Battery charging

[scalescratcher]

After owning a boat with a motor with no charging system I now have a 98 115HP Johnson with an alternator. The guy I bought the boat from said he never had to "manually" charge the starting battery. I would guess that the load I put on the battery while not running will have an effect on how or even when I have to charge it but could use some advice from those of you in the know on what to expect and what to watch for or suggestions on regular charging for this type system.

[delmuts]

as a rule, it depends on how you use the boat. if you make longer runs with the motor in the upper rpm range so it is producing enough current to chrg the batt. then you should be ok til winter. if you do alot of trolling or only make short runs, then to be on the safe side i would say chrg. the batt evering once in a while. most motors don't produce enough current at low rpms to replace much chrg in the batt. i use to chrg my starting batt once a month just to be on the safe side.( i hate dead batt. ) del

[Surface Tension]

If your using that battery for starting and maybe a sounder your charging system should keep up. After a couple outings put your charger on the battery and see if it takes a charge and for how long. Then go from there.

[Giant_Jackpot]

Scalescratcher,

If you REALLY need to know how your charging system is doing, do the following:

Go to Radio shack and get a $20 digital voltmeter. Go fishing for a day doing whatever you normally do. The next morning before you start the motor or turn anything on in the boat, check the battery voltage. It should be around 12.5 to 12.6 volts. This test assumes that your battery is in decent shape.