Trolling Motor upgrade?

[drjochum73]

I have a 2010 Nitro X-5 with a 12V 54lbs thrust trolling motor. It seems to ware down quickly in tournaments and I have thought about upgrading. Several of my fishing buddies tell me to stay with a cable system because of responsiveness and just upgrade to 24V. I kinda agree but am curious about changing to Minn Kota instead of Motor Guide. Does any one have experience with both and which do you like.? Any information is welcomed.

Dan

[Moveon]

I have a 2010 Nitro X-5 with a 12V 54lbs thrust trolling motor. It seems to ware down quickly in tournaments and I have thought about upgrading. Several of my fishing buddies tell me to stay with a cable system because of responsiveness and just upgrade to 24V. I kinda agree but am curious about changing to Minn Kota instead of Motor Guide. Does any one have experience with both and which do you like.? Any information is welcomed.

Dan

For what it's worth I started out with a Motor Guide HAWG on my aluminum bass boat in 1978 and didn't have to replace it until around 2003. I replace it with a Minn Kota All Terrain 50.

Both were good trolling motors for their time. The newer trolling motor has more power and I had to add a 50 amp circuit breaker to my boat. I wish that the wires were bigger too. I need some 6 gage wires for the 16 ft run of wires from the back of the boat to the front of the boat. Larger wires carry more current with less voltage drop.

[Legato]

Maybe IT doesnt wear down....maybe its your battery? If its working good for a while and then slows, sounds like it is losing power.

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[drjochum73]

Yeah I know it is my battery wearing down that is why I was going to upgrade to a 24 V motor. I tend to stay on the pedal while fishing open water at Kentucky Lake. The 12 v just doesn't have the juice to last all day. I was curious about brands though. I have always owned a Motor Guide and thought about switching but did not know if people liked minn Kota better. Just some feed back.

[Embrey]

if youre just concerned with how long it lasts and not the power,just put 2 batteries on it instead of one. youll have to get 2 anyway for a 24, so try it. i never could run mine down and i fished for 12 hrs plus

[drjochum73]

I agree. I think I will just add another battery. Save my money for other items down the road. Appreciate everyone's thoughts.

Dan

[Moveon]

If you have the money then think about the Optima Batteries.

The Optima Blue Tops last longer and withstand the vibrations better than ordinary lead acid batteries on the market.

Optimas take a charge faster because of their new design. They stay charged longer than regular batteries. They will maintain a full charge for a year.

I would run my Optima all day long using my AT 50 Minn Kota on my bass boat while fishing all day long on a trolling motor only lake. I would easily put 8 hours on this trolling motor Optima Blue top battery. I'd charge it when I got home and it would take about 4 to 6 hours to charge back up to full capacity using my Minn Kota Battery Charger. My Sears battery charger starts charging at ten amps/hr and it took about the same time to get a good charge on the optima. I'm not sure how many amps/hr the Minn Kota Battery Charger puts out. But the Optima will take a charge fast. If you are fishing a tournament and want to make sure that your battery will last all day long and will take a charge faster at the end of the day get the Optiam Blue tops.

I have a Optima Blue tops that I use to start the motor on my bass boat and it's going on 8 years old this year. I purchased it in 2003. I actually bought two different Optima Blue tops in 2003. One for the trolling motor and one for the boat motor. I replaced the one for the trolling motor this spring. I bought a new Optima that's bigger than the old one. This one is a blue top also. Blue tops are for marine enviroments.

Optimas cost more around 200 bucks each but they last twice as long as the cheaper batteries. I like the dependability they give to me while I am out on the water.

I plan to buy a new Optima Blue top for my main motor when the old one stops working or won't take a full charge. So for it's still working fine. But I suspect that it will die eventually .

The key to keeping a battery for a long time is to make sure that you fully charge is back up as soon as you get done fishing that day. Charge it up and keep it in a fully charged condidtion as soon as possible and it will last a lot longer.

I agree. I think I will just add another battery. Save my money for other items down the road. Appreciate everyone's thoughts.

Dan

[SteveM4A1]

if you do go and get a new trolling motor, stick with what works well for you. we had a motor guide 84lbs and it was loud as hell and we just didnt like it. we switched to minn kota and it is nice and quiet for us, but that is just our preference. we liked the minn kota better, but if you liked your motor guide then stick with it.

[drjochum73]

Appreciate the info. I def will check out the battery you mentioned. And, I prob will stay with motor guide since it has worked well for me. Thanks again for the advise.