Balmar alternators or standard?

[daletournier]

Hi, on my last boat I had lots of cool gadgets. One was the 70amp Balmar alternator and smart regulator. It worked well for most of the 7 years I cruised on Freeform.
The boat I'm in the process of purchasing has the standard 80amp Yanmar regulator (Hitachi?).
How much better is a Balmar or equivalent?
Keep in mind a majority of my charging will come from solar, and the batteries are sealed lead acid.
What I liked about the balmar regulator was it delayed charging and ramped up current slowly when starting the engine, also I dialed the current produced down to 50amp, which was easier on the belt.
I intend to buy a second alternator as a backup (non fitted) but I really don't know if a smart system makes that much difference in the real world?
Some keep things simple and do quite fine.

Cheers Dale.


Sent from my vivo Y35 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app