Quinte Fishing

Hello!

Is it logical to believe that a 55lb thrust 12v trolling motor drains the battery faster than a 32lb thrust 12v?

Looking forward to hear your experience or inputs.

Thanks in advance.

TGIF

I'd say at wide open the 55 would drain the battery faster, but on the other hand at typical trolling speeds the 55 would use less power to push the boat. Go with the 55.

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There's something wrong with that rod.
It has a bend in it!!!

Morning Baffled,

I'm not sure the context of your question. There's also so many variables it's hard to give an exact answer.

Generally speaking a trolling motor is a machine that converts energy to work. Same work, same energy used.

Some motors may be more efficient at using the energy to do the work but, in the context of fishing that would be hard to measure exactly.

In a fishing scenario where your out for the day just using your motor, then I'd say yes, the 55lb will drain a battery faster than the 32lb.

Here's a link with more info. that might be helpful.

https://www.trollingmotors.net/blogs/se ... r-run-time

Take care.

Roblin,

Thank you for the link, seeing that 55lb thrust draws more amp than the 30 lb thrust answers my question.

My friend sold me his mint 80lb 24v trolling motor, I was excited to upgrade from my 30lb thrust (17’ aluminum fishing boat) after looking and trying to figure out best way to upgrade my power to 24v. I will have to install 2batteries in storage compartment wher I keep the lifejackets.
I changed my mind, I don’t want to lose the storage space so I have decide to sell the trolling motor and
not upgrading trolling motor as planned doesn’t sit wel with me. So I am looking into 55lb 12v. I have never killed battery on a day fishing with 30 lb 12v. I am worried if I upgrade to 55, my day may be cut short.

This is why I come on this site hoping to shred some light on next trolling motor purchase.

Looking at the chart it seems the bigger motor draws more amps at med/high speeds. Slow speeds seems to be equal. Trying to maintain a speed of say 1.5-2.0 mph the smaller motor would be working harder to move the boat. This will decrease the life span of the motor. I'd rather replace the battery every few years than have to replace the motor.

_________________
There's something wrong with that rod.
It has a bend in it!!!

Just to add...the bigger motor would be running at a low speed and the smaller motor at med/high to maintain the same mph.

_________________
There's something wrong with that rod.
It has a bend in it!!!

I would use the larger trolling motor but also upgrade or use a good quality battery with a large capacity. You wont run out with a large battery..

Hi

I run a 55 on a 17.5ft aluminum with a good Deka battery. I usually troll crawler harnesses at 1.0 - 1.2 MPH and have never run the battery down on a day out. If you are going to pull hard baits a 1.5 MPH or more the battery will run down much quicker and not last all day. I use the "big" motor when trolling hard baits.

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K. Hynes

OK Baffled,

I see where your going.

I was in the same dilemma. I opted to keep my storage and go with one battery. Never regretted that.

I've used Minn Kota Power drive V2 55 for years on a 16 ft and it works very well. I try and keep my power close to a 50% average and have never ran out of power in a day on a fully charged battery.

I use a Group 31 battery and buy them from Magnacharge (formerly National Battery). I've had very good service from Magnacharge and their prices are good on a quality battery.

If your doing a bow mount, consider the i-pilot. They're a super controllable motor with great features. They also have a built in digital maximizer and allow you to very accuately control your power usage.

Good luck.

Baffled,
A 30 lb motor uses approximately 30 A at full thrust, while the 55 lb motor uses approximately 55A at full thrust. That’s a 25A use difference. That means the 55 will go through a battery about 40% faster.

A larger 55 lb motor is still recommended for a 16 ft boat. To increase you trolling time with the larger motor you need to buy a large 31 group battery with the highest Ahr rating. That said, two good quaility 24 group batteries in parallel is an even better solution.

Good Luck,
BATMAN

Thank you all for your inputs.

The bow mount trolling motor is mainly used for bass fishing, I have a 6hp kicker on my boat that I use when I am trolling for walleyes.

I think I have made final decision to keep my storage and go for 55 lb thrust 12v.

Thanks again everybody.

Use the kicker for speed and get an ipilot on the bow for autopilot, works really well. set the ipilot so it runs just fast enough to turn the boat.

That is a good idea!

A 55lb thrust motor on a 12V drains battery faster that is correct.......

Hi Baffled:

One thing bothers us with the single battery doing everything (we're assuming you'll use it to power stuff like your fish finder, live well(s), etc.?

Sooner or later there'll come a time where conditions are stressful enough to create extra drain on the single battery, and when the day is done... oopsie!!!

We understand comments from folks who never had a problem. That doesn't mean you will NOT.

If the additional cost isn't a HUGE factor, we're strongly in favour of going with the 24 volt system, for BOTH additional maneuvering power and speed*, PLUS having the peace of mind that at the end of the day you can get home.

We may not be reading the issue correctly, BUT if we are, and you can afford to do so, go with the two extra batteries, and figure out another spot on the boat to store stuff like life jackets etc. There must be someplace they could go.

*Another thing: you received several comments recommending the 'I-Pilot' system. Look at some video clips, do a little more research, and you'll see how awesome that relatively inexpensive, easy-to-install (remove two screws, switch the side plate, put the longer two screws back on) if we remember correctly) system can be. With the accompanying hand-held remote, you're entering an entire new, far more effective system that can be run from anywhere on the boat! You'll kick yourself for not doing it sooner.

Rgds, Wordpecker.