I totally understand "I want to find out for my self"
but if you should come across one of these before
you spend hundreds of dollars this is what I’ve learned.
I’ve had mine around 15 years now and after charging
all the motors I had at the time plus all the ones I
got for some time after I have found that if the magnets
retain enough magnetism to start and run, and there
are tons of 70, 80, & 90 year old motors that haven’t
been charged in decades, if ever, that still start and
run just fine, my experience is I can increase the
power of the magnets but there is no change in
performance. It seem that its not how strong the
magnets are but how fast they pass over the coil
that produces the spark. The power output of a
magneto increases the faster it spins so if your motor
will make a spark pulling it over and will start your
not likely to notice any difference in how it runs by
making the magnets stronger. The only motor I had
that would not put out any spark and the spark returned
by charging the magnets was a 1922 Evinrude RBM
(last picture) and as I haven’t had many of these very early
outboards they may very well benefit from recharging.
These are most of the different types of magnetos
I have had. Some I have had a couple, others is dozens.
The ones that wouldn’t produce a spark when I got
them only required a cleaning for the spark to return.
The permanent magnets after WW-II don’t need to be
charged and it has been posted here that if you try
to charge them you ruin them and they cant be fixed.
I can count on one hand the motors I have after WW-II
and I don’t have any spare flywheels so I wont be trying it.
But if you just have to have one (I get that too cause
your not getting mine) if you find one you better grab it.
A "Boathouse Repair" is one thats done without having tools or the skills to do it properly.