Adverc or Sterling?

[alan]

I fitted an Adverc a couple of years ago and am more than satisfied both with the perormance of the product and the quality of service. The instructions and information on how to modify the alternator were excellent ......... and I didn't need to ask for their support. However, in the e-mail exchanges with them prior to purchase, I found them very informative and helpful. Would not hesitate to fit another one on my next boat. As for Sterling I have never dealt with them ........... but have seen a few mails on the subject of their customer relations; this puts me off!!!

Alan.
Nettuno, Italy.

<hr width=100% size=1>Alan Cloke

 

[Chris_Robb]

I think he was talking about alternator regulators!

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[jerryat]

Hi Colin,

I have a Rutland 913, two 55w solar panels and, when on longer passsages, an Aqua4gen towed generator. All these running together, or separately, have caused no confliction problems whatsoever to my Adverc in the last seven years of cruising.

Nuff said?

Cheers Jerry

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[cliff]

Sterling power's site is <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.sterling-power.com/> here</A>.

As for which one to choose, there is so much personal opinion expressed regarding both units the choice is really down to the toss of a coin. Both do exactly what they say on the box IF fitted correctly and if your alternator is in perfect health.

On that note, when I took my alternator in for checking (to a main Lucas depot) I managed to have a chat with the chap doing the tests and his PROFESSIONAL opinion was not to fit either "add-on" unit as in his experience both tended to fry the alternator eventually and were more trouble than they were worth.

Indeed he showed my 5 units on the repair bench ready to be delivered back to one of the local marinas. All had "add-on" regulators fitted and while 4 were repairable (new regulator and brushes, one was beyond economic repair (armature was gone). Maybe it was down to the alternators being in poor health before the "add-on" regulators were fitted or maybe it was how they were fitted or a combination of both - who knows.

I went ahead with fitting the Sterling regulator and it certainly does what it says on the box. went from ~6A charging on a tick-over to ~17A and at around 1000rpm I have the full output of 60amp - was lucky to get 30A before.

Useful tip - on the Sterling you can put a switch in either the red power lead or the yellow sensing lead to switch the unit off and allow the alternator's own regulator to charge albeit at a reduced rate - very handy when starting the eberspacher as they have a high voltage cutout set at around 14.8~15v - also nice to see the difference switching on the advanced regulator makes for given states of discharge and engine speed.



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[Goldie]

I'd echo the comments praising Adverc's customer service - it's excellent. When I admitted my(verylow) level of electrical knowledge they cheerfully answered my question in simplistic terms whilst never appearing patronising. Great staff.

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[pvb]

Sterling\'s website...

Thanks for posting the link to Sterling's website.

We can only hope that the products work better than the website!

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