Trolling motor help/info

[matt12328726059]

i have a 12ft Lowe 1257.looking at a minn Kota edge bow mount trolling motor what would be a good thurst and shaft size for a boat like that

[Chrisper4694]

If you call min Kota and give them the measurements of your boat I'm sure they could match you up.

[NJSquatch]

the minnkota website has a pretty good wizard to help you with your selection. you need to know your boats weight and the distance from the bow to the water line. Click the Build My Edge (http://www.minnkotamotors.com/Trolling-Motors/Freshwater-Bow-Mount/Edge/) link

thrust is going to depend on a couple of factors
1 - is the TM your primary engine
2 - how big are the lakes you plan to fish
3 - length of time you will be fishing

going to imagine a 12' boat doesn't have a ton of room to put 2 batteries for a 24 volt system so you are talking a 12v system.

get a deep cycle marine battery with the highest reserve capacity you can afford...if all day fishing you are going to want one with around 200 reserve capacity.

Great resource on Trolling Motors.
https://www.trollingmotors.net/pages/technical-resources

good deals on used TM's can be found on craigslist

[Ken Lyons]

At the risk of being a total PIA, deep cycle batteries are rated in AH, ampere hours. This is a very common misunderstanding that can lead to guys buying the wrong thing.
How big a battery is always a question. Buying the biggest could overload a 12 ft boat. Carrying something bigger than you need up and down a boat ramp can get old fast. I seldom fish any lake bigger than 250 acres. I have a 40# Minn-Kota pushing my kayak. I use a 35 AH battery in the front hatch. I never come even close to a deep discharge. If your normal day includes a lot of travel you have to adjust. The difference in power consumption between a 5 speed and a variable speed is substantial especially at slower fishing speeds. I also switched the prop to the Motoqrguide Machete. Its 3 bladed and quieter and faster. It seems to almost not use any power at all at fishing speeds. Its a simple hack.

[Humanzee]

I'll throw in my $.02.

Ken makes some very good points spoken from experience, but I have a slightly different view on the battery's rating.

Deep Cycle describes the ability to be deeply discharged before being recharged. Starting batteries have a limited amount of times they can withstand a deep cycle.

In my opinion, the most important thing on a deep cycle battery is the RC and AH (amp hours). The RC is more accurate when used for high amp draw items like trolling motors.

The AH rating gives a better idea on how long a battery can carry lighter load, such as lights and electronics.

The RC rating is the number of minutes that a new, fully charged battery can carry a 25amp load at 80* Fahrenheit with a minimum voltage of 10.5 Volts. RC minutes are typically calculate using a 25amp discharge rate.

The AH rating tells you the number of amps that a new, fully charged battery can deliver at 80* F, multiplied by the number of hours, without falling below 10.5 V

Ex: A 100AH battery can deliver 5 amps for 20 hours (5 X 20 = 100). The 20 hour mark is a "generally accepted" time frame in the marine industry.

The higher the amp draw, the fewer total amps a battery can deliver. So that same 100AH battery cannot deliver 25 amps for 4 hours.

Some batteries will show you both the AH and RC. You'll see some differences. Said battery might show 100AH, and 150 RC. Not all batteries are linear.

For general comparison, here's Everstart (Cabelas) Deep Cycle:
Group Size 24 75AH 100RC
Group Size 27 115AH 160RC
Group Size 29 125AH 205RC

After running a bass boat for 20 years and trying my best to take care of my batteries, I'd definitely be looking for the highest RC I could find that'll work for my circumstances. Like Ken said, hauling a 45# battery versus possible a 65# battery back and forth gets old quick.

[Ken Lyons]

From experience, trolling motors draw a whole lot less than people realize. Minn-Kota will tell you if you call one of their techs that a 30# motor will draw 30 amps. It may momentarily at startup but it will run at maybe 18 on high. They do draw more than other accessories but nowhere near what the starter motor On an outboard engine does. Has any body have any experience where a fuse melted or a circuit breaker tripped?
When I see a battery rated in both AH and RC I assume it's dual purpose which is all well and good but it's a compromise. So much depends on the application.
The other thing that needs to be mentioned is wet cell vs AGM. For an application where the battery is the sole energy source AGM is the only way to go if for no other reason than what a wet cell will do to your clothes as you carry it back and forth from car to boat and wherever you recharge it. They also can withstand deep discharges better than wet cells, deep cycle or not.

[Delawareriver]

All good points. But I'll make it simple 40-55lb thrust will move your size boat really good and still keep you I'm 12v range. I personally like carrying two batteries like group 24s or 27s. Once you use one you know it's time to start working your way back with the second battery. Or you could get one bigger one like a group 29 or 31 and guess how much battery you have left.

[gary305]

I know when you guys read this you may say this is nuts but it works for me
I have a 14 foot jon boat and wanted to replace 12v deep cycle battery and was switching to a 12v gel battery Since not a lot of room in boat wanted to conserve space. I'm not a tech person understanding amps etc but I wound up getting 2 12v gel batteries that are meant for a motorized wheelchair I paid abt 70 for each so I got 2 batteries basically for the price of the normal sized gel deep cycle Also should mention wheelchair batteries are deep cycle . Hey, people in motorized wheel chairs are on the move quite often Anyway I use one in the stern for the 55lb transom motor and I have one for the 45lb motor in the bow. I use the stern to go out and in and the bow mount to move around all day I have never used all power in both batteries in one day Like I said it works for me and happy with results

[Ken Lyons]

Gary, again to be a geeky PIA, you don't have gel cells. You have AGM's. They both have gelled electrolytes but gel cells are specialized for high temperature applications. While I'm sure it works for you unless you measure the level of discharge there's no way to tell how well. Wheel chair batteries are fine if they're sized correctly. You might want to check the capacity in AH so you can replace them when and if. You also might want to check the voltage at the end of the day to see how deep,you have discharged.

[gary305]

Thanks Ken You were right Agm The other stuff you mentioned quite frankly above my head lol Just it works for me Both batteries are 12 v And usually when I get home and charge them bck up the charger usually says 40 to 60 percent left I don't fish large lakes usually around 25 acres or so Only place I know that is larger is Manasquan reservoir This is 2nd year I have been using them so far so good but I really appreciate the info

[Ken Lyons]

What you told us is that you fish small bodies of water and therefore you don't spend a lot of time racing long distances. Your wheelchair batteries are obviously fine for you but likely too small for larger lakes. That's useful.

[briansnat]

I just get the relatively cheap deep cycle batteries at Walmart or BJs. On smaller lakes I can use one battery all day but it's nice to have the extra just in case. I've motored back to the launch at barely 1 mph a few times, hence the backup.

They last me about three seasons. I'm sure I could eek another year out of them if I kept them inside and charged through the winter. But I generally leave them out sitting under the snow. Not a good thing for them I'm sure.

I have a 55 lb thrust Minn Kota on my fairly heavy 14 ft aluminum boat. It moves me along at about 3 mph on high. For a 12 ft boat the 55 lb thrust should be perfect. For shaft size you're going to have to measure. You're going to want the propeller assembly to be at least a foot under water.

If you have a gas outboard and are using the electric just for fishing time, then you can get away with one battery. At least if it dies you can still get back to the launch.

[Ken Lyons]

Brian, if I can make a suggestion, if you bought AGM's instead not charging them in the Winter wouldn't matter. They would likely last 5 or 6 years.

[Fred E. Goose]

I have the walmart deep-cycle marine battery running the trolling motor as my only source of propulsion on a 12 footer. It's worked fine through 2 seasons. I can run just the trolling motor for 6-8 hours of fishing with no problems. Oh, except I don't really power through heavy weeds that well. If I run the fishfinder on the same battery, it drains bigtime and I'm noticeably slower coming in at the end of the day. So the ff which was a gift is collecting dust in a cabinet. I've been lazy about carrying the battery up 14 steps to my apartment to charge after a day of fishing, so I tend to slow charge it the night before an outing. When this battery goes, I plan on getting two (one for the tm and one to run the ff) and I swear I'll be better about charging it...I swear! :rolleyes:

[briansnat]

Brian, if I can make a suggestion, if you bought AGM's instead not charging them in the Winter wouldn't matter. They would likely last 5 or 6 years.

I googled AGM batteries and found a battery that has a similar 280/825 rating, but weighs 100 lbs and is over double the cost of the typical BJs deepcycle. Am I looking in the wrong place?

[Ken Lyons]

Try batterymart.com. Free shipping takes two days. Again, size it to the lake you fish and your boat. Figure every AH weighs about .7 pounds and decide how much fun you want to have carrying it. Look for sealed lead acid. If they're under 100 AH they're AGMs.