Run time from trolling motor setup?

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I have a 12v 55lb Motorguide x3 on a 17ft Cajun fiberglass boat....

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One battery? And what speeds do you typically run?

ETA: The max amp draw on your 55lb is 52 amps. The max draw on a comparable 45lb thrust is 38 amps so youre talking about 33% more consumption at max thrust. Couple that with the fact that you're powering a heavier boat, and the reduction in battery life makes sense.

That's about right without hooking it up to an amp meter to see what your actual draw is. I use two batteries in parallel for just this reason. Running a battery down like that shortens its life as well.

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I'd be interested in running 2, but I need to do a little more research on how to wire for parallel vs. in a series. Obviously I don't want to try and run a 12v motor with 24 volts...

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Connecting Batteries in Series vs Parallel

You want to run parallel to double your amp hours but maintain the same voltage:

It's as easy as it gets. Grab some thicker gauge battery cables like these:

LINK

Hook positive to positive and negative to negative, then the trolling motor can go to any whichever posts are easier to get to, obviously wired pos/neg just how it was before.

Series would be hooking one pos to one neg on the batteries.

It's worth mentioning that trolling motors with digital controls will last 3x or more longer than the traditional 5 speed trolling motors of the same thrust.

So if the OP is running a 5 speed and some of the replies are coming from people with digital motors, the battery runtime will vary considerably, even on the same battery and boat set-up.

I have a 12v minn Kota 55lb on a 19' aluminum boat and the most I've ever used in a day was 20% battery. That battery just holds a charge forever.

I don't claim to be all that smart or some battery whisperer but you nailed it. I got tired of replacing batteries every year and learned all I could. Lead acid batteries should never be left discharged overnight, as the electrolyte will crystallize on the plates. It's called sulfation and its what kills 90% of deep cycle batteries.

The best thing you can do for your batteries is charge them right after use and keep them topped off if they're going to sit for any amount of time. You should also never discharge them below about 30%, as it drastically speeds up the sulfation process. My solution was to hook two batteries in parallel so that I didn't ever get them too worn down. It's also nice to know I have the extra juice if I want to spend the extra time on the water.