Alternator

[stephen t25]

Hello all.... i'm looking to upgrade my alternator to a more powerful one than the standard, i am running a larger 12v 65ah main battery and a big lesuire batt.... my van is a 1.6 ct air cooled what will fit ?

[Oldiebut goodie]

Why would you need a more powerful alternator, I have no trouble keeping the main battery and a 110Ah leisure charged with the 65A alternator. Your starter battery does not require much recharging - its a starter battery! The 65A is more than adequate to recharge your leisure batteries. If you charge your batteries off the vehicle what battery charger do you use - certainly not a 90A one!

[stephen t25]

I also run a 300w dash electric heater whilst on the the move and thought it would help....... is getting the more powerful alternator going to help ?

[Oldiebut goodie]

As long as you are just running it whilst the engine is running I don't see the need to upgrade the alternator unless you are experiencing a shortfall in charging of the batteries.

[kevtherev]

It's the amperage that's important
are you trying to get that tiny little heater to get hotter eh?

it's drawing 25 amps from your alternator at 12Volt, at that rate the bushes will wear out very quickly, petrol consumption will increase and your battery will suffer too

assuming your alternator would supply 14V then it draws 21.5 amps

[Ian Hulley]

I also run a 300w dash electric heater whilst on the the move and thought it would help....... is getting the more powerful alternator going to help ?

No, but buying an Eberspacher and speaking to Rich Newton or other wise, aircold afflicted owners will.

Ian.

[Mr Bean]

It's the amperage that's important
are you trying to get that tiny little heater to get hotter eh?

it's drawing 25 amps from your alternator at 12Volt, at that rate the bushes will wear out very quickly, petrol consumption will increase and your battery will suffer too

assuming your alternator would supply 14V then it draws 21.5 amps

You sure about that? I have a 90A alternator and while I acknowledge an increase in fuel consumption I would have thought the bearings would have been correctly rated for a van type duty cycle.
Cheers
Wolfie

[kevtherev]

the brushes run over the comm with the spark erosion at that amperage plus any ancillaries, I would think the erosion rate would increase

[Ian Hulley]

Someone's confusing brushes with bearings.

[stephen t25]

Ok... went for surf today and was cold in the cab getting changed and driving home.... nuff said trying to see if i could squeeze some more heat out of the dash jobby . oh well soon be summer !

thanks

[Red Westie]

Kev is correct....everything will be working harder but still...a 65amp alternator should cope as long as you don't get caught in too much slow moving traffic where the engine is just idling and not reving. In these circumstances you would find more is going out the battery than is being put in....result at some point COULD possibly be a near flat battery and a non start.
Martin