I gave my son an old 24volt/70# thrust trolling motor for his tracker tx 17. It's currently set up with 2-12volt batteries like it should be but it's time to replace them. I've been thinking, first of all the 70# thrust is over kill for the light weight aluminum boat. Eliminating one battery would take some unneeded weight out of the boat and would cut replacement cost in half. I know you can't run a 12 volt motor on 24 volts without frying it but, it seems like you could run a 24 volt motor with a 12 volt power supply. What do you guys think?

Thanks in advance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Yeah, you can. It will just have a lot less power. You can always go less volts to slow a DC motor down, but never more volts. Its only going to run at half power though, so would be like a 30-35lb thrust. 

I'm thinking I'd still rather have a 24v system and more power then I need which means I can run at a reduced speed setting which will still move me through the water and quietly then hoping 1 12v battery will do just as good a job with half the power and half the battery life which I must use even more power on the motor to get the same result.

I forgot to add that if its an electronic steer it may not work. But my cable maxxum has gotten me home on electric only lakes when one battery went out. I hooked it up to straight 12V and ran it on 100%. Looked to be roughly 40% speed. It got me home. 

24 volts will be far more efficient, and probably less costly long-term. How deep you discharge a battery and the number of times you do so is what determines its life. Two well maintained batteries with light use will outlast one that is discharged much deeper every time out. 

I don't consider 70# too much for a 17' aluminum boat, having fished from aluminum for years. Being lightweight is a fine thing when it comes to towing or power needed to operate effectively, but when fishing in the wind it is not. The cost of two batteries is a small price to pay for the power to fish where, and as long as you want in my opinion.

Just get two new batteries and run it as intended. 70#'s is not all that much for a 17 foot boat. I run an 82 on my 17 footer and its only a little heavier than the Tracker. If I had the room for an extra battery I'd be running a 36V system.