Question on Wiring electronic Scotty DRs

[KokAddict]

Does anyone know if you can safely run 2 2101s off a single 12 guage wire with a splitter and 2 inline 20 amp fuses (one for each DR) ?[bobdumb]
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[GEEZER]

How many amps do the units pull? 12 ga. copper wire is good for about 20 amps give or take depending on insulation type. If the downriggers pull less than 10 amps on retrieve, you'd probably be all right. I wouldn't run a separate 20 amp fuse to each unit. If they both were pulling max amps, the single 12 ga. feeder could overheat.
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[Fowl-Hook]

Wire Two separate circuits. One for each Unit. Should be fine!!

The common feed with the #12 wire it is not rated for the 40 amps that two circuits could draw. Or increase the common feed wire size to about #8.
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[KokAddict]

Ok, thank you. My boat is only 23 feet long but I would only be running the wire about 19-20 feet and was hoping to run them both with a single wire....2 12s is probably the safer route.

Thanks for the feedback.
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[kokeking]

I'm not a electrician ,but i have wired my share of down rigger's. Using this type of set-up,what would happen if both d/r's were engaged at the same time? Seem's to me this might cause a voltage drop,on both motors. That in turn might damage the motor's,or not, I'm not really sure. I have always ran separate leads from the plugs to the battery,with a in-line- fuse.
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[Lundman]

Sounds like you are going to run your DR's off your bow trolling motor battery since you said you are running 19' of wire?

I just run mine off my main cranking battery and have never had an issue with them running down my battery even after a full day of trolling at the Gorge going down to 65' many many times --- remember the only time you need power is to bring the Scotty's up - gravity is used to take it down.

I run two separate wires/fuses and never had a problem.

Good Luck!!
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[KokAddict]

Actually I have a bank of 4 batteries in the bow and 2 in the back. The minKota has it's own separate 24 volt system. The 2101s are sweet for trolling deep, right now we're fishing more than double Gorge depths... about 165-185 feet, so by the end of the day, all batteries need a little juicing.

I run 2 DRs off each Interstate HD battery....and since I tried wiring the other way, I'll post here should someone else want to try it out and learn from what I found out...

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I ran 10 gauge wire from the battery on the port side back to the DRs mounted on the high deck, then patched in (saudered connection) a splitter to each DR. I installed a 20 AMP inline fuse to each DR.

Running either DR works fine INDIVIDUALLY. However...as previously pointed out, running both at the same time trips the fuses, even with a 10 gauge wire feed after about 5 seconds of running.

The 2101s are the fastest retrieving DRs available, and although they don't require a lot of volts, the do pull heavily on the AMPs when both are going. Since we frequently run both DRs at the same time, I spent yesterday evening re-wiring each DR with a separate 12 gauge wire which I know will work.

Sadly no go on a single wire feed.

Hope this helps someone else save some time and wire.

Cheers!
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[Paddler]

You need to use a voltage drop calculator to determine what gauge wire you need. Scotty 2101s pull almost 20 amps with a 20# cannonball, less with 15# or 12#. Here's a link:

[url "http://www.scotty.com/fishing-gear-equipment/electronic-downriggers/HPDownriggers.htm"]http://www.scotty.com/fishing-gear-equipment/electronic-downriggers/HPDownriggers.htm[/url]

Then, you need to determine your cable length, measured round trip. If your cable is 10' long to the rigger, your total length is 20'. You can calculate your voltage drop using this calculator. Industry standard is 10% or less, but 3% is better.:

[url "http://www.supercircuits.com/resources/tools/voltage-drop-calculator"]http://www.supercircuits.com/resources/tools/voltage-drop-calculator[/url]

What cannonballs are you using, and what is your round trip wire length? If you're using 12# balls, and your length is 38', your voltage drop is 1.1V, which is okay.
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[utwalleye]

I wired my separate with that extension cord wire you can buy in bulk at lowes or home depot. works out nice it's all rubber coated.
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