Hi guys, I bought a boat this spring with a minn kota powerdrive v2 55lb and it is run on a 12v system with only one battery. After doing some research I found that the powerdrive is only a 12v system I have been wanting to add another battery so I can have more power throughout the day I tend to run the battery down in 5 hours of fishing with it on 10 most of the time. This doesn't have to be a long term fix just to get me through this upcoming  season then I will be upgrading. If you have any ideas how to run a 24v system with this trolling motor please let me know.

If you run 24v into a 12v TM you will damage it.  The solution you are looking for is either a larger battery or 2 batteries wired in parallel.  Two batteries may be the better option if you plan on going to a 24v system when you upgrade the TM because you can switch the batteries from parallel to series with some simple rewiring.

5 minutes ago, redmexican5081 said:

If you run 24v into a 12v TM you will damage it.  The solution you are looking for is either a larger battery or 2 batteries wired in parallel.  Two batteries may be the better option if you plan on going to a 24v system when you upgrade the TM because you can switch the batteries from parallel to series with some simple rewiring.

Ya - put 24v into a 12v TM and lose the TM from overload.

Series vs Parallel wiring.

Do the lower one for two batteries now - if/when you upgrade to a 24v TM, then do the upper one.

 

It's highly suggested that you get a second battery the same model as the first - just to make sure they're compatable.

What the two above said ^^^

 

Have run several boats that way for years without issue. Doubles capacity and you’ll feel better about running on higher power more often knowing you won’t be running the battery down near as fast. Just have a good charging setup to make sure they both get topped off fully between trips.

Your system will only be as good as your weakest battery.  If your current battery is over 1 year old you may need to get 2 new batteries for your setup to be maximized.

Just a guess but you are probably running a group 24 or 27 battery. Get a group 31 deep cycle battery. It weighs about twice as much. It costs about twice as much. It will give you considerable more run time.

22 hours ago, Jig Man said:

Your system will only be as good as your weakest battery.  If your current battery is over 1 year old you may need to get 2 new batteries for your setup to be maximized.

I am planning on buying all new batteries for the trolling motor and maybe a new cranking battery. I believe the batteries are close to original to the boat so they would be around 7 years old so they are due for replacement.

 

13 hours ago, slonezp said:

Just a guess but you are probably running a group 24 or 27 battery. Get a group 31 deep cycle battery. It weighs about twice as much. It costs about twice as much. It will give you considerable more run time.

So I could run 2 group 31 deep cycle batteries for my trolling motor? Sorry for asking so many questions but the help is very appreciated.

Yes, but they need to be wired in parallel. You will double the run time. If you wire the batteries in series,  you will damage the motor.