# 12 volt vs 24 volt trolling motor



## Matt16 (Feb 21, 2018)

I'm buying a 1650 welded jon boat and was wondering if a 12 volt 55 pound trust trolling motor would be ok or do I need to step up to a 24volt 80 pound trust trolling motor? I fish electric lakes to a river?

Thanks for your help


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## Scott F (Feb 21, 2018)

In a river with any kind of current, the 55lb thrust won't move you against the current. In flat water it will get you around. If you can afford the bigger motor and have room for the extra battery, get the bigger motor. Nobody ever was sorry they had too much trolling motor power. The extra battery will also give you longer run times.


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## eshaw (Feb 22, 2018)

I've got a 1650 flat bottom and it has a 24v 75# Motorguide on it and it does great. I sure wouldn't go with anything less.


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## bcbouy (Feb 24, 2018)

i am led to believe that a 24v trolling motor will actually use up less amp hrs. in low speed settings than a 12 v motor.if you do lots of weekend trips a 24 is the way to go.


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## Butthead (Mar 6, 2018)

I've noticed this as well. On my old Tracker 1436, with the same two 12v batteries, I noticed a marked improvement on runtime with the 24v 80lb Minn Kota over the 12v 50lb Minn Kota. They were used as main propulsion, so pretty much run at 80-100% for most of the time. After a day of use, I would typically be at a lower charge with the 50 than the 80lb. Since lead acid batteries are sensitive to amperage loads, my hypothesis was that the higher amp draw of the 50 was harder on the batteries, even though the overall wattage pulled was lower. It could also be that the 80 had the digital maximizer, which turns the power on and off very rapidly, versus the Endura that pulled the same power, no matter the speed.
But even on my buddies 21' Ranger bass boat, his 20 year old 24v 82lb motor will easily outlast the 12v 45lb motor on my flat bottom 1648.


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## loaded44 (Mar 28, 2018)

A 12v 55lb thrust serves me well in rivers with current and overgrown marshes in South Louisiana. I have an Alweld 1548 aluminum. 
Of course, 24v and more power never hurt a guy...
I always figured if I could get away with only having to carry and maintain one battery, I would. No problems, here. 



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## jtf (Apr 1, 2018)

Sold an 18ft+ fiberglass C-Hawk with 24 volt, it got more hours with less power compared to the 12 volt.
Could run it three fishing days on the Pamlico Sound without re-charge.

Have a 24 volt 1648 jet jon now with 80lb/24 volt. It's got a stop in place mode too. If you are in wind/big water/current perhaps consider a 24 volt. They conserve battery charge.

Learning to use hand control is another consideration for an oldster like myself.


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## PsychoXP18CC (Apr 8, 2018)

TM's are like outboards in the aspect that nobody ever wished they'd gotten a smaller one. I have a 24v 70lb on my 1860 and it hauls butt in calm water. It will fight against a decent current too. And it'll perform just fine in a higher wind than I want to fish.


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## PsychoXP18CC (Apr 8, 2018)

As for the whole amp/hr thing, an electric motor is an electric motor, and Ohm's law applies universally. Let's throw some *arbitrary* numbers out there just for the purpose of discussion.

Say you have a 1hp motor that draws 10amps at 12v, and you run it on a 100 amp/hr battery. It will last 10hrs. 

Now lets take a 1hp motor on 24v, all other things being equal it will draw 5 amps (double the voltage and the amp draw cuts in half). Now we need 2-12v batt's in series to make 24v, right? Run that 1hp motor on 2-12v 100amp/hr batt's wired in series to make 24v, and yes you get twice the run time on a charge (20hrs).

Put 2-100amp/hr batt's on that 12v wired parallel and there is literally no difference. 200 amp/hrs with a 10amp load and you get 20hrs run time. 

Now double the size of that motor to 2hp, at 12v the amp draw would be 20amps, and at 24v it would be 10amps. Same law applies when calculating amp/hrs vs run-time. 

The reason why the manufacturers step up the voltage is to keep amp draw down, resulting in a smaller required wire size, and smaller circuit protection. It simply keeps things in a more workable window for end use. 

All other things being equal, there is no performance advantage of a 24v 1hp motor over a 12v 1hp motor.

Now let's look at real world application. If using a 55lb tm, and you run it in high speed all the time you are using its max rated current. Upgrade to an 80lb motor, which is roughly 1.5x the thrust, and you can most often get away with running it at less than high speed. This is where the extended run time would come from. Of course, that's with all other things being equal.


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## Zum (Apr 14, 2018)

Like others have said depends on type water and duration you want to fish.
I had an old 50 powerdrive and now a 55 lbs traxxis, both 12V and both were fine for me and my style.
I charge after every use , seldom troll (unless I need a break or snack), I do fish some rivers but mostly flat water....average 5-6 hours...can go more but sometimes life gets in the way.Its on a 1652 crestliner...I don't fish to fast but do steadily move ...only opening it up to move to a close spot or weeds.
For me weeds would be my only reason to want a bigger TM... have to say they can be a pain. For real thick weeds I use a push pole if I can, doesn't tear them up as much and probably quieter.

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