Trolling motor project

Thread Starter

mwblackmon

Joined Dec 1, 2011
4
Hey guys,
I'm new here, but have a question that might be easy for one of you guys. I'm converting a trolling motor for my kayak. I removed the head and cut the shaft down to the length that I need and mounted it on the kayak. I took the controller and ran it inside of the kayak in order to mount it within reach. I extended the wires about six feet from the controller back to the motor and left the batter leads the same. My question is: Should I be concerned about excess heat since the battery cables haven't changed length. My motor draws a max of 28 amps with the average being about 9 amps. I've tried to include all of the info that I think is pertinent but I'm not that skilled in the area.
Thanks for any help.
Michael
 

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ErnieM

Joined Apr 24, 2011
8,377
The only real change you made it seems are extending the lines between the motor and the controller. That is only significant if the controller has to handle the motor current. You can tell that by the size of the wires before you extended them.

If they were small wires then you are probably OK. If the wires were thick, similar to the battery wires in size then you should use wires of similar size, or larger, not smaller.

Please do check this out before going out on a trip. Once when testing a trolling motor I was incredibly surprised how little current it was drawing. Then I realized that was as should be as all it was turning was air! Once I had filled my tub to 12" and inserted the motor blades into that I got a true reading of current. You may wish to use something else if the motor is already solidly mounted into your kayak.


"There is nothing-absolutely nothing- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."
 

Thread Starter

mwblackmon

Joined Dec 1, 2011
4
Thanks. That's what I was hoping. These wires are smaller. As I understand it the wires from the controller into the motor use different combinations of power from the controller to adjust the speeds. With that "guess" in mind I assumed that there shouldn't be a heat problem. I just needed a second opinion before I melted through the kayak. It ran fine on a bench test so I guess a water test is next. (A shallow water test.
 

Thread Starter

mwblackmon

Joined Dec 1, 2011
4
It works great guys. I was told that I would need a rheostat to disipate the heat but there is no heat to disipate. Thanks for the back up on this one. I am now motorized as well as paddle equipped.
 
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