Gel Cells will fry a regulator?

[27E_20]

Hey guys. Last weekend I noticed my Volts meter would peg out at 18V when the engine was past 2500 RPM, back down to 14V below 2500. I have a 1990 Johnson 200 GT on a 21' Stratos Fish/Ski. I bought the boat last Oct. and since then I have been using an Optima Blue Top dual purpose battery to start the engine/run accessories.

January of this year I noticed the original rectifier/regulator stopped working, so I replaced it- thinking it was just old and time for it to go. Well, back to last weekend when I noticed it pegging out my volt meter- I checked connections, cursed, yelled, and beat the steering wheel while I couldnt figure out why a $200 part would stop working after replacing it 5 months ago and only using the boat a handful of times.

Come to find out, (according to CDI) you are not supposed to use any kind of maintenance-free, sealed battery- AGM, Gel Cell, to use as your starting/cranking battery. Has anyone hear of this, or is this just an OMC thing?

Also, CDI recommends that you use at least an 800 CCA staring battery to use with these regulators. Where the hell do you find a flooded cell MARINE CRANKING battery that is over 650CCA, much less 800?!

 

[NYBo]

Re: Gel Cells will fry a regulator?

A loose battery connection will cause the voltage to spike, so don't be too quick to blame the rectifier.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Gel Cells will fry a regulator?

you are not supposed to use any kind of maintenance-free, sealed battery- AGM, Gel Cell, to use as your starting/cranking battery. Has anyone hear of this, or is this just an OMC thing?

Also, CDI recommends that you use at least an 800 CCA staring battery to use with these regulators. Where the hell do you find a flooded cell MARINE CRANKING battery that is over 650CCA, much less 800?!

Never heard of such a thing. I run a 200 Evinrude Ocean Pro and have no such problems. I run Grp. 27 deep cycles rated at 720MCA each.

 

[Jlawsen]

Re: Gel Cells will fry a regulator?

Never heard of such a thing. I run a 200 Evinrude Ocean Pro and have no such problems. I run Grp. 27 deep cycles rated at 720MCA each.

The info has floated around for years. Each of the different types of batteries have different charge cycle requirements but they rarely apply when the charging occurs at the onboard alternator because it supposed to be there to just maintain the battery(s). If you run your batteries way down and then expect the alternator to recover them for you then it's more likely that you'll overheat the Regulator or Alternator windings and cause an early demise.

So yes, because of the higher volatage requirements during a recovery type charge, you could damage your rectifier or alternator. The solution is to install a house battery and a ACR.

If you're not running the battery down then NYBo is correct.

 

[27E_20]

Re: Gel Cells will fry a regulator?

Unfortunately, every time Ive taken the boat out the batteries come off the charger that morning, so Im starting fresh each time I go out. I hear you about the loose connections. A wise man once told me to ALWAYS tighten your battery connections with a pair of pliers (wingnuts) before you head out.

 

[Roadrager50]

Re: Gel Cells will fry a regulator?

I have a 1977 Thunderbird with a 190 OMC. I have a 68 amp alternator. I also have two Optima red top hooked up to a switch so I can charge both or one and I have never had a problem. I also have a amp gauge and a voltage gauge so I can keep an I eye on it.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Gel Cells will fry a regulator?

So yes, because of the higher volatage requirements during a recovery type charge, you could damage your rectifier or alternator. The solution is to install a house battery and a ACR.

A low battery increases the current draw (amperage) not the voltage. The voltage will stay at the regulated output no matter how low a battery gets.

I can see how your scenario is possible with a 6-8 amp charging circuit, but not a 200 HP outboard with a 60 amp charging circuit. You will not find a battery or batteries that are capable of pulling that much current unless you dead short them. It?s a non-issue on high HP outboards.

 

[jhebert]

Re: Gel Cells will fry a regulator?

...according to CDI you are not supposed to use any kind of ...AGM...as your starting/cranking battery. Has anyone hear of this...

The Optima Blue Top battery you were using is an AGM battery, and a very high quality one. A high-quality AGM battery can accept a lot of charging current. If the outboard engine charging circuit was trying to supply high charging current for a long period of time, it may not have been up to the task. It may have overheated and failed.

Would you say that your operation of the boat would have caused the outboard charging circuit to have to restore the AGM battery to full charge from a deep discharge? It that were the case, I can see how an AGM battery might have drawn too much current from your outboard engine charging circuit.

 

[27E_20]

Re: Gel Cells will fry a regulator?

Would you say that your operation of the boat would have caused the outboard charging circuit to have to restore the AGM battery to full charge from a deep discharge?

Nah- Battery was fresh off the charger that morning. This happened as soon as I launched. Since I dont own a tester, I took the battery around to a few different places to get tested. Checked out OK.

 

[Outsider]

Re: Gel Cells will fry a regulator?

A wise man once told me to ALWAYS tighten your battery connections with a pair of pliers (wingnuts) before you head out.

An even wiser man told me to replace wing nuts with washer/nylock nuts, and check once a year ...

 

[jhebert]

Re: Gel Cells will fry a regulator?

Nah- Battery was fresh off the charger that morning. This happened as soon as I launched. Since I dont own a tester, I took the battery around to a few different places to get tested. Checked out OK.

An AGM battery near full charge would not draw excessive charging current. That the charging circuit regulator failed is surprising. I don't see the AGM batttery as the cause.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Gel Cells will fry a regulator?

The current draw of the battery is regulated by the voltage level. I find it hard to believe that in this day and age anyone would build a regulator that didn't monitor the current and adjust the voltage to keep the current within the allow limits of the unit.

CDI is theonly place that makes mention of this problem. I can only assume that something in their design causing the issue.