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Deep Cycle Battery Question.

dhearn0513

Contributing Member
I have a 1985 Evinrude 120 and I am running my electronic off the starting battery. I would like to add a sep battery for my battery for my electronics. My question is how to go about charging that battery. My mechanic said I shouldn't charge a deep cycle battery with my motor because they can back feed and ruin my power pack or stator. How would I go about charging the deepcycle battery. Also he said not to run a Maint free batttery. I don't know what this means.
 
A maintenance free battery is one that is sealed and you dont add water.....its use actually depends on whether you have a regulated charging system or a rectifier only one...if you have a regulator it will be mounted behind the flywheel on the block...a rectifier only system there is a rectifier a little bigger than a quarter located on the starboard side of the engine...there is a overcharging problem with the rectifier only systems with todays batteries and it will eventually cause rectifier and possibly stator failure...any sealed battery is a no-no on this system...i suspect you have a rectifier only system on this engine....watch your charging voltage when running 2k rpm or above...if it holds at 14.8v or close to it then you have a regulated system..if it starts to creep up ward in the 16 volt or higher range you have a rectifier only..
An outboard charging system is designed to maintain a charge and should not be used to charge a dead battery..current causes heat and heat will eventually destroy the stator...a stator for that engine is in the 300 buck range...an external charger should be used to ''top off'' all batteries before each trip in my opinion...
i dont know what kind of electronics you are referring to..basic boat wiring usually feeds the 12v via the controls and then to the wiring under the console...it goes to the voltmeter and then is jumpered to the other gauges....i would want to keep the voltmeter and the tach at a minimum attached to the ignition battery....it depends on what electronics you are talking about and how they are currently wired....some electronics have a voltage and tach readout...this type of gear i would want wired to the ignition battery....i want to see the condition of my charging and the engine rpm...just my opinion...there is nothing wrong with running electronics off a regulated charging system so long as it is properly fused etc...
if you do go with the 2nd battery i would make sure that the battery was fully charged from an external source before every trip....there are splitters etc that will allow you to charge both batteries and draw off them only for the load attached to each....just make sure you are only doing a maintenance charge on them when you put the boat in the water...
one additional note...forget gel batteries for a boat...the plates are too thin and they do not last in a boat...
 
193-4205 is the CDI Part number of the Regulator on the boat. It calls it a Regulator/Rectifier. Does this mean it has both components.
 
i see where you opened another thread on a battery question....cdi says not to use a maintenance free battery is what you said when you ordered a stator and voltage regulator-rectifier..this leads me to believe that i may be wrong on my prior entry saying that is a regulator and rectifier...call cdi and find out...and ask them why you cannot use a sealed battery....they may say this is a rectifier only part and they may say that the regulator is not rated that high if indeed it is a regulator...and the statement that all batteries are maintenance free is in error i think...as recently as a month ago i saw them in auto-zone....
 
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