I know I’m late to the party on owning powerpoles; the Pathfinder is the only boat I’ve ever owned with one installed. Of course they are super nice and extremely convenient and all that and now I don’t know how I ever did without one. That being said, it started to not work about a month ago and going back to using an old school anchor just didn’t appeal to me. It actually got stuck in the down position on the water one random fishing day. Hitting the buttons on the remote, I could hear the motor trying to do something, but the powerpole was not moving at all. There are “up” and “down” buttons located on top of the motor itself. Try these first to ensure your remote control is not the problem. If that doesn’t work either, the direction from the company states to drive forward. The force upwards should cause a safety switch to engage and it should go up automatically. I cringed when I read that, but that’s straight from the company. Hopefully this doesn’t break the fiberglass shaft, but according to the website, its covered if it happens. I tried using a rope on the end of the powerpole pulling up as hard as I could, but I was unable to get it to budge. If you don’t/can’t do that, you can also disconnect the hydraulic hoses at the pump draining the hydraulic fluid out. Once the fluid is out, there is nothing holding the pressure on the powerpole and you should be able to just pull it up to the “up” position. Use a rope to secure it as it will fall down once you start to move.
After some investigation, I came to the realization that you actually need to maintain these things. Powerpole actually recommends that you replace the hydraulic fluid annually. How many people have actually done that? I’m curious to know.
Anyways, its not hard and will likely extend the life of your powerpole a good bit if you just maintain it every once in a while. Depending on use, you can probably get away with changing it every other year. Just know this; your hydraulic fluid should be clear and see through. If its dark or thick or milky or all of the above, you should change it.
Note which hydraulic line goes to what port on your powerpole motor prior to disconnection. If you swap them at reinstallation, it will still work but your “up” will be “down” and your “down” will be “up.” Certainly not a show stopper, but its annoying.
After close inspection, my reservoir had a small crack in it and was allowing air/moisture to get in the reservoir and mix with the fluid. This was enough to eventually clog up the little tiny filters located inside the reservoir. I bought the parts off of Amazon for around $40 and the work lasted maybe 30 minutes. I took a little extra time to disassemble stuff and clean thoroughly, but if you’re in a rush, you can certainly accomplish it in a half hour.
Powerpole recommends a eco friendly green hydraulic fluid which is about twice as much as standard hydraulic fluid. ISO 32 works just fine, but its not eco friendly if its spilled.
Go check your fluid. It just might save a fishing day.
