12v vs 24v

[TMH]

I need to buy a trolling motor and I'm undecided if I should to spend the extra cash for a 24 volt motor. Here's how's it'll be used.

Fishing:
I mostly do trolling and will occasionally do some casting if the conditions are right. (little to no wind). I will usually anchor, cast a spot heavily and move on to the next.

Hunting:
I will need the trolling motor in shallow water conditions to reach my hunting spot and retrieving decoys.

The motor won't be used for long periods of time however my concern is lack of power in the weeds. Is the extra power worth the extra cost and weight of an additional battery and extra cost of a 24v motor? Will an extra 15lbs of thrust really make that big of a difference?

The boat I have is an 18foot modified v-hull - Hull weighs under 1000lbs and the engine an extra 300 plus fuel, two guys, gear about 2000lbs total.

Thoughts? suggestions? other things to consider?

[lape0019]

Well, I faced a similar dilemma last year. I had a 46 pound Motorguide that wasn't exactly adequate for a bass tracker 190tx mod v so I upgraded to an 80 pound minnkota with the wheedles wedge II prop and it was a huge improvement. The Motorguide machete prop really doesn't do anything compared to the minnkota.

The top speed of my trolling motor also increased but the major difference I found was with the prop. I still have to pull the motor up and clear it off if going through heavy Matts but it is nowhere near as often as it was with the Motorguide.

I haven't found a huge difference with the added weight of an extra battery but it was a pricey switch that IMO, was well worth it.

I had over 22 feet of wire from the bow to the stern so the 8 awg wiring wasnt going to cut it so here is a list of what I had to buy in order to get the trolling motor working...

22 feet of cabling (1 length black, the other red total 44 feet)
60 amp resettable breaker
TM plug and receptacle ( I had one that was set up for the Motorguide but it wouldn't handle 6 awg and was a POS compared to the minnkota/marinco locking plugs. I went with the minnkota branded one because it was smaller and would fit in the same area as the first one but it is only packaged for minnkota and made to their spec. The plug says marinco right on it after you take the packaging off of it.)
TM receptacle adapter (the regular receptacle handles up to 8awg and the adapter allows you to use 6)
2 batteries ( I replaced the one I had because I read that if you just add a new one the old one will drain quicker and leave you stranded.)

All of this added close to an extra $500.00 on top of the TM so it is just something more to consider.

If you are not running too long of a length of wire or you end up just getting a 65 or 70 pound model, you might be able to get away with just buying the batteries but that would depend on what was factory run in your boat. I personally would not use anything less than 8 awg wiring to be safe. The last thing you would want would be burnt wire starting a fire because it couldn't handle the load. Also, if you look at the FAQ's on the minnkota website, the have a table of the recommended wire size and breaker size to use with specific sized minnkota motors.

Hope this helps you out.

Adam

[TMH]

Well, I faced a similar dilemma last year. I had a 46 pound Motorguide that wasn't exactly adequate for a bass tracker 190tx mod v so I upgraded to an 80 pound minnkota with the wheedles wedge II prop and it was a huge improvement. The Motorguide machete prop really doesn't do anything compared to the minnkota.

The top speed of my trolling motor also increased but the major difference I found was with the prop. I still have to pull the motor up and clear it off if going through heavy Matts but it is nowhere near as often as it was with the Motorguide.

I haven't found a huge difference with the added weight of an extra battery but it was a pricey switch that IMO, was well worth it.

I had over 22 feet of wire from the bow to the stern so the 8 awg wiring wasnt going to cut it so here is a list of what I had to buy in order to get the trolling motor working...

22 feet of cabling (1 length black, the other red total 44 feet)
60 amp resettable breaker
TM plug and receptacle ( I had one that was set up for the Motorguide but it wouldn't handle 6 awg and was a POS compared to the minnkota/marinco locking plugs. I went with the minnkota branded one because it was smaller and would fit in the same area as the first one but it is only packaged for minnkota and made to their spec. The plug says marinco right on it after you take the packaging off of it.)
TM receptacle adapter (the regular receptacle handles up to 8awg and the adapter allows you to use 6)
2 batteries ( I replaced the one I had because I read that if you just add a new one the old one will drain quicker and leave you stranded.)

All of this added close to an extra $500.00 on top of the TM so it is just something more to consider.

If you are not running too long of a length of wire or you end up just getting a 65 or 70 pound model, you might be able to get away with just buying the batteries but that would depend on what was factory run in your boat. I personally would not use anything less than 8 awg wiring to be safe. The last thing you would want would be burnt wire starting a fire because it couldn't handle the load. Also, if you look at the FAQ's on the minnkota website, the have a table of the recommended wire size and breaker size to use with specific sized minnkota motors.

Hope this helps you out.

Adam

Thanks Adam. I did what I know was the right thing to do and I got the 24V Minn Kota powerdrive with 70lbs of thrust. Better to have too much then not enough.

[lape0019]

No problem and nice buy!!!

I went with the terrova when I upgraded. The nice thing about the powerdrive is that although it is a great unit out of the box, should you want to try the I pilot, it is compatible. I have this on the terrova and it is great to follow tracks you can set up for trolling or you can use the spot lock like an anchor. The great part about spot lock is that there is no anchor to splash into the water and there is no anchor to pull back in. The down side is you end up loosing the pedal with the powerdrive.

Enjoy your new toy,

Adam

[MichaelVandenberg]

While the added thrust is beneficial when going from a 12V to a 24V system, the biggest advantage is you have 2 batteries to draw from. The added battery reserve will give you the power you need for a longer time. A key point to understand is a 24 V system is simply 2 batteries installed in series. If you were to install 2 batteries in parallel you would still have 12 V but you have double the capacity.

In either case, make sure to always charge you batteries immediately after use. Batteries that are partially (or fully discharged) for any period of time will lessen the life of the battery and require replacing sooner than if they are always charge. Think about your car battery, it can last for many many years. The reason is, there are always fully charged as they are charged when the engine is running by the alternator.

Mike

[bostonwhaler]

24v also means more torque and less draw on the battery,