External alternator regulator, smart enough to control from a pi ?

[Jd1]

Originally Posted by alctel

For the price though, sure worth a punt if you are technically minded.

Most definitively !
If it wasn't for my desire to be able to adjust alternator field current on the fly based on alternator temperature, I would be all over this unit. I am a bit concerned about having to reboot the regulator every time a parameter changes though. I have sent an inquiry.
If it is just a question of writing the parameters to memory (a small delay) then that is fine but if the regulator then has to ramp up and step through all phases it might take considerable time to do a field current change and then 'on the fly' adjustment would possibly not practical.

[john61ct]

If you're really talking manually, why?

A temp + ammmeter readout, you twisting a knob potentiometer on the field current input might be all you need?

[Jd1]

Originally Posted by john61ct

If you're really talking manually, why?

No, I am not talking manually .... from a computer (Raspberry Pi), as I have been saying from the very beginning.
In order to get maximum output from my alternator without doing a remote diode stack modification is to run the alternator at maximum safe temperature. Field drive needs to be adjusted on the fly to keep temperature at the desired set point. 100% drive when the alternator is cold until it gets close to set point temperature and then the field current needs to be reduced to keep the alternator at the set point temperature.
Alternatively, when a long run under motor power is anticipated, adjust alternator output (via computer control) so that the batteries are at the desired SOC by the end of the engine run and not before.

[john61ct]

So start with that Arduino project, then get involved with the others to see what it will take to modify its parameters to do what you want.

Otherwise investigate the other (much more expensive) OTS units above, to see about temp derating at finer granularity.

If you already have the Balmar, can you post how long the 50% derating time cycles are?

Add some cooling measures that may be enough.

[Jd1]

Originally Posted by john61ct

If you already have the Balmar, can you post how long the 50% derating time cycles are?

Add some cooling measures that may be enough.

Whatever duration the de-rating cycles are depends on the environment the alternator runs in. How much current the alternator is pushing into the batteries and ambient temperatures are the most obvious influences.
Yes, external cooling is still on my to-do list but so far I have not come up with a solution that really appeals.

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by Jd1

I contacted Balmar. Apparently there have been no firmware updates since 2011 and high temperature is handled by cutting field drive by 50% which is what I see in my system.

Sadly you were given some incorrect or possibly incomplete info, would not be the fist time...

If your reg is cutting by 50% once 226F has been attained, and doing so all at once/immediately, you have an older version made before July 2011.

If your reg starts reducing field in 5% increments, beginning at 226F, then you have a later revision. The period of time the 5% steps take to get to 50% is not all that long, if alt temp keeps rising, but it is not immediate like it was in the older pre July 2011 regulators.

If the alt temp keeps rising, or stays above the limit set point, it will eventually reduce field to 50%, if needed, but if the alt cools enough before it gets to 50% it will begin to climb back up in 5% increments.

This is why I always suggest a hot-run set up, in a closed engine room, with a thermal probe on the alt. Reduce belt manager until you find output where the alt can safely run in your engine bay. Don't discount the use of ducted cool air, it can make a rather large difference..

The whole premise of the software tweak was to allow the regulator to find the ideal field drive % that will not allow the alt to go over the factory pre-set limit of 226F. The factory setting of 108C/226F is pretty conservative and these alts can be run hotter than that but this is up to you to change... Changing the limit point can be done in the PrA menu using the AL1 parameter..

[hellosailor]

"Yes, external cooling is still on my to-do list but so far I have not come up with a solution that really appeals."
How adventurous are you?
Installing a cooling fan that takes in cooler air and blows it directly on the alternator is old school but simple. Liquid cooling, using tightly wrapped copper tubing that goes to a remote radiator (air or water cooled) is for the more adventurous but computer gamers have done that for ages to cool CPUs. Some (DEC and Compaq) have used heat pipes filled with freon that moves passively , gas evaporating away, cooling and then being sucked back by a wick in the tubing.

And I've always wondered if simply fluting the alternator body, to triple the surface area and increase cooling, would be effective. You'd need a sacrificial alternator to test the idea, and a trip to a machine shop, but that's a "no moving parts" elegant solution, if it works.

[john61ct]

Until stress conditions maybe cause your large-frame body to spectacularly disintegrate into shrapnel.

Old school ducted fans KISS, small one in, larger one out above.