Dear Forum Members,
once again I would be very happy if you could share your wisdoms with me, as I'm in the process of updating my
alternator setup on my starboard
motor.
Current Setup:
Standard
Alternator (Volvo
Penta D2-55A) drives a shaft where 2 Alternators are connected to charge the
Lithium housebank. (
https://www.autovaux.co.uk/120amp-citreon-relay-alt)
Those two Alternators were used to be controlled by the Arduino VSR external
regulator, connected to an Orion BMS. This setup has been done and implemented by the previous owner.
As one
battery cell got bad, I had to get rid of the Orion BMS with Winston Cells and, based on an electricians advise, got Renogy Drop-In LifePO4s. So, no intelligent BMS anymore to talk to the VSR external
regulator.
Since then, I never really got the alternators to
work, and I am in the process of simplifying all the installs.
Ideas / Potential Future Setup:
1. The "Leave-as much as possible" Method
I thought I could use quite a lot of the
wiring (battery bank, negative bus bars etc. all on the other hull) to install two Zeus alternators, managing the
charging current and have both alternators protected by a
Balmar protection module. Would need to add some shunts but besides that, seems like a doable
installation if I utilize some existing
wiring.
Pros:
-"Easiest Install"
- Use what you already have
- Seperate load on two alternators seems to make sense
Cons:
- is it worthwile to spend 2.000 EUR plus (I'm in the EU, Zeus is more expensive here) to regulate those two alternators?
2 - The "In between Solution"
Keep the existing mounting, but replace one old alternator with a new
marine grade one (like
Balmar or Zeus or...) and manage according to Option 1
Pros
- Doable
Installation
- New Alternators gives me more potential output, I cannot say in which shape the actual alternators are
Cons
- If there's space and accomodation for two, why not use both?
3 - The "Traditional Route"
Get rid of the shaft system, get a decent size alternator on the original
Volvo Penta Housing, Connect the alternator to the starter
battery - DC-to-DC
charger -
LifePo4
As you can see, I am a bit
lost. Thanks for your tips and improvement ideas - what option would you prefer or is there something else I should think about?
Regards
Timo