Outboard battery help

[111KAB]

I have an old (1984) Mariner 4cyl outboard which is running perfectly. I recently had to replace the battery (used for starter, tilt and trim) and I now think I purchased the wrong type of battery insofar as the one I bought was basically a car maintenance free/sealed battery. I bit of research indicates this is possibly the wrong type of battery for this engine (???) and I should have bought a wet cell one.
I think I have 'cooked' the battery - on high idle the stator is delivering 16 > 19 volts - quite normal I am told and had I used a wet cell battery it would (if fully topped up) been able to cope with this overload. Whilst I know I have to replace the battery again I want to ensure I do the correct thing as I understand a sealed battery can be incorporated if a 12v regulator (20 amp ???) is linked in. It would seem sensible to me to link this in anyway and then I am 'covered' whatever battery is connected. I would therefore appreciate some help....
a) Does the foregoing sound correct? I have only spoken to a couple of people ~ they are convinced they are right and whilst I have no reason to doubt them another opinion would be nice.
b) If correct where do I get a regulator/stabiliser from and what amperage is required? Is there a spicific wire I should be splicing into?

Thanking you ~ KAB

 

[markcw]

First thing i would do is a amp check on the system, most O/B have a standard 12v 70amp or 110 amp battery,

A normal car battery is designed to give max amp at cranking for a short given period of time.

A marine battery is designed to give the best of both, ie high cranking power but also high amps over a long discharge period with out damaging it and if you are not useing the battery to power auxcilaries like lights, fridge etc and useing the battery over a long period of time before charginge then all you will need is a car battery as the engine will be chargeing as you go, so in purpose it will never go flat like a car battery

Your stator, you say is 19v i recon at the battery level you volts will be about 13v to 14,2 chargeing with engine, and 12.5 to 13v not chargeing, amps will vary depending on state of battery, to be accurate with measureing devices i use a calibrated fluke meter, have had lots of different brands of meters and it supriseing how far out hey can be.

 

[VicS]

I have an old (1984) Mariner 4cyl outboard which is running perfectly. I recently had to replace the battery (used for starter, tilt and trim) and I now think I purchased the wrong type of battery insofar as the one I bought was basically a car maintenance free/sealed battery. I bit of research indicates this is possibly the wrong type of battery for this engine (???) and I should have bought a wet cell one.
I think I have 'cooked' the battery - on high idle the stator is delivering 16 > 19 volts - quite normal I am told and had I used a wet cell battery it would (if fully topped up) been able to cope with this overload. Whilst I know I have to replace the battery again I want to ensure I do the correct thing as I understand a sealed battery can be incorporated if a 12v regulator (20 amp ???) is linked in. It would seem sensible to me to link this in anyway and then I am 'covered' whatever battery is connected. I would therefore appreciate some help....
a) Does the foregoing sound correct? I have only spoken to a couple of people ~ they are convinced they are right and whilst I have no reason to doubt them another opinion would be nice.
b) If correct where do I get a regulator/stabiliser from and what amperage is required? Is there a spicific wire I should be splicing into?

Thanking you ~ KAB

Yes I would also think that a sealed battery was not a good choice for an unregulated charging system. With a conventional battery you would be able to top it up when necessary.

I am surprised you have seen as much as 19 volts, although 16 volts does not surprise me. Might be worth checking your meter.

Maybe you could get a regulator intended for a later, or larger, model provided it can be mounted with adequate cooling .

Not sure it would be applicable if your stator is 20 amps but motor cycle regulators can sometimes be used. If possible it would be a fraction of the cost of a Mariner one which could take a sizeable chunk out of £200.

What HP is the engine ?

 

[111KAB]

Thank you ^

Thank you both - replies as I expected really but your knowledge exceeds mine (considerably)! What I should have also said is that the boat is in Spain so any checks have to wait until I am next out. I had originally thought the stator was on the blink but questioning a few people led to the belief I had the wrong type of battery fitted as on this engine I understand the battery (if wet cell) acts as a regulator. The engine is 50hp by the way.
A few more novice questions indicated the possibility of linking in a regulator/stabiliser and this could "either be off a modern engine, motorbike or even a lawnmower".
As I thought this might be a relativelly cheap option I had in my mind buying in the UK, taking out with me, installing and just trying it out.
So firstly I was unsure if this was a solution and secondly I didn't know where to buy this regulator and finally which wire to splice into.
The questions still remain but at least you have, to some extent, confirmed that I have been installing the wrong battery.
Thanks
KAB