Trolling With A 2-Stroke

[Salmonseeker]

I troll extensively with a 2004 50HP Johnson 2-stroke and have yet to have a problem.

Now I have heard that doing a lot of trolling will prematurely wear out your motor and it is generally not good for it.

They have been around a long time and have been trolled with for years. To me it would seem running at higher RPM's would cause more wear to the motor and be worse for it.

So besides problems with the motor loading up, Why else would trolling harm a 2-stroke?

What are your thoughts on this or is it another urban myth?

 

[rndn]

Re: Trolling With A 2-Stroke

Myth, although it is good to run it at WOT occasionally to help clean it out. If you really troll a lot you may wnat to decarbonize more frequently and try a partial synthetic oil to help reduce buildup. Trolling will not ruin your engine though.

 

[Salmonseeker]

Re: Trolling With A 2-Stroke

I do run a full synthetic oil and run WOT to and from my fishing spots.

I am going to do my first de-carb this spring, since I have never done it in the 3 years I have owned this motor.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Trolling With A 2-Stroke

seeing you do a lot of trolling and low speed running, decarb ever 50 hours of use. keeps it clean, you can also try opening your plug gap another .005. if they are set at .030 try .035. also keep your tstat up to grade, if it starts to stick open the motor will run cool, causing additional build up. you are also due and impeller change.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Trolling With A 2-Stroke

I troll a 225HP 8-10 hours a day during the Spring and Fall runs without any ill effects. Use good quality oil and fuel and don't think twice about it.

While I strongly suggest decarb every 50 hours is a little over the top. At that rate I'd be decarbing once a week during the season.

I decarb once a year which is typically 200-300 hours

 

[JB]

Re: Trolling With A 2-Stroke

I have trolled JohnnyRude 70s for 6-8 hours at a stretch with no ill effects.

I think that is a myth created by someone trying to get an advantage to sell 4 strokes.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Trolling With A 2-Stroke

Let me see -- I own a 1946 Johnson 5HP that is older than most folks on this board and has seen more time at trolling speeds than most people are old. It was bpught new by my Dad, passed to my older Brother and is now in my stable. This engine has never been touched except for routine maintenance and runs like a swiss watch to this day. No -- trolling will not ruin your engine.

 

[Salmonseeker]

Re: Trolling With A 2-Stroke

Thats what I thought guys. I could not figure out how it would hurt the motor.

I will do a decarb this spring and should change the impeller since I have not done this yet. I am second guessing the need to do it since it was never done on my Dad's 15HP Yamaha in the 15 years he owned it and it always worked fine. I know I should do it though.

Besides that I do take great care of the motor.

Tashasdaddy, you recommended I change the gap on my plugs before on another post to help burn the excess fuel when trolling. I did try it and never really noticed a difference. The one thing I did notice was when I checked the plugs at the end of the season. It seems that the gap grew significantly to about 0.045". This did not happen as much when I had the plugs set to 0.030" the previous year. Don't know if this means anything or not.

I am glad all you guys agree that trolling with a 2-stroke is fine. Besides the odd whiff of unburnt fuel on my motor it trolls great for up to 6 hours at a time.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Trolling With A 2-Stroke

are you using champion plugs, that's what it is designed to run with.

 

[Salmonseeker]

Re: Trolling With A 2-Stroke

Yes, I am using the QL78YC. The motor ran fine even with the wider gap, it just seemed to wear down more on the side electrode(metal part). You could actually see the wear.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Trolling With A 2-Stroke

I had 1975 50HP Johnson that I trolled with 8 to 10 hours a day for more than two decades. Then used it on other boats until 2005 when I sold it to a friend, he used it the same way I did, trolling for hours on end in salt water. It was even completely submerged in salt water in 1979, as far as I know it has never been decarbed, has had one complete carb rebuild and a new set of reeds. Still runs great and the guy I sold it to is very happy with it.

 

[walleyehed]

Re: Trolling With A 2-Stroke

Salmonseeker, you may see some additional wear on the .035 plug gap, but the flame front is larger and they tend to idle smoother, longer.
We used to go to .040 and found the same thing your are wear-wise, so I stick to .035 on my carbed 200 'Rude, also with 100% synthetic and good 87 octane. I have to use the trolling plate adapters on my smart-tabs to get it to troll as slow as I need it to, and with Boyesen reeds, I'm down to 600RPM. It does want to load-up after about 4-5hrs, but this is an old, rebuilt(by me) crossflow. if it's starts acting up, I reel in, take off at a normal rate to about 4000rpm, then smash it to 6000-6200....about a 2-3 minute run and I'm good for the rest of the day.