Good grief, it never ends. Alternator upgrade needed.

[sailandbail]

The alternator on my Perkins 4108 stopped producing a charge a couple days ago, about 2 weeks after I installed a new battery bank. It's the original alternator on the engine of my 1979 Cooper Sea Bird and had done an adequate job until now. I knew that the day would come that I'd need to take this plunge because power demands are higher than they were 40 years ago, so I'm ok with it (though it's not super exciting spending a bunch of $).

I just got off the phone with the folks at TAdiesel.com, specifically the Balmar specialist, who was incredibly helpful and friendly. They are the only ones I've spoken to so far because I've just started to do my research. They sell a kit that includes a 70 amp alternator, a regulator, temperature sensors, and a harness for $950. He mentioned that I could get an alternator with higher output if I planned on adding to my system down the line, but I'd need a serpentine pulley kit for a larger alternator which is another $675.

I'm a novice with this stuff and couldn't be more grateful that I've stumbled upon this site because it's already been an amazing, friendly resource in the couple weeks I've been here.


I currently have four 115ah 6 volt "golf cart" batteries.

My questions are:

-Would you go with Balmar?

-Is 70 amps sufficient if I added a couple more batteries in the future, or would I be completely limiting myself?

-Is an alternator something that is smart to buy new?


Thank you in advance for your input, I appreciate it so much. Luckily the joy of cruising still outweighs all of the work, time, and investment involved in keeping this vessel afloat.

Evan