high output alternator

[lightspeed]

i am wondering would it be a good idea to put a high output alternader on a van would it help charge up dual deep cell batteries better ? would it be worth the extra cost ? has anyone done this and how did it work ? thanks in advance !

[g1g]

While I like to say you can never have to much power in reality it may depend on how you use your B. If you are doing more traveling your present alternater may be fine (the actual answer may also depend on what size you have and want to replace it with). If you are boondocking and running down your house batteries then only running the engine for a short time the bigger alternator may be better. If you have a gennerator though it would be cheaper to run that instead of the vehicle's engine.
Personally I think if it works fine keep it, if it goes out replace it with a bigger one (again depending on what you have and guessing you do have a heavy duty one now I may just go a size or two bigger)

[visionquest]

Not exactly the answer you were looking for, but this might be another way to help charge your house battery with the alternator you have. If you have an isolator(you should) They have a typical voltage drop of about .7 V across them which effects the ability of the alternator to give a full charge to the coach battery. There are other ways, like continuous duty solenoids, but they don't isolate the battery rather change it to a parallel configuration for charging which isn't really good if you have a standard cranking battery for the engine and a deep cycle in the coach. There is an isolator from Hellroaring that has a very tiny voltage drop, still safely isolates the battery and has the capability of setting up a switch for combining the batteries which is handy if you starting battery is run down. You would flip the switch for about 15+ minutes to put a charge into the starting battery, flip the switch back to isolate the coach battery then start the rig.

At any rate, just wanted to bring up another option.

-Mike & Heidi
97 Roadtrek 170P "Taj Ma Trek"
http://www.vantramps.com