Electric Motor 24 or 12

[rocklobster]

I am looking for advice on a 24 volt electric motor i have. I would like to know if it is possible to run it on one 12 volt battery instead of two 12 volts wired to 24 . I dont understand the difference as to why 24 is used but it would be far easier to use one AGM 12 volt battery instaed of linking the two 12 volts , is this possible ?
Thanks .

[STUIE63]

no you will need either a 24v battery or 2 12v batteries

[Adz seajay]

There are several factors to consider when looking at fitting a electric motor to a boat. I've now had a couple of different types on mine and the main things to consider in my opinion are firstly do you have a little light weight boat from let's say 4.5meters then as you should not require as much torque to push it along in most conditions, then a 12Volt type should be fine I would always go for the 12v with the most grunt and that would be a 55Lb motor and would only require one 12volt deep cycle battery (Wet or AGM) as the weight factor would be significantly lighter as you would have one less battery. If the vessel is upwards 5meters than a 24volt electric motor would be the way to go as the as a 12volt type motor would start to struggle in either strong wind or current situations. Now when choosing a 24volt system there are several ways to go with motor choice with minnkota with a 80lb which will push some boats up to 6knots which is more than ample grunt to push most 5 meter and slighty heavier and up to boats around wether it might be glass or tin.
The other thing one will usually consider is the cost and more grunt will always come a price with the motor price difference between a 12volt motor to a 24volt type motor is a sure thing and also the added cost of a extra deep cycle battery.
Now in my opinion the difference between a Deep Cycle "Wet" lead acid battery and a AGM absorbed glass mat type battery is 1st and for most the price. Wet lead acid batteries will always be cheaper than AGM and treated correctly should last quite some time but the other main difference is that a AGM battery can be mounted just about any where in any position as there is no acid to pour out like conventional WET type. Unless AGM batteries come down in price there will never be one in my boat.

[rocklobster]

Thanks for the replies guys

[NAGG]

how you use the boat come into play too. A 24 volt system is awesome in a boat of around 4.5=5m ...... you can work in just about any conditions.
Having said that .... My 5M topender will only have a 12 volt 55lb leccy - but with a thumper 200amp AGM . As I've learned - in tough conditions ( wind and current / tide) It is better to anchor .
if you can afford 24 volt and have the room for 2 x 100amp deep cycles ( 100amp minimum ..... 120 preferable) ......... then buy it = If you go AGMs (recommended) the difference is about $800-$900

Chris

[Ringoscar]

I looked into this a while back when I bought a 3.5m punt and wanted to use the 82lb Tour from my Haines without lugging around the 2 120A batteries.
I put the question on a few trolling motor forums on US bass sites and got plenty of replies. General consensus was the electronics is all dedicated 24V and wouldn't take kindly to just 12V current. So I didn't do it.
Went out and got a cheap Watersnake tiller mount and use it on removable bow-mount bracket for quick trips and stick it on the transom for weekends on the dams with the Tour up front.