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11-11-2009, 06:10 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Ashland, OR
Posts: 372
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Heavy duty alternator
Has anyone replaced the stock alternator or ordered their van with a heavier duty alternator? Does this offer any advantage for recharging the auxiliary battery while driving and delivering power to 12v devices like winches and air compressors? I think the new Ford E-350 comes with a 110 Amp alternator, and for the V-10, a 155 Amp or 225 Amp is offered as an option. It's not that much money to add it, but is it worthwhile?
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2010 Red EB50 V10, Quadvan 4WD (El Guapo Rojo)
1978 VW Westfalia Champagne Edition (Pepe - gone, but not forgotten)
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11-11-2009, 08:02 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Washington - Ridgefield
Posts: 4,728
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Re: Heavy duty alternator
DaveB upgraded to a 200A alternator.
viewtopic.php?p=23994#p23994
You could probably PM him for more information.
Mike
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Alaska to Key West, Labrador and more
Prostate cancer survivor. See Thread Prostate cancer and Sportsmobiles
2015 VW GTI 2020 Fiat 124 Spider
2012 E250 Hitop camper
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11-11-2009, 09:37 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Beaverton, OR
Posts: 2,504
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Re: Heavy duty alternator
I have the upgraded alternator on the V10, for me it is worth it because if you have starcool running, computer, etc, you don't have a lot left for charging. Worth it in my view.
-greg
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-greg
__________________________________________________ ______________
"Goldilocks" 2020 Ford Transit High Roof Extended 3.5 EcoBoost AWD Homebuilt
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11-12-2009, 07:18 PM
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#4
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Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 25
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Re: Heavy duty alternator
That thread references the Xantrec regulator, but Ford alternators are P type with internal regulators. Can't use the Xantrec.
The Ford upgrade is probably a good idea. But it won't do much without heavy cabling and a separator (that doesn't drop the voltage like a isolator). But any ford regulator isn't going to run optimally for deep discharge batteries. Hopefully it puts a good amount of power in without damaging the house batteries. The shore power charge controller, and the solar charge controller, are more capable of getting the batteries to 100% without damage. A nice aspect of a solar panel is that the house battery is topped off nicely every day. This is good for maintaining max capability and battery life.
A better and more expensive alternator than Ford offers will produce a lot of power at idle, and will have a regulator designed to work with AGM batteries. These are used in emergency vehicles, and made by companies like American Armature. It's probably not worth the cost for a typical SMB install of one house batteries. Someone installing multiple house batteries, with a lot of electronics, might go with a high-end alternator and not bring a generator.
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11-15-2009, 09:50 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 1,837
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Re: Heavy duty alternator
checked out american armature
looks like have a OE model
any other manufactures that ya all know of
also, it lists the specs for the alternator
anyone know the specs of a stock alt so we could compare??
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11-23-2009, 10:06 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: New "Yawk" City
Posts: 245
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Re: Heavy duty alternator
Quote:
Originally Posted by billwilson
anyone know the specs of a stock alt so we could compare??
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Yep.
__________________
2005 Ford E-350 Diesel Sportsmobile
EB 102 Voyager top, 3.55 rear, Mobil 1 all around
270 amp alternator, billet water pump, coolant filter kit,
aluminum radiator, X-Monitor with pyro, trans temp, boost
+ Scan Gauge & SCT Live Wire (Economy)
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11-25-2009, 10:49 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Corvallis, OR
Posts: 5,300
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Re: Heavy duty alternator
CHeck these guys out:
http://www.nationsautoelectric.com/fad-alternator.html
I think I may go for their 260 amp version.
THey will custom build even higher amp models too. Looking at the stock wiring size, I don't think larger wiring to the chassis battery is necessary. (of course, wiring to auxiliary batteries will vary by battery setup and charging needs). I will have to up my aux wiring.
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2000 E450 dually V10 wagon
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12-06-2009, 09:04 PM
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#8
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Site Team
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Turlock Ca
Posts: 10,408
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Re: Heavy duty alternator
I just came across this thread. The link Mike supplied was a thread about a modified voltage regulator and was supposed to be used to highly regulate voltage to the house system, not as the primary regulator. As far as high amp alternators, I have been running one (200A) for over a year and am totally happy with it. Sorry but I don't have a link to the thread but it's on the site somewhere. The only downside of the unit I'm running is the regulated voltage varies between 13.3 and 14.1 as a rule. At times my scan gauge will see it drop into the upper 12 v range for a brief second. This seems to be characteristic with this model (I've tested 2 of them) and have found no problems with their operation but I also have solar panels that top out the voltage at 14.4. YMMV. If anyone is interested I can get the manufactures part number.
Dave B
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2006 Ford 6.0PSD EB-50/E-PH SMB 4X4 Rock Crawler Trailer
Sportsmobile 4X4 Adventures.......... On and off road adventures
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02-07-2010, 02:18 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Washington - Ridgefield
Posts: 4,728
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Re: Heavy duty alternator
I recently upgraded to a 140A alternator from these guys:
http://www.alternatorparts.com/6g-serie ... nator.html
Seems like a quality product and is cheaper than a Ford rebuilt.
Mike
__________________
Alaska to Key West, Labrador and more
Prostate cancer survivor. See Thread Prostate cancer and Sportsmobiles
2015 VW GTI 2020 Fiat 124 Spider
2012 E250 Hitop camper
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02-07-2010, 02:24 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Greenwich Village, NYC
Posts: 568
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Re: Heavy duty alternator
The guys at Quadvan got me a high power alternator - at my request - from these guys:
http://www.amforelectronics.com/
I think they're also known as Northwest Power Products.
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2009 E350 5.4 Quadvan Homebrew
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