24V or 12V Bow Trolling Motor ?

[propane]

18 Foot Alaskan Lund

Like every thing you can get lost on endless web forms and come out very confused on the best and right choice. Leaning towards a 24V 80lbs. Only because I have herd that I can troll for three days before recharging. Now there are times when I head out and camp off the shores so the long battery life sounds good "If it's true" But then again what kind of life would I get with two batteries at 12V ????

Feed back is always welcome

 

[HTHM]

It is the same principle as using 240 volt motor as opposed to a 120 volt motor. You use twice the power at half the amps. The amperage is what determines battery life. I would strongly suggest that you go with the 24 volt motor.

 

[Walleye]

Hey dirtbike.
Many things to consider. How big is the boat? How big is the Lake? Lake size matters due to Wind and waves. What are you fishing for as speed for species and time of year can change quite a bit. When you say three days do you mean sun up to sun down for three days or just five hours a day?

My opinion is that 24 is the way to go but buy high quality batteries are a must. Also consider the weight of two batteries and where they would sitin the boat. Balance is an issue.

My opinion is that you won't get three days of fishing on any electric withou charging. If you use a generator to charge the average generator is modified sine wave which kills chargers quickly. A small pure sine wave generator is sbout 2K.

Best you can do is really gauge whst it is you want to do and balance the need with the want.

Good luck, Clark

 

[propane]

Thanks Clark That's the feed back I'm looking for. If you can't go two or three days with out charging then why go with that and just go with something you have to charge every day after day out on the water. 75% of the time your only out for one day at a time anyways.......
I understand the math and draw rates witch all come into play on a test bench but out in the real waters is where I need feed back

The boat is a 18ft Lund and I'm close to Erie and Huron and hope to hit the Detroit River.

 

[G.Mech]

The larger motors go with the higher voltages to keep the amperage down and minimize wire & connector sizes. Two batteries in parallel on a 12V 55 lb motor will give you the same operating time as 2 batteries in series on a 24V 55lb system, it's the Amp-hour rating of the batteries that governs the life in any given conditions. When you jump up to an 80 lb motor you will go to 24 volts, that's the cutoff it seems. The size of the motor should be determined by the size of the boat and conditions. I can troll fairly hard for about 12 hours with a 12V, 55lb Minn-Kota Terrova on my 18 foot Princecraft using two 90AH batteries without noticing any reduction in performance, much longer than that and they drop off pretty quickly.

 

[SRT8]

on really windy days a 55lb on a 18'er isn't enough I have a 24v on my 1825 and it isn't enough on rough days I hate fighting the wind , the 24v is enough 90% of the time and I can get 2 full 12+ hour days on a charge and I am on the trolling motor constantly .

 

[Walleye]

SRT8.

What batteries are you using? I have two expensive class 32's and there is no way I can operate for 12 hours let alone 24.

Cheers, Clark

 

[misty river]

I would recommend going with the 24 volt
The larger the better , you never know when you are going to need the extra power
I currently have a 36v 109 lb on my 21 ft lund pro V , I get roughly 12 hours of trolling before I need to recharge

 

[Off Duty]

Minimum 24 Volts, lots of juice for a day of fishing. I have a 17 footer.