Altenator questions
 

I want to upgrade my altenator to higher amp output is anyone familiar with these, or do you have another that you would recommend. Any help would be greatly appreciated.




http://www.dbelectrical.com/p-7351-n...160-se-1g.aspx



http://www.dbelectrical.com/p-7352-n...220-se-1g.aspx

I'm working on this on my boat right now but my requirements aren't as significant as yours must be. I have a really tiny 51 amp Leece-Neville/Presolite. I bought a 105 amp Delco SI10 from DBElectrical in an attempt to get more power for less money vs the prestolite style. It won't fit without some grinding on the bracket so I can't decide if I should do thatnor bite the bullet and pay the extra $100ish for the prestolite style 90 amp.

DBElectrical has a pretty good reputation. I have a starter from them too and it's been great. Super cheap too.

Either way you will need to beef up your charging wire pretty significantly.

I've had great luck with DB, the only problem is it's not really easy to find what you need if it's not stock. I upgraded to the 105amp 10si, but I had a friend who is a madrone mechanic figure out which one I needed, I don't even know which one it is myself. Mine fit with no mods and the one wire hook up is very easy once you figure out where to hook the wire. After calling them about a starter for a RH 351 I'm not sure I would take their advice or at least verify it with a second opinion. I came away more confused than I was when I called. Everything I've gotten from DB has been no more than half of what most other places want for it, so it's worth the extra effort to figure it out for me.

I got one ffrom them for my previous boat and it worked flawlessly at half the price.

think the 160 is sufficient for two batteries? or should I go with the 220 amp?

You're asking the wrong question basing your alternator needs on the quantity of batteries. The more important piece of data is your average current draw on the electrical system. A battery tender jr. only puts out like 1.25 amps but can charge a large battery if there's little to no load on the battery. Of course it takes quite a while.

If your typical use is to sit with your engine off and radio at 80+% volume for hours then start the boat and expect rapid recovery time then you need a suitably large alternator. If you are using the stereo system while running the engine for the most part then you just need one that's sufficient to keep up with a a little bit of headroom. I'd say 160 amps is probably plenty for your average to middle of the road boat stereo system that's used mostly while the engine is running and 220 would be overkill.

Thanks I see what you mean, I generally blast the stereo at the beach for hours. Think Ill give the 160 a shot

I don't buy those listed outputs one bit. Those are clones of the Balmar 6 series. The highest they get up to is 150 amps in their 6 series. The other problem I see is that any place that puts a single V belt on a 160 or 220 amp alternator has no idea what they are doing. The max amp output you should have with a single V belt is around 100 amps. Any more and you are going to blow belts like no other. Hell 220 is probably too much for a 6 rib serpantine belt. The only way for DB to sell units that cheap is to import a bunch of the lowest quality components from China. I am guessing they don't actually push their listed output in real world conditions and the reliability is subpar. For the price it may be worth the shot but I seriously have my doubts that it will work correctly and be reliable.

What do suggest that I use? the prestolite?