I have become aware that internally regulated alternators often do not fully charge house batteries. I'm wondering if solar panels overcome that problem. Thanks for any input. Dick Allen 42 Bristol LRC "Sunshine Girl" Now on the hard at Safe Cove

Solar panels will help, but the real issue is with the alternator regulation. Why not address that issue rather than introducing more variables into the equation.  Some OEM internally regulated alternators don't take kindly to being "manhandled" by external regulation, which will impress higher loads for longer periods of time with the result of overheating the alternator. So any effort to tweak that OEM must be undertaken with consideration for the whole charging system. Adding solar won't negate that consideration, it will only complicate it. Ideally, you'd want a robust alternator with a capacity adequate to charge your bank at a rate of about C/8 (where C=total bank amp hour Capacity) , higher with AGM batteries, which also are less forgiving in their charging profile than are flooded lead acids (read: golf carts)- YOUR SYSTEM MAY VARY! Do the homework!  (e.g.- if you have an 800 AH house bank, you should have an alternator capable of producing 100A for a significant period of time. Flooded banks can live with a lower charge capacity, some AGM banks can accept C4, yes a huge amount of current!)  You'll want a Balmar programmable regulator with temperature monitoring of the alternator and house bank, and a sense conductor of a minimum 12ga. that is connected directly to the house bank. The alternator would do best connected to the house bank buss, with adequate overcurrent protection for the cabling.  I've been a broken record in posting about the "system", but unless you sit down and figure out what's happening in the entire charging SYSTEM, you'll be chasing your tail. You can modify the OEM alternator to external regulation, but it must be robust enough to handle the charging load in the first place. Again, look at the entire picture, don't tunnel vision in on a specific component to the detriment of all the other supporting gear. You'll ultimately spend less money for a system that does the job for which it's intended with far fewer glitches and "re-do's" of things you overlooked. Here's a good link to some battery knowledge: https://www.solar-electric.com/learning-center/deep-cycle-battery-faq.html/#Battery%20Charging ------- Steve Sipe Solo 4303 /Maerin/ On 11/26/2019 7:30 AM, Richard Allen via Trawlers-and-Trawlering wrote: > I have become aware that internally regulated alternators often do not fully > charge house batteries. I'm wondering if solar panels overcome that problem. > Thanks for any input. > > > > Dick Allen > > 42 Bristol LRC "Sunshine Girl" > > Now on the hard at Safe Cove > > > > _______________________________________________ > http://lists.trawlering.com/mailman/listinfo/trawlers_lists.trawlering.com > > To unsubscribe or modify your subscription options (get password, change email address, etc) go to:http://lists.trawlering.com/mailman/listinfo/trawlers_lists.trawlering.com > Trawlers & Trawlering and T&T are trademarks of Water World > Productions. Unauthorized use is prohibited. > >