24V Wiring-3 Batteries in a Tracker 175XT

[Bass Tracker]

HI all,



Ordered a new Minn Kota Terrova 24V 80Lb Thrust Trolling motor for my 2001 Bass Tracker PT175XT.



Was wondering if anyone had some advice on getting 3 Batteries in the rear compartment. I took a quick look last night and it seems doable. was just wondering if anyone had done this before. Thanks



Also, any advice on "wiring" for 24V (current motor is only 12V) and If my trolling motor batteries are also my "electronics" power supply, wont that not be good for my fish finders and what not? (to throw 24V on them) ?? Thanks alot

 

[Jim B]

You should be able to get two group 27 batteries for the TM plus a 24 start in there. they will be crammed in there really tight but they will fit. I have seen it done. Northern bass sells a double group 27 tray that makes the entire job easier.



As far as the wireing straight 24 is pretty simply. look in my library and find the digram i put together for it. You will need to upgrade the wireing, the plug at the front and the breaker in the boat. The 12ga wire they ran factory is way too small to carry the needed amperage and the breakers are too. When we did a 65# on my friend's 01 185 he could pop the breaker on anything over 50% thrust. We ended up running 6 ga like what i have in my boat and put a 50 amp breaker on it and a marinco mini plug with the wire adapter and it fixed all the issues.



Your electronics should not be on the trolling motor batteries mainly for reasons of interference. Run them off the start battery. If you hook them to 24v you will cook them.

 

[Bass Tracker]

Will do Jim Thank you.



For some reason I thought nothing was supposed to go on your "crank" battery just to be safe. But sounds good to me. Thanks again

 

[john allen2]

here is a link to help

http://bbcboards.zeroforum.com/zerothread/400928-12-24-36v-wiring

 

[james casteel2]

you will need to upgrade the wire to 6 gauge and use a 60 amp circuit breaker, the terrova can draw 56 amps. I just did my 06 PT 190.. not to worry only the TM is on the TM batterys.. when standing at the rear of the boat looking toward the bow place the two group 27's side by side next to the fuel tank and the group 24 closer to the rear sideways or right to left..hope this helps. DO NOT put any outher electronics on the trolling motor batterys

 

[james casteel2]

the BBC link is hard to read if you dont know what you are lookig at.

This is how the terrova needs to be wired up (simple pic)and the oriantation of the batterys also.. hope this pic thing works

 

[Bass Tracker]

Wouldnt having my Engine and My Two HDS FishFinders on the same Battery Not be good? Wouldnt that drain the cranking battery rather quickly? Thanks

 

[Jim B]

if your battery is in good condition, a decent size and your charging system works properly you have no worries. Most everyone runs the electronics off the starting battery.



The fish finders don't draw a whole lot of power, maybe 1.5 amps each so its not a big draw. You should be able to run them all day without issue. The biggest battery drainer in your boat other then the trolling motor is the livewell pump and that runs off the start battery too. If your worried about it get a bigger dual purpose start battery like the group 24 cabelas agm or something with a big reserve with that size and you will not have any problems.



My boat came with a group 24 interstate and it would run my fish finders all day no problem and still fire my 175 opti without even sounding like it was working hard. I have since upgraded that battery to a 27AGM because when i fish tournaments i like to run the pumps a lot and i could drain down that 24 if i ran them on full for a few hours, i can run them all day on full on now with no issue. On my old boat i also had a 27 sized battery and i could run my stereo and my fishfinders all day and still crank my 150 over.



Check the link below, one of these in a group 24 would fix any potential issues you may have with the start battery. its the second one down. Its big enough to fire any optimax, it should have no problem with your 25 even if its way run down.


http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...0023033016446&parentId=cat350007&masterpathid

 

[Bass Tracker]

Thank you Jim. I will more than likely Go with that Battery for my Crank/Electronics.



I have read so many good things about a Walmart Battery for the Trolling motor (M29 Everstart I beielve) this is what I will use for my 24v Trolling motor. (If two of them will fit in my compartment) if Not I will have to go with a smaller sized battery

 

[Jim B]

I dont think a 29 sized battery will fit in there. A 27's are a close call and a 29 is longer.



Personally i woulnd not put everstarts in my boat. Its a subject that has been discussed here many times and yep the warranty is convienent(if they have them in stock when they croak) but if you have to replace them often( and i have when i have used them) its not worth it. I hate getting days wrecked because of a junk battery and thats what has happened to me when ive had everstarts and thier sister brands(duralast, die hard, interstate etc) in my boat. I have trojan's in my boat for the trolling motor and they are fantastic. They do cost more upfront but over time they are worth it. My last set went 6 years trouble free. If the Trojan wasnt available i would get the 30 sized cabelas AGM(because i they would fit in my rig), i have heard great things about them for trolling motor use.

 

[Bass Tracker]

OK thanks Jim I will take that into consideration.



I have two things I wanted to ask you Jim.



Did I over do it with a 24V 80Lb Trolling motor lol? for my 2001 tracker 175XT



Also I am planning on buying a new boat in the Fall. After looking at a few boats we decided we would love the Z-8 but if it got too expensive then the Z-7 would certainly be awsome.



But here is my recent worry, Alot of the places I fish on a normal basis are smaller (concord river,sudbury river,knops,badacook etc) Would I be overdoing it with a 200+HP outboard? Maybe I would be better with a 115HP. Just wondering what you think? I would hate to get a brand new boat and then smack up my engine. Thanks

 

[Jim B]

Personally i dont think 80# is too much. YOu can always turn it down.... Im of the school that you can never have a big enough trolling motor.



As far as the boat goes heres my opinion. Horsepower has nothing to do with smacking something up. Less HP isnt going to lessen the chance any. It boils down to driving to the conditions as to wether you smack up the motor or not more then anything else. The places you mentioned you will never be able to take advantage of any glass rig with a big engine without being wreckless and a danger to not only yourself but everyone else around you. You would need to run around part throttle or at idle all the time so it would be a waste of money. So the question i have is if you only fish small places like those then why even upgrade the boat? You may well be a lot better off with what you have because of the size of the places you fish. If you plan to fish bigger places like Winni or any of the other bigger lakes then sure a bigger boat is a nice to have for sure. And as fas as HP goes do whatever you want there its all up to what you want to spend. You need to look at what you are trying to do, where your going to fish and buy accordingly. If i fished small places and almost never sent to bigger lakes i would be in a boat like yours. I fish the bigger lakes almost all the time and make the occasional trip to smaller water so a bigger boat with bigger hp makes sense for me. I fish a lake near me from time to time thats around the same size as knops and i could not imagine trying to run around there on my gas motor. Id be across it in like 5 seconds. I fish it with my 12' rowboat and a trolling motor since they dont allow gas.



The smallest river i fish is the Nashua and I almost never go there. My big motor is really a waste of time there since its so twisty and narrow and there are so many people on it etc. I end up putting around at idle all day because id be up and down on plane because of people around in other boats( 150ft rule) and its not worth it.



Hopefully that gives you some food for thought. I would look at where you intend to fish and plan/buy accordingly. If you plan to fish a place like Winni or Winnisquam once a year you may be better off with your current rig(you could always repower to a bigger motor to get around a little quicker) and being done with it because it would suit the places you fish the vast majority of the time a lot better. 30k+ is a lot to spend on something to just put around on a pond or river in my opinion.

 

[Bass Tracker]

WEll Put. Lots to think of. I do want to make the trips to bigger places so I may just go with the bigger engine. I usually fish for 5-7 hours a day. So driving one hour is no big deal. PLus I went to the CT river this year and LOVED it and wanted nothing more than alot more HP...Thanks again Jim