Advancing Alvar

[Davydd]

The Balmar regulator is still there. The temperature sensor probe at the alternator is what failed. The Delco alternator has been tested plenty in ambulances and such. I noticed the ducted air hose is still in place. I will have to ask tomorrow if it is still functional.

 

[gregmchugh]

It is definetly a major upgrade compared to the previous one...

Medium & Heavy Duty Alternators | Delco Remy

 

[Davydd]

We are still at ARV and I haven't tested it myself yet but was told the alternator was delivering 278 amps at idle this morning.

 

[gregmchugh]

We are still at ARV and I haven't tested it myself yet but was told the alternator was delivering 278 amps at idle this morning.

Do you know if that was at high idle or normal idle RPM?

 

[Davydd]

I would assume high idle figuring they would push the Autogen button on the Silverleaf screen to do any testing. High idle is a little over 1100 rpms and normal engine running idle with key start is around 800 rpms. In comparison they had the Nations alternator set to run a little over 200 amps from what I had observed.

 

[gregmchugh]

I would assume high idle figuring they would push the Autogen button on the Silverleaf screen to do any testing. High idle is a little over 1100 rpms and normal engine running idle with key start is around 800 rpms. In comparison they had the Nations alternator set to run a little over 200 amps from what I had observed.

Very good, You may recall Jim Hammill's response to the High Idle question on Sprinters...

Q - do your units use high idle by Mercedes?
A - no, it's not needed. Why? Because we say so. And our systems work really well without it.

In any case, the link to the details on the Delco alternator I posted above shows the output vs RPM at the alternator shaft but that of course depends on the pulley arrangement so no direct plot of alternator output vs engine RPM.

Very nice upgrade by ARV as usual...

 

[Davydd]

The MB fixed high idle is a $615 option.

I have no idea how Roadtrek sets theirs up but I did learn that with ARV the setup is programmable to get the desired performance parameters. The only independent Nations dual alternator on a Sprinter I am aware of is Avanti's. He would be the one with the most direct knowledge. You won't get much from Roadtrek but ARV would tell you what you might want to know. I'm not a knowledgeable techie on this stuff but just a parrot of what I thought I heard. The ARV guys are a bit stretched time wise. Right now and often talk in tech shorthand making it difficult for us non techies to pick up.

 

[avanti]

My Nation's alternator shows an honest 200 amps at normal idle, if the battery is sufficiently discharged to take it. At speed, it will produce approximately the rated 270. I do not have high idle, nor have I felt any need. Even if I had a pet and autostart, our A/C draws only 102 amps, so I could easily run it and recharge the battery at the same time at idle. The whole "Mercedes doesn't allow long idling" thing appears to be a myth--at least as judged by actual published MB documents.

 

[Davydd]

Frank sure implied problems with belts and cooling. The Balmar regulator monitors temperature and has a belt manager setting. So what is the problem with Nations alternators? Or is it like Frank said, everyone else is now using Nations so we must be different?

I got a little more information today from BMo, the guy in the shop that did the installation about the cooling. He simply said if you are running air conditioning in hot weather of course the Nations alternator will heat up, output will drop and the air conditioning will draw out more amps than going in. The Delco can run "forever" without dropping output. They have had failures with the Nations alternator they say and were not satisfied with the performance even though they installed ducted cooling and tuned it down. That's a FWIW.

 

[bobojay]

We have 3 of those high output Delcos on our local fire trucks, the older ones that don't have LED lights. They do put the juice out at the 11-1200 rpm level, and keep putting it out.
Only issue is, if they go bad they are very $$$$ to get fixed or replace....

 

[Davydd]

The installed Delco. It fits. Went from 80% SOC to 100% in 25 minutes driving. That was restoring 128ah to the battery. Highest reading I observed was 308 amps. It settled down to around 290 amps charge rate.

 

[gregmchugh]

Very nice...

 

[bobojay]

That is BIG in there

 

[gregmchugh]

That honker may not fit in a Promaster or a Chevy ...

 

[bobojay]

That honker may not fit in a Promaster or a Chevy ...

Won't fit a PM for sure...

 

[Davydd]

I'm loving the Delco alternator. Usually a boondock overnight stop recharges the battery in a half hour of driving. There is less drop off from heat in the charge rate. It seems quieter but there is an initial siren like sound in the beginning. Kind of a wicked whine noise.

 

[Davydd]

With my former Nations second alternator I reported in the past the amperage output started going down at around 90% SOC. Now I am not sure if heat contributed to that. You charge an overnight stay so fast you really don't know. So I got a chance to test my new Delco on the Natchez Trace where you can drive a constant 50 mph non-stop. It was a heavy overcast day so solar had little contribution. I forced my battery down to 60% SOC or in effect would have to put about 256ah back into the battery (40% of available 640ah). In starting out I could monitor as high as 330 amps output briefly but after a few minutes it settled down to a steady 270 amps reading which means about 280 amps since I am discharging an average of 10 amps with refrigerator and inverter on. At 95% SOC the amperage started to steadily fall as the Balmar was braking the output. 100% SOC was reached in 1 hour 2 minutes. After that the Silverleaf reading would be a minus discharge amperage number alternating with a small compensating plus amperage number to hold 99% SOC.

So, I drive into a campground at a full 99% SOC. I was concerned that I could be at a 90% SOC but learned ARV has programmed only the shore power to charge to 99% and then let electrical usage drop it to 90% before starting charging again.

 

[Davydd]

I'm not contemplating this upgrade but was impressed. Advanced RV has been testing upgrade seats. The Solar Womp got Knoedler seats installed. ARV has settled on offering an Italian brand as an option. They get the seats in and re-upholster them. The seat sides and back inflate to adjust to your body. Also the seat and back are perforated and air blows through for cooling. They heat and are electrically adjustable as well. The interesting feature is the seat edge can be moved in and out to adjust to leg size. I don't know if they have settled on a price yet but the raw seats cost over $3,000 each I think.

Here is a view in the upholstery shop.

My stock MB Sprinter seats were modified by being re-upholstered with leather and having the seat base substituted with gel used in motorcycle and wheelchair seats. Tuesday we drove for 12 straight hours one day this week and I was comfortable the whole time so I am satisfied for now.

 

[Davydd]

Here is the latest video from Advanced RV's Owner's Mike and Marcia Neundorfer. It covers their trip from Willoughby, OH to the Lucky B13 rally in Rutherfordton, NC to Aspen, CO and back to Willoughby in 12 days and 3,900 miles. How are improvements made? The company owners experiences using their product in an extreme way. They emphasize their boondocking habits. Sounds as if the only campground they stayed in was the Four Paws CG in NC for the rally.

BTW, the ARV they took named Kinder is a buy back and now a rental. It has a unique flip out bunk bed so it is capable of sleeping four inside without tying up the whole inside of the B.

The Neundorfers are having a new B, Runaway, being built. It will have those Italian seats I mentioned in my previous post. They mentioned Runaway and a trip they will take to Oregon this fall to an ARVfest West, an impromptu social on private property set up by ARV owners. I checked out Runaway when I was in Willoughby last month. It will have the latest advances mentioned in several of the videos.

 

[Boxster1971]

Here is the latest video from Advanced RV's Owner's Mike and Marcia Neundorfer. It covers their trip from Willoughby, OH to the Lucky B13 rally in Rutherfordton, NC to Aspen, CO and back to Willoughby in 12 days and 3,900 miles. How are improvements made? The company owners experiences using their product in an extreme way. They emphasize their boondocking habits. Sounds as if the only campground they stayed in was the Four Paws CG in NC for the rally.....

..... The Neundorfers are having a new B, Runaway, being built. It will have those Italian seats I mentioned in my previous post. They mentioned Runaway and a trip they will take to Oregon this fall to an ARVfest West, an impromptu social on private property set up by ARV owners. I checked out Runaway when I was in Willoughby last month. It will have the latest advances mentioned in several of the videos.

This is what makes Advanced RV so special. The owners are truly fellow Class B RV travelers who have but their experiences into their product.