Reply To: Recharge Magnets on Fly Wheel

[Tubs]

From Mr. Mohat’s article I learned that I was wrong in the belief that trying to recharge post WW-II permanent magnets would damage them beyond repair. This came from a person who I feel is very knowledgeable and I believed it to be true. My interest is in pre-war motors. I have only had a few post war motors and never felt there was any evidence that they were experiencing any loss of magnetism. Mr. Mohat has been able to show that there is some loss but, as I read his article, doesn’t claim this affects how they start or run.

He was also able to show by increasing the magnetism in the pre WW-II flywheels it does have an effect on when the spark is produced. So my claim that it is only the speed of the magnets that produced the spark would also be incorrect. However the RPM that he was able to achieve is below what any of these motors will run. I never thought to check to see if this was the case as I didn’t see the need to know if a spark is being produced below the RPM range a motor will operate. My focus was only to understand if recharging the magnets would improve how a motor started or ran. What he has discovered is interesting but irrelevant as I cant find any evidence in his article that he was actually able to improve the performance, starting or running, of any of the motors he tested. He does state that “each and every outboard did show some improvement in magnetic strength after being re-magnetized, but this didn’t necessarily translate into noticeable improvement in the low RPM idle speed.” That would mirror my results as well. Bill and Lincoln also relate in their video that their experience didn’t reveal any improvement in a motors function as result of recharging the magnets.

In spite of his own test results he still feels the need to imply that it may be possible to have a performance issue as a result of weak magnets.

Quote from his article- “recharging your magnets -“MIGHT”- just be the -“fix”- you need”

Although he doesn’t reveal any sign of improvement in low speed RPM in his testing he makes this statement-

“However, on other outboards with similar magnet structures, an improvement in magnetic field strength, you -“might”- see a dramatic improvement in the low -RPM idle speed”. I interpret “MIGHT” to mean that there was no evidence from his testing that would indicate that.

He has provided specific data as to the RPM changes that he witnessed before and after charging the magnets of the motors in his test sample but nothing as to how it changed the motors performance. He certainly had the equipment to demonstrate that if there was any.

Anytime someone is struggling in getting a motor to start or is having running issues and they suspect weak magnets I try to get them to focus there attention elsewhere as that is not their problem. If someone is convinced that they have a performance issue because of weak magnets and cant find access to a magnet charger they could very well just set the motor aside.

Implying there is a benefit to seeking out this service can also benefits those who might want to take advantage of an individual who might be convinced that this would be a service worth paying for.

I have met any number of individuates that claim their motor benefited from having the magnets recharged from before and now after (Tomahawk) his article was published. One is a person who brought me their flywheel to be re-magnetized. I told him it wouldn’t make any difference in how it ran. The next time I talked to him he was convinced that it did. I usually move on to another subject.

A "Boathouse Repair" is one thats done without having tools or the skills to do it properly.