Trolling motor issues...Kipowa 3 blade trolling motor prop- UPDATE

[megalomaniac]

I'm still struggling with my Minn Kota Riptide SP ipilot 55lb with giving me enough thrust. I have torn the thing apart, replaced seals and TM pin, and even checked the pulse width modulation with an oscilloscope which indicate its running perfectly electronically with a full 12v delivered to the motor. Armature and everything in the lower unit looks fine. Still only pulling 2.1mph on full speed on my boat, which weighs only est 600lbs fully loaded. That's fine if I'm fishing with no tide, but when the current is ripping in the bayous, I prefer to fish into the tide for a more natural bait presentation.upon retrieve. In a ripping tide, I'm lucky to pull 0.5mph against it. If there were an impedence issue in the wiring between the battery and the motor, id expect to trip the fuse breaker or get some seriously heated wires which isn't happening....

So im now starting to think, this is all I'm gonna get out of it. Simple enough, go 24v and use 80lb motor... BUT I can't afford the weight of a 3rd battery, nor can I afford to switch to 2 lithium batteries to save weight. I suppose I could wire the cranking battery and trolling motor battery in series to get 24 volts, but I don't like the idea of not having a dedicated cranking battery as my motor is an electric start.

Doing some research, there are some opinions out there that going to the Kipowa 3 blade TM prop may give extra water displacement over my current weedless wedge 2 prop. Other reports say no, and may increase amperage draw reducing battery time. Any if you guys switch from a weedless wedge 2 to a kipowa 3 blade? Results? Any other suggestions for my TM other than take it to a certified Minn Kota mechanic?

 

[TN Larry]

My opinion is that's all you're gonna get out of a 55lb 12v trolling motor. If you're fishing in current, I would think an 80lb 24v would be more suited. You could still run two batteries and carry a lithium booster to boost the motor if both batteries went dead although my preference would be to carry three batteries.

 

[Pilchard]

Whatever you do please don't use your cranking battery for your trolling motor.

I think you'll be surprised that the extra weight of a second battery will have little impact in your hull's performance. I had a 24 volt on a few small polling skiffs and never gave it a second thought.

 

[WTM]

thats all your going to get out of a 12/55 in current.
a three blade wont help much with speed and draw 20% more current.

 

[megalomaniac]

Thanks all, even though it's not what I wanted to hear

 

[scn]

As much use as I think you are going to get out of your boat, I think you will be much happier with a 24V/80#thrust Minn Kota Terrova with the I-Pilot. I would power it with this: https://dakotalithium.com/product/d...rolling-motor-solar-energy-rv-single-battery/

If the boat has a forward hatch, I'd mount the battery in that hatch and have only a short connecting cord. It only weighs 32#, so you are getting a wt savings. It is on sale right now, so with its small footprint and light wt, you could wire two of the 24 volts together and never worry about running out of power.

The next time I have to replace batteries, I am pretty sure that is the direction I am going. They are so much lighter in weight. They last several times longer than conventional batteries, so the long term cost difference isn't as bad as it seems.

Buy once/cry once.

 

[Spurhunter]

As much use as I think you are going to get out of your boat, I think you will be much happier with a 24V/80#thrust Minn Kota Terrova with the I-Pilot. I would power it with this: https://dakotalithium.com/product/d...rolling-motor-solar-energy-rv-single-battery/

If the boat has a forward hatch, I'd mount the battery in that hatch and have only a short connecting cord. It only weighs 32#, so you are getting a wt savings. It is on sale right now, so with its small footprint and light wt, you could wire two of the 24 volts together and never worry about running out of power.

The next time I have to replace batteries, I am pretty sure that is the direction I am going. They are so much lighter in weight. They last several times longer than conventional batteries, so the long term cost difference isn't as bad as it seems.

Buy once/cry once.

I bit the bullet and went with Dakota Lithium for my trolling motor a year ago for a couple reasons. #1 was size. My gas tank takes up a lot of room and when one of my lead acid trolling batteries went dead I had to remove the tank to get the battery out. I can easily remove the DL batteries for the winter without removing anything. #2 was weight. I dropped 100 pounds going from 2 lead acid batteries to 2 DL batteries. I liked my DL batteries so much I recently bought a 3rd one to power my Livescope system.

 

[Spurhunter]

Whatever you do please don't use your cranking battery for your trolling motor.

Agreed. There are several reasons this is a bad idea.

 

[megalomaniac]

got off the phone with Minn Kota technical service... They do NOT recommend using the 3 blade kipowa due to increased amperage draw which could cause the motor to wear out much sooner. Switching to the Minn Kota 'power prop' may give an additional 5% or so, but nothing dramatic, as the pitch is identical to the weedless wedge 2 prop.

They felt the motor should be giving me closer to 3mph at top speed in my particular application, especially when considering the spot lock has trouble actually locking onto a spot with the TM often rotating more than 360deg in a single direction. They said that is usually caused by too light of a boat, as that spot lock is rated for a 2500lb load. He suggested even though the armature looks good at a cursory glance, it may be worth it to go ahead and replace the armature and the brushes... That's less than $100 worth of parts. I'll probably go ahead and try doing that first. Talked to the prior owner and he didn't feel the motor was underpowered for the boat in the 6 or 7 years he fished out of it before it then sat unused.

 

[megalomaniac]

As much use as I think you are going to get out of your boat, I think you will be much happier with a 24V/80#thrust Minn Kota Terrova with the I-Pilot. I would power it with this: https://dakotalithium.com/product/d...rolling-motor-solar-energy-rv-single-battery/

If the boat has a forward hatch, I'd mount the battery in that hatch and have only a short connecting cord. It only weighs 32#, so you are getting a wt savings. It is on sale right now, so with its small footprint and light wt, you could wire two of the 24 volts together and never worry about running out of power.

The next time I have to replace batteries, I am pretty sure that is the direction I am going. They are so much lighter in weight. They last several times longer than conventional batteries, so the long term cost difference isn't as bad as it seems.

Buy once/cry once.

I will definetly go this route if I replace the trolling motor... I have enough Cabelas points to get a 80lb/ 24v Riptide terrova for free. Hopefully get $500 for my used motor, which would put me around $400-$500 to ask the wife for out of pocket Taking out my current 27D battery on the port side will allow me to direct replace with the Dakota Lithium, as I need to keep the weight on the port side since my cranking battery is on starboard, I sit on starboard, and my ice chest is on starboard side.

 

[scn]

I doubt you will see much difference if you replace the brushes. Since you have the TM covered with the Cabelas points, I'd just make the jump and never look back. I have that Terrova on a HEAVY flats boat, and it is all it needs. You may be able to water ski with it on yours. It will allow you to run it on the lowest settings most of the time and greatly extend the daily battery life. But, the power will be there when you need it.

 

[bluball]

I'm still struggling with my Minn Kota Riptide SP ipilot 55lb with giving me enough thrust. I have torn the thing apart, replaced seals and TM pin, and even checked the pulse width modulation with an oscilloscope which indicate its running perfectly electronically with a full 12v delivered to the motor. Armature and everything in the lower unit looks fine. Still only pulling 2.1mph on full speed on my boat, which weighs only est 600lbs fully loaded. That's fine if I'm fishing with no tide, but when the current is ripping in the bayous, I prefer to fish into the tide for a more natural bait presentation.upon retrieve. In a ripping tide, I'm lucky to pull 0.5mph against it. If there were an impedence issue in the wiring between the battery and the motor, id expect to trip the fuse breaker or get some seriously heated wires which isn't happening....

So im now starting to think, this is all I'm gonna get out of it. Simple enough, go 24v and use 80lb motor... BUT I can't afford the weight of a 3rd battery, nor can I afford to switch to 2 lithium batteries to save weight. I suppose I could wire the cranking battery and trolling motor battery in series to get 24 volts, but I don't like the idea of not having a dedicated cranking battery as my motor is an electric start.

Doing some research, there are some opinions out there that going to the Kipowa 3 blade TM prop may give extra water displacement over my current weedless wedge 2 prop. Other reports say no, and may increase amperage draw reducing battery time. Any if you guys switch from a weedless wedge 2 to a kipowa 3 blade? Results? Any other suggestions for my TM other than take it to a certified Minn Kota mechanic?

I use the kipowa prop on my 36volt ultrex and really like it.I do know minnkota doesnt recommend useing them,but i have several friends that have been useing them for yrs.I would say i have gained .6-.9mph over the minnkota prop with the 36volt system.

 

[megalomaniac]

So... me being cheap... I bought the 3 blade kipowa and tried it last trip....

Was actually SLOWER on my trolling motor with sig fewer RPMs than the factory 2 blade weedless wedge. The foot just couldn't spin it as well. Once turkey season winds down, I'm borrowing a friends 45lb thrust motor and going to mount it to my boat and test how fast it pulls my boat. If it pulls faster than my 55lb, I'm going to rebuild then entire foot unit myself. If it pulls slower than my 55lb motor, I'm just going to bite the bullet and go to the 24v 80lb TM.

 

[WTM]

told ya so. get ready to buy a 70-100 lb if you fish in much current.

 

[TITANSFAN2104]

As much use as I think you are going to get out of your boat, I think you will be much happier with a 24V/80#thrust Minn Kota Terrova with the I-Pilot. I would power it with this: https://dakotalithium.com/product/d...rolling-motor-solar-energy-rv-single-battery/

If the boat has a forward hatch, I'd mount the battery in that hatch and have only a short connecting cord. It only weighs 32#, so you are getting a wt savings. It is on sale right now, so with its small footprint and light wt, you could wire two of the 24 volts together and never worry about running out of power.

The next time I have to replace batteries, I am pretty sure that is the direction I am going. They are so much lighter in weight. They last several times longer than conventional batteries, so the long term cost difference isn't as bad as it seems.

Buy once/cry once.

Ive seen alot of negative reviews with Dakota. There are some others out there offering better batteries and customer service. Ive seen horror stories with some of these battery companies. I researched and ended up with powerhouse lithium.

 

[bluball]

We sell trolling motors and lithium batteries,but if i had points at cabellas i would use them.We could get you into ionic lithiums probally alittle cheaper than the dakota lithiums if your interested.

 

[Sako]

Just buy one Lithium battery and use it for the cranking motor and then use the old cranking battery and your current trolling motor battery for the trolling motor... you will ad very little weight...

 

[bluball]

Just buy one Lithium battery and use it for the cranking motor and then use the old cranking battery and your current trolling motor battery for the trolling motor... you will ad very little weight...

Need to know what motor he has before you suggest that.Some motors are not compatible with lithium batteries.

 

[WTM]

Need to know what motor he has before you suggest that.Some motors are not compatible with lithium batteries.

yeah boat motors, trolling motors and fish finders havent really caught up to lithium tech in their design. i predict there will be some unhappy folks before too long when they get denied warranty service from failed components.

 

[7mm08]

Mount your trolling motor batteries up front & starter battery in the back for weight distribution. My mechanic convinced me to do that to my old Key West Stealth. Perfect.


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