Extending the leads on my 50# Minn Kota?

[Hartley's boat]

I want about 4 or 5 ft more wire to move the heavy battery into the center of my Cataraft. I am thinking that a set of auto jumper cables would make a good candidate for the extension. Anyone ever do this? Thanx!

 

[jerseydevil]

Hey Hartley you can extend the leads but think of wires as plumbing. The more connections you have the better chance of a leak. Meaning splicing the cables to extend the leads. Make sure the gage of the wire is the same. I have a 50amp fuse on my Minkota 40AT w/8awg wires.So if it's fused I'd check the amp rating of the fuse & start there for wire size. It's ok to go bigger than smaller when drawing amps to help dissipate the heat generated w/current draw. Use approved splicing terminals or "BUGGS" as they say in the electrical trade. Any good Marine store should have these supplies & wire as well. Once you've spliced & extended the cables I'd coat em w/electra clean & then wrap em w/electrical tape to help ward off the "Green Corrosion". Lengthy but hope it helped?

 

[gm280]

There are ways to lengthen even large gauge wires. But if you can afford it, why not install all new wires for the total length and forget about the splicing efforts and additional material. It can't cost that much more and then you can forget about splice joints forever. JMHO!

 

[Hartley's boat]

I appreciate the advice ...so that is a no, nobody has used jumper cables here? I have read several posts on-line about folks using the jumper cables and I wanted to come here and ask around. I know I can spend more and do it "right" but I am looking to do it "good enough"and cheap! LOL! My Cat is ever outside unless we are on the lake so I am not worried about weather or anything screwing with it. I am just thinking that a slightly heavier gauge wire then the TM wires in a set of jumper cables would be more than adequate to use for a 4 foot extension at a cost of less than $20 finished and thought I might find someone on here that has done it.

 

[StarTed]

I haven't done what you want but I know the electrical theory. The suggestions above are all good. Jumper cables are not all equal. They are designed for very short term use, put a little charge in your car's battery and assist it to start the car. They get greatly overloaded in that use but it's short enough that you get away with it. All wire has a given resistance per unit of length. The larger the wire of the same type the less resistance per that unit of length. It doesn't matter how long your leads are if you keep the resistance the same. Of course I'm talking DC here. I like to make my own jumper cables from old welding cable so I can make them longer and really spin the starter. Try to find some used welding cable. Higher voltage rating doesn't hurt a thing but finer wires will make them more flexible.

Good luck.

 

[fishrdan]

10 years ago I may have used jumper cables for a down and dirty TM extension, and know people who did, but not any longer. Copper clad aluminum wire (CCA) is now a staple in cheap jumper cables. Copper and aluminum, in a marine environment, is not a good combination.

I'm cheap/frugal and when I re-wired my trolling motor I bought the wire at West Marine, about the most expensive place to buy anything marine. They had 10ga duplex "marine" wire for something like $2/foot and since I only needed 5' it was a bargain. Of course you would most likely need to go with larger wire for an extension, what is the thrust of the trolling motor, 30, 50, 70#?

 

[S.A. Baker]

I used the entire length of 15 ft. 10 ga jumper cables on my minnkota 55 bow mount with no problems at all. 50 amp circuit breaker at the battery connection. Nothing ever even gets warm! But it dosn 't run constantly.... Just puttering along the shoreline casting for Bass. ... Wasn't about to pay 3.00 a foot for 30 ft. of wire!

 

[Hartley's boat]

Thanks again y'all ! I guess it's just hard for me to understand what the big deal is about "marine" aplications when we are talking about a battery operated trolling motor that runs off of a battery that would work in my car if I needed it to and visa versa. I have a old set of 8 gauge cables that look like they will do the trick so I think I will give it a shot and keep a close eye on the wires to make sure they don't get hot. Thanx again !

 

[NYBo]

Jumper cables that are cheap enough to beat the price of "proper" wire are likely to be 10 gauge, which is too small. But 8 gauge might do the trick.

 

[bruceb58]

Don't use jumper cables. Buy some wire here:

https://www.genuinedealz.com/

 

[Hartley's boat]

I get what you are saying but if you could explain to me why I need "marine grade" cable to operate something that really has nothing "marine" about it other than the fact that it is clamped to the back of my boat? I am not trying to argue but the trolling motor is nothing more than a 12v electric motor operated by basically a car battery....... am I missing something? Am I over simplifying the whole thing? Please understand I appreciate your advice and I am just trying to understand what the deal is about having to have special cable to run this thing.

 

[NYBo]

Another potential problem with cheap jumper cables is that the conductors consist of a smaller number of larger diameter strands, compared to higher quality wire. While it has the same current capacity, it is more likely that those strands will break when subjected to flexing and vibration.

 

[general south]

I would personally be afraid that one would come loose, and touch the other cable or arc across the opposite polarity, electric motors are also sensitive to voltage changes / spikes. I would spend a little more, or at least cut the alligator clips off and replace them with properly crimped battery connectors, or proper wire to wire connectors.

 

[gm280]

I get what you are saying but if you could explain to me why I need "marine grade" cable to operate something that really has nothing "marine" about it other than the fact that it is clamped to the back of my boat? I am not trying to argue but the trolling motor is nothing more than a 12v electric motor operated by basically a car battery....... am I missing something? Am I over simplifying the whole thing? Please understand I appreciate your advice and I am just trying to understand what the deal is about having to have special cable to run this thing.

Let me try to explain the difference between normal jumper cables and Marine grade wires being how you actually asked about it. No your trolling motor is not anything unique in that it is merely an electric motor. And no your battery is not anything special as well. However, where you use them is unique in the fact that they are used in a harsh environment situation that does have lots of potential of water and even salt water intrusion possibilities. And that is where the marine grade wire comes in.

Regular wires are typically copper (hopefully) stranded wires of varying gauges wrapped by an insulator jacket. Nothing special. But that same wire will corrode quicker in a boat then any place else. So they discovered that tinned copper wires will work better and last longer in a boating environment then un-tinned wires. And that is where marine grade wires come in. Marine grade wiring IS tinned to help avoid the usual corrosion that comes with everything in the boating environment.

So when folks suggest to use the proper marine grade wiring and not some cheap who-knows what type battery jumper cables, are only looking out for your protection and the longevity for the trolling motor wires. And remember this, jumper cables were designed to be used for a quick jump and not continuous operation.

Personally, I would run new marine grade wires for the entire length and then you know you have the trolling motor operating at its best. But that is just my opinion. It is your boat, and you can wire it most anyway you like. But I would really think about what you select for such wiring, because IF your boat ever catches on fire, there is no place to run out on the water. JMHO!

 

[Hartley's boat]

I totally get the idea of what you are saying and appreciate the remarks. I am not sure what folks are doing with their boats to make it a "harsh environment" but I only take my Cat out on sunny days and she goes back in the heated / AC garage when I am done. I do see how it would be a problem if I were taking her out on crappy, rainy days and leaving her sit out in the weather year round so thanks again. Also..the cables that I am looking at to use for the extension are all copper stran wires and they are 8 gauge. If I had to go out and buy jumper cables to do this would not even consider it. I would go get the wires from the place posted above because the prices are really good.

 

[bruceb58]

So you are adding 5 feet of wire which means 10 feet total. The place I linked is $0.94/foot for a grand total of $9.40 including shipping. They sell crimp connectors too.

 

[Hartley's boat]

bruceb58 ..... I really appreciate the link! Those prices are very affordable.