Minn Kota I Pilot

Post by **MLR** » Tue May 11, 2010 5:16 pm

I would say that the 55lb thrust would be under powered for your 19.5 boat if there is any wind at all.

I am using an Optima Blue Top battery.

Post by **MLR** » Tue May 11, 2010 6:52 pm

Well this might drive Mr. J a little wild knowing if he could have held off his craving for the I-Pilot one more week. Everyone's favorite store is having a no tax sale. (spear heads excluded)

http://lebaron.ca/english/ottawa_sale2010.pdf

Post by **Mr.J.** » Wed May 12, 2010 4:20 am

MLR

Thanks for thinking about me but the difference between buying it saturday and waiting until thursday was......$30.....and the chance that the last and only one in stock would have been gone by the time I got there.

Yes I knew abiout the no tax sale coming up and it wasn't worth the $30 to chance not getting one.

Post by **MuskieStalker1** » Wed May 12, 2010 5:48 am

I have the 8o lbs terova withe the I pilot . Moves the boat well even in wind and waves . make sure you get a 60in shaft . i will let you know my opinion on the ipilot as soon as i get a chance to use it .
Kert

Post by **jagged** » Wed May 12, 2010 9:23 am

MLR wrote:I would say that the 55lb thrust would be under powered for your 19.5 boat if there is any wind at all.

I am using an Optima Blue Top battery.

Optima Blue Top?? Never heard of it. What are the amp/hour specs? How long does it last you between charges? The only problem with going 24 Volts is the added expense of an extra battery and now I'll need a new dual bank charger too.

Post by **MLR** » Wed May 12, 2010 10:22 am

jagged wrote:
MLR wrote:I would say that the 55lb thrust would be under powered for your 19.5 boat if there is any wind at all.

I am using an Optima Blue Top battery.
Optima Blue Top?? Never heard of it. What are the amp/hour specs? How long does it last you between charges? The only problem with going 24 Volts is the added expense of an extra battery and now I'll need a new dual bank charger too.

http://www.optimabatteries.com/optima_p ... /specs.php

I have never run it down completely yet, but only been out a couple of times with it for 5 or 6 hours each time. They are engineered to be cycled unlike just plain cranking batteries. You pay a premium for a high end battery, but more often than not, they last several years. I previously used a Canadian Tire Series marine battery and it wouldn't hold a charge after 2 years. If you look around on this site there was a thread in regards to batteries and their life cycles.

Post by **jagged** » Wed May 12, 2010 1:53 pm

Yes I realize what a deep cycle battery is and like you I've never had any luck with Canadian Tire Batteries. If I do go 12V, I'll probably go with 2, 6 Volt deep cycle batteries versus 1 12V. I've got enough room and you can almost double the amp hours.

Post by **horsehunter** » Wed May 12, 2010 5:45 pm

Please tell me more about "There is hack in progres to bypass this handicap "
Would this void waranty

Thanks Frank

Post by **lifeisfun** » Wed May 12, 2010 9:01 pm

There is guy working on multiplexer control board that will take care of the switching to get both pedal and Ipilot working.

http://www.crappie.com/crappie/fishing- ... rcuit.html

Post by **jagged** » Fri May 14, 2010 10:44 am

I have never run it down completely yet, but only been out a couple of times with it for 5 or 6 hours each time. They are engineered to be cycled unlike just plain cranking batteries. You pay a premium for a high end battery, but more often than not, they last several years. I previously used a Canadian Tire Series marine battery and it wouldn't hold a charge after 2 years. If you look around on this site there was a thread in regards to batteries and their life cycles.[/quote]

Well I should be able to troll for days with my setup. The Optima Blue Top's largest battery has a 155 min. Reserve capacity and is rated at 75 Ah.
One of the 6 volt batteries is rated at 465 min. reserve and 225 Ah, so 2 in series to get 12 volts will give me 930 minutes of reserve and 450 Ah. Quite a difference! The cost for 2 batteries is $280.00 and the only downfall is the extra 63 pounds for the added battery.

Post by **MLR** » Fri May 14, 2010 4:45 pm

Well I should be able to troll for days with my setup. The Optima Blue Top's largest battery has a 155 min. Reserve capacity and is rated at 75 Ah.
One of the 6 volt batteries is rated at 465 min. reserve and 225 Ah, so 2 in series to get 12 volts will give me 930 minutes of reserve and 450 Ah. Quite a difference! The cost for 2 batteries is $280.00 and the only downfall is the extra 63 pounds for the added battery.[/quote]

Nice set up, let us know how it goes for you. Always looking for a better way.[/quote]

Post by **Mr.J.** » Sat May 15, 2010 7:14 pm

Took the boat out today to target some pike

We hit the Kemptville creek (now I know why no one replied to my request for info on pike in the Kemptville creek cause there ain't none)

I was very anxious to try out the new electric motor.

I am a little less than impressed. I often found myself off course. Don't get me wrong, when it tracked well it tracked really well but many times it didn't.

I really do like the I-Pilot and cruise control and when it ran perfect it ran perfect... but it wasn't consistant and needed adjusting often.

I will make this disclaimer because this may be a factor but my batteries are going on their 4th year and the tester on the Minn Kota shows them being lower than full after being fully charged. I don't see how this should effect where the head of the unit is pointing but perhaps it does.

I really do miss the foot pedal but when it tracks perfectly in combination with the cruise control there really is no need to do anything but fish so in fact it is better than having a foot pedal but because I had to touch the remote often I found it to be a draw back.

Before much longer I will have a setup for the remote that makes it more user friendly than having it on a leash. I haven't mastered using the remote and fishing at the same time, which was done with much ease using a foot pedal.

BONUS

Out of nowhere there was this huge submerged rock and let me tell you the jack rabbit button is awesome!!!!!

Oh I washed some new variants of the Mr.J.Specials today and got 2 OOS bass and 2 snot rockets so the outing wasn't a total loss. Yes Joco the wooden buzz bait got 1 of each.

Post by **DropShotr** » Sun May 16, 2010 5:09 am

I would like to up grade my trolling motor some time. At this point I'm looking at a 70lb 24v system. I presently have a 12v and just charge the battery with a normal battery charger.

My question to those with 24v systems is: If I switch to a 24v system will I still be able to charge the batteries somehow with the normal charger or do I have to get a specific 2 bank charging system like the Minn Kota MK230?

Thanks,
DS

Post by **Mr.J.** » Sun May 16, 2010 6:54 am

You can still charge a 24v one battery at a time it just takes twice as long.

Post by **lifeisfun** » Sun May 16, 2010 2:35 pm

While talking about trolling motors and batteries ...
I'm considering getting Odyssey PC2250 battery - any comments ?
http://www.odysseyfactory.com/documents ... 09_rev.pdf

Thanks