Battery Q's & Suggestions

[GaryH]

6 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Thanks  - Did you pick up an on board charger as well ?

A-Jay

My Minn Kota precision charger is compatible with Ionic. They list the chargers that are compatible. Set the charger to agm and it’s good to go.

[A-Jay]

11 minutes ago, GaryH said:

My Minn Kota precision charger is compatible with Ionic. They list the chargers that are compatible. Set the charger to agm and it’s good to go.

Thanks again - just read that my current DualPro PS quad is compatible.

so that's good to know. 

A-Jay

[casts_by_fly]

2 hours ago, flyfisher said:

I also run Ionic for my kayak battery---2 30ah wired in series to get me the 24v needed.  Been using them 2 years now and no concerns.  I love their app as well to monitor battery life.

you run a 24v motor on a kayak?  What setup is that?

[AJ Hauser]

6 hours ago, flyfisher said:

I love their app as well to monitor battery life.

 

This sounds helpful. Here I am looking for an "inline battery tester" as we speak so I can avoid another paddle workout... 

4 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

you run a 24v motor on a kayak?  What setup is that?

 

Beat me to it. Whatcha' up to over there? 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

34 minutes ago, AJ Hauser said:

 

This sounds helpful. Here I am looking for an "inline battery tester" as we speak so I can avoid another paddle workout... 

 

Beat me to it. Whatcha' up to over there? 

If you don't go all high speed and want to remain a poor like myself.....I'm getting close to buying this product for a variety of reason, one of which is to monitor the battery's life.    Lots of features on it.   Other types of this same product exist, so you can shop around and maybe find one you like better.

 

Amazon.com : Newport Vessels Trolling Motor Smart Battery Box Power Center with USB and DC Ports : Sports & Outdoors

[AJ Hauser]

8 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

If you don't go all high speed and want to remain a poor like myself.....I'm getting close to buying this product for a variety of reason, one of which is to monitor the battery's life...

 

Hubba hubba! That looks awesome, like it came right out of a transformer's rear end! 

 

I too am a poor... please let me know if you pick one of these up. ??

[AJ Hauser]

At @AlabamaSpothunter and @casts_by_fly and @A-Jay and @GaryH and @J Francho I'm now currently looking at these iPilot units daydreaming about setting up a route that one will follow so I can work some shorelines hands free in my little bathtub of a boat. You guys have any thoughts on these - or products that do the same thing? The trolling motor would be worth more than my boat and trailer combined but... after fighting with the wind and trying to cast by myself these past few weeks I'm considering some side jobs (I do web development and graphic design + online marketing) to get some upgrades... after the new battery, of course. 

 

Paddling back to civilization twice was enough ??

[AlabamaSpothunter]

13 minutes ago, AJ Hauser said:

At @AlabamaSpothunter and @casts_by_fly and @A-Jay and @GaryH and @J Francho I'm now currently looking at these iPilot units daydreaming about setting up a route that one will follow so I can work some shorelines hands free in my little bathtub of a boat. You guys have any thoughts on these - or products that do the same thing? The trolling motor would be worth more than my boat and trailer combined but... after fighting with the wind and trying to cast by myself these past few weeks I'm considering some side jobs (I do web development and graphic design + online marketing) to get some upgrades... after the new battery, of course. 

 

Paddling back to civilization twice was enough ??

Stuff like is awesome for sure, but my focus is getting a boat setup for Bass fishing specifically....i.e. a front deck and front mounted trolling motor with a foot pedal.   That setup will allow you to beat a bank perfectly.  

I get what you are saying though, beating a bank from a jon boat with a transom TM is only second to bank fishing in terms of work

[casts_by_fly]

1 hour ago, AJ Hauser said:

 

Hubba hubba! That looks awesome, like it came right out of a transformer's rear end! 

 

I too am a poor... please let me know if you pick one of these up. ??

cool as it is, if you go with a lithium the battery meter won’t work on it. Just know that going in.

 

44 minutes ago, AJ Hauser said:

At @AlabamaSpothunter and @casts_by_fly and @A-Jay and @GaryH and @J Francho I'm now currently looking at these iPilot units daydreaming about setting up a route that one will follow so I can work some shorelines hands free in my little bathtub of a boat. You guys have any thoughts on these - or products that do the same thing? The trolling motor would be worth more than my boat and trailer combined but... after fighting with the wind and trying to cast by myself these past few weeks I'm considering some side jobs (I do web development and graphic design + online marketing) to get some upgrades... after the new battery, of course. 

 

Paddling back to civilization twice was enough ??

my kayak is the autopilot with minn kota iPilot and not much smaller than your bathtub (I’m 12’ and 40” wide).  Having now had it I will not own a boat that doesn’t have it. The motor on mine is equivalent to a power drive ipilot.  It is strictly remote controlled. Spot lock is very nice. If you fish offshore or if you’re fishing in wind or current and trying to hold a location (like pitching a dock or similar) it’s great. Also nice for tying lures on and not moving.  In the kayak I also use it when I hook a fish since a 3lb bass will pull the boat towards the cover as fast as I’m pulling him to the boat. 
 

cruise control and heading are probably even better.  Set a direction and speed and the motor will keep the boat on it.  Nice for long runs but even better for beating down a bank. If I’m fishing a buzzbait and trying to cover water, I’ll set it to 1-1.2 and just start casting. Different lures, different speeds.  

 

 

[AJ Hauser]

Thanks @casts_by_fly and @AlabamaSpothunter - so dumb question - I have a Garmin Striker 9sv, and if I were to grab a Minn Kota Power Drive 54" 55lb with iPilot, how would I go about creating a route to follow? Is this something that can be done in advance, or do I need other tool(s) in order to set routes up before I'm on the water? 

[Tennessee Boy]

16 minutes ago, AJ Hauser said:

Thanks @casts_by_fly and @AlabamaSpothunter - so dumb question - I have a Garmin Striker 9sv, and if I were to grab a Minn Kota Power Drive 54" 55lb with iPilot, how would I go about creating a route to follow? Is this something that can be done in advance, or do I need other tool(s) in order to set routes up before I'm on the water? 

There is a difference between i-Pilot and I-Pilot link.   Only I-Pilot link will talk to a fish finder and only to Humminbirds.  With regular I-pilot you use the handheld remote that comes with it to control it and create routes and waypoints.  

[A-Jay]

2 hours ago, AJ Hauser said:

At @AlabamaSpothunter and @casts_by_fly and @A-Jay and @GaryH and @J Francho I'm now currently looking at these iPilot units daydreaming about setting up a route that one will follow so I can work some shorelines hands free in my little bathtub of a boat. You guys have any thoughts on these - or products that do the same thing? The trolling motor would be worth more than my boat and trailer combined but... after fighting with the wind and trying to cast by myself these past few weeks I'm considering some side jobs (I do web development and graphic design + online marketing) to get some upgrades... after the new battery, of course. 

 

Paddling back to civilization twice was enough ??

Post a pic of your rig . . . 

A-Jay

[AJ Hauser]

On 10/7/2022 at 11:36 AM, AJ Hauser said:

 

Here is my bathtub. 

 

 

@A-Jay  

[AJ Hauser]

@A-Jay if I get a trolling motor with 70 lbs of thrust I'm going to be able to go like 60 miles an hour!! ?

[A-Jay]

4 hours ago, AJ Hauser said:

At @AlabamaSpothunter and @casts_by_fly and @A-Jay and @GaryH and @J Francho I'm now currently looking at these iPilot units daydreaming about setting up a route that one will follow so I can work some shorelines hands free in my little bathtub of a boat. You guys have any thoughts on these - or products that do the same thing? The trolling motor would be worth more than my boat and trailer combined but... after fighting with the wind and trying to cast by myself these past few weeks I'm considering some side jobs (I do web development and graphic design + online marketing) to get some upgrades... after the new battery, of course. 

 

Paddling back to civilization twice was enough ??

 

18 minutes ago, AJ Hauser said:

 

@A-Jay  

Thank you.

I fish from a 15 ft Old Town Square Back Canoe 

It's hard to effectively present baits if you're not 'set up' in a way that can help you.

If you're not doing the following - I'd highly recommend that you do.

First ADD weight to the very bow of your rig - enough so that when you're fishing from the stern,

your rig is level.  I use a Group 31 Battery up there.

It will really help keep your rig in the water and not blowing all over the place in the  wind. 

Second, FISH FROM THE BACK OF THE BOAT and travel / move that way as you fish.

In other words - stern first. 

Takes some getting used to but you will have 

SO Much more control of your rig.

You'll need to use your Trolling motor in Reverse. 

Still go forward to move from spot to spot but fish off the stern.

As for adding Big boat type electronics to your rig,

IMO, it will not help you catch more or bigger fish.

Save your $$ and instead set up & learn how to control your rig yourself.

A man can & will always be able to out perform a machine in conditions that change as fast as they do on the water.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Good Luck. 

A-Jay

BTW @AJ Hauser

You're going to need at least one anchor.

I use a 10 lb mushroom. 

https://youtu.be/02fPoZHOri8?t=1151

A-Jay

[AJ Hauser]

@Tennessee Boy and @casts_by_fly does the PowerDrive 55lb (12v) with iPilot (not the iPilot link) use any sort of additional GPS puck or heading puck or something else or is the GPS internal in the actual trolling motor?

[Woody B]

1 hour ago, AJ Hauser said:

@Tennessee Boy and @casts_by_fly does the PowerDrive 55lb (12v) with iPilot (not the iPilot link) use any sort of additional GPS puck or heading puck or something else or is the GPS internal in the actual trolling motor?

 

I can't answer that about a PowerDrive but my Terrova came with an additional puck.   I don't make, or use routes but I use heading lock, cruise control and anchor mode quite a bit.   On a powerdrive with iPilot all you have is the remote.  A Terrova has a foot pedal in addition to the remote.   I had a Powerdrive with an aftermarket GPS.  I had all kinds of trouble with the GPS.   I've had no problems with my Terrova.   

 

Regarding batteries, the 88 amp hour lead acid battery that came in my boat had lost enough voltage is was useless after 4 or 5 hours in the wind.   I got a (overkill) 125 amp hour lithium (ionic).  I've fished multiple days in the wind without charging and never ran it below 50%.   

 

The group 24 cranking battery that came with my boat was undersized for that too.  I now have the lithium for my trolling motor, with the group 24 and group 27 wired in parallel for cranking, electronics, light and pumps.   

 

Like stated before you the only way you'll gain speed with a higher thrust trolling motor is if your current one is struggling.   Speed is limited by the prop pitch and motor rpm.   If the boat isn't so big it's bogging the motor more thrust won't make it go faster.   

 

My Tracker Classic XL came with a 45 pound Minn Kota Edge.   It would go 3 mph.   It also goes 3 mph with a 55 pound PowerDrive and Terrova.   

 

 

Added:  @A-Jay  I'm not very familiar with Dual Pro chargers but do know there's a software update necessary on some to use with lithium batteries.   

[Tennessee Boy]

1 hour ago, AJ Hauser said:

@Tennessee Boy and @casts_by_fly does the PowerDrive 55lb (12v) with iPilot (not the iPilot link) use any sort of additional GPS puck or heading puck or something else or is the GPS internal in the actual trolling motor?

I’m not aware of any I-pilot trolling motors that require an external GPS puck.  Mine came with a heading sensor puck that is used for some features like jogging and circling a waypoint.  It is not required for other features like routes and spot lock.

 

According to the MinnKota website.

*When i-Pilot is installed on a PowerDrive, the foot pedal will no longer function and the motor can only be controlled with the remote.

[AJ Hauser]

@A-Jay thank you so much for taking the time to share all of that with us - really appreciate it. Good tips all around, and very cool to see someone else doing so much with such a little rig. @Woody B, you too - thanks very much for that info. Thanks @Tennessee Boy for that info too - the whole "operate with the remote" thing seems goofy... but... man I don't know, some of these features are pretty neat. 

 

More research is required - thanks all, and goodnight! 

[flyfisher]

On 10/7/2022 at 8:47 PM, casts_by_fly said:

you run a 24v motor on a kayak?  What setup is that?

Newport Vessels NK180S.  I got it in February 2021, pretty sure i was one of the first to get one.  I was set on a torqeedo and saved up the cash to get one and this motor came out and I gave it hard look and for the price, I went for it and couldn't be happier.  Pushes my then ATAK 140 and now ATAK 120 close to 6mph at full throttle and works great for solo river shuttles.  It is basically the equivalent of an almost 2hp motor which i think is like 60LB thrust or so which for the weight of me and my kayak is plenty.  I have mine set up for stick steering instead of the normal foot steering, had that on my ATAK 140 but i went to a stick steer so i can use the pole while standing and going upriver scouting for areas and same for when floating downstream.

 

NK180 kayak motor

[AJ Hauser]

14 minutes ago, flyfisher said:

Newport Vessels NK180S. 

 

Nice!!

[casts_by_fly]

1 hour ago, flyfisher said:

Newport Vessels NK180S.  I got it in February 2021, pretty sure i was one of the first to get one.  I was set on a torqeedo and saved up the cash to get one and this motor came out and I gave it hard look and for the price, I went for it and couldn't be happier.  Pushes my then ATAK 140 and now ATAK 120 close to 6mph at full throttle and works great for solo river shuttles.  It is basically the equivalent of an almost 2hp motor which i think is like 60LB thrust or so which for the weight of me and my kayak is plenty.  I have mine set up for stick steering instead of the normal foot steering, had that on my ATAK 140 but i went to a stick steer so i can use the pole while standing and going upriver scouting for areas and same for when floating downstream.

 

NK180 kayak motor

i didn’t realize the torqueedo motors were 24V. In my head I pictured an ulterra on the front of a kayak…

[flyfisher]

2 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

i didn’t realize the torqueedo motors were 24V. In my head I pictured an ulterra on the front of a kayak…

i am not sure if they are but I know the NK180 is.

[AJ Hauser]

Not to dredge up a quiet topic - but what do you all think about the Dakota (very expansive) batteries compared to the Ionic (more reasonable) batteries?

 

100ah Dakota on Amazon

 

Ionic 125ah on Lithium Hub

 

Seriously considering upgrading and doing the payment plan to get it paid in full before next spring... either way it's about the same coin, based on these listings. Would love to hear any first hand experience - thanks! 

[GaryH]

I’ve been running Ionic for over a year and I have no complaints just praise for the way they perform. Also they are compatible with Yamaha and Mercury for starting batteries. Plus there apt is great for keeping check of them on your phone.