Upgrade to 24V?

[AMSDJS]

I've tried to search older threads on my question but no luck. I have a 16.5 ft aluminum boat (90HP main engine) that has been running a 12V (group 27) 55lb thrust TM and am planning to finally upgrade to an iPilot link TM. I do have a 3-bank charger but - my issue is there is not space on board for two group 27 batteries. I have encountered a few situations where I wish I had more thrust, particularly early Spring walleye fishing in strong current of the Detroit River. The majority of the year I bass fish lakes and have no issues cutting through weeds, etc.



My question is, would it be worth it to upgrade and run a 24V motor off two group 24's? My plan A is to invest in the TM, Bird w GPS and Lakemaster chip. Plan B is to swap out the group 27 for two group 24's and get the 24V motor, but am not sure that is worth the extra cash. I don't know the net weight of my boat/motor/gear so not sure it's worth the upgrade to 24V. Does anyone else with a similar sized rig run a 12V and wish they had a 24V? Or are you happy with the 12V motor? My fear is that I'll drain the two group 24's and be stuck without by mid-afternoon.

[Jeff Hahn]

I had a 12 volt, 55 pound thrust MK on my 14' 4" Lund Rebel. It was enough power most of the time, but when it wasn't, it was a PITA! I went to a 24 volt 80 pound thrust MK Maxxum a couple years back and I could not be happier with it. My Lund had the single Group 27 TM battery up front under the front deck. I measured repeatedly, but there was no way a second Group 27 was going up front with the other battery. So, I measured in the back and found a spot where a second Group 27 would fit. With help of John Jones, I figured out how to wire the TM battery in the front and the TM battery in the rear to make 24 volts. I ran the negative wire from the back to the TM receptacle and ran the positive h front battery to the TM receptacle, and ran a 14 foot jumper between the two batteries. It works like a charm. The only downside is that I have to use a single charger on each battery, and the leads of an onboard charger would not run the length of the boat.

[rocket man]

You can extend the charger leads.

[Lowerider58]

Is your current trolling motor a continuously variable or a fixed speed type?
If it's a fixed speed and you upgrade to a digital motor it will be much more efficient. The digital motors pulse power on and off to control speed whereas the fixed speed motors waste a lot of battery power by burning off power through a resistor circuit except at its highest speed.

Seperating the batteries is no problem if you have room to put one in another spot in the boat. If you don't two 24 series batteries would probably be fine for a smaller boat with a modern trolling motor.

[tcesni]

Two group 24 batteries as a 24V will be far more efficient than the single 12V group 27 that you are currently running, even if you have a non-digital 24V motor.

[AMSDJS]

Two group 24 batteries as a 24V will be far more efficient than the single 12V group 27 that you are currently running, even if you have a non-digital 24V motor.

Thanks for all the replies. My current TM is a MK Power Drive, 55lb thrust from 2002? My plan is to get a Terrova with iPilot link and from the sound of it, the two group 24's should be fine since I don't plan to run 7-8 hours at 40%+ power. There really is no way to fit two group 27's in the same storage compartment as Jeff mentions and I really want to avoid running long wires through the boat although that definitely is an option. Will probably go with the 24V 80lb TM and not look back.

[RichW]

I bought a pair of Optima Blue top agms and paired with a MK 80# I can go anywhere. They are 3 years old now and still working great. But, to be on the safe side I do carry a small rechargeable jump start pak...just in case