Sailboat Alternator Alignment
When we bought our sailboat, we were told by the surveyor that the electrical system needed . The previous owners had done well enough with most maintenance and upgrades. Unfortunately, this did not apply to the electrical system.
During this winter break from the OMSCS GaTech program, I decided to look at the existing electrical system and research upgrades. I am currently looking into a LifePO4 battery bank. These systems are desirable for several reasons.
- Light Weight
- High Energy Density
- Low Resistance
- Long-Lasting
A system like this would enable us to stay multiple nights away from the dock and work remotely. I will dig into the technical aspects of the LifePO4 system in a later post. These are more complicated than the typical electrical system and put lots of stress on the alternator.
Our alternator is a Balmar 80 amp. This alternator is excellent for charging quickly, and it has an external controller that can be programmed to work with a LifePO4 system. Unfortunately, it was not installed correctly. It has was a large amount of rubber dust present. This is a sign of a belt issue.
The problem I discovered through research is that the pulleys were misaligned. The alternator puller needed to be set back the same plane as the rest of the pulleys. Using a straight edge and a set of calipers, I discovered that the blue pulley was .20" further out than the engine and water pump pulley.
The other issue was whoever installed this used spare parts. Look at the pulley in the upper left. This was replaced with a stainless bolt and washers.
The mount is a single bolt with a 1' spacer. This spacer is what sets the depth of the alternator. The spacer needed to be trimmed down by .20" This spacer looked removable but after a few minutes of failed attempts with vice grips, I decided to modify it in place.
I placed the alternator in a vice and marked the spacer with tape. I cut off the material using my angle grinder and then hand-filed it to get it square. After a thorough cleaning, I reinstalled it. To my surprise, the alignment was perfect on the first go!
I should have tackled this problem long ago. I am glad it is taken care of correctly, and we can start improving the rest of the boat's electrical system.