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Posting a reply to: Re: Minn Kota MK3 review

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[QUOTE]ulbian - 8/20/2014  9:14 AM

I installed one of these two months ago and it's a neat little unit.

Minn Kota has three sizes.  One bank, two bank, three bank and the numbers corresponding after the "MK" is the number of banks.  Since I have a 24v system mine is an MK2.

It isn't going to replace an on board charger but for those of you who make weeklong trips or those who simply want to have a little extra confidence in having enough juice on long days it's worth it to install one of these things.  When I installed mine I had run down the TM batteries on purpose just to test the thing out.  I was at about 10% charge on that system.  Launched and made a run that was somewhere around 10-12 miles.  Checked the batteries and they came up considerably and I fished the rest of the day whereas I wouldn't have been able to if that charge was not going back into that system.

The concept is pretty simple.  Any excess current coming out of the big motor's alternator gets routed through this unit and into your trolling motor batteries.  There's an indicator light that lets you know if the TM batteries are being charged.  On mine it won't charge them when I'm at an idle but once I bump the throttle up past an idle it kicks in.  I think the relay in this unit trips when the current coming out of your alternator hits 13.1 volts.  It's somewhere in that neighborhood.  Theoretically you wouldn't have to put your TM batteries on an AC charger if you didn't want to but it's still a good idea to top those batteries off with an on board.  Some might look at it as an unnecessary expense just for a "gadget" you don't really need but I think that in the long run it will pay off financially because it will assist in keeping your TM batteries from being run down consistently to a point where they lose life.[/QUOTE]

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ulbian

Posted 8/20/2014 9:14 AM (#726322 - in reply to #726233)
Subject: Re: Minn Kota MK3 review

Posts: 1168

I installed one of these two months ago and it's a neat little unit.

Minn Kota has three sizes. One bank, two bank, three bank and the numbers corresponding after the "MK" is the number of banks. Since I have a 24v system mine is an MK2.

It isn't going to replace an on board charger but for those of you who make weeklong trips or those who simply want to have a little extra confidence in having enough juice on long days it's worth it to install one of these things. When I installed mine I had run down the TM batteries on purpose just to test the thing out. I was at about 10% charge on that system. Launched and made a run that was somewhere around 10-12 miles. Checked the batteries and they came up considerably and I fished the rest of the day whereas I wouldn't have been able to if that charge was not going back into that system.

The concept is pretty simple. Any excess current coming out of the big motor's alternator gets routed through this unit and into your trolling motor batteries. There's an indicator light that lets you know if the TM batteries are being charged. On mine it won't charge them when I'm at an idle but once I bump the throttle up past an idle it kicks in. I think the relay in this unit trips when the current coming out of your alternator hits 13.1 volts. It's somewhere in that neighborhood. Theoretically you wouldn't have to put your TM batteries on an AC charger if you didn't want to but it's still a good idea to top those batteries off with an on board. Some might look at it as an unnecessary expense just for a "gadget" you don't really need but I think that in the long run it will pay off financially because it will assist in keeping your TM batteries from being run down consistently to a point where they lose life.

Edited by ulbian 8/20/2014 9:15 AM