Today’s big outboard engines offer more than just ample horsepower. Many now feature ramped charging power from the engine alternator. This ensures plenty of juice for the growing number of electrical accessories such as livewell pumps, marine electronics, electric trolling motors, air-conditioning systems, and gyrostabilizers. Yamaha’s big outboards, including the 450 hp XTO Offshore V-8, deliver significant charging power thanks to a three-phase, simultaneous charging system. The XTO 450 produces up to 96 net amps per engine (at 12 volts). With multiple outboards, amp output is multiplied by the number of engines. In the case of quintuple XTO 450s, that’s 480 amps.
Mercury Marine has also made strides in delivering improved outboard charging capabilities with the new 350 and 400 hp V-10 Verado series, as well as the 600 hp V-12 Verado. The standard alternator on these outboards will deliver 150 amps (at 12 volts) of charging power at an rpm as low as 1,500.
New alternator systems prove so powerful that they can eliminate the need for onboard generators. Ancillary systems redirect charging power to a “house” battery bank to power accessories once the engine is turned off. Yamaha’s Smart Charging system redirects charging power to the house bank once the engine-starting bank reaches 100 percent.
While nearly all outboard alternators generate amps at 12 volts (direct current), one outboard alternator system generates amps at 48 volts. It’s optional for the Merc V-10 and V-12 outboards to complement Navico’s Fathom e-power system that uses a marine lithium-iron-phosphate house battery bank to replace an internal combustion generator.
Fathom can bypass the house bank and direct alternator power to 12-volt accessories through a voltage converter. It can also directly power 48-volt appliances and accessories, thus preserving the energy stored in the batteries. What’s more, the system will seamlessly maintain the house bank, which in turn can charge the starting-battery bank.
Boating anglers can also use the Mercury outboard alternators to recharge the house bank while the boat is at rest. If the house batteries discharge too low, Fathom will send an alert on the boat’s multifunction display or through the Fathom app. You can then engage Power+ mode through the MFD touchscreen. This will throttle up the outboards to 2,500 rpm in neutral so that the 48-volt alternator charges the house batteries.
Today’s outboards provide boating anglers with a number of ways to charge ahead.
