nedmin
Well-Known Member
Thinking of fitting a Sterling advanced regulator to my alternator, anyone had any probs. with reliability of the unit or the alternator? As a single engine boat reliability is at premium.
Advanced Regulators
- Thread starter nedmin
- Start date
steve_cronin
N/A
No problems at all.
great bit of kit.
you will need to avoid belt slip though by checking tightness regularly
Steve Cronin
great bit of kit.
you will need to avoid belt slip though by checking tightness regularly
Steve Cronin
toad
Well-Known Member
Does what it says on the box, make sure all connections, wiring and belt are in good condition as it will make the alternator work to full capacity.
billmacfarlane
Well-Known Member
I've had years of faultless use out of mine. No problems at all.
Seal_surfer
Well-Known Member
Fitted the ealy "pro" model (has overheat protection of alternator and battery) a couple of years or more ago and transformed my battery situation. I only use the engine for the 10 mins or so, in and out of the creek where mooring is, and even this is now enough for full charging.
It did need some careful thought to get the alternator brush connections correct though, so some basic expertise is useful, although this may now have been simplified in later model? Seems excellent value, the best mod I've made to my boat so far.
It did need some careful thought to get the alternator brush connections correct though, so some basic expertise is useful, although this may now have been simplified in later model? Seems excellent value, the best mod I've made to my boat so far.
mithril
Well-Known Member
Had one for 4 years and, as it had worked faultlessly, took it off and fitted it to the new boat. Skinflint?
gwc2004
Well-Known Member
Get one, you won't regret it.
nedmin
Well-Known Member
Thanks all, will give it a go.
samwise
Well-Known Member
Before you are carried away on this tide of enthusiasm for Sterling, take a look at Adverc. IMO a better and more robust system, but then the other posters here make a good case for Sterling. If you want to widen the choice further also look at Merlin systems and Balmar alternators.
steve_cronin
N/A
The Adverc and the Sterling don\'t ..
..do the same job as a phone call to Adverc (of maybe a call to their LIBS stand) will reveal.
Steve Cronin
..do the same job as a phone call to Adverc (of maybe a call to their LIBS stand) will reveal.
Steve Cronin
Gumpy
Well-Known Member
Re: The Adverc and the Sterling don\'t ..
Just a thought do you really need one
If you have a new alternator that charges at 14.4v you dont.
Have a look here
http://www.smartgauge.co.uk/controllers.html
There is lots of technical stuff on the site
http://www.smartgauge.co.uk/technical1.html
J
Just a thought do you really need one
If you have a new alternator that charges at 14.4v you dont.
Have a look here
http://www.smartgauge.co.uk/controllers.html
There is lots of technical stuff on the site
http://www.smartgauge.co.uk/technical1.html
J
bedouin
Well-Known Member
Re: The Adverc and the Sterling don\'t ..
The benefit of the smart controller is (a) It can charge at up to 14.8V if you have appropriate batteries fitted and (b) it can drop the charge to 13.8V (or similar) once the battery is fully charged.
Most batteries would not take too kindly to being fed 14.4V over a long period of time once fully charged
The benefit of the smart controller is (a) It can charge at up to 14.8V if you have appropriate batteries fitted and (b) it can drop the charge to 13.8V (or similar) once the battery is fully charged.
Most batteries would not take too kindly to being fed 14.4V over a long period of time once fully charged
Gumpy
Well-Known Member
Re: The Adverc and the Sterling don\'t ..
[ QUOTE ]
The benefit of the smart controller is (a) It can charge at up to 14.8V if you have appropriate batteries fitted and (b) it can drop the charge to 13.8V (or similar) once the battery is fully charged.
Most batteries would not take too kindly to being fed 14.4V over a long period of time once fully charged
[/ QUOTE ]
I think that you will find that most modern alternators ( under 10 years old) charge at between 14.2v and 14.4v with no damage to the batteries.
The alternator controller was very useful when alternators only charged at 13.8v but it has outlived its time.
Have a read of the link I posted you may find it interesting.
Julian
[ QUOTE ]
The benefit of the smart controller is (a) It can charge at up to 14.8V if you have appropriate batteries fitted and (b) it can drop the charge to 13.8V (or similar) once the battery is fully charged.
Most batteries would not take too kindly to being fed 14.4V over a long period of time once fully charged
[/ QUOTE ]
I think that you will find that most modern alternators ( under 10 years old) charge at between 14.2v and 14.4v with no damage to the batteries.
The alternator controller was very useful when alternators only charged at 13.8v but it has outlived its time.
Have a read of the link I posted you may find it interesting.
Julian
john_morris_uk
Well-Known Member
Re: The Adverc and the Sterling don\'t ..
[ QUOTE ]
Just a thought do you really need one
If you have a new alternator that charges at 14.4v you dont.
Have a look here
http://www.smartgauge.co.uk/controllers.html
There is lots of technical stuff on the site
http://www.smartgauge.co.uk/technical1.html
J
[/ QUOTE ]Sadly some of the technical stuff is wrong:
[ QUOTE ]
Another problem with diodes is the wasted energy. Imagine a 70 amp alternator charging a battery through a splitting diode running at full charge capacity. That is 70 amps X 1.4 volts = almost 100 watts of power that is wasted in heating up the diode. That's power that could have gone into your batteries, another 7 amps at the normal 12 volt charge voltage of 14.4 volts. Some diode suppliers and manufacturers deny the existence of this wasted power (in the form of heat), others simply forget to mention it. Ask them why they have such huge cooling fins on them.
[/ QUOTE ]
The normal forward voltage drop through a silicon diode junction is 0.7 Volts. Some diode splitters use Schottky diodes which have a voltage drop of 0.15 Volts or slightly more.
I have NO IDEA where they get the figure of 1.4 Volts from - unless they are agregating the both sides of the diode splitter, and that just doesn't make sense.
Furthermore they quote 70 amps of charge. For large alternators, when they are cold, 70 amps MAY be possible for the initial charge current. However the physics of the lead-acid battery and the heating up of the average alternator prevent that charge rate being generated and/or absorbed for very long. Furthermore that charge rate would only be into the domestic bank so only ONE diode loss please!
So the real (worst case) calculation is 0.7 Volts times 70 amps = 49 watts loss in the diode. Half of what they claim. But this is only for a short period while the initial surface charge in the battery is absorbed. They then claim that the wasted heat could be absorbed by the battery as another 7 amps of charge. This is laughable. The arithmetic might be correct, but I will lay long odds that the battery wouldn't be able to accept the extra 7 amps anyway. It MIGHT accept a little, but not another 7 amps.
They also claim that if you use battery sensing the other battery that doesn't need the charge will be overcharged. NOT TRUE. The physics of the battery comes to our aid, and prevents this happening.
Finally, manufacturers put the cooling fins on because energy is lost, and a major problem with silicon devices is thermal runaway. If the device overheats, then the resistance goes down - which leads to more current and more heat and.... (In the research lab I worked in once, we called transistors the fastest fuse known to man...)
There is some good stuff on the site, but sadly let down by a bit of blinkered/biased/wrong physics when they start trying to sell their own solutions...
By the way I like the way that they put a benefit for THEM as a benefit to the customer!
[ QUOTE ]
Key benefits
12/24 volt for reduced stock holding.
[/ QUOTE ]
Please don't think I am suggesting their system won't work. I believe that it will and that its probably quite good.
However you have a choice with split battery banks. Either use a split charge system with diodes and battery sensing and a decent alternator controller, or use an alternator controller and some sort charging relay.
[ QUOTE ]
Just a thought do you really need one
If you have a new alternator that charges at 14.4v you dont.
Have a look here
http://www.smartgauge.co.uk/controllers.html
There is lots of technical stuff on the site
http://www.smartgauge.co.uk/technical1.html
J
[/ QUOTE ]Sadly some of the technical stuff is wrong:
[ QUOTE ]
Another problem with diodes is the wasted energy. Imagine a 70 amp alternator charging a battery through a splitting diode running at full charge capacity. That is 70 amps X 1.4 volts = almost 100 watts of power that is wasted in heating up the diode. That's power that could have gone into your batteries, another 7 amps at the normal 12 volt charge voltage of 14.4 volts. Some diode suppliers and manufacturers deny the existence of this wasted power (in the form of heat), others simply forget to mention it. Ask them why they have such huge cooling fins on them.
[/ QUOTE ]
The normal forward voltage drop through a silicon diode junction is 0.7 Volts. Some diode splitters use Schottky diodes which have a voltage drop of 0.15 Volts or slightly more.
I have NO IDEA where they get the figure of 1.4 Volts from - unless they are agregating the both sides of the diode splitter, and that just doesn't make sense.
Furthermore they quote 70 amps of charge. For large alternators, when they are cold, 70 amps MAY be possible for the initial charge current. However the physics of the lead-acid battery and the heating up of the average alternator prevent that charge rate being generated and/or absorbed for very long. Furthermore that charge rate would only be into the domestic bank so only ONE diode loss please!
So the real (worst case) calculation is 0.7 Volts times 70 amps = 49 watts loss in the diode. Half of what they claim. But this is only for a short period while the initial surface charge in the battery is absorbed. They then claim that the wasted heat could be absorbed by the battery as another 7 amps of charge. This is laughable. The arithmetic might be correct, but I will lay long odds that the battery wouldn't be able to accept the extra 7 amps anyway. It MIGHT accept a little, but not another 7 amps.
They also claim that if you use battery sensing the other battery that doesn't need the charge will be overcharged. NOT TRUE. The physics of the battery comes to our aid, and prevents this happening.
Finally, manufacturers put the cooling fins on because energy is lost, and a major problem with silicon devices is thermal runaway. If the device overheats, then the resistance goes down - which leads to more current and more heat and.... (In the research lab I worked in once, we called transistors the fastest fuse known to man...)
There is some good stuff on the site, but sadly let down by a bit of blinkered/biased/wrong physics when they start trying to sell their own solutions...
By the way I like the way that they put a benefit for THEM as a benefit to the customer!
[ QUOTE ]
Key benefits
12/24 volt for reduced stock holding.
[/ QUOTE ]
Please don't think I am suggesting their system won't work. I believe that it will and that its probably quite good.
However you have a choice with split battery banks. Either use a split charge system with diodes and battery sensing and a decent alternator controller, or use an alternator controller and some sort charging relay.
Gumpy
Well-Known Member
Re: Split charge diodes......
I take your points on the 1.4v, I have yet to see ( in 30 years in electrics ) a diode splitter that drops as little as .15v maybe I just havent seen any expensive ones.
Personally I have always prefered relays for split charging something along the lines of the SW180 here:
http://www.albright.co.uk/
Better stop now as this could get way off topic.
Julian
I take your points on the 1.4v, I have yet to see ( in 30 years in electrics ) a diode splitter that drops as little as .15v maybe I just havent seen any expensive ones.
Personally I have always prefered relays for split charging something along the lines of the SW180 here:
http://www.albright.co.uk/
Better stop now as this could get way off topic.
Julian
bedouin
Well-Known Member
Re: The Adverc and the Sterling don\'t ..
[ QUOTE ]
I think that you will find that most modern alternators ( under 10 years old) charge at between 14.2v and 14.4v with no damage to the batteries.
The alternator controller was very useful when alternators only charged at 13.8v but it has outlived its time.
Have a read of the link I posted you may find it interesting.
Julian
[/ QUOTE ]
Sorry but there are a couple of errors there
(a) Most batteries cannot stand a constant 14.4V once they have been fully charged - that is nothing to do with the alternator. One of the key tasks of the advanced regulator is to reduce the voltage to floating levels 13.8V once the battery is fully charged
(b) An advanced alternator controller is useless if the alternator only puts out 13.8V. What they all do is to up the output of the alternator to 15V+ or whatever is required to get the voltage at the battery terminals to the required level.
[ QUOTE ]
I think that you will find that most modern alternators ( under 10 years old) charge at between 14.2v and 14.4v with no damage to the batteries.
The alternator controller was very useful when alternators only charged at 13.8v but it has outlived its time.
Have a read of the link I posted you may find it interesting.
Julian
[/ QUOTE ]
Sorry but there are a couple of errors there
(a) Most batteries cannot stand a constant 14.4V once they have been fully charged - that is nothing to do with the alternator. One of the key tasks of the advanced regulator is to reduce the voltage to floating levels 13.8V once the battery is fully charged
(b) An advanced alternator controller is useless if the alternator only puts out 13.8V. What they all do is to up the output of the alternator to 15V+ or whatever is required to get the voltage at the battery terminals to the required level.