AC Power from a 25hp johnson

Hi all,

I have a 25hp Johnson outboard with a socket on the side for AC Lighting, is it possible to keep the battery charged up with this or is it for Nav lights and such,

Do I need to do more then plug into this socket and run wires to whatever, any ides on how much power I can draw from this without doing damage to electric’s in the engine,

The engine is a 1978 modal if that’s any help with any answer’s you might have,

Thanks

Mike,

Hi. An AC source must never be connected to a DC system without a rectifier/regulator arrangement in between.
With a vintage motor like that (1978 Johnson ) I wouldnt take any power off it if you dont know what state the wiring insulation is in, you could be risking a fire.

Do you just want to keep the battery topped up? I bought a couple of small cheap 12V solar panels from Maplin, connected them in parallel on a board, and clip them onto the battery when the boat's lying in the yard. After a 5 month winter lay-up, it fired up the outboard first time.

Hi Hugo,

Your right, it is getting on a bit but under the cover it looks much better then a lot of much younger modals "much like myself "

I have one of them solar panels you spoke of "somewhere" and will use that while in the yard but i was hoping to find a way to give the battery a top up while out and i dont know if the panel will be good enough,

My mate did a little video of the engine in action after i fitted it to the boat, i was getting 12knots without pushing it, i restricted the throttle lever so as not to push the revs to its limit,

12 to 15 knots is fast enough for me to get where i need to be, again like myself it just tinkers along lifes lonely path in the hope of something new around every corner ,

Heres a link of it sucking petrol like theres no tomorrow ,


http://youtube.com/watch?v=gqK7FVXzUVY


If i get the wireing checked could you tell me what i need to add "if anything" to the wire before connecting to the battery,

Cheers.

Brilliant! Thats amazing for an engine from Way Back Then. Must've been very well cared for.

Honestly if it was me I'd leave that AC outlet well alone, you dont want to be generating any sparks when there's petrol about! How is the motor started anyway - pullcord or electric? If its electric then it should already be feeding back to the battery via a regulator. At that age its probably a yanker tho....

Those solar panels are great yokes for trickle charging, my next mad plan is to put a couple on the roof of my old jeep

Hi Mike,
I getting a 70's - 25hp engine fitted onto mine too. What is the max you can get out of her? I think your boat is bigger than mine which would slow it down a bit.
As for your question, are you on

www.powerboat.ie?

I usually find answers there

Cormac

Brilliant! Thats amazing for an engine from Way Back Then. Must've been very well cared for.

On behalf of all owners of vintage Johnson motors out there i forgive you, and thank you for your comment,


Honestly if it was me I'd leave that AC outlet well alone,

After thinking on what you said!!! I have given up the idea of tinkering with it as it will be one less thing that could go wrong,

Thanks for the advice, I will just have to bring a back up battery

Hi Mike,
I getting a 70's - 25hp engine fitted onto mine too. What is the max you can get out of her? I think your boat is bigger than mine which would slow it down a bit.
As for your question, are you on

http://www.powerboat.ie?

I usually find answers there

Cormac

Hi Cormac,
I wouldnt dream of pushing this engine to its limit unless i had to, i.e. to avoid danger, Before i put it on this boat "Mayland 16.5, 2 berth and heavy... i put it on my mates 16ft open boat to check it out on a river before taking it to sea, before i could get anywhere near its top end my mate screamed at me to nock it back in case i ripped off his Transom , He had to sit on the nose of his boat to keep it down while we ran it below full steam so i couldnt say what you will get from yours, I treat mine with the respect due to a machine that has stood the time when many newer engines have died in less then a 3rd of its age, if i was you i would do the same,

Top end will be there if you ever need it in a hurry but why push it, when an engine has lasted all these years you can be sure that the former owners didnt wack the nuts off it to get where they wanted to go,

A chap once said to me!!! "Nice an easy won the race"

The video doesnt show the engine at full belt.. but its not far off I was going against the flow back to Tarbert and you know what that can be like

Brilliant! Thats amazing for an engine from Way Back Then. Must've been very well cared for.

On behalf of all owners of vintage Johnson motors out there i forgive you, and thank you for your comment,

Sorry Mike, my only experience of Johnsons was a very temperamental yoke on a curragh I had before your engine was made.

Re the AC/DC question, PM on the way.

Hi Hugo,

Left it a little late to thank you on here for the info... didnt want it to look as if I had blanked your reply,

Cheers for the much needed advice Hugo ,