Trolling Motor on a 300 Marlin

[glacierbaze]

From the THT Great Deals thread:

sandgoboiler
Senior Member

Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: NW Florida
Posts: 221
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Quote:
Originally Posted by itwonder
Minn Kota Riptide Terrova 112 Trolling Motor w/i-Pilot Link Bluetooth - 36V-112lb-87"

SKU: MIN-1363737

It appears that Minn Kota had about 100 of these in stock, down to 80 something as of today, and they have them priced to move. Great prices on these from a number of sellers; two in particular that are mentioned on THT are:

• BOE Marine $2575 plus shipping ( call to check on shipping; they may be able to offer $99 shipping instead of the $199 you may see at checkout)
• DJ's Marine Electronics $2749.50 shipped

The new Riptide Terrova Quest 87 inch will replace this model, but it is currently $2K more. It gets you a brushless motor with 3 lb more thrust, a faster GPS module, integrated heading sensor, a new mount design that is not compatible with earlier Minn Kotas, and few more minor updates. Worth the difference? You can decide.
I bought the new Quest 87 and did a short review, here is the link. It has a picture that shows the new Quest literally twice the size of the original. As I stated in the review, if it proves to have longevity without many problems, it's going to be a good piece of gear.

Quick New Minn Kota Quest Review

 

[Sardinia306Bimini]

I just picked up my boat from having the Minn kota Riptide Terrrova 112 hp 87" shaft today the guy did a great job with the install relative the to the bow rail and extra support to support the weight. Now I have to decide on the batteries and charging unit for my sailfish. It looks great people are telling me that
lithium ion batteries will void warranties on my twin Yamahas? That's scary, so that is where I am on my Grady White I upload pics soon. I am in the Houston area of the Gulf of Mexico.

Congratulations for your Riptide!
Sooner or later I will have a electric motor as well, even if pricy it will save me fuel, wear and nerves when deep dropping all day long.

First, your batteries will not be Lithium Ion, there will be LiFePo (Lithium Iron Phosphate), it's a common misconception with Lithium batteries mostly because people call them Lithium batteries what is basically correct but not detailed enough as several kinds of Lithium batteries exist.

LiFePo batteries spread very quickly in the last years particularly in the RV scene as they have a lot of vantages over lead-acid batteries and other Lithium batteries as Li-Io.
The 3 main advantages are:
1° LiFePo can be run down to about 10% of charge while delivering 12V, lead-acid to about 60%
2° same Ah LiFePo weight about half of a lead-acid
3° much higher charge cycle numbers
This means: a 50Ah LiFePo has half or less size than a 100Ah lead-acid and weight half
That makes LiFePo batteries very useful for installations where weight is a concern (like RV cars or trailers) or in autark solar systems where max rundown time is a issue.

LiFePo batteries need a controller board (the BMS) to control the single cells, protect them from over and undercurrent, equalize the charge between the cells and they can act as a battery charger controller.
Most of modern and quality LiFePo don't need special chargers and can be charged with any vehicles alternator, but not all so it's important to check that before spending big $$$ on the wrong kind.

LiFePo's for trolling motors should not be used for engine purposes and better not for house purposes too, the trolling motor battery banks should feed the trolling motor only to avoid no power situations.

Charging them with the outboard will usually not work enough well if you use the trolling motor for a long time, it may prolong the time of use a bit. Outboard alternators can send 60A, but that not at idle or high idle and you don't want to have your outboard idling the whole day. For this reason I don't see a problem charging them with the charge lead from any outboard, but it's arguable if that will work and make sense, however a rather complicated charging system would be necessary to separate the different battery circuit to avoid draining engine and house batteries.


Most LiFePo users take them either home to charge or charge them when docked and they have shore power.
That will work faster an guarantee that the batteries are fully charged in less time possible.

You should discuss the battery question with the dealer who installed the motor, Minn Kota has a charger for batteries, a lot of other chargers exist too, but you have to choose the charger after you choose the batteries, and that will be a pricy decision.
One 100Ah 12V LiFePo's can cost between 250$ and 1500$ and that sums up quickly.
I personally would not install the cheapest ones, on a boat they may don't last not very long and for boat use designed ones will most likely last much longer but will cost more.

Chris

 

[Fishtales]

Nice install....

 

[Andrewells134]

It's installed already now my electronics guy is telling me that Lion batteries can void warranties so I am looking for lead acid batteries for my twin 225 Yamahas and probably a Minn Kota Charger for the trolling motor.

 

[glacierbaze]

Read post #22 above.