Help: Minn Kota Trolling Motor Question

[bayboy]

I have a Minn Kota PD 55 lb thrust Trolling motor, running off a deep cycle POW-R SURGE 3600 series (battery) no. DC31DT. It has 2 ratings: it has a CCA rating 31DC225; and it has a CA rating of 810.

 

Does any one know how long I should be able to run at 1/2 power? On the top of the motor there is a chart indicating 6 hours, but they do not say what size battery, just 12V. Does anyone know what the power draw would be at 50% speed.

 

I usually troll on #4, 5 or 6 and do most of the steering with the big motor. I also usually run with the wind, keeping a speed of 1 to two mph.

 

I get 4 hours maximum. Some people have said they get 9 hours, with this combination on a bigger boat. (I have a 17 ' Starcraft with a 90HP Mercury motor.)

 

I used to run all weekend on a 36 lb thrust Minn Kota, with my old 16' Springbok runabout.

 

(This current Minn Kota motor has been back to the shop repeatedly for power board replacement; co-pilot replacements X 2; electrical contact repairs; I even bought a bigger battery. It was installed by "professionals."....!!!)

 

Thanks in advance for your feedback. bayboy

[Mike the Pike]

Thats what I would have said 4 to five hours .

 

I can get about 9 hours out of my minnkota 55lbs of thrust(on a 16 foot Lund Classic) I troll with a Honda 2hp in the rear my bow mount on just enough to keep the boat straight at all times such a wonderful combination when trolling in 2 foot chop the boat stays on course.

 

I would try the new optima batteries the blue ones which look like a 6 pack of cans of pop.My cousin runs these new batteries on his 17 foot boat he swears they last much longer.When I will need another batterie I will give these a try for now I have 2 good batteries.

 

MTP

[smally21]

ive been watching some of these trolling motor threads - i run an 80lb minn kota at 24v and im not kidding you, ill fish for a week without charging them. absolutely unbelievable! not sure why but this is the performance i get. ill check on the actual battery manufacture but they are charged thru a minn kota on board charger.

[scugpg]

I run 2 D34M Optimas on my boat which are wired in series for my MinnKota PD70 motor. Also use the batteries to run the fishfinder and livewell. They are the smaller Optimas @ 43lbs each

 

I usually fish for about 4hrs on average trolling and working the shoreline and I've never gone under 3 bars on the battery meter on the motor. When I troll I'm usually between 2 and 5 on the pedal/remote.

 

Keep in mind that using a 24V motor you use 1/2 the Amps so it will last much longer! I would expect with a 31series and your 55pd with maximizer it would last longer though.

 

Thats a big boat for a 55lb. Try putting the big motor up it'll create alot of drag.

 

Another Edit: Are you sure you have maximizer on your motor? I haven't seen a Powerdrive with a battery chart on it before. Is it a V1?

Edited August 16, 2009 by scugog

[Fish4Eyes]

Thats what I would have said 4 to five hours .

 

I can get about 9 hours out of my minnkota 55lbs of thrust(on a 16 foot Lund Classic) I troll with a Honda 2hp in the rear my bow mount on just enough to keep the boat straight at all times such a wonderful combination when trolling in 2 foot chop the boat stays on course.

 

I would try the new optima batteries the blue ones which look like a 6 pack of cans of pop.My cousin runs these new batteries on his 17 foot boat he swears they last much longer.When I will need another batterie I will give these a try for now I have 2 good batteries.

 

MTP

 

For a 220+$ battery they sure as hell better last longer

[aniceguy]

I have a pd2 70 and I ll get an entire day without any issue and for at least 1/2 a day Im running it at 8 or so

[scugpg]

bayboy a few questions:

 

1. does it have the "maximizer" technology?

2. How big of wiring are you using on your setup?

 

Power draw at half speed should be around 20-25A I would think. Keep in mind the "maximizer" technology will bring this number down as it cycles on/off very fast to save power (at less than 80% speed)

[bayboy]

Thanks every one for your input and ideas. Sorry to be so long in posting again. I did not want to discourage the flow of additional posts. I will try the new optima batteries, when it is time to replace the battery. I don't know if we have a V1 or not. We have the maximizer technology, I don't know the size of the wiring, but it is the wiring that came with the Minn Kota motor. I have run it with the big motor up, but you use a lot of power just steering, so it works out to be the same running time. I run on number 6 in order to run 1.3 mph. From the performance I got from my 36lb thrust with at 16' boat, I expected much better, from this boat/motor combination. My frustration is that, I didn't know if I had a problem or not, because I still hear that people get a day's fishing out of it (9 hours). Why wouldn't Minn Kota design the motor to get at least that?? These things aren't cheap..

bayboy

Edited August 20, 2009 by bayboy

[scugpg]

If you're running that motor 60% speed you're probably drawing around 25A. The maximizer is less effective the faster you go up to setting 10.

 

Your battery is probably 100ah (amp-hours) or so maybe 4hrs is all you can get. You could add another battery in parallel and get twice the time out of it.

 

You should really be running a 24V setup for that though, that motor has to work real hard to move that boat. I have a 70pd on a 14ft aluminum and can do 1.3mph on setting 3

[The Urban Fisherman]

I've got a 55 minn kota maxxum pro on my 15' jon boat / 20 hp 4 stroke yamaha and can run my electric motor with 2 graphs for 15 hours or more.

[bayboy]

Great feedback, thanks.

 

Just called the battery company. They told me that the 3600 series battery that I have, will run 225 minutes at 25 amps. I guess that's that, unless any one knows how to check if the maximizer circuit is working.

 

Would the shape of the prop be affecting the run time? This is a weedless one. My previous motor (36) just had the normal prop shape. Has anyone tried a non-weedless prop? This could be interesting. Looks like I am out more $$ for another battery.... bayboy