Trolling Motors and Batteries

[astrorails]

I have two trolling motors, one is a regular style located on the stern, and the other is a Minn Kota Auto Pilot mounted on the bow. The motor on the bow has it's own battery,and the one on the stern is has been connected to the starting battery.

Do these motors need to have some sort of fuse or is there one in the 'case'? If they do need fuses, what size and where in the wiring should they go?

Also, is it wise to have a trolling motor connected to the starting battery? I don't think the starter for the gas engine is very large, as it is only 25hp. I charge the batteries before any expected trip, so I start out with a fresh charge...

I have thought about hooking it up to the other battery, but that one is in the front of the boat. I am guessing that I would need some pretty heavy gauge cable for a 16' run.

Whoever had the boat before had a FIFO (Forget It & Fish On) attitude towards electrical, but I am trying to get it whipped into shape!

Thanks!

Peter

 

[nlester]

Minn Kota recommends that you use a fuse or a circuit breaker with your trolling motors. You can check out the Minn Kota website to determing the size circuit breaker that is needed for your sized motor. The breaker probably needs to be in the range of 30 to 60 amps with 40 amps being the most common. A lot of people buy a circuit breaker from the auto parts store that automatically reset. In Texas , some boats are required to have circuit breakers where you have to push a button to reset the circuit breaker. This allows you to check for problems without taking a chance that the motor will restart automatically while you are working on it. You can get circuit breakers where they handle boat parts or on the Internet. The most common circuit breaker used by boat manufaturers has a teminal on one end that attaches to a battery and a post on the other end that you use to fasten a wire to the breaker. If you don't mind changing fuses, you can use an inline fuse holder. Wither you use a fuse or a ciruit breaker, you should cut your positive wire and put the breaker/fuse inline, as close to the battery as possible.

Here is one example:
https://www.iboats.com/DC-Marine-Circuit-Breakers/dm/view_id.446099

I fried my first trolling motor when it got turned on accidently and the prop was in a bind. It was an old motor and I had used it for 3 years with no problems. If you want to do a search, a few months ago, there was a very opinionated post on this subject.

 

[krawler]

This is all you need.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Attwood-50-Amp-Circuit-Breaker/16401755

 

[nlester]

This is my favorite one. It connects directly to the battery terminal, it is easy to install and because you have to push a button to reset it, you are in control.

https://www.iboats.com/24-Volt-Marine-Circuit-Breaker-with-Manual-Reset-50Amp-Rig-Rite/dm/cart_id.668194460--session_id.923042909--view_id.197184

 

[astrorails]

Well those look pretty darn easy to deal with. For some reason I picturing something more like the circuit breaker in the panel for the house.

In keeping with the trolling motor theme here, the boat came with the rear trolling motor wired up to the starting battery, just how bad an idea is that? I use the bow mount motor a lot more, but that is partly out of concern over draining the starting battery.

What gauge wire would I need to hook the stern motor up to the other battery at the front of the boat? It'd probably be a bout a 15' run or so with bends and what not.

Thanks!

Peter

 

[user 7806]

I only have one battery and have never had an issue of using up the battery even when fishing all day using the TM. I have a 20 hp and it is easy to pull start if needed so I figure it's not a big deal.

In short you should be okay running the ream TM off the starting battery.

 

[Rippen Lips]

I use #8 AWG wire on my TM. As far as using the cranking battery theoretically you should have your TM on a separate battery. I have a 25HP Suzuki with electric start on my 1542 and use one battery for cranking and trolling. It is quite easy to pull start if I ever run my battery down, which I have not.