Location: Green Bay, WI | Junkman - 5/7/2009 3:54 PM
In reply to Tom's question, I have found that the alternator in my Verado is like a major power plant, I sort of doubt that I could possibly lose enough output at even idle speed to drain more than I am adding. Having said that, however, I still would not be concerned because if I were trolling all day with the big motor, I will still have three fully charged deep cycle batteries for the bow-mount and if my cranking battery went South, I would just take out my trusty jumpers and pop it right back on. Marty Forman
Sorry Marty--I didn't phrase my first question well enough. I meant have you heard of anyone losing battery power after trolling all day with the kicker...not the Verado.
Because the 9.9 Pro-Kicker has only a 6-amp alternator, I have been told (by my dealer) that the main start battery tends to discharge over a day of trolling. This happens with the 6-cylinder Verado engines, because the power steering unit is electrically powered. So it's always drawing current from the battery--whether or not the Verado is running. And because it draws current faster than the kicker's alternator can replace...the battery runs down.
The 15hp Pro-Kicker has an 11-amp alternator, so I bet this wouldn't be an issue if a guy had that kicker. I have a 150 Verado (no power steering), but simply don't feel my 9.9 Pro-Kicker puts out enough power to power the boat in a wind, so I am strongly considering moving to a 15hp Pro-Kicker sometime this season. But due to the concerns about this power steering issue, I would simply recommend that anyone buying a boat powered by a 6-cylinder Verado, look into the issue and consider maybe upgrading from a 9.9 to a 15hp kicker. The price difference (new) is only about $300 as I've been told. A small price to pay to avoid a huge pain in the butt later. It will certainly cost me more than that to replace my 9.9 now!
TB |
