mark99 Posted March 7, 2019 Report Share Posted March 7, 2019 How common is it to have the engine start without alt energised ie you have to press a switch to get the alt to feed amps? On mine I have the choice turn on engine and alt feeding in or not. Wondered if this was not common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bizzard Posted March 7, 2019 Report Share Posted March 7, 2019 1 minute ago, mark99 said: How common is it to have the engine start without alt energised ie you have to press a switch to get the alt to feed amps? On mine I have the choice turn on engine and alt feeding in or not. Wondered if this was not common. Exciting? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark99 Posted March 7, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2019 Just now, bizzard said: Exciting? Not the topic ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bizzard Posted March 7, 2019 Report Share Posted March 7, 2019 (edited) 1 minute ago, mark99 said: Not the topic ! To excite or not to excite. Why would you not want the alternator not to excite. A bigger wattage charge warning lamp bulb should excite it at lowish revs without a switch. Edited March 7, 2019 by bizzard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chewbacka Posted March 7, 2019 Report Share Posted March 7, 2019 1 minute ago, bizzard said: To excite or not to excite. Best to be self exciting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEngo Posted March 7, 2019 Report Share Posted March 7, 2019 My Kelvin is always started with the alternator OFF ( D+ not energised) and then the field is energised when OK on diesel. Sometimes it self energises anyway so B+ is always connected to the batteries though. N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark99 Posted March 7, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2019 (edited) Flexibility. My 140a alternator takes a few hp out of engine so prefer to have the choice to use alt to charge batteries or not (and use generator instead later). Wake up, river in flood decide extra hp may be better to have at prop. Edited March 7, 2019 by mark99 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roland elsdon Posted March 8, 2019 Report Share Posted March 8, 2019 3 of my boats have had seperate alternator exciting circuits, because they were hand start. When i added electric start to one i kept the system seperate to make hand starting which i prefer easy. The current boat still has a seperate alternator and starter circuit, and has when having a senior moment been started with the alternator off. annoying because of course the charge light is never on to go off so to speak. so not uncommon especially with listers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoominPapa Posted March 8, 2019 Report Share Posted March 8, 2019 I have this arrangement and always use it when starting from cold. The alternator belt runs around the outside of the flywheel, so it produces 65% of full output even at tickover and the load is enough to stop a cold engine from accelerating sometimes. MP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenataomm Posted March 8, 2019 Report Share Posted March 8, 2019 17 hours ago, mark99 said: Not the topic ! Oh yes it is. So is getting flashing lights in front of your eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain_S Posted March 8, 2019 Report Share Posted March 8, 2019 A friend had this arrangement. He had a Lister SR2, with 3 massive alternators strapped to it. If he was moving the boat, it helped if only one was energised ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roland elsdon Posted March 10, 2019 Report Share Posted March 10, 2019 On our last living boat the 6 batteries were all paired with a master on each pair. After a week of living on the towpath, without charge we had to start up with only 2 on, and let them charge for a bit before introducing the others. If we didnt the engine would go out or the belts howl. we had a 160 amp alternator with a small pulley off a large pulley on the flywheel. It was only a single v drive, but we couldnt change it. the boat ate belts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenataomm Posted March 10, 2019 Report Share Posted March 10, 2019 Rigal had that arrangement on its HA2m. Incidentally the engine is a genuine marine build and then someone after me went to the trouble of painting the Lister Marine Blue in Brunswick Green!!!! Thus suggesting it was a stationary conversion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 10, 2019 Report Share Posted March 10, 2019 On 07/03/2019 at 21:08, mark99 said: How common is it to have the engine start without alt energised ie you have to press a switch to get the alt to feed amps? On mine I have the choice turn on engine and alt feeding in or not. Wondered if this was not common. I nearly did exactly this when some of our control panel failed due to condensation (600 quid for a new one.). It would have been an easy fix, with the advantage that the engine could be started without alternator load (as already suggested by others.) At the finish I managed to solder the panel PCB back up and fit a diode so didn't need to go down this route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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