alternator regulators

[cruachan]

am thinking of fitting a smart regualtor to charge batteries sufficiently to keep fridge cold enough for beer (me) and sancerre (swmbo) - hardly needed last summer - but you never know this year the sun may shine.
However as always a lot of conflicting advice - what are peoples opinion on smart regulators and any advice on the various makes - sterling, adverc and merlin (ams)

 

[pvb]

Adverc...

I've fitted Advercs on several boats, with good results. If you need advice, Adverc's people are incredibly friendly and helpful. Sterling units also seem quite popular, but their response to customer questions can be, shall we say, somewhat abrupt! You won't go far wrong with an Adverc.

Remember also that the most cost-effective improvement you can make to your boat's electrical system is to simply add extra battery capacity.

 

[LORDNELSON]

I have used an Adverc system for the past two years. Seems to work well (and I have monitored it quite a lot). The Adverc people are very helpful and friendly.

 

[cruachan]

with regard to adding an extra battery, i thought the aim of the smart regulator was to increase the usable capacity of the bank you have but also speed the charging rate up - is this the experience of others??

 

[William_H]

You don't say what kind of boat it is and if you have shore power. The smart regulator enables high charge current so that batteries are charged in minimum time which is good for a sailboat or when on an anchor. If you run Mobo engines a fair bit then ordinary regulator should suffice and money would be better spent on more batteries if you find you are running low on battery power when not running engine. Then again a big freezer with cold plate can store cold nearly as well as batteries can store power to make the equivalent cold. So a lot depends on your boating style.
(From someone who has neither fridge nor motor on sail boat just lots of hot weather) regards will

 

[boatmike]

Just to balance things out I have run 2 stirlings on my own boat for 2 years and am delighted with them. I have also installed several for other people who were equally pleased. I actually think that they are built to a higher standard than Adverc and if set up properly in the first place are extremely robust. It is perhaps true that their telephone manner leads something to be desired but I have found their installation instructions and technical back up is in fact very good. I get the impression they are short on patience with people who phone them with silly queries or don't understand basic instructions. I think the advice is that if you don't understand anything at all about electrics get an electrician to install it for you. It's fairly simple if you are practical by nature but it does entail taking the alternator apart and soldering wires to terminals.

 

[Anonymous]

I also had a Sterling and can endorse your comments.[ QUOTE ]
but it does entail taking the alternator apart and soldering wires to terminals.

[/ QUOTE ]soldering these alternators is not easy; if they are old you need to remove surface oxide and clean thoroughly and you need a very large iron. I found it tricky and I'm an electronics engineer. If I was to do it again I'd ask the local alternator repair man to do the simple mod for me - they would only charge a few pounds. They have got jigs and tools to make handling much easier.

 

[FLIRKER]

I see Sterling also do an Alternator to Battery charger (Digital Split power amplifier) as an alternative, which are supposedly allot easier to fit and do not require removing and working on the alternator. Does anybody have any experience of these?

 

[snowleopard]

soldering alternators

i think it must depend on the make and age. i had to do 2 on my yanmars (hitachi alternators). the instructions from adverc were crystal clear and the job was very straightforward. other makes and those that have siezed up after years of use may be quite different.

another thought- adverc regulators do not drop back to a float charge level when the battery is full but keep alternating 14.0 & 14.4v indefinitely so may not suit people who do long periods of motoring. our batteries were knackered after only 2 years use with 1000 hours of motoring. i wouldn't like to say it was the fault of the adverc but am a little suspicious.

another interesting point - i have 2 x 55A alternators but the most charge current i have seen is 35A. but then i've never let the batteries go below 50% charge.

 

[john_morris_uk]

Re: soldering alternators

55 amps is the maximum current that the alternator can possibly produce. Alternators are heat sensitive and will derate as thy warm up. Furthermore the physics of the battery prevents a high charge rate after the initial surface charge has built up on the plates. I have a similar alternator and never get more than 35 amps or so.

 

[ytd]

we have a Ample Power regulator on our boat. No problems so far and it was easy to connect. The temperature probe is clamped to the battery by the battery post connector.

 

[bigskipper]

I fitted two Sterling regs two years ago and had to send them back as thy were overcharging but they promptly adjusted them and they have worked well since. We have done some long trips [to Spain and back ]and they never overcharged but fell back to 27.2 volts from 29.4 volts initally and they keep the batteries fully charged .My system is 24v so just divide by 2 for a 12volt system