Travel Power 3.5 Discontinued?

[MikeV]

I have a problem with my Dometic (Electrolux) Travel Power 3.5 engine mounted alternator and was searching the Dometic website to try and find service agents. I was suprised to find that the product was shown as "Discontinued".

 

This surprises me as it often features in the specification of boats for sale and has been a standard fitting for many of the mid-to-high end boat builders. In fact I checked on the Beta Marine site and they still list it as an option for their engines.

 

Anyone know if this is in fact the case, or is it just an error on this site?

 

Also, has anyone had any experience of the alternator failing and getting it serviced?

[Timleech]

I have a problem with my Dometic (Electrolux) Travel Power 3.5 engine mounted alternator and was searching the Dometic website to try and find service agents. I was suprised to find that the product was shown as "Discontinued".

 

This surprises me as it often features in the specification of boats for sale and has been a standard fitting for many of the mid-to-high end boat builders. In fact I checked on the Beta Marine site and they still list it as an option for their engines.

 

Anyone know if this is in fact the case, or is it just an error on this site?

 

Also, has anyone had any experience of the alternator failing and getting it serviced?

 

I read somewhere that they are now made by someone else, under another name, in limited (and even more expensive) quantities.

I've got an orphan alternator, later type, should you have trouble getting yours repaired.

 

Tim

[Arnot]

I have a problem with my Dometic (Electrolux) Travel Power 3.5 engine mounted alternator and was searching the Dometic website to try and find service agents. I was suprised to find that the product was shown as "Discontinued".

 

This surprises me as it often features in the specification of boats for sale and has been a standard fitting for many of the mid-to-high end boat builders. In fact I checked on the Beta Marine site and they still list it as an option for their engines.

 

Anyone know if this is in fact the case, or is it just an error on this site?

 

Also, has anyone had any experience of the alternator failing and getting it serviced?

I have seen a couple of these alternators go down and managed to repair both but I wouldn't say that they were good as new. The stator windings are very fragile and I am quite surprised they last as long as they do... Both were suffering brush and slip ring wear which eventually stopped them but the bearings needed replaced as well.

 

For anyone with one of these, they tend to get filled with oil mist and dog hair but the cleaner you can keep them the longer they will last.

 

PM me if you think I can help here...

 

Regards

 

Arnot

[Gary Peacock]

They are still produced but by a now independent company that was part Siemens VDO but it seems production is very limited and for specific customers rather than the general market.

[DHutch]

Or you could just get a fairly large 12v alternator, and a suitably sized inverter. Which seams to be the new tack way of doing it.

 

 

Daniel

[Bobbybass]

I have a problem with my Dometic (Electrolux) Travel Power 3.5 engine mounted alternator and was searching the Dometic website to try and find service agents. I was suprised to find that the product was shown as "Discontinued".

 

This surprises me as it often features in the specification of boats for sale and has been a standard fitting for many of the mid-to-high end boat builders. In fact I checked on the Beta Marine site and they still list it as an option for their engines.

 

Anyone know if this is in fact the case, or is it just an error on this site?

 

Also, has anyone had any experience of the alternator failing and getting it serviced?

 

After 13 years of continuous use, my Travelpower died last year.

I took it ( alternator...black box) to :

Cox Automotive Electrics, 10 Abeles Way, Holly Lane Industrial Estate, Atherstone, Warwickshire. CV9 2QZ tel : (01827) 712097 / 718484

 

I got the unit back...alternator rewound...repainted like new...new brush holder assembly...brushes etc..(looks brand new....not sure it isn't ) ..black box repaired....and a new 3 meter lead (they make to measure) of higher spec than the original....one year guarantee.....(do get the lead replaced as this is a trouble area on well used units)

 

Total cost was £521 a big saving on a new one.....

 

So far this year it has done me a round trip down to London...followed the THames etc..back to Rugby...about 370 miles....and has been faultless.

 

The guy at Coxes....Ken....is a really nice guy...very knowledgable and helpful....

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

Bob

Edited July 26, 2009 by Bobbybass

[Arnot]

Or you could just get a fairly large 12v alternator, and a suitably sized inverter. Which seams to be the new tack way of doing it.

 

 

Daniel

 

This is probably the best way nowadays with the cost of large inverters effectively falling and the quality going up. Certianly if I were specifying a new boat I wouldn't go with the travelpower option.

 

The problem now as I see it is that most of the travelpower installtions I see are on engines where it would be physically difficult to retrofit a good sized alternator to the engine. The main reasons for this seem to be that the mechanical power avaialble from the drive pulley on the front of the engine is finite and the better, larger ouput alternators tend to be quite large and there is often not enough space left to install them properly on a cruiser or semi-trad.

 

There are some small frame high power alternators fitted to some vehicles that would do it but they tend not to like being fitted to a boat where there isn't the copious amount of fresh cooling air. Also, to get the high electrical output there needs to be a correspondingly high mechanical input and the drive belt. I have fitted some of these to boats and they do work but get uncomfortably hot when charging a flat battery bank and tend to eat belts with alarming rapidity.

 

If you look at most of the larger modern cars and commercials that have these alternators fitted as standard (such as my Merc Sprinter) you will see that the alternator is driven by a very long, very wide serpentine drive belt that is arranged so that the belt almost wraps right round the (free wheeling) alternator pulley to maximise the power transmission area. As well as this, the belt tensioning system is arranged so that there is a spring loaded tensioning idler which maintains the optimum belt tension by compensating for expansion due to temperature and wear. Even then these systems are not trouble free and idler pulley bearing failure is common on higher mileage engines.

 

In contrast, boat engines have a mechnical drive system that has not significantly evolved beyond the original dynamo drive. the belts are too thin, too short and the tensioning systems are crude. I suspect that this is becuase most "marine" engines are not designed and built with the narrow boat in mind and the operating conditions for the alternator can be quite extreme in this application.

 

Regards

 

Arnot

 

PS. How's your boiler?

Edited July 26, 2009 by Arnot

[nb Innisfree]

This is probably the best way nowadays with the cost of large inverters effectively falling and the quality going up. Certianly if I were specifying a new boat I wouldn't go with the travelpower option.

 

The problem now as I see it is that most of the travelpower installtions I see are on engines where it would be physically difficult to retrofit a good sized alternator to the engine. The main reasons for this seem to be that the mechanical power avaialble from the drive pulley on the front of the engine is finite and the better, larger ouput alternators tend to be quite large and there is often not enough space left to install them properly on a cruiser or semi-trad.

 

There are some small frame high power alternators fitted to some vehicles that would do it but they tend not to like being fitted to a boat where there isn't the copious amount of fresh cooling air. Also, to get the high electrical output there needs to be a correspondingly high mechanical input and the drive belt. I have fitted some of these to boats and they do work but get uncomfortably hot when charging a flat battery bank and tend to eat belts with alarming rapidity.

 

If you look at most of the larger modern cars and commercials that have these alternators fitted as standard (such as my Merc Sprinter) you will see that the alternator is driven by a very long, very wide serpentine drive belt that is arranged so that the belt almost wraps right round the (free wheeling) alternator pulley to maximise the power transmission area. As well as this, the belt tensioning system is arranged so that there is a spring loaded tensioning idler which maintains the optimum belt tension by compensating for expansion due to temperature and wear. Even then these systems are not trouble free and idler pulley bearing failure is common on higher mileage engines.

 

In contrast, boat engines have a mechnical drive system that has not significantly evolved beyond the original dynamo drive. the belts are too thin, too short and the tensioning systems are crude. I suspect that this is becuase most "marine" engines are not designed and built with the narrow boat in mind and the operating conditions for the alternator can be quite extreme in this application.

 

Regards

 

Arnot

 

PS. How's your boiler?

 

We have a large Leece Neville (100A 24V) fitted to a Lister Petter 4cyl Alpha, driven by twin V belts at 2:1 ratio and it's been totally reliable over 4 years continuous liveaboard use (belt adjustment every 12 months or so) I wouldn't like to go higher than 2:1 as this gives us nearly ideal charging + it would put extra load on front bearings, having said that I understand that this engine has robust front bearings. We also have 3KW Victron Multiplus, totally reliable and very efficient, runs off 8 x 120ah batts

Edited July 26, 2009 by nb Innisfree

[Arnot]

We have a large Leece Neville (100A 24V) fitted to a Lister Petter 4cyl Alpha, driven by twin V belts at 2:1 ratio and it's been totally reliable over 4 years continuous liveaboard use (belt adjustment every 12 months or so) I wouldn't like to go higher than 2:1 as this gives us nearly ideal charging + it would put extra load on front bearings, having said that I understand that this engine has robust front bearings. We also have 3KW Victron Multiplus, totally reliable and very efficient, runs off 8 x 120ah batts

I have to say that Leece Neville are my alternator of choice, especially the larger ones, if yours is one of the heavy duty versions it will probably outlast the engine... The system you have sounds about the ideal.

 

The BLD2130GH is what I have for my boat but of course I need to finish off the engine first.

 

They are a bit of a beast and will provide 160A or more from almost tickover on a suitable engine. The downside is that they are ruinously expensive, hernia heavy and have to be specially imported from the US.

 

I'm off to do some hull restoration work now and will return singed and spectacularly filthy sometime later...

 

Regards

 

Arnot

[nb Innisfree]

I have to say that Leece Neville are my alternator of choice, especially the larger ones, if yours is one of the heavy duty versions it will probably outlast the engine... The system you have sounds about the ideal.

 

The BLD2130GH is what I have for my boat but of course I need to finish off the engine first.

 

They are a bit of a beast and will provide 160A or more from almost tickover on a suitable engine. The downside is that they are ruinously expensive, hernia heavy and have to be specially imported from the US.

 

I'm off to do some hull restoration work now and will return singed and spectacularly filthy sometime later...

 

Regards

 

Arnot

 

Yes my Leece Neville is (very) large frame, cost me £250 + twin pulley, not bad value IMO. incidentally it lost it's ability to self excite recently and I then learned that it wasn't designed to self excite, so how it managed for 4 years I don't know! So I fixed up a push button connected to what I have now realised is a self SE connection and not as I thought a tacho takeoff Better now as I have a SE option, tho it still manages to SE on the odd occasion

[Timleech]

Yes my Leece Neville is (very) large frame, cost me £250 + twin pulley, not bad value IMO. incidentally it lost it's ability to self excite recently and I then learned that it wasn't designed to self excite, so how it managed for 4 years I don't know! So I fixed up a push button connected to what I have now realised is a self SE connection and not as I thought a tacho takeoff Better now as I have a SE option, tho it still manages to SE on the odd occasion

 

If it's the two-wire type running through, eg, splitter diodes, they may not self-excite but that can be resolved by rigging a relay to the starter button, so that battery voltage is applied across the alternator while the starter motor is turning.

 

Tim