Balmar Alternators

sigma38dave

sigma38dave

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Are these worth a look when compared to solar panels for battery charging? I would usually use the engine for 20 minutes to get a bit of hot water and for berthing etc so was thinking these might be a good solution and take up the same space.

Are there any disadvantages, say with engine wear, vibration, noise etc.

Any comments from users appreciated please!
 
The two are not strictly "alternatives". Solar panels are passive so produce charge whenever there is light. An alternator only charges when the engine is running - and the Balmar is just a higher output than standard alternator.

It is bad news to just run an engine for 20 minutes at a time. Diesels like constant hard running. 20 minutes will barely get it up to operating temperature and charge from the alternator to house battery (after topping up engine start battery) will be minimal.

If you are a heavy user of electric power - fridge, lights, laptop etc then your current charging strategy (relying on engine) is insufficient unless you are plugged into shorepower. Solar panels will help to keep batteries topped up, but decent charging capacity is expensive and takes up a lot of room.
 
Are you experiencing a problem in keeping batteries sufficiently charged with your existing alternator set-up, or just thinking you might be?
No matter how powerful the alternator, the batteries will only accept charge at a rate determined by their capacity and level of discharge, so adding a bigger alternator won't necessarily make any difference. You might even be better off adding a battery if there's room.
Much will also depend on your regulator set-up. If your present alternator has only a basic car-type regulator, it will never fully charge the batteries (which in the long run won't do them any good, apart from the effective waste of their capacity). Various 'smart' regulators are available for £100 or so.

Solar panels are quite different horses altogether, obviously best for when an engine is not being used regularly. I wouldn't be without them, but then I live aboard full-time in sunnier place than the Medway.

There will no doubt be some experts along shortly (I'm not one). It would help their deliberations if you could describe your present set-up a little: alternator capacity (and that of the one you're thinking of buying), regulator type, Ah of battery bank(s).
 
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Balmar alternators are a good idea if:-
  • You are constrained by space - i.e. can't fit a larger "conventional" alternator AND
  • Your engine pulley is large enough to spin the alternator at a speed high enough to produce it's output

The IMHO they may be worth the extra cost.
However, most engines are fitted with a 5" pulley and getting the gearing required by the Balmar units is "quite a challenge".

Have a look at the Balmar curves, and you'll see what I mean.

It may be better money well spent to fit a Sterling or Adverc controller instead (around £100 or less), which should increase the power output from your existing kit.
 
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I fitted a Balmar 110 amp with the Max Charge controller when I re engined my boat with a Yanmar 3YM30. It's a close fit physically I made a chaff sleeve for one of the cooling hoses which was quite close, had to source a new belt, alignment of the single pulley was OK. The electrical connections were not the direct plug to plug that you might expect from the Balmar site and you need to make up a couple of connections and wrap /protect the rest of the Yanmar harness. After two years no problems with it and it certainly produces the expected charge if you run the battery bank down or are running an invertor but would be wasted if you are only topping up. As the Balmar site says there will be a reduction in availlable HP from the engine as it will take about 4 HP when outputting full charge, certainly no vibration or wear to the crankshaft pulley, I use a segmented belt as opposed to the solid section Yanmar and am still on the original. Previous engine Yanmar 3GM with a standard hitachi and external alternator Adverc controller used to wear solid belts which was when I switched to segmented ones. It is more likely the ramp function of the Balmar Max charge helps with the wear.
 
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It all depends on how you use, or intend to use, your boat.

As previously noted: what do you currently have, and what do you want to do?

A "marina-hopper" who never stays out at anchor, and plugs into mains each night, has a completely different requirement than one who likes to anchor and be self-sufficient.

Putting aside the engine run-time issue v-a-v the condition of the engine, if you're only running your engine a short time for your needs, then why do you think a larger alternator will help your electrical system? Are your batteries full when you leave the dock, do you plug into mains all the time, or are you on a mooring? How do you want to use your boat?

Let us know your equipment and plans, and we can better answer the question.

PS _ and at least over on our side of the Pond, there are less expensive alternators than Balmar. The company that makes them for Balmar sells them, too. For 1/2 or 2/3 the price you'd pay for their nice white paint.
 
Thanks for the info received so far chaps. Boat is 36' with dedicated engine start that doesn't have a 'both' option. The domestics are 2 no 85 amp hour sealed jobbies.

I am not a lover of either engine use or a lot of electrical use on board. I want something to keep the boat, which lives on a swinging mooring, topped up during the week and a bit more self sufficient at weekends etc.

It is nice to be actually able to run the fridge and heating sometimes without being paranoid about power consumption!

Solar panels that I can peg out and unplug when the boat is in use and store in locker sound favourite at the moment.
 
ALternator Boosters

I am a fan of the Sterlin Alternator boosters. Can be fitted to your standard alternator and will really make your existing alternator work to charge back into your system. Have fitted loads, to freinds and families boats and everyone has noticed difference.

Do read the instructions carefully and follow step by step but you will really notice the difference on battery levels.

DG
 
xyachtdave said:
The boat...lives on a swinging mooring, topped up during the week...Solar panels that I can peg out and unplug when the boat is in use and store in locker sound favourite at the moment.
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Whatever you decide on, since you're on a mooring I'd commend a smallish solar panel permanently wired into your system. This should ensure that whenever you go to your boat, the batteries are fully charged. Apart from other considerations, panels put out fairly high voltages and will top up your batteries beyond the point where basic regulators stop doing so. With a small panel, you may well not even need a panel charge controller. (See this thread for more on that: www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229387. There are many other similar threads if you care to search.) Suggest you speak with a specialist solar supplier. No harm having one panel permanent, another stowed except when you use the boat. Rigid panels generally give more bangs-per-buck but are often less convenient to mount.

You don't say what your current alternator is, but as myself and others have mentioned, a smart regulator would get the best out of it. I certainly wouldn't be inclined to spend £hundreds on a new alternator (even if the old one were clapped).

Unless it's woefully insulated, can't see any reason you shouldn't be able to run fridge without problems. Same for heater, presuming it has high start-up current, then not much when it's running. An ammeter, or better still a battery monitor, would take out much of the guesswork.
 
xyachtdave said:
Boat is 36' with dedicated engine start that doesn't have a 'both' option. The domestics are 2 no 85 amp hour sealed jobbies.
Click to expand...

A solar panel will help, but it would be a complete waste to fit a bigger alternator unless you first increase the size of your domestic battery bank. Even with your standard alternator, a bigger bank will absorb charge faster - especially so if you fit a "smart" regulator (Adverc, Sterling, etc). I'd look to a minimum of 300Ah in your domestic bank.
 
Stu Jackson said:
It all depends on how you use, or intend to use, your boat.

PS _ and at least over on our side of the Pond, there are less expensive alternators than Balmar. The company that makes them for Balmar sells them, too. For 1/2 or 2/3 the price you'd pay for their nice white paint.
Click to expand...

Could you tell us the name of this manufacturer? Many thanks.

PWG
 
xyachtdave said:
Are these worth a look when compared to solar panels for battery charging? I would usually use the engine for 20 minutes to get a bit of hot water and for berthing etc so was thinking these might be a good solution and take up the same space.

Are there any disadvantages, say with engine wear, vibration, noise etc.

Any comments from users appreciated please!
Click to expand...

There is no alternator known to man that will replenish and sustain your battery bank if you only run your cruising engine for 20 mins day/trip. The most that could deliver to your batteries is perhaps 20 odd amps but the batteries, depending on their condition, might well not accept more than a portion of that. A couple of hours of running lights, a frig and a few odd things (they always add up to more drain than we think) and you are in deficit again.

I'm going to guess that a typical solar panel will fare no better in your situation.

Shore power is the most reliable solution, and will cost a lot less and be more reliable. A smart charger, as mentioned elsewhere, will keep your batteries in shape and only draw the mains power needed. Only marinas where they charge silly prices for power per day would make this an unattractive proposition. But running your engine for battery loading is just about the most expensieve (end to end) solution of them all.

PWG
 
PeterGibbs said:
There is no alternator known to man that will replenish and sustain your battery bank if you only run your cruising engine for 20 mins day/trip. The most that could deliver to your batteries is perhaps 20 odd amps but the batteries, depending on their condition, might well not accept more than a portion of that. A couple of hours of running lights, a frig and a few odd things (they always add up to more drain than we think) and you are in deficit again.

I'm going to guess that a typical solar panel will fare no better in your situation.

Shore power is the most reliable solution, and will cost a lot less and be more reliable. A smart charger, as mentioned elsewhere, will keep your batteries in shape and only draw the mains power needed. Only marinas where they charge silly prices for power per day would make this an unattractive proposition. But running your engine for battery loading is just about the most expensieve (end to end) solution of them all.

PWG
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Shore power would be fine - except that the OP says he has a swinging mooring and wants to be a little less worried about his power consumption.

Its the same equation we have been through, and the only answer I can come up with is a mixture of wind generator, solar panels (large ones if you are going to run a fridge etc) and an advanced controller on the alternator. All this to a decent sized battery bank. (We have 3 x 135 Ah Batteries = 405 Ah capacity) I can't think of any other solution that is likely to work.
 
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john_morris_uk said:
...the only answer I can come up with is a mixture of wind generator, solar panels (large ones if you are going to run a fridge etc) and an advanced controller on the alternator. All this to a decent sized battery bank. (We have 3 x 135 Ah Batteries = 405 Ah capacity) I can't think of any other solution that is likely to work.
Click to expand...

My set-up is substantially like yours, john_morris, so I'd agree with you if the OP plans extended stays on his boat. Unfortunately he doesn't say whether this is so. If his typical use is, say, long weekends, he can afford to run up a modest battery deficit, particularly if he has the means to trickle power back into the batteries when she's lying on her mooring.

If his longest period aboard were, say, two weeks once a year, then it's moot whether he'd be wise to lash out on the full wind/solar caboodle. It's easy for us to urge him to spend money that doesn't come out of our pockets.

Since he's proposing buying a Balmar alternator, he presumably has something like £500 to spend. Perhaps we'd both agree that this would be better spent on a smart regulator, one medium-sized solar panel, another domestic battery, and perhaps even a NASA battery monitor with the change. The latter would give the added benefit of allowing him to work out what his energy needs truly are.
 
I think I need to invent the mooring buoy with a 240 shore power plug plug built in to it, the advantage of a marina coupled with the peace of the mooring......

The more I read about this from the knowledgeable chaps here, the solar panel and smart regulator is going to suit my situation.

To clarify use, most weekends aboard and Wednesday night racing during the warmer months and a couple of weeks aboard as a summer holiday. The fixed solar/wind systems wouldn't suit our boat and probably get trashed with our 'sail handling' techniques. The boat has lots of locker space, with one big enough to except a 1200 mm x 600 mm size panel easily for storage. Budget was £500 ish.

Was thinking of laying it out over the cockpit floor when we leave, and tucking away safely during sailing and maybe sticking on the coachroof in port during holidays.

Thanks for taking the time to post your opinions.
Dave
 
balmar alternators

we have a balmar fitted and have noticed it would be better to have 2 pulleys driving 2 belts as the load created tends to stretch the single belt quite quickly and tensioning is required regularly.we have now fitted a commercially rated belt as apposed to a standard belt and this has improved the stretching problem a little.If you do buy one make sure you get the magnetic gadget that enables you to do the settings.
 
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