What did you do to your Patrol today!

This Legend of a bloke kindly opened his shop up in Dandenong for an hour today to adjust our diffs backlash and pre-load.
http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forum...019/12/222.jpg
He’s also much better than my efforts linished the journal butchering done and final pressure tested up nicely!
He only just managed to 90 degree bend the internal copper air locker line into the hole we’d tapped from ARB instructional picture interpretation.
http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forum...019/12/223.jpg
Be careful here folks as the picture is deceiving I believe!
http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forum...019/12/224.jpg
Really should be on a straight line down the inside of the diff housing unlike whats done is done now.
http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forum...019/12/225.jpg
http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forum...019/12/226.jpg



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Removed bulbar to straighten the passengers side wing after I managed to bend it getting out of a bog hole nearly two years ago. Has been rubbing on the grill piece ever since.
Having a fork to support it is very handy
Attachment 79857
The pieces on the floor
Attachment 79858
looks a little naked....
And yes I have blasted out all the dried mud.

When straight again, going to add some extra bracing in the wings.

While its off, removing the intercooler and radiator for cleaning and maybe replacing water pump. Have a weeping gasket just below the thermostat housing, and last time I had belt off the water pump, it had a bit of movement on the shaft. Should be much easier to do...……

Does anyone know where you can get those little black plastics clips that hold the grill on, or a suitable replacement

Cheers Trevor

Try these, all metal and work a treat, better than the plastic

Is it an optical illusion or is your drivers side headlight on the piss?

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Nissan-P...IAAOSwZ1lWb0Ap

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PeeBee

Try these, all metal and work a treat, better than the plastic

Is it an optical illusion or is your drivers side headlight on the piss?

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Nissan-P...IAAOSwZ1lWb0Ap

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Thanks for the suggestion. Captive nuts and bolts, use them when installing small data cabinets (my son is a sparky) should have some somewhere.

Funny how some people can see things in pictures and others can’t

Cheers Trevor

I had another look last night at the front shot and almost looks like a bit of 'fish eye' distortion, obviously not.

Update
Removed the intercooler and the radiator has some dried out mud on it...……...
Attachment 79860
Removed the radiator and washed out the mud. Reckon about a quarter of the radiator was useless.

Nissan Patrol GQ TD42 2 Wire Tacho Sensor can be seen to the right of the water pump
Attachment 79861
It appears the sealant or whatever it is, where the 2 wires go into to the housing, is breaking down so not sure if I should replace it while access is easy.

"According to Patrolapart
Genuine Nissan Patrol GQ TD42 2 Wire Tacho Sensor
Suit GQ Patrol with a TD42 engine.
This sensor is located on the timing cover. This is a 2 wire sensor.
This tacho sensor is held in by one bolt.
The two bolt tacho sensors are no longer in production and this is the substituted item for this"

Any comments on replacing the sensor?

Cheers Trevor

Swapped out what was a very expensive JVC sound system today, finally carked it, so down to Autobarn and a Kenwood unit that plays cd's and all the other telepathic intergalactic methods of music storage, for $169. Took the best part of the day to install mainly due to - yep, wiring - having to hack into the original loom that had been hacked about when the JVC was put in - no I didn't do that install. Running thru 50w speakers and a high quality antenna - sound absolutely crystal clear and a step up from the JVC.This model is the KDC-BT630U, does not have DAT. Unfortunately the centre console in the dash had to come out due to the old world 1997 mounting system, but pretty straight forward.

Removed the alternator and added the Quicktifier Rectifier package to ensure the unit load is lower across the factory fitted rectifiers. have to mount the unit tomorrow - simply baking this afternoon in the garage. Took it out for a spin in the suburban heat and it never got over 90degC on oil or water, so fingers crossed the big aluminium radiator is going to deliver. Wasn't under any real load though, just stop start but enough indication. yet to hook up the big elec fans - its on the list.

Pulled out the radiator and gave it a good wash and the a/C condenser. New coolant and topped up with Demineralised water.

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Started and ran it for 15 mins and took some more photos lol.

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Made the mount bracket for the Quicktifier unit, hooked it up, no sparks or flames, idle voltage went up 0.3V, so good result. Starting on the rear wiring mess tomorrow, or Monday, still have to sort out a couple of items now without power since my clean-up, and finalise the wiring looms under into corrugated protection. Mounted the wiper washer bottle after first extending the piddly wiring looms to the little pumps - added 300mm to each cable so they can be connected whilst the washer bottle is out of position instead of having to grow spider fingers to plug them in - worthwhile mod. I believe.Then onto the lighting set-up to deliver the 28V to all the LED's as previous.

Best modification on Mrs MB’s old stocky wagon to date hopefully!
http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forum...2020/01/44.jpg
http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forum...2020/01/45.jpg
If we treat the coin mechanism operation like a swear jar and between the four of us we should have all credit cards paid off in no time at all ready for 2021 rear locker adventures out there to come too [emoji106][emoji106]





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Thought I’d check the aux batteries water level prior to our trip. Although, it’s been working fine and running a fridge and light with ease I thought best check anyway. Just as well I did. It took a far bit of water...
Attachment 79865
This was full. So maybe a litre and a half went in! Wow!
Now running my CTek smart charger on it and it passes the charge hold test. Lucky!



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Quote:

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Originally Posted by MB

Best modification on Mrs MB’s old stocky wagon to date hopefully!
http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forum...2020/01/44.jpg
http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forum...2020/01/45.jpg
If we treat the coin mechanism operation like a swear jar and between the four of us we should have all credit cards paid off in no time at all ready for 2021 rear locker adventures out there to come too [emoji106][emoji106]





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Bloody love it, your a thinking man I tells ya . . . [emoji23]

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by MB

Best modification on Mrs MB’s old stocky wagon to date hopefully!
http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forum...2020/01/44.jpg
http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forum...2020/01/45.jpg
If we treat the coin mechanism operation like a swear jar and between the four of us we should have all credit cards paid off in no time at all ready for 2021 rear locker adventures out there to come too [emoji106][emoji106]





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Freaking crackup clown you are mate!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mudski

Thought I’d check the aux batteries water level prior to our trip. Although, it’s been working fine and running a fridge and light with ease I thought best check anyway. Just as well I did. It took a far bit of water...
Attachment 79865
This was full. So maybe a litre and a half went in! Wow!
Now running my CTek smart charger on it and it passes the charge hold test. Lucky!



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I reckon you dodged a bullet there Mark.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PeeBee

I reckon you dodged a bullet there Mark.

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Yeah I reckon... it now has a full charge and holds the charge and it held load too from my load tester. Phew!


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Yeah, expensive day in the shed. Hooked up the CTEK system to the new 300 amp alternator - didn't go well is perhaps the understatement of the new year. One the look out for an alternate system now. All hooked up correctly, just could not take the current. Snap crackle and pop then all the smoke started escaping and joined the bushfire smoke.Attachment 79870Attachment 79871

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PeeBee

Yeah, expensive day in the shed. Hooked up the CTEK system to the new 300 amp alternator - didn't go well is perhaps the understatement of the new year. One the look out for an alternate system now. All hooked up correctly, just could not take the current. Snap crackle and pop then all the smoke started escaping and joined the bushfire smoke.Attachment 79870Attachment 79871

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That should buff out mate.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PeeBee

Yeah, expensive day in the shed. Hooked up the CTEK system to the new 300 amp alternator - didn't go well is perhaps the understatement of the new year. One the look out for an alternate system now. All hooked up correctly, just could not take the current. Snap crackle and pop then all the smoke started escaping and joined the bushfire smoke.Attachment 79870Attachment 79871

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Ask Ctek for warranty. surely good enough for a laugh at least.

Geez PeeBee, What are you like?

You never considered that connecting a 300A output to a 120A max input ctek smartpass to be a tad unwise. I am shaking my head slowly from side to side in disbelief. Bet that's something you wont try again in a hurry!

Yes, was a brain fart moment for sure. I wasn't expecting a full 300amps into the rear bank, and unfortunately I didn't have the ammeter connected as needed to extend the in cab wiring, so charged on with this alternate job - boy, should have gone to Jaycar and bought the damn cable. Anyway, its another lesson I guess. Looking around for a different system now, seems there are a few on the market.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PeeBee

. Looking around for a different system now, seems there are a few on the market.

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What batteries are you charging with such a powerful alternator? I cant imagine needing 300A for anthing other than a large Lithium battery bank. This might make interesting reading for you if you haen't seen it already.
https://expeditionportal.com/forum/t...y-bank.142462/

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PeeBee

Yes, was a brain fart moment for sure. I wasn't expecting a full 300amps into the rear bank, and unfortunately I didn't have the ammeter connected as needed to extend the in cab wiring, so charged on with this alternate job - boy, should have gone to Jaycar and bought the damn cable. Anyway, its another lesson I guess. Looking around for a different system now, seems there are a few on the market.

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I reckon ditch the Ctek completely. You don't need a smart charging system with 300amp supply IMO. Just run some 90mmsq and an isolation switch between batteries for safety.

This is my 600amp continuous rated switch to my 24v system. It will handle your system all day.

http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forum...2020/01/73.jpg

Good luck mate... I'm am happy to hear from anyone that says this is bad advice. I have no idea, it.makes sense to me though.



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Quote:

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Originally Posted by MudRunnerTD

Good luck mate... I'm am happy to hear from anyone that says this is bad advice. I have no idea, it.makes sense to me though.

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I suspect it depends upon the intended usage. Knowing your love of winching I suspect yours is setup to allow for extended winching, which seems to make sense for me too although it might depend upon what battery capacity you are putting it through. Chucking 300A into a 100Ah battery for example, whilst pulling several hundred amps out of it may or may not be a recipe for short battery life. Not sure really. When you are using it like that does the battery get very hot. Have you had that set up for long & used it much? Does it do what you want? Bueseas switch is good gear, hopefully it is one of the models with alternator protection built in so you can switch it whilst the engine is running without frying the alternator diodes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cuppa

What batteries are you charging with such a powerful alternator? I cant imagine needing 300A for anthing other than a large Lithium battery bank. This might make interesting reading for you if you haen't seen it already.
https://expeditionportal.com/forum/t...y-bank.142462/

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Yes am already looking at Blueseas as either a simple switch like Darren has or a 500a rated unit with some basic switching. Regards application, I have the system configured for what I need with the weak link being simply the control device capacity. I have 400ah of a hybrid agm battery bank that is set up to run a warn 15000lb winch for extended periods if required plus a coffee machine which is life sustaining. I would not spend any more of your time evaluating my system as the demands are far greater than your setup and totally differently focused. I am going back to a simpler more robust system as I don't need the sophistication of trying to run a big battery bank off a small alternator. If I wanted that style I would have gone to a Sterling Power system. The solar setup at 400w will also now be setup on its own controller as opposed to the one super control option from deter. What can you recommend just for the solar side of things Cuppa? Appreciate the input for sure.Thanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MudRunnerTD

I reckon ditch the Ctek completely. You don't need a smart charging system with 300amp supply IMO. Just run some 90mmsq and an isolation switch between batteries for safety.

This is my 600amp continuous rated switch to my 24v system. It will handle your system all day.

http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forum...2020/01/73.jpg

Good luck mate... I'm am happy to hear from anyone that says this is bad advice. I have no idea, it.makes sense to me though.



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Agree Darren, will see what my existing manual isolation switch is rated at that was in the circuit originally to allow emerg isolation of the front to back battery setup, then decide if the Blueseas upgrade goes manual like yours or slightly mote control with 500a capacity. Thanks for the quick response also.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cuppa

I suspect it depends upon the intended usage. Knowing your love of winching I suspect yours is setup to allow for extended winching, which seems to make sense for me too although it might depend upon what battery capacity you are putting it through. Chucking 300A into a 100Ah battery for example, whilst pulling several hundred amps out of it may or may not be a recipe for short battery life. Not sure really. When you are using it like that does the battery get very hot. Have you had that set up for long & used it much? Does it do what you want? Bueseas switch is good gear, hopefully it is one of the models with alternator protection built in so you can switch it whilst the engine is running without frying the alternator diodes.

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Battery life is largely determined by depth of discharge, and some other contributing factors of lesser importance. Framing this simply, for winching it's about amps out verses amps in. If the winch is pulling 300amps and you are supplying 300 amps there is no detrimental effect. If the winch draws 400amps, them battery voltage will fall, winch will start to overheat as it is a simple watts equals volts x amps equation. If your battery cables between alternator and battery are undersized, volt drop and higher heat build up, more resistance and the spiral downwards begins. Similarly with the supply from battery bank to winch. Don't confuse amp/Jr. With cca. The cca is the capacity of the battery to expend high amp discharge over short periods of time, as opposed to a/Hr capacity for lower current draw over extended periods - two entirely different units of measurement and frankly different construction formats within each style of battery.
The battery is best thought of as a bucket and the alternator the pump. The alternator provides the flowrate in Volts and the battery the pressure or head in amps to do the work (I think that's right, could be arse about??). When these flows are optimised there is minimal net effect on battery or bucket capacity.

Lastly, if you had an alternator supplying a winch in excess of its draw, the motor would not get as hot, one of the reasons why the duty rating of electric dc winches is so low is because the alternator at 100amps can't replenish the winch draw down at say 400amp, hence the winch draws higher current to satisfy the torque requirement, and the resultant heat build up and requirement to rest the winch to protect the winch windings and insulation and also to reduce the internal resistance from the heat. In my earlier days I spent a bit of time working with large dc drives, circa 400hp plus and these issues were fundamental parameters we dealt with including supplementary casing cooling and heat extraction using refrigerant methods - challenging stuff well in excess of the duty issues of our little winch motors

Praise the lord, finally someone that understands [emoji106]


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I’ve seen so many people make the mistake of using deep cycle batteries for a winch too. The winch is basically a starter motor so it needs a cca rating to supply high amps to spin at the correct speed which in turn reduces current draw. If it runs too slow, heat builds up, resistance builds up etc


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by PeeBee

Yes, was a brain fart moment for sure. I wasn't expecting a full 300amps into the rear bank, and unfortunately I didn't have the ammeter connected as needed to extend the in cab wiring, so charged on with this alternate job - boy, should have gone to Jaycar and bought the damn cable. Anyway, its another lesson I guess. Looking around for a different system now, seems there are a few on the market.

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Do you think the D250S may have got damaged?

If you're getting rid of that and it's OK I'm interested.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PeeBee

If the winch is pulling 300amps and you are supplying 300 amps there is no detrimental effect.

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That is the bit I am unsure about. Not saying it's wrong, just that I am not certain it's correct. Reason is that lead based batteries are generally recommended to be charged at around a max 20% of their capacity. However if the battery is full charged, & the input & output is balanced then the size of that input/output may be inconsequential. Also if that is so & the current draw exceeds what the alternator can supply then I don't see that as a problem, as it will just result in the battery becoming discharged, & that can be re-charged. Where I do wonder if there is a problem is what happens when the batteries are fairly low & you start the car running a 300amp alternator. Overcharging will kill batteries just as undercharging will. If the 20% rule is followed your battery bank needs a max of around 80amp charge. How, in those circumstances will you 'regulate' the input?

I'm guessing that fitting the ctek stuff was an attempt to regulate the alternator input into a discharged battery?

The alternative without it - I suppose - is to only connect the alternator to the aux batteries during winching, & let solar look after their charging the rest of the time? 400w solar will give a max of around 25 to 30 amps for however many 'sun hours a day' there are at the location. Optimistically - 150Ah per day? Seems an inconvenient/clunky solution to me.

I suppose it really depends upon how long a period you expect to be winching for. To me it seems pretty extreme 'competition stuff' to need to run a 300amp to provide 'direct' power to the winch. In 'everyday' 4wd'ing I reckon it is significant overkill. In my setup my winch runs off the crank battery, & using a switch similar to that of Darren's I can parallel my 360Ah aux batteries to it to offer extended winching time if needed. To date my 70Ah alternator has been sufficient & the aux batteries hae not been used in that way. Assuming however that your intended use is more 'hardcore' than mine, I'd still reckon that you aux battery capacity in most if not all instances , together with an alternator sized to be able to be used with something like the ctek setup you had would be as much as most people would need.

My way of looking at the 300A alternator is that unless it is a second alternator used only for winching, is that it needs some sort of 'variable output control', which allows it to be restricted to say 100 or 120A in normal use, or full output during winching. I imagine there are probably products out there to do this but would think that you'd be looking at big bikkies for something that specialised.

The other alternative would be instead to swap the batteries for a LiFePo4 set up, but you would want to ensure that it had a very robust battery management system and ensure that the car's cooling system was up to coping with the additional sustained load from the alternator if it were in use full time.

I acknowledge that high amp alternator & winching is outside my experience ...... it would be good to hear from anyone else who has been there/done that - as to just how they have set things up if they have done so in a way which has stood the test of time. No point in re-inventing wheels.

I think you will find cuppa that the Ctek setup came before the 300amp alternator and was simply an oversight. It wasn't added to deal with the alternator but rather was a victim of the upgrade.

I expect that the 400w solar setup is there for long term static touring rather than a clunky backup to the 300amp alternator. 150ah a day from solar is a great delivery for most things I'd have thought. Way more than I have and plenty for most requirements.

I appreciate the concern over the capacity for the batteries to accept the 300amps for sure. They really need to be connected in series and the full bank getbtue full 300ampd as a shared load I reckon. There is so much supply that I see No reason ever to isolate all 300amps to a single battery.

300amps.... let us just contemplate that. Just Wow! That is effectively limitless. 90mm or even 120mm cable is the go I think.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Yeti's Beast

I’ve seen so many people make the mistake of using deep cycle batteries for a winch too. The winch is basically a starter motor so it needs a cca rating to supply high amps to spin at the correct speed which in turn reduces current draw. If it runs too slow, heat builds up, resistance builds up etc


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Agree, These batteries have both a cCA rating of 1000cca and an a/hr rating of 130a/hr. How effective either is remains to be seen as have not used the batteries in anger for winching but they work great for the base camping and the coffee machine.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MudRunnerTD

I expect that the 400w solar setup is there for long term static touring rather than a clunky backup to the 300amp alternator. 150ah a day from solar is a great delivery for most things I'd have thought. Way more than I have and plenty for most requirements.

I appreciate the concern over the capacity for the batteries to accept the 300amps for sure. They really need to be connected in series and the full bank getbtue full 300ampd as a shared load I reckon. There is so much supply that I see No reason ever to isolate all 300amps to a single battery.

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My expectation of the solar matches yours MR, I only mentioned it as a 'clunky alternative to re-charging a 400Ah battery bank if it had been severely depleted by winching use, if the 300A alternator were not used. It could be a 3 day job. I can't see what connecting the 400Ah batteries in series would achieve - it would not increase the stored capacity, only the voltage (although this would allow for smaller connecting cables). The need for current regulation of a 300Amp alternator feeding into the 400AH battery ban would remain surely. The reason I suggested the possible need to have the 300A alternator only switched through to the 400Ah battery bank was in the absence of any means of regulating the output in normal circumstances when winch9ng was not occurring. I didn't suggest (I dont think) that it should be connected to a single battery, (Ie the crank battery) as this would have pretty much the same issue. What I did suggest was a two alternator setup, with the 300A one restricted to winch use only, unless there were some means of regulating it's current output.

I don't understand your comment about a shared load - shared with what?

It is all conjecture on my part. If you have a 300A alternator, or know of others who do, charging lead based battery banks of less than say 1200Ah how is yours (or theirs) set up? Maybe I am imagining a problem which doesn't exist?

To be honest the more I think about it the more I think a change of battery type to LiFePo4 is probably the best, albeit rather expensive, solution.

where are @Ben-e-boy or @matfew when you need them?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MudRunnerTD

I think you will find cuppa that the Ctek setup came before the 300amp alternator and was simply an oversight. It wasn't added to deal with the alternator but rather was a victim of the upgrade.

I expect that the 400w solar setup is there for long term static touring rather than a clunky backup to the 300amp alternator. 150ah a day from solar is a great delivery for most things I'd have thought. Way more than I have and plenty for most requirements.

I appreciate the concern over the capacity for the batteries to accept the 300amps for sure. They really need to be connected in series and the full bank getbtue full 300ampd as a shared load I reckon. There is so much supply that I see No reason ever to isolate all 300amps to a single battery.

300amps.... let us just contemplate that. Just Wow! That is effectively limitless. 90mm or even 120mm cable is the go I think.

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OK, more or less as defined above is correct. The solar is simply for base camping, nothing else.

What is also necessary to mention is that the alternator may be rated at 300amps, however its output is ramped up against the load, so for example, I had the car idling in the driveway this afternoon and it was outputting 12 amps. I checked with with another identical meter and a dc tong tester, and then when a load is applied to the system, such as headlights, high beams and one light bar the ammeter showed a charge rate of 35 amps. I expect my nominal amp draw to be around the 60 - 70 amps with everything running, fridge, headlights , a/c driving lights. What will happen then is the alternator has plenty of capacity to then idle away this load. Having the additional rectifiers on board keeps the heat load down per rectifier, hence their efficiency is increased, as is their life. It will be interesting to se how it performs under a winching load.

I think you need to think of the analogy I proposed with the pump and bucket. Its simply electron flow, there is no need for the battery to absorb then redistribute as such. The absorbtion phase is simply for storage.

Currently the charge configuration is alternator to main battery, then a charge lead from crank battery down to the 3 batteries, that are charged in parallel. I simply have a 300amp fuse in line and a 1000amp 100% duty cycle isolation switch at 12VDC to provide the separation until I find something else. I am in discussion with 5 different company's now and the simplest is a 275amp 100% duty rated selector switch that has voltage sensing and preferential charging, all for $240.

Each battery will absorb what it needs, so its not a straight forward situation of 'mechanically splitting' the flow to get even charging, nor is it required as why overcharge a battery - remember, the internal resistance of each battery will vary, as will its discharge profile - they are not clones as such. I don't expect issues under normal operation with heat as such, simply as process heat is a manifestation of the work taking place. Ambient heat is a static degradation regardless of the load put on the system.

Anyway, good conversation guys, great to be able to openly challenge and get feedback from a range of experienced people - a wise old boss of mine once told me, and I have always remember this ' we are never as clever as the group of us', unless you are an Albert Einstein of course.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PeeBee

What is also necessary to mention is that the alternator may be rated at 300amps, however its output is ramped up against the load, so for example, I had the car addling in the driveway this afternoon and it was outputting 12 amps. I checked with with another identical meter and a dc tong tester, and then when a load is applied to the system, such as headlights, high beams and one light bar the ammeter showed a charge rate of 35 amps. I expect my nominal amp draw to be around the 60 - 70 amps with everything running, fridge, headlights , a/c driving lights. What will happen then is the alternator has plenty of capacity to then idle away this load. Having the additional rectifiers on board keeps the heat load down per rectifier, hence their efficiency is increased, as is their life. It will be interesting to se how it performs under a winching load.

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So are you saying that the alternator has some sort of 'smarts' built in? If so it sounds like a good thing & my concern is unwarranted.

However if the current input into the batteries relies upon the batteries internal resistance I am still confused. I know batteries will increase resistance as they become more fully charged (hence the reason alternators cannot generally charge a battery above around 80% & the need for smart chargers to take SoC up to 100% within a practical timeframe). However when below that resistance induced barrier level to further charging lead battery manufacturers still recommend a max charge rate of 20% of the batteries capacity. I assume there is good reason for this & if so still question a high amp alternator pumping in significantly more than the 20% figure. It may well be that the resistance builds quickly so that the higher output from the alternator can only be used (just as an example) for the first few minutes of charging of a significantly discharged battery & thus do no damage. If that is the case it rather defeats the purpose of the such a high output alternator. Lithium would accept the full output & result in very fast charging.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 10G

Do you think the D250S may have got damaged?

If you're getting rid of that and it's OK I'm interested.

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I suspect it is damaged, simply because it was showing two orange lights on the solar panel to battery link, however the main green function light was gree, I am more than happy t send it to you, no issue as its no good to me with this system anyway. PM me with an address and I will box it up and send it across, sort of a belated Xmas pressy to you!!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cuppa

So are you saying that the alternator has some sort of 'smarts' built in? If so it sounds like a good thing & my concern is unwarranted.

However if the current input into the batteries relies upon the batteries internal resistance I am still confused. I know batteries will increase resistance as they become more fully charged (hence the reason alternators cannot generally charge a battery above around 80% & the need for smart chargers to take SoC up to 100% within a practical timeframe). However when below that resistance induced barrier level to further charging lead battery manufacturers still recommend a max charge rate of 20% of the batteries capacity. I assume there is good reason for this & if so still question a high amp alternator pumping in significantly more than the 20% figure. It may well be that the resistance builds quickly so that the higher output from the alternator can only be used (just as an example) for the first few minutes of charging, if that. If that is the case it rather defeats the purpose of the such a high output alternator. Lithium would accept the full output & result in very fast charging.

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Cuppa, the charge profile of a battery is based on its charge voltage. Without a 'smart regulator' or controller the alternator is pumping in volts against the capacity limit of the battery and the actual charge voltage of the alternator. Motor vehicle alternators are limited to around a 5-8% duty cycle, to ensure 1) they don't boil the battery, and secondly it prolongs the life of the battery since 99.( % of automotive batteries will see minimal depth of discharge over their short life and simply calcify up into death. There are a range of compounding issues here and some are not related to this situation. Right now, my alternator will charge to a max voltage of circa 14.8V. How long it stays at 14.8 depends on the state of charge of the battery(bank). Once the battery voltage tops out, the regulator in the alternator ramps back the excitation voltage and reduces the charge output - this is a bog standard brown dog alternator activity. Aftermarket dual battery systems analyse the battery, apply charge profiles that optimise the potential to raise the battery voltage or storage capacity from circa 80% to close to 100%. I had a Sterling Power system that utilised an externally regulated alternator and it would charge that battery bank up to
supposedly 100%' and it was one of the front runners in the marine industry for battery care and advanced chargers. I don't expect to get any better than 80% of 400a/hr capacity is perhaps a better way to put it, unless I employ a smart charger system to optimise the final 20%. I am not running the Sterling System as they are a pig of a company to deal with in the UK, and nothing was repairable - a Sterling Pro Charger was $1000 20 yrs ago, and a unit today to handle the 300amp load is circa $2000, and its a big mutha of a thing as well.
The 20% may be a conservative industry figure to ensure people are not overheating their batteries during high charge rates. As stated, its unlikely the 300 amps will come into play unless I am winching and the batteries are being rapidly depleted. If this happens, I am expecting some battery life reduction, but what %, no idea. A once off flogging might have no effect - this is heading back into Depth of Discharge territory again. I mentioned the internal resistance issue in light of the batteries being manufactured with different tolerances and they are a very crude device.

Regards Lithium, I know absolutely nothing about these batteries, except they are lighter, have great recovery capability and can withstand high DOD cycling without detriment, plus are circa 3-4 times the current AGM price. I will flog my batteries and then maybe swap to lithium, but suspect it won't be for at least 8 - 10 yrs based on my previous battery life - I look after them.