Evinrude Alternator

[scaglietticoupe]

I have a serious question. I have a 12 foot Alumicraft that I got for free from my neighbors. Being free, it sure as hack wasn't in good condition. I got to working on it, and decided to go the whole nine yards. I have an Evinrude 6hp from the 80's I believe. It doesn't have an alternator, but I desperatly need one unless I want to keep running to Firestone to charge up my deep cycle battery. I am just looking for a basic alternator that will charge the battery and run lights. If there is one, I would like to know where I could get one. Thank you for any help.

 

[wilde1j]

Re: Evinrude Alternator

Most motors under 10HP never have alternators, so there is no source for parts to do it. I would just buy a charger and use it before every trip.

 

[angus63]

Re: Evinrude Alternator

A solar trickle charger like sailboats use is effective on deep cycle batteries.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Evinrude Alternator

This might sound funny, but how about using one of those bicycle generators that rub against the tire. Set it up to rub against the flywheel. The motor might turn it too fast so put a larger rubber wheel on it to reduce it's rpm's. Check out the voltage output. <br /><br />Another alternative is to try to fit the generator coils from a small electric start riding lawn mower to the outboard motor. There are some six horsepower snow throwers that have generators, not for charging, but to run lights. I have a 5hp Tecumseh with a generator on it on my go-kart. That coil might be small enough to fit under the Johnson flywheel. <br /><br />Just a thought.

 

[R.Johnson]

Re: Evinrude Alternator

The engine with charging system that would maintain a trolling battery certainly will not fit on that 12 Ft. Alumicraft. The room under that 6HP flywheel has been spoken for.

 

[Vic.S]

Re: Evinrude Alternator

As far as I can see the 6hp first appeared in 1984 . The "sail" version included a battery charging facility (I have one) but a "battery charge up kit" was available as an accessory for the ordinary ones. By the end of the decade it appears that all models may have had the facility as standard. The rectifier and terminal strip are the same but the coil appears to have changed several times in those few years.<br /><br />If you visit the Bombardier-Evinrude website go to the parts and accesories page then the engine diagrams page and find your engine by year, hp and model number you should be able to identify the parts necessary to add the charging facility to your engine (The year code is included in the model number CR=84, CO=85, CD=86, CU=87, CC=88 & CE=89.)<br /><br />It is possible that the accessories kit could still be available. <br /><br />I have no idea how easy it would be to retrofit, but presumably a complete kit would come with instrctions and all the necessary srews etc. <br /><br />You will find though that the charging is not effective at low revs As already suggested a small solar panel may be a more convenient solution.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Evinrude Alternator

You say you're going to Firestone to charge your battery? Why not buy a decent little automatic battery charger? They don't cost all that much, and they're useful to have. Even car batteries die. I can't imagine not having a charger in the garage. <br /><br />I charge both my starting and deep-cycle battery after each trip. That way, they're ready to go when I am.

 

[scaglietticoupe]

Re: Evinrude Alternator

Thanks for the help, I may be able to get my hands on one of the alternators or a solar panel.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Evinrude Alternator

Forget the solar panel idea. Smaller solar panels work fine for keeping a battery topped off between uses, but make darned poor chargers unless you have one that's about the size of your boat. I have one mounted in the window of my shed to keep the tractor battery topped off (no electricity out there). It is not intended to charge dead batteries.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Evinrude Alternator

Forget the solar panel idea. Smaller solar panels work fine for keeping a battery topped off between uses, but make darned poor chargers unless you have one that's about the size of your boat. I have one mounted in the window of my shed to keep the tractor battery topped off (no electricity out there). It is not intended to charge dead batteries.

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: Evinrude Alternator

Do a search in the electrical section for 'boatist'. He had a neat little setup to charge boat batteries from his tow vehicle.

 

[seahorse5]

Re: Evinrude Alternator

Johnson and Evinrude make battery charging kits for 6 hp motors 1983 and later. See your dealer as they are listed in the Parts and Accessories Catalog for around $75.