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Alternative to Balmar

22K views 48 replies 14 participants last post by  sabre386raven 
#1 ·
I am about ready to toss my third Balmar series 95 alternator into the drink. The first one was DOA, the second one was dead after 7 months, and finally the current one is dieing after 3 very short months. This is a 210a model and it seems Balmar has the market cornered and I can't find an alternative. It is a J180 style mount.

Surprisingly, the competitors have seem to fallen off the face of the earth. AmplePower, I hear is down to a slim staff, not good. Neece Leville seems to be shotgunning their solutions across as many verticals as possible, they seem very thin in the marine industry.

Any ideas, Maine Sail?

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#2 ·
Go talk to Ballard Auto Electric.... They set me up with a simple AC Delco 120 amp alternator, that has worked for years and years. They will have a good laugh about your Balmer POS.
 
#3 ·
You know, I asked for a simple 120 -140 amp solution, and they (CSR) talked me into this POS. Not a happy camper at all! They did get back to me on the the second alternator issue, bad brush alignment during manufacturing. I think the Chinese dorked it up. Balmar is too popular and I think they went to China for manufacturing. I would bet dollars to donuts that this third alternator has the exact same issue.
 
#4 ·
They (balmar) have made a simple product into a nightmare for a lot of folks. Alternators are simple devices....bearings and brushes going out? WOW! Got 4000 hours over-18 years out of the last one before the bearings started to go. Replaced it with the 150 buck alternator spare from Ballard Electric. Thanks AC Delco!
 
#5 · (Edited)
#9 ·
Price out a real Hitachi then compare it to a Chinese made knock off. I have piles of those knock offs that have failed. I physically have one on my bench that lasted the owner all of six weeks. Darn thing still looks brand new.

It was replaced with a Balmar 6 series and he just returned from over two months in NS, Cape Breton Island and Newfoundland. His brand new genset failed on him and he was left with only the Balmar for charging. Needless to say he was happy that the el-cheapo failed when it did...

The genuine Hitachi is a much more durable unit just like the Leece-Neville is a better built unit that the Chinese knock offs of the Motorola case... Many companies will lead you to believe you are getting a real Hitachi when you are really getting a bottom of the barrel Chinese made knock off "Hitachi Style" alternator.. Buyer beware. I would not recommend many of those knock offs, even as a spare..

To build a good high quality, high output marine alternator you can't even source the parts for what those Chinese units sell for... Hell the diode rack for my alternators alone costs more than those knock offs...
 
#6 ·
We commonly use a product called Leece Neville but it is actually manufactured by Prestolite.

I had mine overhauled back in 2007 and at the same time had it upgraded to go from 120 amps to 180 - the factory produces the same model range (4800) from 105 amps all the way up to 320 amps so at 185 it's more than capable of lasting.

Mine is still juicing the batteries at an easy 140 amps when they're really down. and no sign of any trouble. And if my engine room was as clean as yours I would expect perfect performance from an alt.
 
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#10 ·
I am looking at Leece Neville right now. The LN BLD brushless series looks great, 180amp. Although they come with an integrated regulator but LN said it can easily be removed. The dimensions of the BLD looks to fit my existing AltMount setup. Ballard Electric seems to have the knowledge of their product line in the Seattle area. Balmar is scrambling to solve my problem right now but I am a less than willing participant.

I did notice that Balmar series 97 is a Leece Neville OEM product.
 
#7 ·
Maine Sail put together a custom Compass Marine Alternator with a Balmar 614H regulator that worked a treat on our last summer cruise. Great service and advice, of course, thrown in.

Send him a PM
 
#8 ·
I am about ready to toss my third Balmar series 95 alternator into the drink. The first one was DOA, the second one was dead after 7 months, and finally the current one is dieing after 3 very short months. This is a 210a model and it seems Balmar has the market cornered and I can't find an alternative. It is a J180 style mount.

Surprisingly, the competitors have seem to fallen off the face of the earth. AmplePower, I hear is down to a slim staff, not good. Neece Leville seems to be shotgunning their solutions across as many verticals as possible, they seem very thin in the marine industry.

Any ideas, Maine Sail?
This leaves more questions than answers. A brush failure is quite rare in that short of a time frame. The first one being DOA is even more rare with Balmar. (never had an alternator from Balmar DOA likely because they hot test them and give a performance chart).. This third failure is very odd.

*What is it this time that caused the failure?

*Has it been opened up yet?

*What is it doing /not doing?

These alts are quite robust and Balmar is a very good company to deal with. Please call Rick, Rich or Dale and discuss it with them. I am a Balmar dealer but also have my own line of custom alternators that I offer but sell Balmar's most often. I also sell Electromaax. Properly installed all of these alternators are very, very reliable.

You've already invested some good money in this one so I would not recommend buying another. The main difference between Balmar or other high performance marine alts, and truck or ambulance versions of this alternator case, is the way the stator and rotor are wound for low RPM performance. The diodes are also more robust as are the bearings and other items..

One needs to be careful using any old alternator re-build shop with HO alternators as the stators and rotors they often get are "off the shelf". I have seen numerous examples of alternators re-builds with horrendous low RPM performance compared to the original and this is because an off the shelf part was used in-place of the high performance part. Most of these failures were due to a lack of an alternator temp sensor when AGM banks were added and the alt simply cooked itself.

Some questions:

*How much air clearance around that alt when the engine cover is on?

*Where is the alternator temp sensor located, and where is it bolted on to the alternator?

*What are you charging for batteries in type such as AGM or GEL or Wet. How many Ah's..?

*Is the alternator mount bolted to the engine stringer or bolted directly to the engine?

*What are your engine compartment temps averaging?

*Are there any signs of belt dust?

*What regulator are you using?

*Where is the voltage being sensed?
 
#11 ·
*What is it this time that caused the failure?
Failed in 3 months

*Has it been opened up yet?
Not yet, I am going to run through their testing suite this weekend. Dale is about to ring me with the details. I knew I should have kept that info from the testing I did on unit #2.

*What is it doing /not doing?
I have a Magnum BMS and it shows zero income amps while running at cruising speed. The voltage of the bank is between 12.1 - 12.5 (there is a load of between 5 and 11 amps generally). I have temp sensors to the alternator and battery bank from the ARS-5 regulator.

Some questions:

*How much air clearance around that alt when the engine cover is on?
There is a huge area in front of the alternator that normally contains the starter G31 battery. I do not have a battery in that space.

*Where is the alternator temp sensor located, and where is it bolted on to the alternator?
Not bolted, there is a blade terminal that it connects to. FYI - My ARS-5 has never shown a high temp alarm for either the Alt or Battery.

*What are you charging for batteries in type such as AGM or GEL or Wet. How many Ah's..?
Currently 400a Wet. Future 600a Gel.

*Is the alternator mount bolted to the engine stringer or bolted directly to the engine?
Engine. The mount is from Balmar's recently acquired company AltMount, altmount-home

*What are your engine compartment temps averaging?
Not sure but there is an air extractor blower that runs when the engine is on. It never seems that warm to me.

*Are there any signs of belt dust?
Very little. I have a 280 J10 serpentine belt.

*What regulator are you using?
ARS-5

*Where is the voltage being sensed?
I believe at the positive post of the alternator. The wire can be seen in my picture. About a 16AWG red wire.
 
#14 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maine Sail View Post
*Where is the alternator temp sensor located, and where is it bolted on to the alternator?
Not bolted, there is a blade terminal that it connects to. FYI - My ARS-5 has never shown a high temp alarm for either the Alt or Battery.

WRONG! I remember now, the sensor connects to the alternator body via a small bolt. I confused it with the exciter connection.
 
#15 · (Edited)
The Balmar I installed on our boat last season caught on fire after 2 months of use. My wife was scared to death when the cabin filled w/ smoke. We were 5 mins. out of our slip in a narrow busy channel and I couldn't leave the helm.
My experience w/ their customer service was poor. It was impossible to reach someone by phone. The only contact I was able to establish was via email. I don't remember who I was emailing w/ but they pissed me off. They eventually replaced the alternator but I returned it to Defender for store credit. My wife was scared to death when the cabin filled w/ smoke.
I bought a Powerline out of Texas. http://www.hdpsi.com/Alternators.htm
Jim
 
#17 · (Edited)
They look great. I am surprised that they have an internal regulator. Is that regulator adjustable, wet, gel, agm? Can you remove it and use an external regulator?

They do seem very first rate, nice.

A bit surprised that they don't have a J180 spec mount. Their saddle mount is too narrow for J180.
 
#20 ·
I recently started trying to source a drop-in replacement for the 55 amp Hitachi alternator on my boat to carry as a spare. I don’t want anything fancy, just a one-for-one replacement internally regulated “dumb” alternator in the 55-80 amp range that uses the same belts, pulleys, mounting flanges, etc. What I thought would be a simple exercise has ended up being one of the most frustrating parts I’ve tried to buy for the boat.

Buying the OEM Yanmar replacement is close to $800 shipped! There are so many Hitachi knock-offs out there that it's hard to know which are genuine (if they even sell direct to consumer). Going down the price scale, there is a dizzying and confusing array of options with lots of manufacturers – some more reputable than others – and seemingly hundreds of models within each manufacturer’s catalog, usually with none having specs that match up exactly with the OEM unit. If I were to buy one of low end models, I don’t know how I’d ensure quality and in a lot of cases even know that I could cut through the numbers on the spec sheets to be sure it would bolt onto my engine.

While I’ll probably tough it out and keep researching my options for a "genuine" or a low to moderately priced high quality aftermarket unit, I can't imagine trying to sort through all the options and combinations if I were trying to put together a high output externally regulated system from scratch. The high end marine alternator vendors have, for better and worse, found a niche within the confusion and it's hard for me to blame anyone for ponying up the bucks for solutions that (theoretically) work right out of the box.
 
#21 ·
Testing results
The field wire coming off of the regulator was at 12.4 volts, same as the battery bank. It is supposed to be at least 1 volt less than battery bank. The alternator was not energizing at all with ignition on. You should feel a strong magnetic pull from the end of the pulley. None was felt with a screw driver tapping it.

On our return from sailing on Sunday the alternator starting working again, jeeze. And sure enough, the field lead from the regulator was at 11.6 volts, exactly one volt less than battery bank. And the magnetic field around the pulley was very strong.

So Dale (Balmar) wants me to check all the leads from the regulator and alternator to see it there is a connection issue. While it seems to me that there is something fishy with my regulator.

Any ideas out there?
 
#22 ·
Testing results
The field wire coming off of the regulator was at 12.4 volts, same as the battery bank. It is supposed to be at least 1 volt less than battery bank. The alternator was not energizing at all with ignition on. You should feel a strong magnetic pull from the end of the pulley. None was felt with a screw driver tapping it.

On our return from sailing on Sunday the alternator starting working again, jeeze. And sure enough, the field lead from the regulator was at 11.6 volts, exactly one volt less than battery bank. And the magnetic field around the pulley was very strong.

So Dale (Balmar) wants me to check all the leads from the regulator and alternator to see it there is a connection issue. While it seems to me that there is something fishy with my regulator.

Any ideas out there?
Do you have solar or wind as well?

Where are you sensing the voltage for the regulator?

What about the brown ignition wire? Can you program the reg without the engine physically running and just ignition ON...

Is it straight ignition or does it pass through the engines safety circuit?

Does the ignition wire need oil pressure to fire up the brown wire?

Have you tried disconnecting the temp sensors....?

Is the regulator in the engine room?
 
#24 · (Edited)
We went for a long cruise this weekend and the alternator worked perfectly.

The core symptom when not working (other than no amps from alternator) is that the field wire equals battery voltage. The field wire needs to be at least 1 volt less than battery bank in order for the alternator to kick on.

I have asked Balmar what would cause the field wire to equal battery voltage. Still waiting on an answer.

The next time it fails I am going to remove all the temp sensors and stator leads. This is a maddening problem.
 
#25 ·
We went for a long cruise this weekend and the alternator worked perfectly.

The core symptom when not working (other than no amps from alternator) is that the field wire equals battery voltage. The field wire needs to be at least 1 volt less than battery bank in order for the alternator to kick on.

I have asked Balmar what would cause the field wire to equal battery voltage. Still waiting on an answer.

The next time it fails I am going to remove all the temp sensors and stator leads. This is a maddening problem.
What does your factory alt feed? How is it all connected/interconnected?
 
#26 ·
The factory alternator, 80amp, charges the starting battery and the thruster/windlass battery. The house and start/thruster/windlass are separate electrical networks. There is an emergency switch to combine the two networks. I only used it once when my Balmar initially went down so the the factory alternator could charge both networks.
 
#30 · (Edited)
Yet another update: (long overdue)

FIXED

Yes, sure enough we stopped receiving a charge from the Alternator once again. The good folks at CSR Marine found it, by happenstance. They were stumped also. While observing it "not working" they happened to place their hand on the blue plate (see below) and it started charging. The plate was loose, actually missing a bolt. The plate is integral in passing of the ground circuit apparently. The tech's noted that there was ZERO locktite on the threads of the bolts. Now rectified. UGH!

(the blue plate covers the diodes btw)

 
#31 ·
Wow.. clean looking engine! - I like your belt tensioner.

Ain't it always the craziest things??
 
#32 ·
Wow.. clean looking engine! - I like your belt tensioner.
That tensioner and mounting bracket is from ALT Mount. I believe ALT Mount is now owned by Balmar. That was a smart purchase by Balmar. The whole mounting system is very slick.

The locking nut on the left side of the tensioner is left threaded and it always bends my mind when I change or tighten the serpentine belt.
 
#34 ·
This is an older post but I have some new information.

I have a trawler with twin Yanmar 4JH4E, and a battery bank of 12 DEKA GC15s in a 6 x 2 configuration, 1,290 AHr capacity.

After burning up two Balmar 100 A units, two Balmar 150 A units, and two Electromaax 180 A units, I finally threw in the towel on marine rated small case alternators.

I installed heavy duty aftermarket Delco Remy 24SI alternators, rated at 160 amps continuous, 200 amps cold. I have about three hundred hours on them and have had no issues. They run hot as hell, but are built to take the heat as they are designed for heavy duty diesel trucks.

My engine room is hot, running at about 35F above ambient, but not as hot as the under-hood temperature of a dump truck on a hot summer day. It should be noted that the alternators are bolted onto an engine that runs at 185F, and are tucked behind the belt guard. The alternators will always run hot.

They charge the battery from 50% to 100% in about four hours. They put out 125 amps at idle.

My regulators are MC614 with a Centerfielder. At $145 each I can afford a spare alternator.
 

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#40 ·
I have a trawler with twin Yanmar 4JH4E, and a battery bank of 12 DEKA GC15s in a 6 x 2 configuration, 1,290 AHr capacity.

After burning up two Balmar 100 A units, two Balmar 150 A units, and two Electromaax 180 A units, I finally threw in the towel on marine rated small case alternators.
You simply had an incorrect set up for any alternator, not just small case, unless you are talking an Electrodyne or a large brushless alt with external rectification..

I installed heavy duty aftermarket Delco Remy 24SI alternators, rated at 160 amps continuous, 200 amps cold. I have about three hundred hours on them and have had no issues. They run hot as hell, but are built to take the heat as they are designed for heavy duty diesel trucks.
You will cook the 24SI's too. Even at 320A you're barely breaking a charge rate of .25C and bulk will last approx 1 hour. I would strongly suggest setting the belt manager to at least level 3 and running the absorption time out. Deka's do best at 14.6V in a PSOC situation..

My engine room is hot, running at about 35F above ambient, but not as hot as the under-hood temperature of a dump truck on a hot summer day.
A dump truck on a hot summer day is not asking for full output for for more than a few minutes at a time which is exactly what these alts are built for...

They charge the battery from 50% to 100% in about four hours.
A Deka AGM is not full until amperage at 14.4V - 14.6V is 0.3% of Ah capacity or less. This is less than 4A for your bank at 14.4V - 14.6V not float voltage. You can not take this measurement at float voltage as it will be grossly misleading. Unless you have carefully programmed your Balmar regs and gone into the advanced settings you are suffering from premature float.

It is not physically possible to charge a Deka AGM from 50% SOC to 100% SOC in 4 hours. Even in ideal lab type conditions, where absorption voltage is held until amperage declines to 0.3%, before dropping to float, this takes in excess of 5.5 hours with basically brand new batteries. As they age and sulfate this takes even longer. Your Ah counter is simply not programmed correctly and is misleading you as to when you hit 100% SOC. If you keep this up the capacity of the bank will continually walk down.. Try to get to a real 100% SOC at least every 4-7 days..

If the regulators have not been programmed using the custom settings your performance could be made significantly better.

They put out 125 amps at idle.
Idle is the most damaging output range for many alternators because cooling fan speed is greatly reduced.

My regulators are MC614 with a Centerfielder. At $145 each I can afford a spare alternator.
The factory 24SI has a thermal protection built into the regulation system which folds back charge voltage based on alt temp and this in-turn reduces amperage output. When you convert a 24SI to external regulation you lose this thermal protection.

FWIW I have been charging a LiFePO4 bank now for over 4 years with small case Delco CS-130 based alts (same as Balmar 6 series & E-Maax).... The secret is in proper set up and not expecting the face value rating. From my bottom SOC the small case alt is in bulk for upwards of 3 straight hours, if I were to run the engine that long. Unlike an AGM bank my alt never gets an "absorption break". I can do this thanks to the use of belt manager with temp compensation as an added insurance policy...

A few weeks ago I ripped out the rectification and made it externally rectified, because I can not fit a larger case alt on my engine without serious engine room mods.. Based on test runs I am seeing significantly cooler temps and at about 25-30A more than I had been running it at in the past.

The 24SI is an excellent stock alt but the best versions, really wired for high performance, cost a bit more than $145.00. Mark Grasser and American Power Systems both build some really solid 24SI conversions. I have an APS alt that runs 190A at idle feeding a massive Genasun LiFePO4 bank, bump it above idle by about 100RPM and it is kicking along at 225A.... Still, even these alts need proper set up and need to run belt manager.

The big mistake most folks make is thinking their alt can run at its rating all day long.. Buy bigger, dial it back and accept where it can run at optimal healthy temps..
 
#35 ·
Did you have temp sensors on the Balmar and Electromax alts?

Did you dial them back with the belt manager?

If not it was a sure recipe for disaster with a battery bank that size as any qualified marine electrician or Balmar themselves would tell you.

Your battery bank does not fully charge in 4 hours. More like 8 or 10 hours.

A battery bank is not full until it is accepting about 1/2% of its capacity in current. About 6 1/2 amps for your bank.
 
#36 ·
Temperature sensors were installed on the Balmar/Electromaax alternators, with the trip point set to the maximum value of 225 F per Tom Pusateri's recommendation. I don't use temperature sensors on the Delco Remy alternators.

I did not use the Belt Load manager. I could have used it to decrease the load on the alternators. In fact Tom Pusateri recommended it. But, I needed amps to get the batteries charged up so I didn't have to run the GenSet for three hours after a day's cruising.

The batteries were fully charged in about four hours, as indicated by the 100% reading on the Victron battery monitor, and the F indication on the regulators.
 
#37 ·
I did not use the Belt Load manager. I could have used it to decrease the load on the alternators. In fact Tom Pusateri recommended it. But, I needed amps to get the batteries charged up so I didn't have to run the GenSet for three hours after a day's cruising.

The batteries were fully charged in about four hours, as indicated by the 100% reading on the Victron battery monitor, and the F indication on the regulators.
Yes you should have used the belt manager.

Don't believe the Victron battery monitor's 100% reading. The only way to really tell if the batteries are full is the current they are accepting - as posted about 1/2% of bank size or less than 7 amps in your case.
 
#38 ·
I measured about 9.5 amps going into the battery when the Victron battery monitor was reading 100%. So maybe the actual charge state was only 98%, or maybe the ammeter wasn't really reading 9.5 amps. Regardless, I assert the batteries were fully charged in about four hours.

You wrote "Yes you should have used the belt manager.". What settings would you recommend for the Balmar 100 Amp and 150 Amp alternators, and the Electromaax 180 Amp alternators, which all have the same case size and same fans, and thus the same ability to reject heat?

In hindsight, when installing the Delco Remy 24SI alternators, I should have used them with their internal regulators and installed a Sterling AB12400, instead of modifying them to work with the MC614 regulator.
 
#39 ·
You wrote "Yes you should have used the belt manager.". What settings would you recommend for the Balmar 100 Amp and 150 Amp alternators, and the Electromaax 180 Amp alternators, which all have the same case size and same fans, and thus the same ability to reject heat?
70% of max output with temp sensors on alts.

They will run cooler as well as have a much longer life. While not easy in a hot engine room ducting cooler air to the alts helps as well.
 
#41 ·
The DEKA GC 15 is an open flooded cell battery, not AGM technology. The 24SI alternators do not have thermal protection built into their internal regulation system. The Bosch equivalent unit does have this feature but not the 24SI. The regulators are programmed correctly per the settings provided by East Penn manufacturing. Although the regulators remain in the bulk mode for several hours, the high output current occurs for only about the first hour, before the engine room gets really hot, and decreases as the battery voltage comes up. The 24SI is a heavy duty alternator. Putting out 125 amps at idle engine speed is not a problem for the alternators, with their dual large internal fans, and a cold engine room. I agree that the alternators would probably last longer if they were dialed back. The real question is: How long will they last in the present set-up? Nobody knows the answer to that question but I intend to find out. So far, after 300 hours of operation, they are running fine, and look OK with no discolorations of the winding varnish. Discoloration of the winding varnish was the first clue to the failure of the Balmar/Electromaax alternators.
 
#43 · (Edited)
My bad, sorry for the confusion, I thought I read that you were using the Deka AGM GC2 batteries but I read it incorrectly..

When I refer to bulk I am referring to the time spent at constant current (when your alt is being asked for all it can deliver and the regulator is supplying max field to the alt). Balmar misuses the term bulk voltage for a CV or constant voltage stage of charging. Once voltage is held steady you you are no longer in bulk/cc you are now in CV or constat voltage absorption, float, equalize etc.. At 320A bulk/CC should last about 35 minutes to perhaps 1 hour with your bank..

I have seen burned up 24SI's in two weeks if not properly set up. LiFePO4 batteries tend to show the actual duration of alternators when run wide open, in a bad way..
 
#42 ·
A 30% reduction, i.e.setting them to 70% maximum output is not possible with a MC 614 regulator. On the MC614 regulator, the steps are 7% increments. The b-4 setting reduces the field by 28%; the b-5 setting reduces the field by 35%. Using the b-4 setting, a 28% reduction, max outputs would be: 100 Amp = 72 Amp; 150 Amp = 108 Amp; 180 Amp = 130 Amp. I agree that running the 100 Amp unit at 72% would increase its life. But, both of mine failed within a year, without de-rating, i.e. running them as a 100 Amp alternator.

The case, cooling fans, and stator core of the three alternators, 100 Amp and 150 Amp Balmar and 180 Amp Electromaax, are identical. Thus their ability to reject heat is identical. Consequently, a 150 Amp alternator, or a 180 Amp alternator, at the b-4 setting will generate more heat and run hotter, than a 100 Amp alternator running under the same conditions. In my opinion, while running them at the b-4 setting would increase their lives, they would have failed prematurely.
 
#44 · (Edited)
A 30% reduction, i.e.setting them to 70% maximum output is not possible with a MC 614 regulator. On the MC614 regulator, the steps are 7% increments. The b-4 setting reduces the field by 28%; the b-5 setting reduces the field by 35%. Using the b-4 setting, a 28% reduction, max outputs would be: 100 Amp = 72 Amp; 150 Amp = 108 Amp; 180 Amp = 130 Amp. I agree that running the 100 Amp unit at 72% would increase its life. But, both of mine failed within a year, without de-rating, i.e. running them as a 100 Amp alternator.
Belt Manager is a bit confusing but it does not work as most assume it does. The reduction is on the max available field potential to the alt. It is really a reduction of field potential or a change in the PWM width from what ever voltage field has available.

As batteries charge the field voltage available to the alt also increases so you are not just decreasing the output of the alternator in a fixed amperage you are simply decreasing the maximum potential the field can deliver.

A proper set up of a Balmar reg with large banks includes a hot run-in and takes well in excess of an hour. I generally run an inverter & load that applies a current equal to or slightly less, to the battery bank, than the alternator can deliver. This forces the reg into constant current/full field.

I attach a Fluke temp probe to the alt, close the engine space, and we hot run the boat under load while monitoring alt temp. As the alt increase temp to approach 225-230 degrees I begin to dial back belt manager until we hit a point where the alt temp does not creep over 230F... In reality I often start at level 4 with small case alts and then move to level 3, then 2 etc. if it is not over heating. This is just from learned experience. With a large frame alt I would probably start at level 2 or 3 and work my way up if temps were fine..

Once back at the dock or mooring I then let it idle with the same load and more often than not the temp begins to climb again so I often make one more change to belt manager.

The case, cooling fans, and stator core of the three alternators, 100 Amp and 150 Amp Balmar and 180 Amp Electromaax, are identical. Thus their ability to reject heat is identical. Consequently, a 150 Amp alternator, or a 180 Amp alternator, at the b-4 setting will generate more heat and run hotter, than a 100 Amp alternator running under the same conditions. In my opinion, while running them at the b-4 setting would increase their lives, they would have failed prematurely.
Again I run a small case CS-130D based alt feeding LiFePO4 and it runs at about 75-80% of its rating with temp comp as back up. It was still going strong before I ripped the guts out and converted it to external rectification. It certainly would have liked it better at approx 70% of potential but it survived 4 years of LiFeP04 abuse at about a 20-25% reduction in output. I actually reused the stator and rotor when I did this conversion. I may slap a 200A stator & rotor in next season, if the external rectification does what I hope it will..

A 100A to 180A alt is not quite identical in the way they dissipate heat, and is not entirely linear, but yes in theory the larger the amperage to frame size the more reduction in belt manager you may require. In practice I see the reductions in belt manager required to be pretty much similar reductions with the occasional err going to one more level on larger amperage sizes..

The cost difference to go from 100A to 150A is a better value for the extra 50A than it is for the 100A alt in a per amp cost above the base alternator cost. All of these small case alts need current limiting in order to drive a full demand load for more than about 25-35 minutes. The hairpin alts require less but still require current limiting.

When compared to a small case CS-130D frame alt the 24Si will require less belt manger to protect the alt from heat damage. For your application, with flooded batteries, you are right on the border of needing belt manager and it would still be a good idea despite the 24Si being a much more robust alt...

Any engine that can physically fit a large frame alt will be best served to fit a large frame alt if the bank is large..
 
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