What battery should I get for my bilge pump?

[angermd]

Hey everyone,
I just got back from the Denver GPAA Gold Prospecting and Treasure show. I bought a nice little piece of cleanup equipment for the fines that I tend to get where I'm located. It comes with an Attwood Tsunami T-500 bilge pump ( Tsunami T500 GPH Bilge Pump : Attwood Marine ). I've seen Tsunami pumps all over the place and everyone seems to like them. The equipment didn't come with a battery included to run the pump, so my question is what battery should I get? I don't know a ton about batteries, but I want one that will run my pump and last a decent amount of time. I don't need it to be doing a crazy amount of work since all it needs to power is this one small pump. It obviously needs to be a 12v battery since that's in the name of the pump. Any thoughts for what battery I should get and/or where I should get it? Or any input as to what batteries you all use for your bilge pumps? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

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[placertogo]

I would get what is called a Deep Cycle battery. It is a variety of the standard lead-acid storage battery used in cars but is made to operate continuous duty before being recharged. A regular car battery is basically a "starting" battery, made to deliver a lot of current over a short period of time and then soon recharged by the vehicle charging system once the engine has started. The Deep Cycles come in several sizes from small motorcycle and riding mower sizes up to larger one uses for electric boat motors.

Trojan makes excellent deep cycle batteries: Reliant AGM | Trojan Battery Company

 

[placertogo]

One of these will recharge your Deep Cycle battery in a few hours:
Battery Tender 12 Volt 5 Amp High-Efficiency Battery Charger (California Compliant): BatteryMart.com

 

[bzbadger]

Your typical deep cycle boat battery is one that lasts. As someone already posted a car battery is meant for a quick start but not meant for a long drawn out drain like a deep cycle typically used for trolling motors on boats.. A deep cycle is a bit heavier than your standard battery.

 

[KRIKITTS]

if you got something like this in your garage your good to go- plug it back in when your done and it charges it back up.

Battery Backup Unit (BBU) - FiOS Internet Customer Service | Verizon

 

[angermd]

A few more questions:

What store/stores do you recommend to look at for buying a deep cycle batter?
What's the price range for a decent battery?
Do I need a battery minder/desulfator/charger and if so, what's a good price for one of those?
How long do batteries for this kind of use last before needing a new one?
What do I do for battery maintenance?

Thank you again!

 

[placertogo]

You can get them locally at boating supply stores. However, I would seriously look at what is available on Amazon.com. Most of these batteries are AGM technology and can be shipped easily. Amazon prices are usually the lowest and most items are free shipping. Depending on size and capacity, you can expect to pay from around $30.00 for a small one that will last 3 or 4 hours between charges to $200.00 for a large one that will run all day or longer. Keep in mind the weight factor. A large capacity deep cycle will run 40 pounds or more and that is just the battery. If you keep these batteries fully charged in the off season, store them in a cool place, and use a charger that charges slowly and tapers down the charge, they will last several years.

 

[matt_unique]

I too recommend a deep cycle battery and for these purposes an AGM motorcycle battery. I think mine was $110 from Advance Autoparts. Before using it for my miller table I used it to power my bilge pump on my dinghy. One charge for the whole summer.