Moving Trolling Motor, Panel Question

[ChitownBasser]

Hey guys, while I wait to paint the outside and underside of my boat, I am thinking ahead to the finishing touches. I just received my Minn Kota Endure C2 55 Thrust yesterday. This will be transom mounted and my primary means of propulsion. When I got the boat, it came with a trolling motor. Only 27lbs of thrust, hence the reason for me upgrading to a new motor. So I was thinking of puting the old TM on the front for just a little push if I sit in the front seat.

Would that be okay? I am looking at 12 feet that I would need to stretch the wiring. Would 8# gauge be okay? How would I tie in the current wires to extended wires as 8# is probably too thick for a butt connection? Or do I just get a new battery for the front of the boat for the older TM?

As I am thinking ahead to the electric portion of the build, I have a pretty firm grasp of how things work. I have most of my components ready to be hooked up, just going over it one last time.
I really enjoyed Jay415's post and build. It inspired me to buy my switches and this panel, $35 on Amazon.

Question: For the feed wires back to the battery, it advises 4-6 AWG. Is that too thick? I am only fusing some LED's and a 12v plug.

I jumped the gun and bough some 10 AWG. Can I use this for my feeders or can I at least use this for my 12v plug wiring?
Thanks.

 

[RivRunR]

The easiest way to add your bow TM might be to mount a receptacle in the front, and then put a plug on the TM wires. This would make it pretty convenient, and safe, to connect up. If you decide to go the plug route, be sure and check the gauge that the receptacle will accept, some are restricted and you have to buy an adapter for thicker gauges. I don't think you'd need an additional battery at this point, since you can't run both TMs at the same time.

You need determine the amp draw of that TM, and refer to one of the many online charts to determine wire gauge. I would think that 8AWG would do it on that motor, but you need to confirm that. You'll also need a separate circuit breaker for each TM at the battery. Again, breaker size is dependent on amp draw.

I couldn't ell if your other questions were related to the TM, but I don't think they were. Assuming that you were asking about wiring up various accessories, then no gauge between the battery and fuse block can be "too thick." It may be more than you need, but that never hurts. Again, total amp draw and length of run must be known to determine breaker size (for the lead to the fuse panel) and wire gauges. For the ground side of the devices, install a buss bar next to the fuse panel and run a lead from the battery to that. The 10AWG you have on hand will probably be fine for your devices, and is probably overkill for most, but again, check the charts.

 

[ChitownBasser]

Thanks RivRun. So you're saying I could run my front older TM thru a plug, connect the outlet of my plug back to the battery? Having the appropriate wire AWG, of course. I have the circuit breakers already.

 

[RivRunR]

Thanks RivRun. So you're saying I could run my front older TM thru a plug, connect the outlet of my plug back to the battery? Having the appropriate wire AWG, of course. I have the circuit breakers already.

Unless you don't have a place to mount the receptacle, I don't see why it wouldn't work. I mean, you could run the leads up to terminal posts, then connect the TM leads onto those, but then you've got exposed terminals up front to deal with, which could be a safety issue. So yeah, I'd probably run battery > breaker > receptacle and then just put a plug on the TM side.

Here's a MinnKota Plug, but if you use 6AWG you'd also have to get the 6 gauge adapter. This is just an example of a receptacle/plug, you may be able to find better cheaper elsewhere. I was never too crazy about the plastic threads on that receptacle when I had a plug, but they all might be made that way... so be careful on the install coz they strip out pretty easily.