Balmar MC-614 Regulator Settings

[twistedtree]

THANK YOU!
This all makes sense, and I don't feel like I will now make some dumb mistake. I'll ask LiTime about the minimum voltage for balancing. Hopefully they will be helpful. I'l report back on their response. I'm excited to get this programming done and getting the boat in the water for some tests. I really appreciate you taking the time to explain exactly what the setting are and why they should be set at a certain level for my application.

You are welcome. First time out, watch the battery voltage and alternator temperature closely, just to be sure nothing it getting out of hand.

 

[dhays]

I have been following this thread for a bit. Primarily because I know nothing about alternators other than they somehow convert electromagnet induction into current going into my batteries.

Having read as much as I can, including everything that Rod has on Marinehowto, I still am pretty much confused. I'll keep plugging away at it. Eventually, I want to explore the possibility of adding external regulation to my Cummins (Delco Remy) alt. I believe it is a Cummins labeled 22SI. It is badged as a 12v 130A amp. Beyond that, I know nothing about it and have been having a hard time finding more specific information.

 

[REO]

My understanding of the balmar temperature sensors is that they send temperature information to the regulator, which then dials back alternator output until the alternator, or battery cools down. I'm not aware of a temp reading on the Balmar battery monitor. I'l look at the manual to see if it can be accessed. I guess I should I have a way of reading actual alternator temp, maybe an auxiliary gauge? Maybe for occasions like this, a cheapy aim and read thermometer?

 

[luna]

I have been following this thread for a bit. Primarily because I know nothing about alternators other than they somehow convert electromagnet induction into current going into my batteries.

Having read as much as I can, including everything that Rod has on Marinehowto, I still am pretty much confused. I'll keep plugging away at it. Eventually, I want to explore the possibility of adding external regulation to my Cummins (Delco Remy) alt. I believe it is a Cummins labeled 22SI. It is badged as a 12v 130A amp. Beyond that, I know nothing about it and have been having a hard time finding more specific information.

Alternators and batteries can be a difficult subject to understand.

I stumbled upon this website years ago and found it well written, in plain language and factual.

Chris Gibson the author and the Chief Designer of the Smart Gauge (No, it wasn't originally a Balmar product, Smart Gauge licensed it to Balmar) and all the other Smart Products listed, originally worked at Trace and Xantrex before starting out on his own. He sold the company to Merlin in 2009, and retired to his narrow boat, I think soon after. Smart in these years did not mean Bluetooth compatible so you won't find this on your iphone.
Some of his products remain, although Merlin also offers other monitoring products plus a whole array of other 12/24/48V products, including Balmar and Wakespeed regulators.
Plus they still support this website from 2009. Good on them.

Have a read through this page of the website, even though it's based in the days of lead it still holds lots of truths. Lots of other useful info. (nothing on LFP) also exists on the site.

SmartGauge Electronics - Are alternator controllers really necessary?

Bottom line, if you are basically a weekend warrior or stay in a marina with power every few days while out cruising and your internally regulated alternator already charges at 14.3 V +/-, save your money, you don't need a high power alternator and fancy external regulator that you can operate with your phone.
Take the $700 to $2000, buy fuel with it and use the boat more often. It will be way more fun!

 

[Bmarler]

My understanding of the balmar temperature sensors is that they send temperature information to the regulator, which then dials back alternator output until the alternator, or battery cools down. I'm not aware of a temp reading on the Balmar battery monitor. I'l look at the manual to see if it can be accessed. I guess I should I have a way of reading actual alternator temp, maybe an auxiliary gauge? Maybe for occasions like this, a cheapy aim and read thermometer?

If you are installing the 618 regulator and smart shunt, get the Bluetooth adapter and app. You can see all the temperature readings on the alternator, and battery banks. You can see the field output and adjust the belt load manager on the fly as well as any other parameter you might want to tweak. Once it’s set up, you rarely need to make adjustments, but the monitoring on the app is nice.

 

[twistedtree]

If you are installing the 618 regulator and smart shunt, get the Bluetooth adapter and app. You can see all the temperature readings on the alternator, and battery banks. You can see the field output and adjust the belt load manager on the fly as well as any other parameter you might want to tweak. Once it’s set up, you rarely need to make adjustments, but the monitoring on the app is nice.

The is probably the most complete way to do it. But to just verify the installation, and IR temperature gun is a good starting point. Just keep in mind that IR guns’ readings depend on the material that you are “shooting”, and you can get wildly inaccurate temps of some materials. I found this to be a real issues with my alternator where the IR gun was reading 50F higher than actual, verified using three different contact thermometers.

It also can make a big difference where you measure the temp on an alternator. The stator will be the hottest and is the central part of the alternator body. The rectifier is typically next and is at the back end of the alternator. This is where 90% of the available temp sensors mount, typically to the negative power post. By default a Balmar is looking to limit sensed temp to 200F/100C, and if installed according to directions, that’s the power post temp which will be a proxy for the regulator temp. The stator can easily be 50 to 100F hotter, so don’t panic it it’s in the high 200s range. At sustained full output, mine runs around 280-290F

 

[Bmarler]

Agree about the IR thermo gun. When I ran a heat treating operation in a past life, we had to have calibrated and third party certified temp reading devices. IR guns couldn’t be used as a certified method due to the emissivity issues with different materials at different temps. (Which has an impact on color)
Only good for a ball park reading. Better IR guns have adjustable emissivity, so you can develop a compensation chart backed by contact readings.

 

[REO]

I was avoiding the Bluetooth adapter because I wanted a simple reliable high output system. We do monitor the battery charge status and generator output, and the battery monitor does that. Seemed like the Bluetooth would give me a bunch of data that I didn't want or need. BUT, now I can see that monitoring temperatures and changing the belt load on the fly is a very useful application. My wife and I use our cell phones to make phone calls. How strange is that!

 

[Bmarler]

I was avoiding the Bluetooth adapter because I wanted a simple reliable high output system. We do monitor the battery charge status and generator output, and the battery monitor does that. Seemed like the Bluetooth would give me a bunch of data that I didn't want or need. BUT, now I can see that monitoring temperatures and changing the belt load on the fly is a very useful application. My wife and I use our cell phones to make phone calls. How strange is that!

not just monitoring, but doing the programming from the app is far superior to using the little reed switch on the regulator.