12-03-2019, 02:07 AM
Thanks! What fountain of useful information this thread turned into. Well, I’ve never been good at burning out my alternator. Last one I remember replacing came bad in the vehicle when I bought it. But Ive never charged deep cycle house batteries with my alternator. My vehicles have been stock electrical. Engines, transmissions, rear ends, suspension, paint, Ive changed those.
I read the alternatorparts.com site and learned a lot. Those Transpo external regulators are a bit spendy but worth it imho.
Today I got to see the inside of a Harris Hydro alternator. It took some looking to figure out what I was seeing. These are Ford Motorcraft 1970s externally regulated alternators. But essentially only the case is original. The stator and rotor are all different. Adjustable magnets and all. He said they were getting close to 80% efficient.
It’s a dilemma deciding what to do with the vehicle charging system. I like a lot of the ideas in this thread. The stock charging systems work very well for what they are designed for. So far I use solar/mppt and if needed a Honda eu2200i inverter generator to a power factor corrected charger. I’ll probably just do the minimum to boost the stock charging system. Leaning towards a Victron Smart Battery Combiner, only $45, and a Renogy 40 amp DC to DC Charger. If the house battery is Lithium the stock lower alternator charging voltage is ok the way it is. I think?? If I read the AM Solar website correctly.
I read the alternatorparts.com site and learned a lot. Those Transpo external regulators are a bit spendy but worth it imho.
Today I got to see the inside of a Harris Hydro alternator. It took some looking to figure out what I was seeing. These are Ford Motorcraft 1970s externally regulated alternators. But essentially only the case is original. The stator and rotor are all different. Adjustable magnets and all. He said they were getting close to 80% efficient.
It’s a dilemma deciding what to do with the vehicle charging system. I like a lot of the ideas in this thread. The stock charging systems work very well for what they are designed for. So far I use solar/mppt and if needed a Honda eu2200i inverter generator to a power factor corrected charger. I’ll probably just do the minimum to boost the stock charging system. Leaning towards a Victron Smart Battery Combiner, only $45, and a Renogy 40 amp DC to DC Charger. If the house battery is Lithium the stock lower alternator charging voltage is ok the way it is. I think?? If I read the AM Solar website correctly.


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