Balamar 6 series alternator running hot

[willowcarroll]

Have a 6 series high output Balamar with a Balamar smart charger MC614 running a Domestic bank of 480 Ah gel exides . BMV 501 battery monitor tells the sorry story The set up spends more time shedding its charge and the red charge light on yanmar dash display glowing red with charge rate repeatedly over short two minute cycles dropping from 65 amps down to 25 because alternactor runs hot reaching over 100degrees after just two or three minutes and the smart charger dumps amps until temp flops back to 98 which takes 3 , 4 or 5 minutes and the two minute charging cycle kicks in again . The parameters used to improve as the batteries got above 85% charged as the alternator worked less hard but it’s a constant now . installation checked / serviced as well as Alternator by approved UK agents who i got out to boat . Smart charger newly replaced . Batteries are now 4 years old admittedly but have just had them tested and they are AOK and in any event this saga has been going on for years . Have had lots of technical explanations which I don’t understand nor more relevantly do any local marine electrical engineers as we now keep the boat in Croatia .
an hour and a half motoring today brought batteries from 67% to 74% reading 13.6 Volts .
it’s getting a bit tedious now . And I don’t think I should ignore it any longer . Am I being too fussy ? Is this normal ? Balamar technical specs say I am within temperature limits etc etc and there’s nothing to be gained getting all tricky with suppliers / service providers .
has anyone any any advice please ?

 

[pvb]

Can you improve the cooling of the alternator? Maybe a 12v inline fan and some ducting of fresh air?

 

[Oily Rag]

Is it possible to disable the smart charger and let the alternator revert to normal?

 

[Poey50]

Have a 6 series high output Balamar with a Balamar smart charger MC614 running a Domestic bank of 480 Ah gel exides . BMV 501 battery monitor tells the sorry story The set up spends more time shedding its charge and the red charge light on yanmar dash display glowing red with charge rate repeatedly over short two minute cycles dropping from 65 amps down to 25 because alternactor runs hot reaching over 100degrees after just two or three minutes and the smart charger dumps amps until temp flops back to 98 which takes 3 , 4 or 5 minutes and the two minute charging cycle kicks in again . The parameters used to improve as the batteries got above 85% charged as the alternator worked less hard but it’s a constant now . installation checked / serviced as well as Alternator by approved UK agents who i got out to boat . Smart charger newly replaced . Batteries are now 4 years old admittedly but have just had them tested and they are AOK and in any event this saga has been going on for years . Have had lots of technical explanations which I don’t understand nor more relevantly do any local marine electrical engineers as we now keep the boat in Croatia .
an hour and a half motoring today brought batteries from 67% to 74% reading 13.6 Volts .
it’s getting a bit tedious now . And I don’t think I should ignore it any longer . Am I being too fussy ? Is this normal ? Balamar technical specs say I am within temperature limits etc etc and there’s nothing to be gained getting all tricky with suppliers / service providers .
has anyone any any advice please ?

Definitely not normal. I have a Series 6 100 amp Balmar with the same MC614 supplying my lithium pack which has a much more insatiable demand for amps than lead acid. Are you using belt manager? It would be interesting to see your MC614 settings. Pvb's suggestion sounds sensible regardless of any other changes you make if it can be managed. Check the Marine How To page on setting up the MC614. He suggests a slightly higher cut-off temperature than Balmar does which may help a bit.

 

[willowcarroll]

Can you improve the cooling of the alternator? Maybe a 12v inline fan and some ducting of fresh air?

thank you for all the replies . Should have said that fan was introduced some years ago and on Balamar’s agent‘s recommendation we ducted from fresh air inlet and blow fresh air directly on to alternator .

 

[willowcarroll]

Definitely not normal. I have a Series 6 100 amp Balmar with the same MC614 supplying my lithium pack which has a much more insatiable demand for amps than lead acid. Are you using belt manager?

as far as I am aware I am not using belt manager unless the installer pre set on installation. It never featured in any discussions I’ve had or the lengthy correspondence . Had to check what “ belt manager “ meant to be perfectly candid ! Will hack on cruising with this set up for next 6 weeks and try and get a full diagnosis dome over winter . Did you play around with the belt drive adjustments yourself ? The spec on the website talks about end user adjustment but I’m not sure I’d undertake that task successfully. Appreciate the steer , thank you .

 

[willowcarroll]

Is it possible to disable the smart charger and let the alternator revert to normal?

I’ll ask the electrician to do that when I get back to base . Could prove interesting and informative , keeping it simple instead of all,this fancy gizmo stuff , but , I hear great reports about the Balamar kit and it’s meant to make life simpler and the batteries last longe so will persevere a bit longer

 

[Poey50]

I’ll ask the electrician to do that when I get back to base . Could prove interesting and informative , keeping it simple instead of all,this fancy gizmo stuff , but , I hear great reports about the Balamar kit and it’s meant to make life simpler and the batteries last longe so will persevere a bit longer

Don't do that. The external regulator is almost infinitely programmable once you know how. Falling back on the internal regulator is a backward step. I'll supply some more information once I've eaten my lunch!

 

[RobbieW]

Check the Marine How To page on setting up the MC614.

Adding a link for reference... Programming a Balmar External Voltage Regulator - Marine How To
I also have one of these feeding a 720Ah bank of AGMs, I chose the settings with care and do use the belt manager to reduce load. I had a couple of occasions in the Med where the alterantor was throttled due to overtemps but it was rare. My setup would deliver 90-100 amps for about 15-20 mins most of the time before the batteries started to limit the current naturally.

 

[Poey50]

Thanks to RobbieW to adding the link. Programming the MC614 is an utter PITA until you get the hang of it, but there is no point having one unless it is set up properly. Follow the Marine How To article and the video very carefully. If you get it wrong it cycles around again.. It is useful that it is installed on the boat as otherwise the temptation is to pick it up and hurl it as far as you can. But persevere and you will get there.

Belt load manager controls how much of maximum field current is made available. If you get the right setting it prevents the alternator over-heating - at the moment you are only relying on temperature shut-off which is a very unsophisticated form of control. I use a belt load manager setting of 2 which is 90% of maximum. If I were you I would go down to a lower setting - say 5 or 6 - and then if all is well, gradually increase over the weeks until it gives you the best charge it can without overheating. Do note the higher max temperature that Rod Collins recommends in the article - 110 degrees rather than 100 degrees. AL1 is the setting code but you need to go into advanced settings to change that. That will give you a bit more headroom.

It is possible that other things are amiss but start with belt manager. Check that the battery type setting is correct also.

You will need your magnet on the end of a screwdriver that comes with the MC614 to operate the Reed switch.

This is one of the programming videos embedded in the article showing, among other things, how to change the Belt Load Manager setting.

 

[willowcarroll]

Don't do that. The external regulator is almost infinitely programmable once you know how. Falling back on the internal regulator is a backward step. I'll supply some more information once I've eaten my lunch!

Thank you . Bon Appetit.

 

[willowcarroll]

Adding a link for reference... Programming a Balmar External Voltage Regulator - Marine How To
I also have one of these feeding a 720Ah bank of AGMs, I chose the settings with care and do use the belt manager to reduce load. I had a couple of occasions in the Med where the alterantor was throttled due to overtemps but it was rare. My setup would deliver 90-100 amps for about 15-20 mins most of the time before the batteries started to limit the current naturally.

Thank you RobbieW excellent advise . I’m on anchor and am getting down to some serious homework . Will report back when is all done with the result .thank you

 

[willowcarroll]

Thanks to RobbieW to adding the link. Programming the MC614 is an utter PITA until you get the hang of it, but there is no point having one unless it is set up properly. Follow the Marine How To article and the video very carefully. If you get it wrong it cycles around again.. It is useful that it is installed on the boat as otherwise the temptation is to pick it up and hurl it as far as you can. But persevere and you will get there.

Belt load manager controls how much of maximum field current is made available. If you get the right setting it prevents the alternator over-heating - at the moment you are only relying on temperature shut-off which is a very unsophisticated form of control. I use a belt load manager setting of 2 which is 90% of maximum. If I were you I would go down to a lower setting - say 5 or 6 - and then if all is well, gradually increase over the weeks until it gives you the best charge it can without overheating. Do note the higher max temperature that Rod Collins recommends in the article - 110 degrees rather than 100 degrees. AL1 is the setting code but you need to go into advanced settings to change that. That will give you a bit more headroom.

It is possible that other things are amiss but start with belt manager. Check that the battery type setting is correct also.

You will need your magnet on the end of a screwdriver that comes with the MC614 to operate the Reed switch.

This is one of the programming videos embedded in the article showing, among other things, how to change the Belt Load Manager setting.

Sound advice Poey50 , I’m going to follow all those instructions to the letter . Thank you .

 

[willowcarroll]

Sound advice Poey50 , I’m going to follow all those instructions to the letter . Thank you .

Hallelujah, problem solved by your and RobbieW ‘s great advice . My gratitude to you both for your expertise matched only by sense of utter stupidity at not having dealt with this properly long ago . Keyed in setting six on the belt load manager and alternator noW running for an hour and a half at 84 * constant banging out a steady 50 amps . No red light , no shedding . All perfect . Will have to fill long passages now reading War and Peace because as was said to me with glee yesterday by long suffering Fiona , “ no more is red light on games to play “ ! .Will probably ratchet slowly up to level 5 and beyond as long as alternator temp stays low and shedding doesn’t kick in . Delighted . Thank you both and all others for the help .

 

[Poey50]

Hallelujah, problem solved by your and RobbieW ‘s great advice . My gratitude to you both for your expertise matched only by sense of utter stupidity at not having dealt with this properly long ago . Keyed in setting six on the belt load manager and alternator noW running for an hour and a half at 84 * constant banging out a steady 50 amps . No red light , no shedding . All perfect . Will have to fill long passages now reading War and Peace because as was said to me with glee yesterday by long suffering Fiona , “ no more is red light on games to play “ ! .Will probably ratchet slowly up to level 5 and beyond as long as alternator temp stays low and shedding doesn’t kick in . Delighted . Thank you both and all others for the help .

Good to know! Thanks for the feedback.