Balmar 618 regulator with Bosch alternator?

[El Pinguino]

I have a Bosch 12/80 ( equivalent) alternator - battery sensed - so far so good.

Unfortunately while smarter than some it is still pretty dumb.

Maintains 14.x volts while adjusting output so amps start at about 60 then it drops to 20 then maintains about 5 amps depending on what I am running at the time.

Something that drops the voltage back to 13.4 would appear to be a better option for my batts ( Bosch Sealed Lead Acids) as I have been known to motor for extended periods.

So is it practical to wire up a Balmar 614 to my present alternator or is it time for a complete new alternator?

TIA.

[hlev00]

I expect that the Bosch is internally regulated. You would have to convert it to externally regulated. In Boston I tried to find an auto electric shop that would do the work. My experience is that at this point they work in a world of throw away and replace. I think one shop knew how to do it but didn't want to bother. Another four had no idea what I was talking about. So I went with a Balmar alternator and regulator combo including serpentine belts. You didn't mention how big your battery bank is. It might not be worth the upgraded alternator and regulator if your house batteries don't have a lot of capacity. My swag would be less that 200Ah is probably not worth expense. If you do go with a new alternator and regulator there are some others besides Balmar you should look at too. I have been generally happy with my Balmar gear. The Wakespeed regulators get a lot of praise. Others with different experiences might point you to a different alternators too like American Power.

Harry

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by hlev00

I expect that the Bosch is internally regulated. You would have to convert it to externally regulated. In Boston I tried to find an auto electric shop that would do the work. My experience is that at this point they work in a world of throw away and replace. I think one shop knew how to do it but didn't want to bother. Another four had no idea what I was talking about. So I went with a Balmar alternator and regulator combo including serpentine belts. You didn't mention how big your battery bank is. It might not be worth the upgraded alternator and regulator if your house batteries don't have a lot of capacity. My swag would be less that 200Ah is probably not worth expense. If you do go with a new alternator and regulator there are some others besides Balmar you should look at too. I have been generally happy with my Balmar gear. The Wakespeed regulators get a lot of praise. Others with different experiences might point you to a different alternators too like American Power.

Harry

External reg mounted on the back of the alternator. Bank is currently 315 a/h but I would like to add a 4th batt and take it to 420ish.

I just wired in a Sterling UltraPro 60amp shore charger ( dealer was out of 40s so did me a 60 for the same money) to replace my old ferro resonant. Nice bit of kit and quite a simple job.

Speaking of which.... my research on regs took me straight down the wombat hole - a 2017 thread here on CF led me to Mainesail which lead me to this -
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/06...ger_a5.pdf?483

Looks like a good unit but I can understand why your auto electrician wasn't too keen.

[El Pinguino]

A simpler alternative but not cheap
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/06...B12130.pdf?477

[donradcliffe]

Changing an alternator over to external regulation is not rocket science. If you can find a brush holder assembly for your alternator WITHOUT A REGULATOR BUILT INTO IT, the job is 95% done. Just hook one end to ground and the other to the field wire from the Balmar regulator.

Some Bosch alternators came with internal regulation for some cars and external regulation for others.

[smac999]

any alt can be converted to external feild for an external reg. pull the alt off and take it to an alt shop and it'll take them 30 mins to convert it.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by smac999

any alt can be converted to external feild for an external reg. pull the alt off and take it to an alt shop and it'll take them 30 mins to convert it.

Agreed. Even leaving the internal alt regulator in place and just bypass it.

[smac999]

Also make sure to buy the optional alt temp sensor.