24V Battery Question

[fishizzle]

Not sure if its a dumb question but can a small deep cycle be combined with a larger one in a 24 v system. Its a matter of space in my 16' aluminum. I don't have the room for 2 large batteries.

[Way2slow]

NO, Since they are going to be running in series to give you the 24V's you need, the need to be identical batteries and the same age.

[Polarkraft05]

I was always told you can use two sizes/ ages etc, but you have to realize the power loss will start when your weaker battery gets low, and then your larger battery will start to "charge" the smaller battery. ultimately resulting in shorter life of both batteries

i used two different sized batteries all last year and never saw any problems, but im never on the lake for more than 4-5 hours

[Wayne P.]

You would have the run time of the smallest battery.

[Jig Man]

_{Optimally speaking if they are the same size and same age they will work better and longer. I had a battery go bad after 2 years while I was on an extended fishing trip and had to replace it. I opted to get one and see how it worked. It was 2 years later that my original battery started weakening and had to be replaced. So I had about 150 fishing trips with batteries of different ages.}

_{The thing to remember is go for as many reserve amps as you can find and have room for.}

[Way2slow]

Yep, you can connect any 12 volt battery in series or parallel with any other 12 volt battery. In parallel, it's not so critical, both batteries are seeing the same voltage and only putting out the current it needs to at that voltage. The problem comes in with series batteries, they both are seeing the same current, which may or may not be what both batteries can handle without doing damage to one of them. Contrary to what some have said, you never want to install two different size batteries in series, and as a general rule, even on like batteries, they should have no more than 25 cycles difference between them.

Now, this only applies if you want to get max runtime and life out of your batteries. If you don't mind constantly chasing battery problems and wondering why the TM seems to be running slower after a short time on the water, you do them any way you want. For me, batteries are too cheap to replace for aggrivation they can cause.

[fishizzle]

Thanks friends. That answers my question. I can rearrange some hoses and put in 2 big ones or just put in 2 small ones. I know with 2 big batteries I can get 2 days of fishing hard with a 65lb thrust.

One more question too.

Can any 24v Trolling motor be run on 12v for a day here and there? I know it will run slower and get drained faster but it it bad for the motor?

[slonezp]

Thanks friends. That answers my question. I can rearrange some hoses and put in 2 big ones or just put in 2 small ones. I know with 2 big batteries I can get 2 days of fishing hard with a 65lb thrust.

One more question too.

Can any 24v Trolling motor be run on 12v for a day here and there? I know it will run slower and get drained faster but it it bad for the motor?

Why risk it?

[NBR]

For best battery life you need to recharge after every use,

[Jig Man]

One more question too.

Can any 24v Trolling motor be run on 12v for a day here and there? I know it will run slower and get drained faster but it it bad for the motor?

No it isn't bad for the motor. When I had 12/24 with speed levels I had to use 12V part of the time to get the speed I wanted to be fishing. Now I have 24 only with infinite speed control.