24v or 36v Minn Kota

Callem'In · Apr 18, 2017

I am in the market for a new bow mount. My boat is an Alumacraft Edge 185. The boat comes pre rigged for a 24 volt, but I am thinking of installing a 36 volt ulterra. There is room for a 3rd battery. The reps at alumacraft that I have asked said a 24v will be plenty. They all recommended a 72" shaft. Thoughts?

Duckslayer100 · Apr 18, 2017

Three freaking batteries for one trolling motor? Can you ski behind that sucker at full tilt?

eyexer · Apr 18, 2017

24V/36V has nothing to do with the power of the trolling motor. Both would pull that boat around perfectly fine. What you gain with a 36V is lots more time on a charge. Which means on windy days and you have to run your motor on a really high setting, a 24V will suck dry in a hurry. I had a 24V system and one day one a full charge was max. When I switched to 36V I can run all weekend on a single charge. So if you can afford the price difference and can house a third battery it's a no brainer. and yes 72" is what you want.

Sub_Elect · Apr 18, 2017

My dad just went from a 24 to a 36. It is definitely nice to have the extra juice but I don't think its totally necessary. That being said, I have never heard anyone complain about having too much trolling motor.

Auggie · Apr 18, 2017

Never in the history of man has someone wished they did not have more power. I had an 18ft Warrior with 24volt. It worked great most days, but there was the occasional day where I had to ration the trolling motor juice. I'm in a 20ft Yar now and have a 36volt. Every now and then I get a little worried about my juice and will use the kicker to help supplement the bowmount.

Captainbrad · Apr 18, 2017

I spoke to a Minn Kota rep about this question for using spot lock in the river. He told me the 24 volt would get the job done without issue on my boat. Now to find out if he was right.

(I would have gone 36 volt in a second except I had no place for the extra battery so that was my deal breaker.)

Jigaman · Apr 18, 2017

I have a 24v on my 1850 Tyee and have never wished I had more power. I think you would be fine with 24v.

johnr · Apr 18, 2017

I use the 36 on mine. It will last all day in the worst of conditions. With the on bank charging system it is still just one plug in regardless if 2 or 3 batteries.
I would go with the 36, and not worry about running low on a windy day, or the hard to limit day where you are out for 10+ hours.

Ponyroper · Apr 18, 2017

If you use autopilot in a strong wind even a 24v setup will suck down in 4-6 hours, especially if you need to run the motor at a high speed. I think the autopilot uses a lot of juice when it's windy as it is constantly adjusting your direction. If you can get by without autopilot you can almost double your time.

DirtyMike · Apr 18, 2017

I think the real question of 24 or 36 needs to be asked when you have to replace all the batteries in your boat.

RustyTackleBox · Apr 18, 2017

I use up all the juice in mine all the time in 1 day and I have 2 brand new duracell ultra agm batteries 205 amp hours each... If I had the room for a 3rd I would be all over the 36v system... the extra power is there because you are getting the 112lb thrust but that also means you would most of the time run 10-30% power instead of most guys running 30-60% so you will gain extra reserve capacity with the 3rd battery plus you will drink less juice by not having to bump the power up as far... IMO if you can fit it get it

johnr · Apr 18, 2017

RustyTackleBox said:
I use up all the juice in mine all the time in 1 day and I have 2 brand new duracell ultra agm batteries 205 amp hours each... If I had the room for a 3rd I would be all over the 36v system... the extra power is there because you are getting the 112lb thrust but that also means you would most of the time run 10-30% power instead of most guys running 30-60% so you will gain extra reserve capacity with the 3rd battery plus you will drink less juice by not having to bump the power up as far... IMO if you can fit it get it

Rusty is spot on right with this post..

JayKay · Apr 18, 2017

Sub_Elect said:
My dad just went from a 24 to a 36. It is definitely nice to have the extra juice but I don't think its totally necessary. That being said, I have never heard anyone complain about having too much trolling motor.

True dat. Pounds of thrust is power, volts is length of use. 12 volts will run 101 pounds of thrust, but very briefly.

SDMF · Apr 18, 2017

I cannot see a situation where 36V/72" is a wrong decision on everything bigger than a duck boat.

guywhofishes · Apr 18, 2017

yep - most amp/hours wins

Callem'In · Apr 18, 2017

36 volt it is. Thanks for the input.

raider · Apr 18, 2017

guess i'm gonna go against the grain on this 1... if i would only use it 5 to 10% of the time, and had other ways to fish when i did run out of juice, i'd prolly put the extra 5 to $700 or so into other things... also, 2 premium batteries just might out perform 3 lower end ones, and save you the cost of upgrading the motor and charger...

i'd never pay what i'd have to for a boat i could use 100% of the time either... kinda the same thing here i think... just another perspective...

good luck...

24v or 36v Minn Kota

Callem'In

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eyexer

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Auggie

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Captainbrad

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Jigaman

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