Alternators and Regulators
Alternators
The main alternator is a 150Amp Herr Powerline. It was new in 2003 (bought after the headaches we had en route to the Marquesas) and is in great working order. The backup alternator is also a Herr Powerline but only 120 Amp. They share the same footprint so mounting them in the same brackets is not a problem. Having said that, I was having problems aligning the 150 Amp alternator due to the play between a large hole through the alternator and a small bolt. When I put force on to tension the belt it would turn slightly sideways and ruin the alignment, hence causing premature wear on the belt. To resolve this issue I drilled out the alternator and the mounting bracket to the next largest size bolt and this eliminated the side to side movement and allowed me to ensure accurate alignment every time regardless of my leverage point. The backup alternator will need to be drilled out before it will have the same guaranteed alignment in this mounting bracket (very simple job). I have a third Herr Powerline alternator 120 Amp however it is in pieces and only useful for spares.
Regulators
We have two regulators permanently wired ready for instant use. The regulator selection switch is located in the top left corner of the main control panel at the NavStation. The switch is a three position switch:
Up is regulator 1 - This is the regulator that is bundled into the Quad-Cycle package. Middle is no regulator - Select this when you want no output from the Alternator. Down is regulator two - This is an automotive style regulator initially good as a backup but more recently I find I have been using it regularly, see charging strategy below.The Quad-Cycle regulator used to be the regulator of choice for all situations but since the decline of the Battery bank condition it has been supplying less current in the initial bulk phase than I believe it should. For this reason if the battery bank is low I initially use the automotive regulator to get the benefit of a greater current input. The automotive regulator gets confused by the complexities of a constantly changing system, the fridge coming on, the sun going behind a cloud, the wind picking up and as such it has a tendency to over charges in the later stages of charging and starts to 'cook' the batteries. It is now that I switch to Reg 1. The Quad-Cycle still does an excellent job in this phase delivering all power needs and yet holding the current at a nice trickle value of say 4 Amps when the battery bank is fully charged.
The Quad-Cycle regulator has many dip switches and dials to configure the optimum charging strategy for your battery bank, I have not messed with these since it was set up initially for 8 new batteries however if you want you could probably tune it for the current state of the batteries - see instruction manual in filing boxes in the Sail locker)
The new smart 3 phase regulators with temp sensors are only a few hundred dollars and if I were to replace the battery bank I would definitely consider putting in a new regulator. Again I would have it on this switch allowing for hot swapping and also the removal of all charging. to edit.
Up is regulator 1 - This is the regulator that is bundled into the Quad-Cycle package. Middle is no regulator - Select this when you want no output from the Alternator. Down is regulator two - This is an automotive style regulator initially good as a backup but more recently I find I have been using it regularly, see charging strategy below.The Quad-Cycle regulator used to be the regulator of choice for all situations but since the decline of the Battery bank condition it has been supplying less current in the initial bulk phase than I believe it should. For this reason if the battery bank is low I initially use the automotive regulator to get the benefit of a greater current input. The automotive regulator gets confused by the complexities of a constantly changing system, the fridge coming on, the sun going behind a cloud, the wind picking up and as such it has a tendency to over charges in the later stages of charging and starts to 'cook' the batteries. It is now that I switch to Reg 1. The Quad-Cycle still does an excellent job in this phase delivering all power needs and yet holding the current at a nice trickle value of say 4 Amps when the battery bank is fully charged.
The Quad-Cycle regulator has many dip switches and dials to configure the optimum charging strategy for your battery bank, I have not messed with these since it was set up initially for 8 new batteries however if you want you could probably tune it for the current state of the batteries - see instruction manual in filing boxes in the Sail locker)
The new smart 3 phase regulators with temp sensors are only a few hundred dollars and if I were to replace the battery bank I would definitely consider putting in a new regulator. Again I would have it on this switch allowing for hot swapping and also the removal of all charging. to edit.