trolling motor on a bike?

hill climber

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Aug 10, 2008
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lake naci. california
just picked up a electric trolling motor for free and dont have a boat. i have several ww and ht powered bikes and think its time for an electric. anyone tried using an electric trolling motor on a bike? i did a little research and most trolling motors are between 240 and 500 watts and spin between 1000 and 1500 rpm. will this work? chain drive? gear ratio? thanka in advance for any info/help. hill climber
 
Every trolling motor I have seen must run submerged in water, to keep it cool.
 
I would still be concerned with the heat. Running while on a bench & running while pulling a 40 lb bike, batteries, & 200lb rider, & I believe it will fail.
 
I sent this question to Minn Kota, this morning....

we are considering using a trolling motor for a "science" project. We need to know if the motor will overheat, if run, not submersed in water? is there any "built in" overheat protection? also...there will be a substantial load on this motor. we bench=tested this motor with NO load, without any problems overheating.
Thank you,
Dave

here is their response......
Dave,

Our motors with 5 speed switches definitely should not be used out of water. They do not offer any kind of protection from overheating and, in fact, rely on running in water to stay cool. If the motor you are using has a variable speed control, you may have some success running it out of water, but it is not recommended. I have spoken with other customers who have modified motors for science fair projects with great success, but we can make no guarantees.

Ryan Scholl

Technical Service Representative

Marine Electronics Group - a division of Johnson Outdoors Inc.

121 Power Drive

Mankato, MN 56002

Phone: 1-800-227-6433

Fax: 1-800-527-4464
 
That's good to know. Thanks for mailing them dave. Besides the heat factor, I find it hard to use a trolling motor (my bro has a Minn Kota 5 speed) because the shaft is only 3/8 of an inch, and is hard to couple to a drivetrain.
 
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