Does anyone use the MERCURY TROLL CONTROL on a 50-115hp Mercury 4 stroke outboard? Its $120 compared to $800 smart gauge install. Used to troll down the RPMs, Just a up down switch in the dash that jumps 10rpm down to 540rpm. Thanks
BigC,
Talk to Mercury about specifically what engine you have, not all of them run down to 540rpm using TC. Some of them have a higher minimum rpm to maintain minimum oil pressure (darn 4-strokes!)
HRG
They say the XS Pro will idle down to 540rmp, says so on the web site. Just wondering if the 700rpm to 550rpm makes that much speed difference? like from 2.8 to 1.5mph ect.
A few things on this that unfortunately don’t simplify your question…
I have a 2013 Merc 150 4 Stroke with the Merc Monitor and troll control thru that and although I don’t use it a lot it is great for my use and I have a yamaha 25 hp 4 stroke with the basic toggle button on the tiller arm and that is also great. I would be inclined to think the troll control would work just as well as the smart craft or Merc Monitor but that is just my approximation as it should just be simpler control of the feature but like HRG said every motor may have different limiting parameters for engine preservation reasons and I also had a Merc service manager tell me that the smaller Pro XS 4 Strokes have a computer controlled override feature that will override the troll control setting when the ECU senses that it needs more voltage and it will automatically bump up the RPM regardless of what troll control function (guessing it didn’t matter what device, small TC only, Smartcraft, or Mer Monitor) tells the motor to do. Not sure how frequently that would be an issue or if anything has been changed but that was what I was told a few years ago when the 115 and 90 Pro XS models just became available.
Don’t quote me on this, but I have a note that 40,50,60 has a troll control range of 700-1000 RPM’s, and the 75-115 is 550-1000 RPM’s. The low voltage override can be bypassed by simply reengaging troll control. Regardless of what you use to control it whether it’s a switch or a gauge it operates the same.
I have TC on my 2019 Mercury 60 HP CT. Mine will troll down to 700 RPM and it is located on my tiller arm.
How slow you can go depends on the wind, it’s direction, and waves. Generally I can troll down to 1 MPH or less on the GPS.
The 115hp idles at about 700rpm, the control can get it down to 550rpm. Was just curious if the 150rpm reduction made a big speed difference? I use a drift sock off the starboard side to get me to 1.5mph on my old boat and will do the same on my new boat but looking at options.
Another option is to run your bow mount trolling motor in reverse to slow your troll. Ive done this in the past to get a lower trolling speed. Easier boat control vs. having a sock hang over the side. Your probably not going to get a full 12 hour day of trolling done with that set up due to battery limits on the bow mount.
Ive got a 200 hp verado and was told i shouldnt expect to get down below 2mph with the troll control. My unit trolls around 2.4 mph as is. Different moter, i know. But my guess is that 1.5 is not achievable with just the troll control on your 115 horse.
The 115hp idles at about 700rpm, the control can get it down to 550rpm. Was just curious if the 150rpm reduction made a big speed difference? I use a drift sock off the starboard side to get me to 1.5mph on my old boat and will do the same on my new boat but looking at options.
If my math is correct, it should work out to about a 10% difference in speed.
Motor RPM difference is 550/700=78.5%, or a 21.5% reduction
21.5% less motor RPM translates to 21.5/2.07 (lower end gear ratio) = 10.4% less prop rotation.
So if you were running say 2mph, you would potentially get down to 1.8 mph
At least that’s what the math says, provided that prop slip doesn’t change between 2mph and 1.8mph, which it likely doesn’t.
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