New Battery Set Up

[jkitchene]

I'm beginning to tear down my 1989 Tracker Pro 17 and will start a thread with my progress soon. I'm converting from a 12v to 24v trolling motor while rewiring the entire boat. My current plan is to have the 24volt system isolated to just the trolling motor while the starting battery will handle the motor and all accessories. I'm new to all of this and I'm trying to understand what battery switch (Blue Sea) I need. I want to be able use the trolling motor batteries as emergency starting batteries in the case of a dead starting battery. Otherwise I plan to leave the starting battery and trolling motor batteries isolated. I think I need part number 6011 from Blue Sea and use the combine function only in the case of a dead starting battery. Is that right battery switch for my application? How do I wire this to the trolling motor batteries as they will be in series for the trolling motor?

I'm a complete newbie so please forgive my ignorance as I will have lots of questions I'm sure. I have read through many builds on this site and it has given me the ambition to jump in and try it myself. Thanks in advance

 

[kofkorn]

From Blue Sea's website:

https://assets.bluesea.com/files/resources/newsletter/images/st_blade_1.jpg

It's not really intended to be used with a 12/24V system. The trick that you're going to have is that you need to put the switch between the two batteries on the 12/24V system. Take a look here:



This should ensure that you are only providing 12V to the motor when the switch is engaged. You should probably run this one by Blue Sea before building this. I don't think there should be any issue, but I've never tried it either.

Honestly for the number of times when you're going to need to use the TM battery to jump the motor, you're probably better off just buying an inexpensive pair of jumper cables and using those when needed. This will also give you the flexibility to use other batteries as well.

That's going to be a lot of expensive wire on top of the $40 for the switch which could be replaced with a $20 pair of jumper cables, plus less hassle.

Good luck!

 

[jkitchene]

Thanks for the feedback and I will take your suggestion and keep a pair of jumpers in the boat. I did that before so it is a no cost option By the way your build is one that inspired me to do mine. I have the same boat and managed to get all but the rear deck out this evening. I plan to start my project thread soon as I will have lots of questions. Thanks again for the feedback.

 

[TNtroller]

Just a suggestion for you to consider the weight distribution issue with a 24v system. Trackers appear to be butt heavy, at least mine is (04 PT175 w/ 60 2s) and I have only a 12v TM on mine. I'm considering putting a 2nd TM battery under the front deck with totally separate wiring for the TM (new/2nd plug for the TM when this battery is used) but need to figure out the venting issue since the space under the front deck is totally enclosed.

 

[kofkorn]

By the way your build is one that inspired me to do mine. I have the same boat and managed to get all but the rear deck out this evening. I plan to start my project thread soon as I will have lots of questions.

I'll keep an eye out for your build. Be sure to PM me with any questions you may have, I'm not always the best at checking all of the time

Good luck!