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Redngoo.
Hello Everyone I have a 2012 Cougar with a 225 Merc Pro XS I bought it this season and I have added Power Poles to it that is all. I run a 25P Tempest. Multiple things keep happening 1) Day Starts out just fine can get out of the hole no problem 1 or 2 people in the boat 2) If another person is in the boat and I am at 12.6 Volts I struggle getting out of the hole if I am by myself I am fine can pop out of the hole. 3) by the end of the day if I am only in the trolling motor for a couple hours I need to boost my boat to go. So do you think this is a battery problem? I had it tested and it seems fine but to me its not holding charge like it should. Do you think its just in need of a new Battery? Also has anyone ever run two 24s instead of one 27? If so what does the set up look like? I dont know if I have the room? Any how I would really like to get this problem Solved.Do you think if I switched from a temptest to a fury that would help? I dont really want to go 4 blade if I dont have to. Also What RPM should my boat be running at to get the most out of my boat and at what height should motor be with a manual jack plate for best use?Thanks Everyone
It is an electronic problem. TOO MUCH electronic current drain. Nothing to do with prop or anything else.Simple questions:(1) how many and what type of sonar units are you running? 3-4 units on all day will flatten a battery easily.(2) Do the power poles have the bottom-following type mechanism that Talons do? IE do they constantly adjust to wave action and such? If you use them frequently, or use them in that mode, they drain power.The most common solution to this is to add another battery. Hook it up in parallel (NOT in series) with the normal cranking battery. That doubles the stored current. Also use the best group 31 cranking batteries you can buy. The Optimax motor needs at LEAST 800 CCA to fire up. Motor has to spin 3 times at the correct RPM to build up enough air pressure to start the motor. Thats a pretty heavy current drain, and then it needs enough amperage to run the PCU, 12 injectors, 6 spark coils, all the sensors, etc.Some rough numbers:A typical cranking battery will store about 120 amp-hours of power. That is roughly 120 amps for one hour (until battery is flat) or 1 amp for 120 hours. If you run 4 12″ sonar units at 5 amps each (MINIMUM) then that is 20 amps per hour of drain. 6 hours and battery will be dead. Power requirements have expanded out of control as you can see. And most run a simple group 24 cranking battery that breaks into a sweat as soon as you power up the sonar units. Certainly a marginal battery will produce this problem as well. But it is much easier to produce today since you need a battery near its peak to survive.Hole-shot is likely a prop issue. Youve added weight to the back of the boat. A second person adds MORE weight to the back of the boat. You probably want to go down an inch of pitch or so to help. Some have had success with a 4-blade prop, but Im not a fan myself.Last edited by oldtimer57 on July 10th, 2017, 3:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.2008 Pantera Classic2014 Mercury Pro XS 200
Thanks for the respose Here are the answers to your questions (1) how many and what type of sonar units are you running? 3-4 units on all day will flatten a battery easily.I Run 1 HDS 12 Touch on the front and 1 HDS 9 (non touch) at the Console(2) Do the power poles have the bottom-following type mechanism that Talons do? IE do they constantly adjust to wave action and such? If you use them frequently, or use them in that mode, they drain power. once they are in they are in they arent like talons that keep hammeringThanks again for your help it is greatly appreciated
Save yourself some time, trouble and headache. Run 31 series batterries2013 PANTERA 2MERCURY 200 PRO XSMINNKOTA 80LB FORTREX25 fury
BTW 31 series wont solve everything. I am running one and I have flattened it once when we started at daylight, and stayed within TM distance the entire day. I noticed some oddities late in the afternoon. I run two 9″ humminbirds and 1 7″ built in. My ammeter says they pull about 10a combined. 12 hours will pretty well “do” any battery to the point where the opti wont crank. If you make a run here and there, the 60a alternator will replace some of that.2008 Pantera Classic2014 Mercury Pro XS 200
Redngoo I run three 31s for my Trolling motor and a 27 starting battery. I didnt think you were suposed to run 31s on your cranking/ starfting battery. I also heard not to run AGMs because they dont like the heat. I have a black boat so all my compartments are hot lol
Get the X2 31 AGM battery from Batteries Plus and not worry about it again. That battery is well within Mercurys specs for the Optimax engine and has plenty of reserve capacity as well compared to other 31 series batteries. Id also check your battery connections and alternator to make sure its charging when you are running on plane. Normally you should see 13 volts when running above 2000 rpms. Regarding your poor hole shot as the day goes on, its air temp related as temp goes up, air gets thinner (density goes down since warmer air is less dense). Also warmer air contains more water vapor, which also displaces oxygen further limiting power. Therefore, you have an instant horsepower loss.
Old timer you can leave all your graphs on all night and still pop that opti off if you have a big 31 a with a lot of reserve. Trust me Ive done it.
Your hole shot, as mentioned, is due to the added weight. You might be able to spin the 25 in cool weather, but when it gets hot, youll probably need a 24″. Whether that is a Tempest Plus or a Fury 3 blade is up for discussion and trial and error. Reports on the Fury 4 blade are good for SOME hulls. The other issue is that you need a group 31 battery with as much power and reserve as you can get. Or put two in, but thats additional weight.I have a 17 Sabre and am running two Hummingbird Helix 7 SI/DI GPS GN2 units. After about 3 hours of fishing (if I dont run somewhere else) when I start the 175 SHO, Ill get a low voltage warning on my console unit from the drain on the battery from starting the engine. Thankfully, the SHO starts as fast as you can turn the key and let it go, and the low voltage pop up goes away when I push the exit button and never comes back until I repeat the process. Ive gone 3 days at the lake without charging anything and never had an issue. But Ill do some 20-30 minute runs at least once or twice a day. Ive got two 27s for the Fortrex and one 31 for everything else. That battery is also powering up the panel on the console, though I dont know how many amps it might draw. It all takes a toll though. I turn the master switch off when docked, with the bilge pump in Auto position which is one tiny LED.These larger screens on the graphs are nice for old eyes, but the more pixels, the more current it pulls. Fortunately, Im only 57″ so my eyes are closer to the deck from the get go…2017 Sabre FTD AE DC2017 Yamaha 175 SHOMK Fortrex 80Helix 10 Mega SI in consoleHelix 7 GPS SI GN2 on bow
I run a 31 series agm for cranking. 2 29 series wet cells for troller. I have a 12 and 9 inch graph. Call it luck or watever. Daylight to dark many times. Never a issue with cranking or with troller. Only issue ive had was low voltage to my graphs. That issue was cured with BCBs wire upgrade kit for graphs. I would agree with some others on this forum about checkin all connections and your alternator or any excessive battery draw. Good luck and keep is posted on your resolution2013 PANTERA 2MERCURY 200 PRO XSMINNKOTA 80LB FORTREX25 fury
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