On Thu, 17 Jul 2003 16:18:23 +0000, Belgian wrote:

Hi , i was wondering if there is any danger to fry the magneto of an
outboard 40hp Suzuki engine if install 2 12 volts battery in parallel .
I do use lots of 12 volt equipments on the pontoon, so i figured that 2
batteries would be better and last longer Last year a battery died on me in
the midle
of the lake. I just bought 2 brand new marine ones .
would that be too much strain on the magneto ?
thanks for your help !

The answer to your question is: no. Two batteries in parallel put no more
strain on the magneto/alternator than one. The problem is, the small
alternator on an outboard would take forever to charge these batteries.
Also, as others pointed out, it's safer to have some kind of combiner.

Another solution is simply get a single, bigger battery (ie if you have a
Series 24, get a Series 27 or even a 4D). Same problem with long charging
times, though.

Lloyd