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Old 10-17-2015, 01:20 AM   #11
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Re: Dual alternators and dual batteries....

Quote:
Originally Posted by E350
artictraveller: You said:

"This is why good regulators have three steps, bulk, absorbsion, and float."

What do you recommend for a charger?

What do you think of the Sterling as a alternator to battery charger?

(Dang, $39!)
By " charger " do you mean shore power, or alternator? I've never seen the Sterling unit, and I'm not really sure I understand what it does. If it's simply a programable regulator, I'm sure when properly set up that it's great. The idea is to match your charging scheme to what ever the battery manufacturer recomends. I come from the marine field and usually work with marine grade 12V equipment from the major manufacturers where there are quite a few options for the monitor and control of charging systems. As long as the alternator doesn't have an internal regulator it should be pretty easy to connect about any programable regulator. I'm pretty new to this on the land side though, so there may be other reasons to stick with automotive / RV grade stuff I'm not aware of.

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Old 10-17-2015, 11:03 AM   #12
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Re: Dual alternators and dual batteries....

I know this is about twin alternators but Power Stream makes DC to DC smart chargers. Some time back I looked at a 15 amp model (about 500 bucks). It will take a standard alternator charge and turn it into a 3 stage smart charge and works with any (large enough amp) alternator. The issue is you would have to rig it to work in a one way only direction. So if you also have a inverter charger, forget about the inverter charging the vehicle batteries if you simply cut it into the standard charge cable before the starting batteries as it can't pass current through the unit backwards. Also forget about being able to jump assist start the van. That's not really a big deal and instead you would be hooked up just like solar. But to get the smart charge only to the house system, you'd have to manually open the separator to prevent the alternator from providing its normal charge. 15 amps is enough to take care of charging but if you use the high amp alternator to supply power to run a large load like a microwave, you'd probably have to close the separator while the MW is running. For me that's no big deal because I have the Blue Sea remote.

So far I haven't seen an over or under charging issue on my van. The XP-270 does a fairly good job at bulk charging and my solar is usually enough to top it off but I do worry about overcharging in hot weather and a smart charger might be easier on the two 4-D's I have on board.
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Old 10-17-2015, 11:19 AM   #13
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Re: Dual alternators and dual batteries....

My traverse has an Intellipower 9130 unit
http://www.progressivedyn.com/power_con ... _9100.html
I installed their PCM charge wizard add on which automatically selects charge mode or can be manually controlled
http://www.progressivedyn.com/charge_wizard.html

This is wired in conjunction to a 200amp electronic battery separator.
Works very well and is completely automatic. There is a manual disconnect at aux batteries to turn off the house power.
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Old 10-17-2015, 04:06 PM   #14
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Re: Dual alternators and dual batteries....

Converters have come a long way over the years. I just rarely plug into shore power and my inverter is a high end battery charger. I'm sure there are some other smart regulators on the market as well that can tie into the alternator system.
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Old 10-17-2015, 05:38 PM   #15
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Re: Dual alternators and dual batteries....

Doesn't Haywoodphotomaccom have a Sterling unit?

http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/viewto ... 14&t=12566
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Old 10-17-2015, 06:18 PM   #16
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Re: Dual alternators and dual batteries....

Quote:
Originally Posted by daveb
Power Stream makes DC to DC smart chargers. Some time back I looked at a 15 amp model (about 500 bucks). It will take a standard alternator charge and turn it into a 3 stage smart charge and works with any (large enough amp) alternator.

So far I haven't seen an over or under charging issue on my van. The XP-270 does a fairly good job at bulk charging and my solar is usually enough to top it off but I do worry about overcharging in hot weather and a smart charger might be easier on the two 4-D's I have on board.

So, I'm still a bit confused. If were talking about DC to DC converters, the ones I've worked with usualy convert 24vdc to say, 12vdc, or someother change in DC voltage. It sounds like here, were talking about taking the voltage / current out of the alternator and adjusting it to match the needs of the batteries, (probably using the normal bulk, absorbtion, float modes) If this is correct, I fail to see any advantage over a smart voltage regulator, actually I think the regulator would simpler. A regulator like this

http://www.balmar.net/regulators.html

should be easy to hook up (assuming your alternator is not internally regulated) and will provide all the flexibility needed to maximize the charge rate, increase battery life, and minimize running time.

Also mentioned were AC to DC converters, a completely different animal that requires 110V's. I agree, a good inverter / charger will be lights years ahead of the converters lots of us have in our vans. Now that I have solar I never use mine as the MPPT solar regulator automatically charges the batteries far better than the simple charger in the converter.
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Old 10-17-2015, 10:37 PM   #17
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Re: Dual alternators and dual batteries....

There are some pretty neat ideas showing up here. I guess other than Overkill the dual alternator dual charging is not a bad idea.

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Old 10-18-2015, 09:59 AM   #18
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Re: Dual alternators and dual batteries....

I think what I like about the Power Stream is it has nothing to do with the alternator and can be mounted outside the engine compartment. Mind you I haven't really researched regulators much but I kind of like that I would be able to regulate the charge going only to the house battery system. Others may feel different. Nations sell Balmar products and it was the first thing I asked about several years back when I put in my XP-270. I don't quite remember why but seem to recall them steering me away from those. I know that the XP-270 alternator & it's regulator is designed for high heat & I was after a "bullet proof" model, so possibly it was that and/or that the Balmar was not compatible with the type regulator in the alternator. It was quite some time ago. AT if you have updated info on the Balmar smart regulator I'd like to know. Maybe a call back to Nation's is warranted on my part. Again, because my solar does a good job of topping off the batteries and the high amp alternator fixed the problem of low amp Ford model, I'm kind of happy right now.
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Old 10-18-2015, 09:20 PM   #19
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Re: Dual alternators and dual batteries....

I think the regulator option is the way to go if you have a second alternator and make it a independent system.

Otherwise if you are just looking for better charge control, then then DC to DC like power streams or sterling power has would most likely be the way to go.

If looking for juat more power delivery then a larger alternator would be the way. In that case I am not looking at total power but I would make the criteria idle power, also make sure the voltage output is to high.


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Old 10-18-2015, 11:27 PM   #20
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Re: Dual alternators and dual batteries....

Quote:
Originally Posted by daveb
I think what I like about the Power Stream is it has nothing to do with the alternator and can be mounted outside the engine compartment.

Most external regulators can be remote mounted by simply extending the wires if needed..

Mind you I haven't really researched regulators much but I kind of like that I would be able to regulate the charge going only to the house battery system.

You have to regulate the charge to the start batteries no matter what. Now if your talking about two different battery chemistrys, that may be a good idea.

Others may feel different. Nations sell Balmar products and it was the first thing I asked about several years back when I put in my XP-270. I don't quite remember why but seem to recall them steering me away from those. I know that the XP-270 alternator & it's regulator is designed for high heat & I was after a "bullet proof" model, so possibly it was that and/or that the Balmar was not compatible with the type regulator in the alternator.

External regulators won't work if you alternator is internally regulated, although you can lead a wire outside the case pretty easly. Otherwise, it makes no difference how the alternator was regulated when you install a programable one so they shoud be compatable with pretty much any alternator.

It was quite some time ago. AT if you have updated info on the Balmar smart regulator I'd like to know. Maybe a call back to Nation's is warranted on my part. Again, because my solar does a good job of topping off the batteries and the high amp alternator fixed the problem of low amp Ford model, I'm kind of happy right now.
Sounds like you have your charging system the way you want it, so why change? Faster recharge time at idle, longer life of your batteries, or other reasons? If so, it sounds like there are plenty of options. Below is from the Sterling site:

"The Sterling Power Alternator-to-Battery Charger is a marine grade, high performance, four step, alternator powered battery charger. By monitoring and then controlling the voltage level of the alternator connected to the input side, the alt-to-bat is able to provide a charge rate that recovers your batteries up to five times faster than a standard alternator"

This sounds to me like a voltage regulator in a different form factor with some easly adjustable remote settings. There may be other advantages, but I'm not aware of them at the moment.
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