MARKON SL105G AVR

[Lockkeeper7]

Hi,

 

Thanks in advance for reading this post.

 

My narrow boat has a Beta Mini Propgen.  The base engine is a BV2203 + PRM500 (trolling valve) with the additional of a pulley driving a shaft (just above the inlet manifold) spinning at 3000 rpm driving the Markon.

 

My AVR is starting to fail and wondered if anyone knew where I could buy a new unit (unlikely) or a used but working AVR.

 

Many thanks

 

 

 

[GUMPY]

I seem to remember a long thread on here about building a new avr as one wasn't available. 

This could be it.

 

[Tasemu]

Just now, GUMPY said:

I seem to remember a long thread on here about building a new avr as one wasn't available. 

This could be it.

 

 

Yup that was me. OP do you know if it is a Markon BL105 or an SL105?

Nevermind, if it has an AVR then its got to be the SL model. I was able to to fit an SX460 to mine. Much more reliable, better output and cheap. 👌

[Tonka]

My SL105 went kaput so I changed the whole alternator for a Meccalte unit

[Lockkeeper7]

Hi Tonka,

 

Is the new Meccalti unit working well?  can I ask which model/size you fitted?

 

thanks

15 minutes ago, Tasemu said:

 

Yup that was me. OP do you know if it is a Markon BL105 or an SL105?

Nevermind, if it has an AVR then its got to be the SL model. I was able to to fit an SX460 to mine. Much more reliable, better output and cheap. 👌

 

How simple or not was it to upgrade to the SX460?

 

many thanks 

[Tasemu]

7 minutes ago, Lockkeeper7 said:

Hi Tonka,

 

Is the new Meccalti unit working well?  can I ask which model/size you fitted?

 

thanks

 

How simple or not was it to upgrade to the SX460?

 

many thanks 

 

The install itself was relatively easy, but the research and working out along the way was a nightmare. Thankfully I documented everything in the thread linked above so you should have no problem following it after reading it through. Also happy to help with any questions if needed. What are the symptoms of your failing AVR out of curiousity?

[Lockkeeper7]

Hi,

 

I can see circuit board damage and when the gen output is switched-through, the cooker and fridge lights are flickering.

[Tasemu]

2 minutes ago, Lockkeeper7 said:

Hi,

 

I can see circuit board damage and when the gen output is switched-through, the cooker and fridge lights are flickering.

 

Ok got you. If you want to keep the Markon i'd try the SX option then, chances are it will sort it if no other damage to the unit had occured. Its a cheap option and could be worth a shot before replacing the unit with an alternative.

[Lockkeeper7]

Am i correct in thinking the main 230vac connections are via blade terminals?

 

 

[Tasemu]

2 minutes ago, Lockkeeper7 said:

Am i correct in thinking the main 230vac connections are via blade terminals?

 

 

 

Are you referring to the voltage sensing inputs to the SX460? If so then I simply tee'd off from the back of one of the 240vac sockets and ran the wires to the inputs on the AVR.

EDIT: on second look i actually used WAGO connectors to tee off from the output socket as I like them and they're reliable.

 

@Lockkeeper7 Youre going to want to take particular note of this post, as the old markon AVR siphons extra voltage off, and the SX moderates it differently. I've included steps and a wiring diagram to explain here but you need to rejig the system slightly to work with the SX unit.
 

 

[Tonka]

13 minutes ago, Lockkeeper7 said:

Am i correct in thinking the main 230vac connections are via blade terminals?

 

 

Mine had a block in a box on the Markon

[Lockkeeper7]

Thanks, I really appreciate the input and I "think" I'm starting to understand the overall layout.

 

[Tasemu]

8 minutes ago, Lockkeeper7 said:

Thanks, I really appreciate the input and I "think" I'm starting to understand the overall layout.

 

 

Your layout looks quite different to mine, so it will be a process of identifying the wires against the wiring diagram but the overall process should be similar once that is done

[Lockkeeper7]

3 hours ago, Tonka said:

My SL105 went kaput so I changed the whole alternator for a Meccalte unit

Final question for today, i think and would expect being modern, the S16F to be brushless, am I correct?

[Tonka]

31 minutes ago, Lockkeeper7 said:

Final question for today, i think and would expect being modern, the S16F to be brushless, am I correct?

The blurb on it states "brush +avr"

 

It would cost a lot more if it was brushless I think

[Tonka]

I have attached the information sheet here on it

mecc alte ES16F.PDF

[Lockkeeper7]

21 hours ago, Tasemu said:

 

Are you referring to the voltage sensing inputs to the SX460? If so then I simply tee'd off from the back of one of the 240vac sockets and ran the wires to the inputs on the AVR.

EDIT: on second look i actually used WAGO connectors to tee off from the output socket as I like them and they're reliable.

 

@Lockkeeper7 Youre going to want to take particular note of this post, as the old markon AVR siphons extra voltage off, and the SX moderates it differently. I've included steps and a wiring diagram to explain here but you need to rejig the system slightly to work with the SX unit.
 

 

Many thanks, I can find a lot of info about SX460, but struggling to find the physical dimensions to compare with the existing AVR. 

[Tasemu]

2 minutes ago, Lockkeeper7 said:

Many thanks, I can find a lot of info about SX460, but struggling to find the physical dimensions to compare with the existing AVR. 

 

I'm no longer on the boat so can't measure it, but i'd guestimate about the size of your hand, fingers outstretched... Metric 😆

[Up-Side-Down]

I've recently been involved in sourcing a generator head for a project and the research spanned several months. This is a wee report I prepared for the installer in case he was ever presented with the problem of locating a generator head at some future date as for me it was somewhat challenging to put it mildly!

 

"For your records and a future job like this one, these are the contacts I've unearthed. Along the way I've discovered the Markon story: Markon were purchased by Newage who were bought by Stamford and then by Cummins UK who now market a useful range of machines through Generator Solutions – Contact Tim Miller-Dewing (01780 756836; enquiries@generatorsolutions.co.uk) who has been extremely helpful and will, effectively, supply a Markon alternator! They're Grantham-based.

 

I've worked directly with Meccalte and they just kept leading me down over-complicated rabbit holes, although they did try to be helpful! Contact details are Steve Wells – 07802 673634; steve.wells@meccalte.co.uk.

 

Ultimately, I've ended up buying a Meccalte alternator through JSPUK Ltd, near Hereford. The contact there is Justyn Smith – 07774 742182; jspuk1@aol.com – and he really understood what we wanted and the best way of arriving at our requirements. He's an independent outfit, a dealer for a range of different alternators and the agent for Linz. He specifies and builds a lot of gen sets from scratch". 

 

[Tonka]

3 hours ago, Up-Side-Down said:

I've recently been involved in sourcing a generator head for a project and the research spanned several months. This is a wee report I prepared for the installer in case he was ever presented with the problem of locating a generator head at some future date as for me it was somewhat challenging to put it mildly!

 

"For your records and a future job like this one, these are the contacts I've unearthed. Along the way I've discovered the Markon story: Markon were purchased by Newage who were bought by Stamford and then by Cummins UK who now market a useful range of machines through Generator Solutions – Contact Tim Miller-Dewing (01780 756836; enquiries@generatorsolutions.co.uk) who has been extremely helpful and will, effectively, supply a Markon alternator! They're Grantham-based.

 

I've worked directly with Meccalte and they just kept leading me down over-complicated rabbit holes, although they did try to be helpful! Contact details are Steve Wells – 07802 673634; steve.wells@meccalte.co.uk.

 

Ultimately, I've ended up buying a Meccalte alternator through JSPUK Ltd, near Hereford. The contact there is Justyn Smith – 07774 742182; jspuk1@aol.com – and he really understood what we wanted and the best way of arriving at our requirements. He's an independent outfit, a dealer for a range of different alternators and the agent for Linz. He specifies and builds a lot of gen sets from scratch". 

 

Are you really saying that you can buy a new Markon Sl105 alternator

[Up-Side-Down]

11 hours ago, Tonka said:

Are you really saying that you can buy a new Markon Sl105 alternator

Yes.

[Tonka]

9 minutes ago, Up-Side-Down said:

Yes.

Not on their website and when Cox Auto Electrical were after a part for my Markon they spent 6 months scouring the world before giving up and I went to Meccalte. Found a useful guy there but not the name you mentioned