While visiting with an owner of the same 222 O'Day that I have just purchased, I discovered that his Nissan outboard dealer installed something under the flywheel of his newer 6 hp 4-stroke OB. Question ---Is this something I could do by ordering something somewhere? Oh my Nissan OB is a 4-stroke is 5hp and is almost new. Has anyone "been there done that"?? Now the outboard charges the battery while running.
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Outboard charging
You will have to check with your dealer .He will need your model and serial number. Most outboards only put out several amps.They will not supply enough to power more than 6 amps or so.They are usually good enough to keep lights on when running at higher rpms. Once again this is just a rough ball park. We have a 7.5 horse mercury that kept our batteries topped off for a weel long cruise. we ran the outboard for an hour or more everyday.
You will have to check with your dealer .He will need your model and serial number. Most outboards only put out several amps.They will not supply enough to power more than 6 amps or so.They are usually good enough to keep lights on when running at higher rpms. Once again this is just a rough ball park. We have a 7.5 horse mercury that kept our batteries topped off for a weel long cruise. we ran the outboard for an hour or more everyday.
6 amps
My Merc Bigfoot 9.9 produces 6 amps. If you just run your lights and your electric start motor, the 6 amps is fine. Once you start adding electrical and electronic goodies like chart plotters, fishfinder, radar, microwave and small Engle refrigerator, life isn't so simple any more electrically and 6 amps an hour won't cut it.
My Merc Bigfoot 9.9 produces 6 amps. If you just run your lights and your electric start motor, the 6 amps is fine. Once you start adding electrical and electronic goodies like chart plotters, fishfinder, radar, microwave and small Engle refrigerator, life isn't so simple any more electrically and 6 amps an hour won't cut it.
optional charging system
Most manufacturers offer optional battery charging systems on their smaller manual start outboards. Here's a look at a 5 HP Nissan...notice the 12 volt 5 amp charging system option priced at $149.99. Look up your motor or call your dealer to ask about this feature. An electric start OB would already have this feature built into it.
Most manufacturers offer optional battery charging systems on their smaller manual start outboards. Here's a look at a 5 HP Nissan...notice the 12 volt 5 amp charging system option priced at $149.99. Look up your motor or call your dealer to ask about this feature. An electric start OB would already have this feature built into it.
Chuck, I have a 9.8 Tohatsu
on a Hunter 260. It is the same as a Nissan. I beleave you can get the magnito charging kit for your outboard. Mine came with the package of electric start. It produces about 7 to 9 amps at full throttle and less as RPMs decrease. John USNret
on a Hunter 260. It is the same as a Nissan. I beleave you can get the magnito charging kit for your outboard. Mine came with the package of electric start. It produces about 7 to 9 amps at full throttle and less as RPMs decrease. John USNret
Yes, you can put it on
I did this to my 5 hp Tohatsu (same as Nissan/Mercury). Need to pull the flywheel to do it, so you you need a three jaw puller and a small ball pean hammer, in addition to normal metric sockets and wrenches. Shoud take less than a hour. It will give you about 6 amps at 50% throttle and that will keep your battery topped off from normal use. Doesn't do much at idle or low rpm. Make sure you get the "charging" circuit, not just the "lighting" circuit. The charging has the diodes in it to make it DC current.
I did this to my 5 hp Tohatsu (same as Nissan/Mercury). Need to pull the flywheel to do it, so you you need a three jaw puller and a small ball pean hammer, in addition to normal metric sockets and wrenches. Shoud take less than a hour. It will give you about 6 amps at 50% throttle and that will keep your battery topped off from normal use. Doesn't do much at idle or low rpm. Make sure you get the "charging" circuit, not just the "lighting" circuit. The charging has the diodes in it to make it DC current.
The alternator for the Nissan 5HP is...
rated at 12V, 60W by the manufacturer. You figure you can use the formula Amps= Watts/Volts to determine the Amps output. Theorically it should put out 5 Amps but in reality the useful charging output is under 3 amps and that is why the manufacturer ommits this figure. The answer whether this alternator can be used to maintain your batteries depends on your type of sailing and power usage. If you are cruising and have a single battery in good condition with a capacity of 90 amp/hour you have 14 free amps/hour the 1st day out. The reason is cruisers usually recharge their batteries up to 85% of their capacity as beyond that the battery looses absortion rate and the recharge time to 100% grows exponentially. From the remaining 76 amps/hour to 50% of capacity or 45 Amps/hour you can use 31 amps a day. Discharging a deep cycle battery beyond 50% of capacity shortens its life considerably. Mind you that to replace those 31 amps you will need 10-12 hours of motoring. In 3.5 hours of motoring you can probably replace 10 amps and for extended cruising this would probably be your limit. What can you do with 10 amps a day? An anchor light will use 7 amps in 9 hours. A cabin light will use 3 amps in 4 hours. A GPS will use 4 amps in 8 hours. A CD player will use 3 amps in 4 hours. A VHF radio will use 2 amps in 10 minutes. There are many ways to skin this cat; we have an Starwind 223 which we take on a yearly trip for 10-12 days. Our Nissan 9.9HP does not have an alternator so there are no charging capabilities other than 110V shorepower yet we have adequate electric power to meet our needs. We have two group 27 batteries with a combined capacity of 210 amp hours. our average daily usage on the hook is approximately 18 amps/hour so in three days we use about 54 amps and by then we are ready to go to spend a night at a marina to replenish ice, perishables and get a hot shower. We will recharge our batteries and be ready to go for a few more days. Our main priorities are anchor light, Cd player, GPS and Cell phone charging but have always had power to run 12V fans at night and cabin lights. Get to know your electrical system, storage capacity and recharging capacity and blend that in with your average daily usage and other recharging options available. The object is to have available power to meet your needs at all times.
rated at 12V, 60W by the manufacturer. You figure you can use the formula Amps= Watts/Volts to determine the Amps output. Theorically it should put out 5 Amps but in reality the useful charging output is under 3 amps and that is why the manufacturer ommits this figure. The answer whether this alternator can be used to maintain your batteries depends on your type of sailing and power usage. If you are cruising and have a single battery in good condition with a capacity of 90 amp/hour you have 14 free amps/hour the 1st day out. The reason is cruisers usually recharge their batteries up to 85% of their capacity as beyond that the battery looses absortion rate and the recharge time to 100% grows exponentially. From the remaining 76 amps/hour to 50% of capacity or 45 Amps/hour you can use 31 amps a day. Discharging a deep cycle battery beyond 50% of capacity shortens its life considerably. Mind you that to replace those 31 amps you will need 10-12 hours of motoring. In 3.5 hours of motoring you can probably replace 10 amps and for extended cruising this would probably be your limit. What can you do with 10 amps a day? An anchor light will use 7 amps in 9 hours. A cabin light will use 3 amps in 4 hours. A GPS will use 4 amps in 8 hours. A CD player will use 3 amps in 4 hours. A VHF radio will use 2 amps in 10 minutes. There are many ways to skin this cat; we have an Starwind 223 which we take on a yearly trip for 10-12 days. Our Nissan 9.9HP does not have an alternator so there are no charging capabilities other than 110V shorepower yet we have adequate electric power to meet our needs. We have two group 27 batteries with a combined capacity of 210 amp hours. our average daily usage on the hook is approximately 18 amps/hour so in three days we use about 54 amps and by then we are ready to go to spend a night at a marina to replenish ice, perishables and get a hot shower. We will recharge our batteries and be ready to go for a few more days. Our main priorities are anchor light, Cd player, GPS and Cell phone charging but have always had power to run 12V fans at night and cabin lights. Get to know your electrical system, storage capacity and recharging capacity and blend that in with your average daily usage and other recharging options available. The object is to have available power to meet your needs at all times.
Jon W - it could be that your batteries
were already full. If they were, their acceptance level would reduce the amount of juice they could consume, and the amps would be expected to be lower. You'd get max amps out of any alternator when the batteries need a (full) charge and can accept the amperage available. Benny's description is very good and represents what I've heard called the "steadily diminishing law of returns." He needs to and plans to plug in every few days. Even if you have an inboard diesel engine (and I understand you DO NOT, but stay with me) unless your alternator and regulator package can produce a daily dose of amp output to meet your daily amp hour draw in an hour or so, you'll end up eventually drawing down your batteries because you'll be taking more out over the course of a week than you can return, because you'll most likely NOT want to run the engine more than an hour a day (at anchor). If you're motoring a lot, this is a moto point, but these are sailboats. Hence the need to go to a marina to plug in on a regular basis. We've recently installed a new alternator and regulator and have determined with our energy budget that an hour of motoring will equal our daily use. That's a good balance. Additional improvements would be a larger solar panel. So, as Benny describes, do an energy budget, do some reading, and figure out how YOU intend to use your boat. Your boat, your choice, and you do have many choices.
were already full. If they were, their acceptance level would reduce the amount of juice they could consume, and the amps would be expected to be lower. You'd get max amps out of any alternator when the batteries need a (full) charge and can accept the amperage available. Benny's description is very good and represents what I've heard called the "steadily diminishing law of returns." He needs to and plans to plug in every few days. Even if you have an inboard diesel engine (and I understand you DO NOT, but stay with me) unless your alternator and regulator package can produce a daily dose of amp output to meet your daily amp hour draw in an hour or so, you'll end up eventually drawing down your batteries because you'll be taking more out over the course of a week than you can return, because you'll most likely NOT want to run the engine more than an hour a day (at anchor). If you're motoring a lot, this is a moto point, but these are sailboats. Hence the need to go to a marina to plug in on a regular basis. We've recently installed a new alternator and regulator and have determined with our energy budget that an hour of motoring will equal our daily use. That's a good balance. Additional improvements would be a larger solar panel. So, as Benny describes, do an energy budget, do some reading, and figure out how YOU intend to use your boat. Your boat, your choice, and you do have many choices.
On the Internet, I can only say- THANKS !!
To everyone who replys. Isn't it great to be able to talk to so many people from so many different places. I have found a Nissan dealer in Sandusky Oh and plan to purchase the charging unit and the proper set up for the sailboat needs. Looks like I will still need to use shorepower to maintain fully charged batteries. This Ol' "stink boater" is now a true sailor and lovin every minuet of it!! THANKS EVERYONE.
To everyone who replys. Isn't it great to be able to talk to so many people from so many different places. I have found a Nissan dealer in Sandusky Oh and plan to purchase the charging unit and the proper set up for the sailboat needs. Looks like I will still need to use shorepower to maintain fully charged batteries. This Ol' "stink boater" is now a true sailor and lovin every minuet of it!! THANKS EVERYONE.
Batteries full
Battery charge didn’t seem to be the problem when I measured output. Charging amps would go up quite a bit if I revved the engine to full rpm (4,500), which I never did in normal use since half throttle got me to hull speed. Idling the motor produced nothing, so it seemed very rpm sensitive throughout the range. This was also verified by very minimal battery charging performance. I did a night run for 8 hours with just the three navigation lights on. (bow stern and powering lights) Thorough out the night I watched my lights get slightly dimmer. When I started out, the battery was partially discharged, and the two amps I normally got out of the Honda 9.9 (rated at 5 amps) didn't quite keep up with the 3 amps of lighting.
Battery charge didn’t seem to be the problem when I measured output. Charging amps would go up quite a bit if I revved the engine to full rpm (4,500), which I never did in normal use since half throttle got me to hull speed. Idling the motor produced nothing, so it seemed very rpm sensitive throughout the range. This was also verified by very minimal battery charging performance. I did a night run for 8 hours with just the three navigation lights on. (bow stern and powering lights) Thorough out the night I watched my lights get slightly dimmer. When I started out, the battery was partially discharged, and the two amps I normally got out of the Honda 9.9 (rated at 5 amps) didn't quite keep up with the 3 amps of lighting.
Under the flywheel....
the dealer probably installed an additional set of pick-up coils for battery charging. There should also be a recifier (thingy with four wires coming out of it) there to convert the alternating current from the coils to dc current for the batteries. With the right part numbers and decent mechanical knowledge you should be able to do this yourself.
the dealer probably installed an additional set of pick-up coils for battery charging. There should also be a recifier (thingy with four wires coming out of it) there to convert the alternating current from the coils to dc current for the batteries. With the right part numbers and decent mechanical knowledge you should be able to do this yourself.
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