Lesson learned

Capt. BassinLou · July 04, 2020, 12:16:18 PM

I killed the TM on my new to me Basshunter only after its second outing.

The motor is 30lb MK Endura transom mount TM. The areas I'm fishing with the basshunter are made up of different types of vegetation, all of which the little TM does not like. So much so, that I burned out the forward/rev switch. Fortunately, the cost of the replacement part was not much, but the shipping is almost the cost of the piece!! Geesh!!

Take home message, don't challenge these smaller TM's. In open water they are great, water with a lot vegetation? Be ready to start pulling it off the prop more than you expect.

IPACA9 · July 04, 2020, 12:18:15 PM

Some factors that play into this are also wire gauge and distance to the battery.

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Capt. BassinLou · July 04, 2020, 12:25:37 PM

Quote from: IPACA9 on July 04, 2020, 12:18:15 PM
Some factors that play into this are also wire gauge and distance to the battery.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Appreciate the info, I can assure you this wasn't a factor, considering the distance from the battery to the TM is less than 1 foot.

IPACA9 · July 04, 2020, 12:27:43 PM

Cool. I have my battery in the back but my motor is in the front so I run 6 gauge wiring up there.

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Capt. BassinLou · July 04, 2020, 12:47:15 PM

Quote from: IPACA9 on July 04, 2020, 12:27:43 PM
Cool. I have my battery in the back but my motor is in the front so I run 6 gauge wiring up there.

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Ah...
Yeah, I have mine in the front.

Mike Cork · July 05, 2020, 05:28:36 PM

Great info, thanks for sharing.

Lipripper · July 05, 2020, 08:14:53 PM

That's a bummer Lou. Would it have made any difference if it had some of them Ninja blades on it?

Bassinkorea · July 05, 2020, 08:37:16 PM

Nice easy fix.
Maybe you should have bought one or two more of those switches for the future and save on the expensive shipping costs

Princeton_Man · July 05, 2020, 08:52:53 PM

Quote from: Lipripper on July 05, 2020, 08:14:53 PM
That's a bummer Lou. Would it have made any difference if it had some of them Ninja blades on it?

Blades may help but, it's still going to be tough on a 12v 30lb trolling motor. I'd consider a machete prop and put a razor edge on it.

Capt. BassinLou · July 06, 2020, 07:07:55 AM

Quote from: Bassinkorea on July 05, 2020, 08:37:16 PM
Nice easy fix.
Maybe you should have bought one or two more of those switches for the future and save on the expensive shipping costs

Quote from: Princeton_Man on July 05, 2020, 08:52:53 PM
Blades may help but, it's still going to be tough on a 12v 30lb trolling motor. I'd consider a machete prop and put a razor edge on it.

All good advice, thank you guys.

I didn't want to put more money into this TM. The F/R switch was a must obviously, but ultimately I will be upgrading to slightly stronger TM.

Capt. BassinLou · July 10, 2020, 12:48:48 PM

F/R switch arrived today. Tested the new switch and the TM works!!

Capt. BassinLou · July 10, 2020, 04:03:48 PM

TM put back together, and taking the Bass Hunter out tomorrow.

Learned my lesson, and I have been replaying in my mind what could have possibly gone wrong to burn out the original F/R switch. My BIL were it talking over, I think I figured it out.

I don't believe it was vegetation as I originally assumed. Yes, the little motor gets bogged down quickly in vegetation, but it wasn't like I kept the TM "on" while it was bogged down.

I think what may have happened was that I could have left the TM "on" in the #1 power setting, and it became bogged down or the blade became pinned against the bottom. Thus burning out the switch. I was fishing in water that was less than 18" at times. This scenario could have been the culprit.

Nonetheless, I will be watchful and make sure the TM is indeed turned off when its not in use and we will be using the "duck foot" from now on to push pole us around in the vegetation.

The "duck foot" is going to be a useful tool in the Marshlands. It can telescope past 8 feet in length but we are not going to need it to be that long.

Capt. BassinLou · August 02, 2020, 07:16:34 AM

Update on the new F/R switch. It works great!! We went fishing at the same location we had the issues. I made sure the prop stayed clear of any vegetation and obstructions, as well as making sure it was off when not in use. To avoid any collisions with the bottom, I operated the motor at a 45 degree angle versus 90.
I put the little motor to work. Due to the wind, we were pushed past our landing, I would estimate about a mile. It took us 35-40 min on the highest setting just to make it back.

Lipripper · August 02, 2020, 01:52:07 PM

Good job Lou and your getting the hang of your new boat.