Expected run time on 24 volt vs 12volt

[oomph]

Here is my situation:

I have an old 15ft fisher marine Jon boat that is riveted and doesn't weigh as much as a traditional all welded boat. I plan to use this boat on mostly reservoirs, electric only lakes and small  creeks. Maybe on occasion a river, but highly unlikely since I also have an outboard jet boat for that.

I'm debating on weather or not to purchase the XI 5 12 volt or the XI 5 24 volt, both are within my budget. My question is how much of a performance increase will I really see from the 80lbs thrust on the 24 volt vs the 55lbs thrust on the 12 volt on this type of boat?

What I am really looking for is the ability to get a good 10-12 hour day of fishing in, and not have to worry about lack of power if it gets windy, also the creeks can sometimes get a pretty good flow after some rain.

Do you guys feel it's worth adding the extra weight of another battery to achieve this? Or will the 55lb thrust be sufficient battery power and thrust to handle what I am looking for?

[Kevin22]

You only need 55lb thrust. Buy the 55 and see how long you get. If its not long enough then simply add another battery in parallel. There is no need for 80lb thrust with your boat, waste of money IMO.

[ww2farmer]

52 minutes ago, Kevin22 said:

You only need 55lb thrust. Buy the 55 and see how long you get. If its not long enough then simply add another battery in parallel. There is no need for 80lb thrust with your boat, waste of money IMO.

No such thing as a waste of money when it comes to TM power. 

Buy all you can afford and have room for the batteries to run it.

I have a 24v, variable speed, 70lb thrust Minn Kota Maxxum on a Tracker PT170, with 2 group 24 batteries I can fish for 2 FULL 8+ hour days without recharging (although I do charge after every trip) provided I am not blowing through thick weeds, or fighting mega winds for every second of those two days. I know this, because I have forgotten to plug in the charger a time or two over the years, and went fishing the next time with ZERO issues from the batteries. When I had the 12v, 5 speed 45lb thrust TM on the boat that it came with...........I was lucky, with a new, fully charged group 27 battery, to get a full 8-10 hours of fishing in without some sort of noticeable decline in battery power. That time was cut in 1/2 with wind/weeds.

For the places I fish where 90% of my time is spent with the TM in the water, I want all the TM I can get. I'd row to my spots before I ever go back to a 12v system.

[Kevin22]

1 hour ago, ww2farmer said:

No such thing as a waste of money when it comes to TM power. 

Buy all you can afford and have room for the batteries to run it.

I have a 24v, variable speed, 70lb thrust Minn Kota Maxxum on a Tracker PT170, with 2 group 24 batteries I can fish for 2 FULL 8+ hour days without recharging (although I do charge after every trip) provided I am not blowing through thick weeds, or fighting mega winds for every second of those two days. I know this, because I have forgotten to plug in the charger a time or two over the years, and went fishing the next time with ZERO issues from the batteries. When I had the 12v, 5 speed 45lb thrust TM on the boat that it came with...........I was lucky, with a new, fully charged group 27 battery, to get a full 8-10 hours of fishing in without some sort of noticeable decline in battery power. That time was cut in 1/2 with wind/weeds.

For the places I fish where 90% of my time is spent with the TM in the water, I want all the TM I can get. I'd row to my spots before I ever go back to a 12v system.

With all due respect your boat is nothing like his riveted jon. Imagine someone telling you to not get the 24v 70 but instead you need a 112 36v for your boat. Thats about the same as telling someone with a 15' riveted jon he needs a 70+ 24v. 38lb is standard for his boat, 55 is MORE than enough, 70 is wayyy overkill. 

[Wayne P.]

1 hour ago, ww2farmer said:

No such thing as a waste of money when it comes to TM power. 

Buy all you can afford and have room for the batteries to run it.

I have a 24v, variable speed, 70lb thrust Minn Kota Maxxum on a Tracker PT170, with 2 group 24 batteries I can fish for 2 FULL 8+ hour days without recharging (although I do charge after every trip) provided I am not blowing through thick weeds, or fighting mega winds for every second of those two days. I know this, because I have forgotten to plug in the charger a time or two over the years, and went fishing the next time with ZERO issues from the batteries. When I had the 12v, 5 speed 45lb thrust TM on the boat that it came with...........I was lucky, with a new, fully charged group 27 battery, to get a full 8-10 hours of fishing in without some sort of noticeable decline in battery power. That time was cut in 1/2 with wind/weeds.

For the places I fish where 90% of my time is spent with the TM in the water, I want all the TM I can get. I'd row to my spots before I ever go back to a 12v system.

 

 

27 minutes ago, Kevin22 said:

With all due respect your boat is nothing like his riveted jon. Imagine someone telling you to not get the 24v 70 but instead you need a 112 36v for your boat. Thats about the same as telling someone with a 15' riveted jon he needs a 70+ 24v. 38lb is standard for his boat, 55 is MORE than enough, 70 is wayyy overkill. 

When I had a 10' riveted jon boat, I used 24V bow motor with it.

No such thing as "more than enough". Enough is when you run out of funds and space.

[MDBowHunter]

The only way your gonna get 12hrs out of a 12v55 is if you take about 4 batteries. I have an all electric 1542 Jon and I'm running 2-55s on the transom as my main travel motors, I ended up running 6v golfcart batteries hooked up in series and now I can go all day on one set of batteries. As stated earlier you could hook 2-12s in parallel and it would help some but I don't think you'd get the run time your looking for. Before I went to the 6 volt batteries we would bring 4 to 6 batteries with us, now that's for two motors. Oh and with one 55 your going to get an amazing 3-3.5 mph out of it.

[BrianinMD]

No such thing as to much power, especially in TM's. Will you need it all the time, no. However, windy days, surprise storms, or just getting around the electric only lake all power is useful. Instead of running a smaller motor at a higher setting which runs batteries down quicker you can get the same speed at a lower setting. And you still the extra in reserve for when you need to hustle it a little.

Get the largest one you can buy and have battery space for.

[Kevin22]

5 hours ago, MDBowHunter said:

The only way your gonna get 12hrs out of a 12v55 is if you take about 4 batteries. I have an all electric 1542 Jon and I'm running 2-55s on the transom as my main travel motors, I ended up running 6v golfcart batteries hooked up in series and now I can go all day on one set of batteries. As stated earlier you could hook 2-12s in parallel and it would help some but I don't think you'd get the run time your looking for. Before I went to the 6 volt batteries we would bring 4 to 6 batteries with us, now that's for two motors. Oh and with one 55 your going to get an amazing 3-3.5 mph out of it.

 

4 batteries to get 12 hours??? I had a 55 maxxum with one group 27 battery and i could troll on high pulling crankbaits for walleye for a good 5 hours. This was a 17' 2000# ranger deep v hull. Bass fishing i would fish 2 days without charging then charge on sunday night. Probably a good 13-15 hours. On a little 15' riveted jon i doubt you would need it over 40% even on really windy days, probably 20% for normal fishing. It will run all day on a good battery. 

If you need 6 batteries to fish all day then you need to get some better batteries my friend! 

 

Now with my 24v 70 maxxum i can fish all day and when i plug in my charger the batteries are above 70% charge still. When on trips i have gone up to 3.5 days of fishing without charging when i couldn't access an outlet. Its not good on your batteries to do this, but i had no choice! 

[Wayne P.]

46 minutes ago, Kevin22 said:

 

4 batteries to get 12 hours??? I had a 55 maxxum with one group 27 battery and i could troll on high pulling crankbaits for walleye for a good 5 hours. This was a 17' 2000# ranger deep v hull. Bass fishing i would fish 2 days without charging then charge on sunday night. Probably a good 13-15 hours. On a little 15' riveted jon i doubt you would need it over 40% even on really windy days, probably 20% for normal fishing. It will run all day on a good battery. 

If you need 6 batteries to fish all day then you need to get some better batteries my friend! 

 

Now with my 24v 70 maxxum i can fish all day and when i plug in my charger the batteries are above 70% charge still. When on trips i have gone up to 3.5 days of fishing without charging when i couldn't access an outlet. Its not good on your batteries to do this, but i had no choice! 

What brand of battery size 27 did you run 5 hours on high using 50 Amp?

[MDBowHunter]

3 hours ago, Kevin22 said:

 

4 batteries to get 12 hours??? I had a 55 maxxum with one group 27 battery and i could troll on high pulling crankbaits for walleye for a good 5 hours. This was a 17' 2000# ranger deep v hull. Bass fishing i would fish 2 days without charging then charge on sunday night. Probably a good 13-15 hours. On a little 15' riveted jon i doubt you would need it over 40% even on really windy days, probably 20% for normal fishing. It will run all day on a good battery. 

If you need 6 batteries to fish all day then you need to get some better batteries my friend! 

 

Now with my 24v 70 maxxum i can fish all day and when i plug in my charger the batteries are above 70% charge still. When on trips i have gone up to 3.5 days of fishing without charging when i couldn't access an outlet. Its not good on your batteries to do this, but i had no choice! 

A 55 draws about 50 amps most 12v batteries are about 105 amp hours that's about 2 hours of run time. Now if your talking about taking a 1 hour ride and then anchoring all day then traveling back, then yes you can fish all day on one battery. But if your doing a lot moving around it ain't happening sorry.

[Kevin22]

okie dokie. Ive done it and am wrong, you havent and are right. Sounds about right for the "biggest and baddest" type of guys.

i run autozone batteries. It draws 50 amps max LOAD. Big motor up and TM on high is not pulling 50amps unless you are stuck in weeds or pulling a 22' glass walleye boat. 

[Further North]

Put me with the "no such thing as too much power" folks.  If you have enough room for 2 batteries...in series or in parallel...and you can afford the price bump to 24 volt...I can't think of a single reason to not go to 24 volt...unless you already own the 12 volt and you're trying to squeeze longer fishing days out of it.

I ran a 55 lb. Terrova for a couple of seasons before I went to a bigger boat (where I installed a 36 volt TM) and adding a 2^nd battery definitely increased the battery life.  I never went to a 24 volt system, but friends who have them are seeing more run-time than I ever saw, even with two batteries in parallel.

I'd never drop down to a 24 volt on my boat...to many long days, days in fast current or heavy wind.  Lots of folks run the 24 volts systems and love them, they're not wrong...but neither are us folks who think we need more...it's all in how each person fishes, how much room they have and their budget.

[MDBowHunter]

Now this motor is a 52 and it pulls 32 amps in a trash and that's not even pushing a boat or fighting wind. Even with this you'd only get 3 hours max. That's still around 3 to 4 batteries to run 10 to 12 hours.

 

[oomph]

I'm leaning more and more towards the 24 volt setup.

[Further North]

5 hours ago, oomph said:

I'm leaning more and more towards the 24 volt setup.

Good choice - other than cost...why would anyone go to a two battery 12 volt set-up?

Just checked Cabela's for reference: for a 54" shaft, the 55 lb, is $1,260, the 80 lb is $1,500.  $240 difference.

Battery charger will cost the same; batteries will cost the same, space usage will be the same...

For $240 you get more thrust, better on the water battery life and better overall battery life.

That's how I'd lean too.

[K_Mac]

I have owned aluminum fishing boats for years. Having a 24 volt digital controlled trolling motor is the only way to go in my opinion, especially if you are looking to fish from daybreak to dark. I have an 80# Fortrex on mine, and don't regret the extra couple of hundred dollars it cost. I have limited income and have to be careful with my fishing expenses, but having plenty of power and battery every time I am on the water is a valuable thing.

[Chris at Tech]

Go 24v

[Jeff H]

Yep, if the money is there, go 24v.  I've had 12v, in fact still have a Minn Kota 55 from my old 16' Alumacraft and it is the last one I will ever buy.  Hated that thing every time I used it.  My old variable speed 48lb 24v had WAY more power than this 5 speed 55lb and would last WAY longer.  I run an 80lb Maxxum on my Champion 191 Elite, can fish 2 days in moderate winds with no worry.

[oomph]

Thanks for the feedback. I picked up a 24 volt 80lbs thrust this weekend. It's the Motor Guide Xi5 w/ the Pin Point GPS. Can't wait to try it out on the water.

[WIGuide]

I definitely think you'll be happy you stepped up to the 24V. You can always turn it down if you don't need the power, you can't turn a 12 up any more than max when you need more. I'm one of those that subscribes to the buy the biggest you can afford. I don't want to drive to a lake only to find out that I can't fish where I want to, simply because I skimped when I bought a tm. My boat's only a 17 footer and I've got an 82# thrust Motorguide and if I had the room for the extra battery, I'd be running a 36V 109.

[oomph]

yup, I am happy with the decision. I have a Minnkota Endura Max 55, which is transom mount. I took  my 15FT jon boat out on the reservoir over the weekend with it. (haven't installed the bow motor yet). The wind was pushing me around quite a bit and I was forced to give it more power than normal. I can see the advantages of having that extra juice when needed, and I also am really looking forward to the Pin Point GPS and Auto Anchor functions of the XI5. I really hate having to fight the trolling motor in the wind while I fish.

[Further North]

22 hours ago, oomph said:

I really hate having to fight the trolling motor in the wind while I fish.

That's it, right there - I want to fish, not screw with the boat.  I've never heard anyone complain about having too much power.