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i just bought a new 12 volt 55lb thrust endura... the motor will drain a fresh battery in 3 hours flat.... and that is not on " high " the whole time... does anybody have any ideas.....ive run it on 4 batteries and all went dead about the 3 hour mark.....
if you went thru 4 batteries and only got 3 hours out of each one then I'd say you've got a bad troller. It's drawing WAY to much current.
It isn't going to matter what power level you run it on, as it uses the same power on all settings.
What kind of battery? Are you running continuously or on and off for those three hours?
A "typical" small trolling battery would only be expected to run that size TM for about 3.5 hours when new. A battery with a couple of years on it or one that has spent any significant time without being charged would be doing good to run it for 3 hours. Get up to a Trojan SC-225, and you might be able to run for 5.5 hours.
I've got 2 55's use an AC Delco Voyager 900 mca never ran out of battery k eep 2 on board just in case.Oh by the way my Voyagers are 4-5 yrs old. Get a Vector smart battery charger 2-10-20 charge them as soon as you get home on 10 and you'll be good to go.
i wasnt running it the whole time.... the batteries were from wall mart.. they were a 3 yrs old............. i probably need to invest in a larger battery or run a few in parallel... did some research and found out the tm pulls 42amps.... with my small battery 3 hours is about right.... thanks for the help..........
Quote:
Originally Posted by CatFan
Could you explain that to me, I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around that one?
Non-digital motors use what's called a speed coil to reduce the motor speed. The motor continues to draw the same current no matter what speed, but at lower settings, some of it is dissipated as heat instead of driving the motor. Digital motors pulse modulate the battery power on lower speeds so the motor gets bursts of full current, reducing the power drawn from the battery.Quote:
Originally Posted by talltimber
The downside is that the pulsing tends to generate interference in depth finders.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CatFan
CatFan, could you clarify that explanation for me (speed coil). How does that relate to amp draw? Reason I ask is because the literature I have on the MK Enduras (I have the 50 on my boat) gives a different amp draw for all 5 speeds. The 4 lowest speed settings are basically 1/8,1/4,3/8, and 1/2 total amp draw. The highest setting is full amp draw (42). They even have a chart on top of the motor showing hours able to run based on what speed you are using (I'm assuming based on the stated speed/amp draw against something like a 105 amp-hour battery).
Is the drain you mention something other than amps?
Thanks for the help on this one...
-T9
Well, if MK says it draws less current, I believe them, but as far as I know the Endura is a speed-coil motor. Can't find anything on MK's web site that indicates that it regulates speed any differently than a speed coil.
This is a quote from MK bragging about Maximizer technology, which is what they call their PWM system:Quote:
Conventional speed coil technology wastes energy by delivering a constant, steady flow of power to the motor regardless of the speed setting resulting in wasted energy. Pioneered in 1985, Minn Kotas innovative Maximizer™ technology delivers the precise amount of power needed at any setting, along with variable speed control. Now, our advanced, digital microprocessing optimizes draw to extend battery life and reduce damaging heat. Get up to five times longer run time on a single charge.
Thanks Catfan...very interesting. I'd love to get one of their engineers on the side one day and get the scoop. The Enduras definitely aren't pulse-modulated (infinite) like my Maxxum was. MK sure doesn't divulge much on their website or in their literature either, at least in the US. I had to find a German website that had the entire amp draw stats and other specs for the motors and translate (that was fun!), as well as remember all my metric units and conversion factors (LOL).
-T9