Alternator Replacement
I'm planning on making the
battery/high output alternator replacement discussed on the 320 web site and in
numerous 320 e-mails. It's still not
clear to me however if there is a high output alternator available that is an
exact replacement to the OEM alternator.
I've read that mods to the mounting brackets
had to be made. I am considering an AMPEX, or Balmar but hesitate to
purchase if I'm getting into a home mod. situation.
Can anyone identify a model
number that is an exact bolt on replacement?
Thanks in advance
Joe Tamucci, Andante #619
Joe,
I installed the AmpTech
125-SE (125amp hot rated) alternator from Jack Rabbit Marine. Expect to get about 90amps max
out of it at 3200rpm based on
the pulley ratios and RPM range.
Used the
original bolts and brackets, as it was a drop in replacement. There's a pic on the website.
You'll need to replace the yanmar fanbelt with a quality
Gates Green Stripe belt (I bought 3 different sizes and returned the ones that
didn't fit, then got a spare).
The Balmar's
are nice alternators, but are rated at ~90 amps, so expect around 60 in
practice given pulley ratios and engine speed.
You'll need an external
regulator and will have to run a dedicated set of wires to from the terminals
of the alternator to the batteries because the 12 gauge wires on the stock
alternator just won't cut it.
I also strongly recommend
adding the $25 "Zap Stop" kit across the alternator terminals to
protect your regulator in case someone accidentally switches the battery
a-b-both switch to OFF while the engine is running.
If you chose to do that, why
not just get the Heart Interface inverter/charger with the builtin
regulator. Then you take care of the multi-step regulator and get an inverter
in one clean package.
What I specifically DO NOT
recommend for the faint of heart, is the Ample Power SAR-v3 or the NextStep regulator only because of the massive (in my
opinion) amount of wiring needed to control the system. I chose that along with the EMon-II which was a real challenge to
wire cleanly. Were I doing it
again, I'd opt for the Heart system. See this picture and just count the wires
going in and up to get an idea... Must have used 8 thousand
zip ties... :)
There's one option...
Cheers!
-Jeff
I'm assuming you don't have
a Yanmar Diesel given your hull number (169).
Balmar, AmpTech (Jack Rabbit Marine/Ample
Power), and PowerMax (
The Balmar
is single pulley rated at ~90 amps. The AmpTech is
single pulley rated at 125amps
I don't recall the rating on
the PowerMax
If you replace the stock
with a high output, you certainly want to make sure to replace the belt with a
Gates Green Stripe belt. These are
premium quality belts and are built to take the additional stress. The stock belts will likely be shredded
quickly by comparison. And buy them in
pairs.
If you get a double pulley
alternator, you're looking at some serious money to upgrade the engine pulley,
most likely.
Warning: Boring stuff follows: :)
======================
The output amp rating on
alternators is specified when the ALTERNATOR pulley is running at its maximum
rated speed.
Your engine has an operating
range also ~1000-2900 RPM or something like that. When your engine is running at max speed, you
ideally want the alternator running at its rated speed.
The output current (amps)
produced by most alternators falls off rapidly as the pulley slows down, so
even though you have a 90 amp alternator, you might never see more than 75-80%
of that rating.
On my AmpTech-125se, at
3500Rpm, with
low batteries I've seen as much as 98 amps.
When I dropped the engine speed down to 2500, my amperage went down to
something like 35 or so. (don't recall exactly).
The point of all this is
higher rating is better, but you need to buy it from someone that has sized the
pulleys according to your engine if you want to see real improvement. The three suppliers above all do this just
fine. You can choose from both balmar and amptech at Jack Rabbit
Marine. I spent a good deal of time
talking with Mr. Ferris at Hamilton Ferris at a boat show and I am very
impressed by the quality of his stuff also.
As for the electronics, I'd recommend against
the Ample Power package I chose. Very
complex wiring for, I believe, minimal gain above competing regulators/energy
monitors.
Were I to do the job over,
I'd still pick the AmpTech alternator, but I think I
would go with the Heart Interface Link-2000R system (I think that's the
one). This combines shore power charger,
AC inverter and engine alternator regulator in one nice box. <been a while
since I looked, so I could be wrong on some of the details here>.
While you're at it, parallel
your two house batteries, add a dedicated starting battery and add an
echo-charge or some such device to ensure your starting battery gets &
stays charged.
Cheers!
-Jeff
I want to replace my
alternator/regulator with a HO alternator system. I have the original Excide
4Ds that I will rewire in parallel as my house battery and get a dedicated
starter battery. I'm looking at the Balmar 110 amp w/3 stage reg. Aside from a slight increase in cost, is
there any reason I should choose the 80amp instead?
Thanks,
Joe Tamucci - Andante.
Joe:
We have an earlier version Balmar alternator that I believe is rated at 100A. I
installed this unit shortly after taking delivery of Eiderdown and it hasn't
given us a lick of trouble since. From the catalog it looks like a principal difference
between the current 80A and 110A models is that the higher output alternator
requires a 1/2" wide belt. Assuming you have the Yanmar 3GM30 engine which
I believe uses a 1/2" belt, I would go with the 110A model. Very roughly
speaking, you'll get 35% greater output for a given engine RPM compared to the
80A model which should translate to faster recharging, and fewer hours on the
engine for recharging. We are also on the original Exide
batteries and although they are not "paralleled" we do charge them in
parallel via the master switch - after 6 seasons they haven't been cooked by
our 100A alternator so I doubt the 110A unit would be too much for yours.
David Eusden
C320 #581
"Eiderdown"
The 1-2-both selector switch
can be switched off if you like when plugged in at dock (I recommend it
anyway). The bilge pump is wired to bypass this switch, and so is the shore
power charger (which is wired directly to each of the batteries).
The switch doesn't do anything under shore power charge.
When motoring, the switch should be in the both position since the engine
charge "comes in through the 1-2-both switch". If it's in pos 1
or pos 2, the charge from the alternator only goes to the selected battery.
It is OK to change the 1-2-both to either 1, 2 or both
while motoring since the switch is a Make-Before-Break switch. If
you turn it to OFF, (even for
a split second) you'll likely destroy the diodes in your alternator and it will
need servicing. The inductive zap will probably kill
it. A "zapper-stopper" wired between the output terminals
on your alternator will protect against this and probably save your
alternator. They're cheap and even if you're clumsy, it'll only take you 5
minutes to install. :) They're available at all the boat
shows at any of the following dealers.
If you want to change the alternator, it's not
hard if you choose a proper one.
Remember you get ~75% max rated hot amps
typically... I suspect they're all around the $250-$300 mark
You will likely have to do the following to upgrade the alternator:
=================================================
1) Buy an external charge regulator which essentially works like a
"dimmer" switch for the power produced by the alternator.
The regulator decides how much charging current the batteries need and turns up
or down the volume and watches over the charging process.
2) Run a power and ground cable from the
regulator's + And -- terminals, directly to the house bank. (This
step is really pretty easy and mandatory for high amp alternators.)
3) Use a super high quality fan belt like "Gates Green Stripe",
not the junk that comes stock on your engine.
And carry a spare. Splurge, the're
10 bucks apiece... :) High output alternators producing a 100 amps will
eat your stock belt for breakfast.
While you're at it, alot of folks have installed the
Heart Interface / Link10 system to monitor the charge usage and battery health.
I do plan (at some point) to finish an article on my electrical system
upgrade. I just couldn't pull it together in time for the upcoming
Mainsheet. Just too busy right now.
The system I installed on my boat is here: (Got it on a major
sale)
https://www.jackrabbitmarine.com/action.lasso?-database=JRM4web.fp5&-response=record_detail.lasso&-layout=web&-maxRecords=1&-skipRecords=20&-token=36900&-findall
I don't recommend installing this particular system yourself unless you're very
good at wiring or have a pro do it. It's more complex than I realized and
took me quite a bit of time to get things wired to my satisfaction. On
the other hand, I really like it. It's pretty close to the best you can
get today. If I were to do it again, I'd
definitely choose the AmpTech alternator because it
popped in place reusing the same bolts and brackets. The
regulator delays kicking in the alternator until the engine runs for 30 seconds
or so. You can see the
pictures of this on the website. It did take me 3 tries at getting
the proper length belt though...
My requirements were:
-------------------------------
1) Fast multi-stage charging under engine power. (like
the shore power chargers do)
2) Have a single large house battery, and a smaller dedicated starting battery.
3) Eliminate the need for the 1-2-both switch in favor of the cool compact
4) Be able to tell how many hours of electricity I have left at whatever the
current usage level is.
5) Be able to tell at a glance what % charged my batteries are.
Extra credit: Ability to hook up and control a cheap solar panel for
winter batt. maintenance.
Alarm when batteries drop to a charge level I choose.
Place to hook up my laptop and mess around with things I shouldn't... :)
*******
Regarding the alternator ratings in the previous
email... I took a quick look at my notes *AFTER*
I sent the email (of course)..
The ratings I wrote were off somewhat, but you get the idea...
This is what I had in my notes...
· Jack Rabbit Marine sells AmpTech 125se (125/108amp rated max hot/cold)
· Ample Power sells some great
alternators (124/106amp rated max hot/cold)
· Hamilton Ferris sells the POWERMAX,
(120+/???amp rated max hot/cold)
· Balmar sells
the 90 series (90amp rated max hot)
The Balmar alternators run about $350-$450 price
range. Discounts may be available...