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Annapolis Alternator Shop
Annapolis Alternator Shop
Well, Murphy's heard we're going to be leaving Annapolis soon and has arrived for a visit. I need an alternator shop in Annapolis or nearby that someone's happy with. Of the, count 'em, 5 alternators aboard, one is working and the other non-failed one hasn't yet been tested; it may work, but I don't want to tempt Murphy by having an unknown spare. Worse, I don't have the appropriate equipment to pull off a good pulley top swap them; one of the old ones, I conclude, was the reason I was eating belts before things settled down. One of the alternators I'm taking back to Charleston as it's new and their fault for the failure. The other two not working I'm taking somewhere to get made functional. Thus this post. Help?? To save time and bandwidth, if you can help, please respond directly to me skip gundlach (no space, all one word) at gmail dot com. Thanks. L8R Skip Morgan 461 #2 SV Flying Pig KI4MPC See our galleries at www.justpickone.org/skip/gallery ! Follow us at http://groups.google.com/group/flyingpiglog and/or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheFlyingPigLog "You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it come true. You may have to work for it however." (and) "There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts." (Richard Bach, in The Reluctant Messiah) |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
On Oct 9, 8:11 am, Skip Gundlach wrote:
Annapolis Alternator Shop Mamock's was recommended by several diverse sources, with no others. They fixed me up (well, confirmed that two were dead and one was putting out more than 100A, and swapped over a good pulley for an old one) in a couple of hours; the last of the inop ones will go to Charleston for warranty repair. Thanks to all who responded. As usual, the net came through very quickly... L8R Skip |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
On Oct 9, 8:11 am, Skip Gundlach wrote:
Annapolis Alternator Shop Mamock's was recommended by several diverse sources, with no others. They fixed me up (well, confirmed that two were dead and one was putting out more than 100A, and swapped over a good pulley for an old one) in a couple of hours; the last of the inop ones will go to Charleston for warranty repair. Thanks to all who responded. As usual, the net came through very quickly... L8R Skip |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
On Oct 9, 8:11 am, Skip Gundlach wrote:
Annapolis Alternator Shop Mamock's was recommended by several diverse sources, with no others. They fixed me up (well, confirmed that two were dead and one was putting out more than 100A, and swapped over a good pulley for an old one) in a couple of hours; the last of the inop ones will go to Charleston for warranty repair. I was looking at a 3 cylinder yanmar a few weeks ago and found the alternator belt was slowly being eaten. Since then I inspected 3 more similar fairly new (all from new to less than 3 years old) racing sailboats with the same engine and all were slowly eating belts. Belt tension was within normal limits on each. All of these engines had 110 amp alternators on a single belt pully. Red |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
"Red" wrote: I was looking at a 3 cylinder yanmar a few weeks ago and found the alternator belt was slowly being eaten. Since then I inspected 3 more similar fairly new (all from new to less than 3 years old) racing sailboats with the same engine and all were slowly eating belts. Belt tension was within normal limits on each. All of these engines had 110 amp alternators on a single belt pully. Seems quite normal to me. If you look at the Amp v RPM for that alternator, probably needs a dual belt drive. Lew |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
Red wrote:
On Oct 9, 8:11 am, Skip Gundlach wrote: Annapolis Alternator Shop Mamock's was recommended by several diverse sources, with no others. They fixed me up (well, confirmed that two were dead and one was putting out more than 100A, and swapped over a good pulley for an old one) in a couple of hours; the last of the inop ones will go to Charleston for warranty repair. I was looking at a 3 cylinder yanmar a few weeks ago and found the alternator belt was slowly being eaten. Since then I inspected 3 more similar fairly new (all from new to less than 3 years old) racing sailboats with the same engine and all were slowly eating belts. Belt tension was within normal limits on each. All of these engines had 110 amp alternators on a single belt pully. Red Were they using a "V" belt or a flat belt? Cheers Marty |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
On Wed, 10 Oct 2007 22:00:29 -0700, "Lew Hodgett"
wrote: If you look at the Amp v RPM for that alternator, probably needs a dual belt drive. Sometimes that's easier said than done. I'm driving 110 amp alternators on my engines using a single (heavy duty) belt. http://www.gates.com/brochure.cfm?br...cation_id=1173 |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
On Oct 11, 12:00 am, "Lew Hodgett" wrote:
"Red" wrote: I was looking at a 3 cylinder yanmar a few weeks ago and found the alternator belt was slowly being eaten. Since then I inspected 3 more similar fairly new (all from new to less than 3 years old) racing sailboats with the same engine and all were slowly eating belts. Belt tension was within normal limits on each. All of these engines had 110 amp alternators on a single belt pully. Seems quite normal to me. If you look at the Amp v RPM for that alternator, probably needs a dual belt drive. Lew either that or go from a 3/8 to a 1/2 inch belt and pullies. |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
On Oct 11, 8:42 am, Martin Baxter wrote:
Red wrote: On Oct 9, 8:11 am, Skip Gundlach wrote: Annapolis Alternator Shop Mamock's was recommended by several diverse sources, with no others. They fixed me up (well, confirmed that two were dead and one was putting out more than 100A, and swapped over a good pulley for an old one) in a couple of hours; the last of the inop ones will go to Charleston for warranty repair. I was looking at a 3 cylinder yanmar a few weeks ago and found the alternator belt was slowly being eaten. Since then I inspected 3 more similar fairly new (all from new to less than 3 years old) racing sailboats with the same engine and all were slowly eating belts. Belt tension was within normal limits on each. All of these engines had 110 amp alternators on a single belt pully. Red Were they using a "V" belt or a flat belt? Cheers Marty- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - probably V |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
On Oct 9, 7:11 am, Skip Gundlach wrote:
Annapolis Alternator Shop Well, Murphy's heard we're going to be leaving Annapolis soon and has arrived for a visit. I need an alternator shop in Annapolis or nearby that someone's happy with. Of the, count 'em, 5 alternators aboard, one is working and the other non-failed one hasn't yet been tested; it may work, but I don't want to tempt Murphy by having an unknown spare. Worse, I don't have the appropriate equipment to pull off a good pulley top swap them; one of the old ones, I conclude, was the reason I was eating belts before things settled down. One of the alternators I'm taking back to Charleston as it's new and their fault for the failure. The other two not working I'm taking somewhere to get made functional. Thus this post. Help?? To save time and bandwidth, if you can help, please respond directly to me skip gundlach (no space, all one word) at gmail dot com. Thanks. L8R Skip Morgan 461 #2 SV Flying Pig KI4MPC See our galleries atwww.justpickone.org/skip/gallery! Follow us athttp://groups.google.com/group/flyingpiglogand/orhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheFlyingPigLog "You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it come true. You may have to work for it however." (and) "There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts." (Richard Bach, in The Reluctant Messiah) BTW, it helps to know what engine[s] and what make and size alternators.... |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
Lew Hodgett wrote:
"Red" wrote: I was looking at a 3 cylinder yanmar a few weeks ago and found the alternator belt was slowly being eaten. Since then I inspected 3 more similar fairly new (all from new to less than 3 years old) racing sailboats with the same engine and all were slowly eating belts. Belt tension was within normal limits on each. All of these engines had 110 amp alternators on a single belt pully. Seems quite normal to me. If you look at the Amp v RPM for that alternator, probably needs a dual belt drive. Lew Yeah Lew, that was my point in replying to the OP. There was obvious accelerated wear on each belt on each identical installation from the factory. So I am in agreement about using more belts on high amp alternators. I've been noting though that some people/technicians/boat mechanics think that a 110 amp alternator is not high amp, but the consistant belt wear proves them wrong. Of course, there is a possible alternate explanation for this particular type boat - Balmar has supplied some OEM's, in this case Yanmar on some of their engines, with mismatched belts/pullies. SAE belts will be eaten up if run on pullies designed to be shipped to Europe. As I understand it, the pullies supplied have a different angle than the angle the supplied belt is cut. |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
Red wrote: Lew Hodgett wrote: "Red" wrote: I was looking at a 3 cylinder yanmar a few weeks ago and found the alternator belt was slowly being eaten. Since then I inspected 3 more similar fairly new (all from new to less than 3 years old) racing sailboats with the same engine and all were slowly eating belts. Belt tension was within normal limits on each. All of these engines had 110 amp alternators on a single belt pully. Seems quite normal to me. If you look at the Amp v RPM for that alternator, probably needs a dual belt drive. Lew Yeah Lew, that was my point in replying to the OP. There was obvious accelerated wear on each belt on each identical installation from the factory. So I am in agreement about using more belts on high amp alternators. I've been noting though that some people/technicians/boat mechanics think that a 110 amp alternator is not high amp, but the consistant belt wear proves them wrong. Of course, there is a possible alternate explanation for this particular type boat - Balmar has supplied some OEM's, in this case Yanmar on some of their engines, with mismatched belts/pullies. SAE belts will be eaten up if run on pullies designed to be shipped to Europe. As I understand it, the pullies supplied have a different angle than the angle the supplied belt is cut. Guys, I'm in a little confusion here. I've run an alternator shop for the past 30 years, but rest assured, I don't claim to know everything. if you look back into the 70's your higher lever cars (Caddies and Buicks etc) used a 100A 27si-100 Delco alternator with a rather small single pulley in 3/8 belt configuration, and they didn't have a problem eating belts. Lincoln's and Mercs Used a 100 A Motorcraft unit but did had a slightly wider belt, and had no problem with shedding rubber. I can understand using a mis match pully configuration like a 3/8" belt on the alternator with a 3/8" pulley and a 1/2" pully on the drive source (crankshaft) yes, that will eat belts. In the past few years we've been installing the cs130 105 a. delco alternators on mid 70's cars also using a 3/8' belt and pully with no significant problems. Granted a 105a Delco will put out about 130 amps on a full load, but like the 110 a alternators on the yanmars, they don't run a full load consistantly. Once the battery bank is recharged, the alternator output drops significantly to only an amp pull from the accessories. So the torque on the belt is droped considerably. Any alternator that has to run a full load full time will burn out. If you are pulling a 110 amp load don't expect a 110 amp alternator to last very long. Now if a person is running a heavy unit like a Leece-Neville JB series, or 30si Delco or some big Niehoff, then yes, I'd say a double by 1/2" belts and pully would be manditory. because even then, the field rotors are so heavy you have a flywheel effect to take into consideration as well. But it would still be interesting to know what the OP's alternator make and pulley configuration is. Then I'd try to help to the best of my capacity. BTW, for the past few years, on my 23' Marquis cuddie (228 hp. 350 chevy alpha 1 mercruiser), I'm running a 105a Cs-130 D alternator (with updated rectifier) , with single 3/8" belt, two batteries. on an isolator. engine battery is a standard automotive, and the accessory battery is an 8-D "Cat" battery. I've run the 8-D battery almost dead several times, and the alternator has charged well, and the belt has had no significant signs fo wear. |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
"Tim" wrote: Guys, I'm in a little confusion here. I've run an alternator shop for the past 30 years, but rest assured, I don't claim to know everything. snip I was going to jump all over you until you included the Leece-Neville product line.G In my misspent youth, was a L/N design engineer. Yes you can run a L/N at full output all day long. At least you could when I was part of the design team. Yes, most L/N units require a dual belt drive, especially 100A units. My comment about Yanmar units was based on my experience in my past life. Lew |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
Lew Hodgett wrote: In my misspent youth, was a L/N design engineer. Yes you can run a L/N at full output all day long. Well Lew, I've seen many a 130A L/N come in with stators fried to a crisp due to rotten batteries and/or dubious ground cables. (but usually the pos. rectifier was toast too!) so....... ?; *) |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
Lew Hodgett wrote: I was going to jump all over you until you included the Leece-Neville product line.G In my misspent youth, was a L/N design engineer. BTW Lew, Did you work with L/N when it was a Sheller-Globe company? or after Prestolite took them over (and ran them into the ground!) ? |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
"Tim" wrote: Did you work with L/N when it was a Sheller-Globe company? or after Prestolite took them over (and ran them into the ground!) ? I worked there in the 60s. Still remember being in the QC mgr's office when the news about Kennedy was announced. Left just about the time Sheller-Globe came into the picture. Lew |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
"Tim" wrote: Well Lew, I've seen many a 130A L/N come in with stators fried to a crisp due to rotten batteries and/or dubious ground cables. (but usually the pos. rectifier was toast too!) so....... ?; *) When the system goes South, all bets are off, especially when field control becomes suspect due to external conditions. Lew |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
Lew Hodgett wrote: When the system goes South, all bets are off, especially when field control becomes suspect due to external conditions. Lew i can appreciate that. But then again, I also had a customer that was buying 70a. JBs and putting them on a kenworth, and wondered why he was burning them up. found out the guy was pulling an average 116A load, with all his "chicken lights" etc. They "looked" the same as a 130 amp JB series, but obviously the innards wern't strong enough. But he was getting them cheap from some supply house's "overstock special". No, he wasn't getting what he was paying for. but the price was right...... LOL! |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
Tim wrote: Red wrote: Lew Hodgett wrote: "Red" wrote: snip Guys, I'm in a little confusion here. I've run an alternator shop for the past 30 years, but rest assured, I don't claim to know everything. if you look back into the 70's your higher level cars (Caddies and Buicks etc) used a 100A 27si-100 Delco alternator with a rather small single pulley in 3/8 belt configuration, and they didn't have a problem eating belts. Lincoln's and Mercs Used a 100 A Motorcraft unit but did had a slightly wider belt, and had no problem with shedding rubber. I can understand using a mis match pulley configuration like a 3/8" belt on the alternator with a 3/8" pulley and a 1/2" pulley on the drive source (crankshaft) yes, that will eat belts. In the past few years we've been installing the cs130 105 a. delco alternators on mid 70's cars also using a 3/8' belt and pully with no significant problems. Granted a 105a Delco will put out about 130 amps on a full load, but like the 110 a alternators on the yanmars, they don't run a full load consistently. Once the battery bank is recharged, the alternator output drops significantly to only an amp pull from the accessories. So the torque on the belt is dropped considerably. Any alternator that has to run a full load full time will burn out. If you are pulling a 110 amp load don't expect a 110 amp alternator to last very long. Now if a person is running a heavy unit like a Leece-Neville JB series, or 30si Delco or some big Niehoff, then yes, I'd say a double by 1/2" belts and pulley would be manditory. because even then, the field rotors are so heavy you have a flywheel effect to take into consideration as well. But it would still be interesting to know what the OP's alternator make and pulley configuration is. Then I'd try to help to the best of my capacity. BTW, for the past few years, on my 23' Marquis cuddie (228 hp. 350 chevy alpha 1 mercruiser), I'm running a 105a Cs-130 D alternator (with updated rectifier) , with single 3/8" belt, two batteries. on an isolator. engine battery is a standard automotive, and the accessory battery is an 8-D "Cat" battery. I've run the 8-D battery almost dead several times, and the alternator has charged well, and the belt has had no significant signs of wear. Tim, This is very interesting...... I do boat electrics, that is what I do. www.yachtek.com I also know a lot (certainly not all) of what you know about old equipment and applications. Until the last five years or so, I would have agreed with you completely. But, I have had it proven to me that about 100amp is all the 10mm belt that lives on the front of most of the little engines will take and survive. I have fit quite a number of cruising auxiliaries with big assed alternators. Most will eat a belt any time they go over about 100amps. Unfortunately, this mistake is usually at my expense. Sometimes I can tune a regulator to limit the charge rate and sometimes I have to get (or worse make) a new larger sheave to slow the machine down. Even the 4 cylinder Perkins with a full 1/2 belt are in trouble there, but less so than the Volvos and Yanmars with 2 and 3 cylinders. If we look at the differences, there are more than a few, and let's not even get into automotive. The smaller belt does us no good at all - Agreed? The situation is always worse with the lower cylinder count, I attribute this to the short term variation in crankshaft speed (something a V-8 has almost none of). Another BIG difference, is that for a cruising auxiliary, you have to belt the alternator to charge at rated (or best) current at cruising rev not the rated speed. [One owner routinely blew up the FEAD belt maneuvering into a slip because he would go to rated then.] There is squat for airflow in any sailboat engine space. Sailboats always beat up the batteries more because they always burn them down and then want to change them completely on the way in the harbor. By the by, I have a motorhome that I have used for a mobile shop for a while, that has a 455 and an 80 amp alternator (the old GM with two pivot feet instead of a long single). Any time I've run the house battery down, the alternator squeals for the first couple of miles. A double belt is a common retro fit in this vehicle even without the 140 amp alternator. I do NOT like changing the inside belt. Matt Colie |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
"Tim" wrote: i can appreciate that. But then again, I also had a customer that was buying 70a. JBs and putting them on a kenworth, and wondered why he was burning them up. found out the guy was pulling an average 116A load, with all his "chicken lights" etc. No free lunch is there? They "looked" the same as a 130 amp JB series, but obviously the innards wern't strong enough. But he was getting them cheap from some supply house's "overstock special". No, he wasn't getting what he was paying for. but the price was right...... LOL! You love to see cheap skates getting it broken off them. Lew |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
On Oct 16, 7:08 pm, "Lew Hodgett" wrote:
"Tim" wrote: i can appreciate that. But then again, I also had a customer that was buying 70a. JBs and putting them on a kenworth, and wondered why he was burning them up. found out the guy was pulling an average 116A load, with all his "chicken lights" etc. No free lunch is there? They "looked" the same as a 130 amp JB series, but obviously the innards wern't strong enough. But he was getting them cheap from some supply house's "overstock special". No, he wasn't getting what he was paying for. but the price was right...... LOL! You love to see cheap skates getting it broken off them. Lew LOL! Ye olde "pay me now, or pay me later" |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
On Oct 16, 5:53 pm, Matt Colie wrote:
Tim wrote: Red wrote: Lew Hodgett wrote: "Red" wrote: snip Guys, I'm in a little confusion here. I've run an alternator shop for the past 30 years, but rest assured, I don't claim to know everything. if you look back into the 70's your higher level cars (Caddies and Buicks etc) used a 100A 27si-100 Delco alternator with a rather small single pulley in 3/8 belt configuration, and they didn't have a problem eating belts. Lincoln's and Mercs Used a 100 A Motorcraft unit but did had a slightly wider belt, and had no problem with shedding rubber. I can understand using a mis match pulley configuration like a 3/8" belt on the alternator with a 3/8" pulley and a 1/2" pulley on the drive source (crankshaft) yes, that will eat belts. In the past few years we've been installing the cs130 105 a. delco alternators on mid 70's cars also using a 3/8' belt and pully with no significant problems. Granted a 105a Delco will put out about 130 amps on a full load, but like the 110 a alternators on the yanmars, they don't run a full load consistently. Once the battery bank is recharged, the alternator output drops significantly to only an amp pull from the accessories. So the torque on the belt is dropped considerably. Any alternator that has to run a full load full time will burn out. If you are pulling a 110 amp load don't expect a 110 amp alternator to last very long. Now if a person is running a heavy unit like a Leece-Neville JB series, or 30si Delco or some big Niehoff, then yes, I'd say a double by 1/2" belts and pulley would be manditory. because even then, the field rotors are so heavy you have a flywheel effect to take into consideration as well. But it would still be interesting to know what the OP's alternator make and pulley configuration is. Then I'd try to help to the best of my capacity. BTW, for the past few years, on my 23' Marquis cuddie (228 hp. 350 chevy alpha 1 mercruiser), I'm running a 105a Cs-130 D alternator (with updated rectifier) , with single 3/8" belt, two batteries. on an isolator. engine battery is a standard automotive, and the accessory battery is an 8-D "Cat" battery. I've run the 8-D battery almost dead several times, and the alternator has charged well, and the belt has had no significant signs of wear. Tim, This is very interesting...... I do boat electrics, that is what I do. www.yachtek.com I also know a lot (certainly not all) of what you know about old equipment and applications. Until the last five years or so, I would have agreed with you completely. But, I have had it proven to me that about 100amp is all the 10mm belt that lives on the front of most of the little engines will take and survive. I have fit quite a number of cruising auxiliaries with big assed alternators. Most will eat a belt any time they go over about 100amps. Unfortunately, this mistake is usually at my expense. Sometimes I can tune a regulator to limit the charge rate and sometimes I have to get (or worse make) a new larger sheave to slow the machine down. Even the 4 cylinder Perkins with a full 1/2 belt are in trouble there, but less so than the Volvos and Yanmars with 2 and 3 cylinders. If we look at the differences, there are more than a few, and let's not even get into automotive. The smaller belt does us no good at all - Agreed? The situation is always worse with the lower cylinder count, I attribute this to the short term variation in crankshaft speed (something a V-8 has almost none of). Another BIG difference, is that for a cruising auxiliary, you have to belt the alternator to charge at rated (or best) current at cruising rev not the rated speed. [One owner routinely blew up the FEAD belt maneuvering into a slip because he would go to rated then.] There is squat for airflow in any sailboat engine space. Sailboats always beat up the batteries more because they always burn them down and then want to change them completely on the way in the harbor. By the by, I have a motorhome that I have used for a mobile shop for a while, that has a 455 and an 80 amp alternator (the old GM with two pivot feet instead of a long single). Any time I've run the house battery down, the alternator squeals for the first couple of miles. A double belt is a common retro fit in this vehicle even without the 140 amp alternator. I do NOT like changing the inside belt. Matt Colie- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - Matt, unfortunately your link doesn't work..... |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
Tim wrote:
Matt, unfortunately your link doesn't work..... Tim, Thanks for the heads up! Try www.southpointechandler.com That is the group that I work under (at least until the new state taxes put us out of business). I going to have to have our web guy fix the link anyway. Matt |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
On Wed, 17 Oct 2007 11:59:26 -0000, Tim wrote:
Any alternator that has to run a full load full time will burn out. If you are pulling a 110 amp load don't expect a 110 amp alternator to last very long. I don't dispute what you say, but I may quibble over terminology. Maximum load and full load are not exactly the same thing. Full load is really max continuous, as opposed to short term emergency, load. What do you think the term 'overload' means? I believe it means enough more than continuous power to cause overheating. The copper and iron take time to heat up which is why you can get away with stuff for a while. They seem to lie about the ratings is all, and the warning is good. If you say they all do it, I will keep that in mind. All the AC electric motors I have wired or used have been good for the rated power full time, with I think, no more than a 40C temperature rise. Starter motors put out about ten times what their size indicates they should and can easily be burnt up if you have a good battery. Thirty amp generators used to be the size and shape of the starter which would draw 300 amps or so. Another question. How can an alternator eat belts if the manufacturer picks the belt size. Do the crankshaft designers get to pick? the guys that design those things know how much power a given belt will safely carry. Do they come with a naked shaft, buy the pulley separately? Cars are not that way. This takes arithmetic and a catalog, nothing exotic. A second year engineering student could do it. So can many shade tree mechanics. So what gives with belt eating? Is everything as light and cheap as possible? On cars the things always last at least hundreds of hours. Spark plugs last 100 000 miles. Gardner used to build a 250 horsepower, six cylinder, diesel you could start by hand if the electrics all went west. Too bad you have to buy a $500 000,used, boat to get one. You can get home after all the electrics take a dive, which is not true with many power boats. Oil lamps anyone? Maybe tick tick chronometers and sextants, mechanical taffrail log and paper charts? Tahiti is, supposedly, easy to find, the airliner contrails point right to it. Like following roads with a plane. You don't even need a map. Or so someone said, I never tried it. Twelve volts isn't really enough, which is why so many airplanes use twenty-eight, so called. You can always get by with less copper if you double the voltage. Less current, smaller wires. The battery can stay the same size, with more and smaller cells. After all the power it takes to crank an engine doesn't change, so doubling voltage halves current and minimum wire size. Casady |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
"Richard Casady" wrote: The copper and iron take time to heat up which is why you can get away with stuff for a while. This is a trick some alternator manufacturers play. The rating they publish is a "cold" rating which is cheating. The true rating of an alternator is a "hot" rating. Try runing an alternator under full load in the Arizona desert in the summer time if you truly want a test. Starter motors put out about ten times what their size indicates they should and can easily be burnt up if you have a good battery. Yep, cranking motors are definitely time rated; however there are exceptions. When I worked for Leece-Neville, a standard cranking motor test was to lock the roter of a cranking motor ia a vice, then connect two (2), fully charged 8D batteries in parallel along with a 600A knife switch, some 4/0 welding cable and an 8 ft long wooden 2x4. Secure the switch to the wooden floor, and wire everything up. One guy stands by with a fire extinguisher, another with the 2x4. Use the 2x4 to slam the knife switch shut and stsnd back. The cables would smoke and snake around, leaving burn marks on the wooden floor, the cranking motor grunts and gets hot until the batteries are discharged. When discharged, beat the switch open and wait for things to cool down. Next day check out the cranking motor and try to start it. If it would turn over, it passed. (You don't run that test very often) How can an alternator eat belts if the manufacturer picks the belt size. I used to do belt and sheave design applications for heavy duty alternators. You start with the torque/RPM curve which dictates the required load the belt/s must handle. The belt/s chosen dictates the minimum sheave size for the alternator and minimum angle of wrap. Given this information, the final design of the drive is the responsibility of the engine manufacturer. The big boys have no problem with dual belt drives. The people in the consumer market are another story. Lew |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
On Wed, 17 Oct 2007 11:59:26 -0000, Tim wrote:
accessory battery is an 8-D "Cat" battery. I've run the 8-D battery almost dead several times, and the alternator has charged well. That battery is not actually intended for deep cycling, but is a starting battery Running it down to flat will damage it, and it only might only take a few times to do it in. Any battery should be charged slowly: a ten hour rate is fast. And the slower the discharge rate, the more total juice you get. I am pretty sure I will get the same battery for my boat, and I will try not to discharge it to below 75%. That is not a deep cycle. 25% is deep. Batteries have to be babied, and if you find one that is more robust, it will be sure to cost more. Casady |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
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Annapolis Alternator Shop
On Tue, 16 Oct 2007 19:24:51 -0000, Tim wrote:
Any alternator that has to run a full load full time will burn out. If you are pulling a 110 amp load don't expect a 110 amp alternator to last very long. Full load is not the best phrase, I think you really mean maximum load. Maximum load full time is the issue. Full load should refer to maximum continuous load, the max the thing can endure forever. Casady |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
On Tue, 16 Oct 2007 13:30:16 -0700, Tim wrote:
I've seen many a 130A L/N come in with stators fried to a crisp due to rotten batteries and/or dubious ground cables. (but usually the pos. rectifier was toast too!) I have seen many a fusable link in an alternator output wire. How do you fry electrical goods with a proper fuse in place? You don't. I thought there was a voltage regulator. That doesn't protect the alternator? Casady |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
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Annapolis Alternator Shop
On Sat, 01 Dec 2007 07:43:08 +0700, Bruce in Bangkok
wrote: On Fri, 30 Nov 2007 21:08:04 GMT, (Richard Casady) wrote: On Tue, 16 Oct 2007 13:30:16 -0700, Tim wrote: I've seen many a 130A L/N come in with stators fried to a crisp due to rotten batteries and/or dubious ground cables. (but usually the pos. rectifier was toast too!) I have seen many a fusable link in an alternator output wire. How do you fry electrical goods with a proper fuse in place? You don't. I thought there was a voltage regulator. That doesn't protect the alternator? Casady No, the normal alternator regulator simply controls the output of the alternator in reference to battery voltage. Low battery voltage high output, high voltage low output. It must not be so simple/cheap to regulate current, or they would probably do it. They do put in that dirt cheap fusable link. Casady |
Annapolis Alternator Shop
"Richard Casady" wrote: It must not be so simple/cheap to regulate current, or they would probably do it. They do put in that dirt cheap fusable link. Just takes money AKA: Larger conductors, AKA: More copper. Using system voltage to control field current (usually no more than 5Amps), thus controlling alternator output, is very straight forward. If a bad battery, or a defective cable, wipes out an alternator, that's not the alternator's fault, that's a system problem, IMHO. Lew |
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