North Australian FISH FINDER forums

Here are some results that I got off the net for current draw from a Minn Kota 55Lb Terrova. These results are pretty consistent with all other test results that I have seen.

Motor Speed......Current Draw (Amps)
1...................... 0.9
2...................... 1.5
3...................... 3.2
4...................... 5.2
5...................... 8.4
6......................12.7
7......................17.5
8......................23.5
9......................30.2
10....................36.5

You can see from this that the higher power settings will drastically chew the charge from your battery. I have also heard these amazing tales of peoples batteries lasting two to three days and would possibly add that they would have their electric motor batteries connected to the main engine charging system.

Also, running a deep cycle below 50% will not adversely affect the overall capacity of a good quality battery....boiling the battery dry will definitely kill any battery no matter how good it is

cheers

Cheers Swoffa that is bl..dy brilliant info.

I have my battery hooked up to my engine via a Redarc BCDC25 charger. Trouble is lately I haven't been running the engine at all just flogging the electric. When I get home I re-charge the battery on a 200W solar panel that maintains it at 100% (multi-stage charging) until next trip.

When I go camping at billabongs I've got 2 days out of the electric, but in hindsight I'm barely using it just putting around slowly flicking the banks and rarely trolling or going flat out.

And if you get another battery get one exactly the same. If you have two different batteries of different amp hrs they react to each other. In a solar power set up you need all batteries to be the same otherwise they charge differently and then average out. Get another 100ahr deep cycle, that way you can hook them in series however deep cycles dont like being drained lower than 80%, you will shorten their life considerably if you keep sending them flat. Here's some good info on deep cycle batteries from the experts. http://www.batteryworld.com.au/articles ... -batteries

Cheers. There is no chance of keeping the battery above 80% charge at all times though. Seems a bit pointless.

I wonder what type of batteries these new smart cars etc are using as they seem to be able to handle constant low draining for years. Maybe there is something better on the market for electic motors than the typical AGM Deep Cycles we are all running?

From the experts: (Wikipedia) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_cycle_battery

A deep-cycle battery is designed to discharge between 50% and 80% of its capacity, depending on the manufacturer and the construction of the battery. Although these batteries can be cycled down to a 20% charge, the best lifespan vs cost method is to keep the average cycle at about 50% discharge.[1] There is a direct correlation between the depth of discharge of the battery, and the number of charge and discharge cycles it can perform.

Yes I agree that a battery will last longer if it is only used to 20% of its capacity but if that was the case we would all need 1000AH batteries weighing a half ton to drive our electric motors.

As stated previuosly, there is no problem with discharging a Deep Cycle battery below 50% and possibly even as low as 20%.... This is what they are designed for. The main point is to not let them drop below 20% of their capacity (definitely not below 10%) and recharge them at the earliest possible time....not leave it until just before the next outing.

Cheers

Warren

Great info.

I have been having trouble with my electric this explains a lot

Cheers

Real good info on the 55lb motor there, SWOFFA.

80lb thrust go from min 5 amps to max thrust 56 amps but that's at 24v. If it was on a 12v system the current would be doubled.

What saves trolling motor batteries is the throttle control electronics where the current is pulsed to the motor. The harder the pedal, the wider the pulse widths. The lighter the pedal the narrower the pulse widths. Minn Kota call their system "digital maximiser". Other brands have other names.

Here's a bit about batteries done up for a fishing club to explain things in simple words. It comes out with a chapter a month in a member newsletter.

U might find something useful in it.

re Maxpower's question about what else might be on the market.

Proper Gel-Cell deep cycle batteries are more tolerant than AGM or flooded batteries to deeper discharge cycles. That might be a place to look.

I easily get 3 days out of my battery, 55lb ipilot, 150amp gel battery. I don't use it over 8 and mostly just cruise along at 2 or less flicking lures. Type and size of the charger can make a difference as well

sheps wrote:I easily get 3 days out of my battery, 55lb ipilot, 150amp gel battery. I don't use it over 8 and mostly just cruise along at 2 or less flicking lures. Type and size of the charger can make a difference as well

I get three days easily as well, I have the 80lb ipilot running 2 x 120agm Batt. I have no worries fishing bynoe harbour over three days without running dry, I would use it all day, however I don't troll with it. I mainly use it going between snake drain/rockbar (@ speed 10) and use my spot lock in-between. The two batt are completely independent from my motor and crack batt. I spent the money on a good 24volt charger, maybe that protects my batteries more, im not sure!!!

What about the size and quality of your power cables, would that make differnce?

http://www.energymatters.com.au/ctek-ba ... p-214.html

I run 2 x fiamm 12 fft 100 agm solar batterys , hooked to the minkota via ando plus, and have the same on my battery charger ( home base ) 6/12/24 volt smart charger from cooldrive. i used it for the whole week at the nats and didnt have to charge it at all, as this was my first trip with the 24 v minkota and was a bit concerned just how long it would last ? after pulling out on last day i cheked the batts via the gauge on the minkota and it had 2 bars left, i was rapped with that, a few i spoke to who have minkotas reconed dont worry about the charge sytem stuff via outboard with the vrs things as you wont need it, charge at home will be all you need !! and they were right, mind you 24v min are apparently more freindly on your batterys than 12 volt jobs... the batterys are heavy tho 41 kgs each !!!

I use the battery volts on my sounder to see how the battery is going. I run an agm 80 ah and after about 4 hours it's down around 11.8 volts while under load. I never run it lower than 11.5 volts. Have to charge it every night if I use it again the next day.

Sounds like a battery problem as my last battery went the same way

Hi Wally

Am interested in the FIAMM batteries that you've got. Italian?

Any more details?

I,ll chek, you can chek em out on the net, they are blue in colour with female threaded flat posts

Blue batteries!

I've seen them in use on remote radio-communications sites in Qld Wally

I think they're basically hi-capacity telecommunications batteries.

If so the AH will be measured at the 10hr rate.

To convert to English AHrs the rate has to be measured at 20hr rate (less discharge current).

So those batteries will be considerably more than 100 AH when measured at the proper rate.

Where on earth did you come across those?