Minn Kota Terrova help

Last week we picked up a new(to us) 18’ Crestliner and now I have a new Minn Kota Terrova 24v 80/60 with ipilot trolling motor to mount on it this weekend…So my question is, what brand of batteries do you guys like for your trolling motors and and where are you finding the 6 gauge wire to hook them up? Thanks.

I am using two Canadian Tire AGM Group 27 batteries for the trolling motor.

#6 wire from The Rigging Shoppe in Scarborough.

I use 2 3200 series batteries that I got from local battery store. I used to go to CTS for batteries until they didn't come good on there warranty. Now I go to the specialty store that only sell batteries and the price is pretty much the same. For the wire I'd think you should be able to get that at any electrical outlet. I also have a 2 bank charger mounted so it is easy to charge, I should have gone with a 3 bank and added my main battery. My batteries are mounted at the front of my boat and the charger at the back, which is good for me all around. Batteries at front adds the weight up front and the charger at back is close to my garage outlet so no long cables and I use a good quality extension cord at is for a block heater,

I use lifePo4 lithium battery, 100ah, my powerdrive is 12V. I use 20ah max on one trip, so I only charge it every 2-3 trips. they are much lighter compared to lead acid and can discharge to 80%.

Sorry, haven't figured out how to upload 2 pictures yet.

I use 2 lifePo4 lithium battery, 100ah, and got the batteries and wire on Amazon. Lithium is the way to go....half the weight......charge lasts twice as long and they charge twice as fast. Get a NOCO 2 or three bank charger with them....That charger will do Lithium, Gel and Lead acid and has a repair setting as well.

You will need two 12 volt batteries hooked up in series to create the needed 24 volts.

https://www.lakesimcoeoutdoors.com/forums/i...=post&id=440194


Arnie

X2 on Lithium batteries, if you can afford them.

Definitely will consider Lithium next time I need to replace

Weight decrease would be significant but cost is greater

Would also need a new onboard charger.

If I could afford lithium I would go that way. Personally it’s been 7 years on my current BPS group 27 batteries. The charger has a massive amount to do with how long you battery will last as far as longevity not running time.
I ran 4 gauge marine wire for mine as I had to run close to 20’ of cable from my batteries to my trolling motor.
Voltage loss over distance is the biggest issue. If your batteries are at the front of your boat and so is your trolling motor you won’t even need 6 gauge.
Here is a calculator for distance vs wire gauge and voltage/amp drop.
https://www.calculator.net/voltage-drop-cal...&y=22&ctype=nec

I use three size 31 batteries from Canadian Tire: These ones - https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/motomast...y-0103190p.html

They are $400 each. But at the time of purchase of my trolling motor batteries (3+ years ago), lithium batteries in the 100mAh range were $1200+.

I use two lithium 100mah batteries for my main electronics now and I purchased those for $900 each.

I belive the same lithium batteries are $700-$800 now. Considering you get about 500-600 charges out of AGM lead-acid batteries and only half the mah because the voltage drops too much at half power, and 3000 cycles+ on lithium and almost a full 100mah before it shuts down, lithium is the way to go.

BTW, these are the batteries I purchased for my main electronics. When my trolling motor AGM batteries get bad, I'll be getting 3 of these for the trolling motor: https://royalbatterysales.com/catalogue/12-...-battery-wpl31/ If I'm out on the water for 10 hours, I only use 25% of the total 200mah of these lithium batteries. And that's with the stereo pumping hard with two JL M6 10 subwoofers and three fish finders. I have a Victron shunt, so I know the exact power I use: https://www.victronenergy.com/battery-monit...t-battery-shunt. Just amazing.


The guy at Royal Battery is awesome. His store is in Toronto, but he lives north of Barrie, if I remember correctly. He brought the batteries home and I picked them up from him personally to save the trip down to Toronto.

I looked at replacing my batteries with lithium, but can't justify the cost. Was going to be 2200 to replace my 2 batteries.

batteries are always a good discussion........As with others i have been switching to the lithium

or i should say Lifepo4 batteries for the last 3 years and i do like them.

there is a difference between a lithium and lifepo4 battery if i am correct

i have also noticed that my lifepo4 60 will shut down when it hits around 11.5 volts it does not go down to zero and this is to protect the battery

i googled a ton of information on these and you can get a headache with all the info about voltage, ah, drawdown, charging etc read the info carefully to ensure you get what you want/need as thy are not cheap. but as mentioned,
I would not go back to regular batteries

lead-acid (regular batteries) for starter. Lithium batteries for electronics.

Few reasons for this.

Lithium batteries will have a safety that will cut the power if the starter draws too much power. This is because lithium batteries that are overloaded can explode. Therefore, lithium batteries have something called a BMS (battery monitoring system) that monitors your battery's health. It's just simply a small electronics board that watches the lithium's voltage, current, output, and charging status. Depending on your lithium battery and the size of your starter/motor, you may not be able to use lithium to start your motor. They can put out 100A each, so my starter was trying to draw 200A+

For example, my two lithium batteries in parallel could not start my 250HP. Second reason, lead-acid batteries are dependable. tried, tested, and true.

Normal "lithium batteries" are LiPo. Lithium Polymer.

LiFePo4 is still lithium, but are a different chemical composition. LiFePo4 are considered much more safe than Lithium Polymer (what most people refer to as "lithium")

I have 7 batteries on my boat.


- 2 AGM Nautilus 27 Size batteries in PARALLEL (12v) for my starter and bilge pump ONLY
- 2 lithium batteries 100mah in PARALLEL (12v) each for my main electronics (fishfinder, stereo, everything that isn't a trolling motor or my starter/bilge pump)
- 3 AGM Nautilus 31 size batteries in SERIES (36v) for my 36V 112lbs trolling motor.

When my trolling motor batteries die, they will be replaced with the same lithium batteries I use for my electronics. They have been A+++. I will always keep lead-acid AGM batteries for my starter.

Good accurate report....and a good future plan for the trolling motor batteries.

Atnie

yep, good breakdown on the different batteries and capabilities

starting batts are still regular lead acid for me as well......


I was referring to the bow mount and electronics only........also it shoud be noted to install a quality fuse witt the bow mount