dock..Then in their boats looks like a guy could get electrocuted with all the battery's and jumpers in their boats..LOL

That memory effect does not apply to lead acid batteries. Only nickel cadmium tend to get that.

"Do as you ought-a, add acid to wat-eh." - My high school chemistry teacher.

Corny, but I've never forgotten it or made the addition unsafely.

Not true for these, I have a chart in my shop that shows the voltage reading and how it relates to the chargeability of the battery, if you draw them down to much and too often you will trash them.

Anyone have experience with the lithium batteries for trolling motors.

Yup an it is an expensive undertaking. Have a couple of customers that use them. They are light .... thats the pro side. On the other side is the limited amount of charge cycles, the price, they discharge themselves way faster then other batteries when not in use. Poke a hole in one and it does a pretty bud job as an incendiary bomb. You need a special charger for them. But they are light weight.

I agree. I have had good luck with those. We go on a lot of fishing trips and there is always a Wal-mart close by if you have a failure etc.

X2

I use 3 batteries a day on the line. The Everstarts from Walmart last about 3 seasons for me. If you can afford it, give the Optimas a try. The yellow top will last twice as long as an Everstart using a 55lb thrust trolling motor on high. Had a blue top Optima battery that lasted 6 seasons of hard use.

Yep...The wind is a big time battery drain..2 volt trickle charge in 7-11 hours..full charge...gone in 90 minutes in the wind..LOL