This is the view from above. We are used to seeing the alternator on the driver’s side, but not here.
The carb is still in place, but I plan to install fuel injection.
Converting to LiFePO4 batteries and Sailor Man's LiFePO4 Build
- Thread starter RF_Burns
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This is the view from above. We are used to seeing the alternator on the driver’s side, but not here.
The carb is still in place, but I plan to install fuel injection.
I am trying to extend the life of the nearly 50 year coach and give it another 50 years using today’s technology while still appearing to be much the way it was when it was manufactured.
In 1995, I was commissioned to repair Quarters 101 at the United States Military Academy in West Point and extend its life by another 50 years. I alsoThe project had to be completed by June 1996 and we made it. Quaters 101 is the residence of the Commodore of the Corps and houses a 2 star general serving a 2 year post. It was built around 1815 and is the oldest surviving structure at the Point.
Originally, there were 4 “Captains Quarters built bracketing the Supratendant’s Quarters. Only the Supe’s Quarter and 101 survived.
You could check it out on the website and it is sometimes on the guided tour.
When I checked out who lived in this house, it was very daunting.
The General and his family live in the house and as part of his duties, besides being essentially the Dean of Students, he is the person who greets all visitors, domestic and foreign. The house has to accommodate and feed up to 200 visitors at a party every 2 or 3 weeks.
It as a Class A property on the National List of Historic Properties.
I am feeling the same burden, working on my GMC Motorhome.
In 1995, I was commissioned to repair Quarters 101 at the United States Military Academy in West Point and extend its life by another 50 years. I alsoThe project had to be completed by June 1996 and we made it. Quaters 101 is the residence of the Commodore of the Corps and houses a 2 star general serving a 2 year post. It was built around 1815 and is the oldest surviving structure at the Point.
Originally, there were 4 “Captains Quarters built bracketing the Supratendant’s Quarters. Only the Supe’s Quarter and 101 survived.
You could check it out on the website and it is sometimes on the guided tour.
When I checked out who lived in this house, it was very daunting.
The General and his family live in the house and as part of his duties, besides being essentially the Dean of Students, he is the person who greets all visitors, domestic and foreign. The house has to accommodate and feed up to 200 visitors at a party every 2 or 3 weeks.
It as a Class A property on the National List of Historic Properties.
I am feeling the same burden, working on my GMC Motorhome.
I would much like to have every person who owns, wants to buy or has every owned a GMC Motorhome follow this thread. Can you help me?I am using 2 WaveSpeed remote alternator regulators, one for 12v and one for 48v.
The comments for the 12v and 48v system are from these companies:
BattleBorn
Victron
WaveSpeed
Balmar
I could have purchased all of these components directly from BattleBorn, but I chose to purchase them separately. The good news is that all of the components
are compatible and have specific wiring harnesses and software to make them function together as a team.Here are the wiring diagrams for both systems. I have added the settings of the dip switches that correspond to the attached components.
I have attached the Manual for the WakeSpeed WS500 for your info. With the dip switches, the regulator can be used for any type of battery, regulator, size of battery bank, etc.
Sailor,
That is an interesting device. I don't know if you ever programed the Balmar regulators. They were fun.....
I am a little concerned about the power capability of the poly-V belt. I got to a place that even double Vs could stay with the horsepower the big alternator wanted. Fortunately, I could turn down the max current. The owner did accept this as opposed to adding yet another belt to the main engine.
Matt
That is an interesting device. I don't know if you ever programed the Balmar regulators. They were fun.....
I am a little concerned about the power capability of the poly-V belt. I got to a place that even double Vs could stay with the horsepower the big alternator wanted. Fortunately, I could turn down the max current. The owner did accept this as opposed to adding yet another belt to the main engine.
Matt
Wave Speed
I have been monitoring an interesting discussion on using the Wave Speed WS500 on https://www.offgridsoftwaresolutions.com/ws500-user-forum/.
There is a great deal of information here, relating to the boat, rv and off grid use.
I have been monitoring an interesting discussion on using the Wave Speed WS500 on https://www.offgridsoftwaresolutions.com/ws500-user-forum/.
There is a great deal of information here, relating to the boat, rv and off grid use.
My 37 ft sailboat came with a 28hp, 3 cylinder Volvo diesel and a 50 amp alternator connected with a single v-belt. When I tried to upgrade the alternator to a 105 unit, problems really started to happen.
The v-belt would be chewed up in a single use.
So, I decided that I would need an additional v-belt and added new pulleys for it. It was very hard to get equal tension on both belts, as one of them was also powering the raw water pump. Anyway, the belts stopped slipping, but the 28 hp diesel did not have enough power to drive the alternator and provide propulsion power at the same time.
That shortly spoke to how much engine power was needed to drive a 105 amp alternator.
I then decided to give up on diesel and started to convert to a LiPO4 48v battery bank powering a Thossa 9000 motor/generator.
The v-belt would be chewed up in a single use.
So, I decided that I would need an additional v-belt and added new pulleys for it. It was very hard to get equal tension on both belts, as one of them was also powering the raw water pump. Anyway, the belts stopped slipping, but the 28 hp diesel did not have enough power to drive the alternator and provide propulsion power at the same time.
That shortly spoke to how much engine power was needed to drive a 105 amp alternator.
I then decided to give up on diesel and started to convert to a LiPO4 48v battery bank powering a Thossa 9000 motor/generator.
When it was only powering the 105 amp alternator, the diesel was running very slowly and was heavily labored. Clearly, 28 hp was just not enough.
Therefore, I can readily see why the standard alternator with the onboard regulator standard on the 455 might be causing a 35 hp or more parasitic draw.
No wonder why we are disappointed with the GMC Motorhome’s low mpg.
Somethings not right there. Even at 105A @ 13V = 1,365 watts. 1 HP = 746 watts, so 2 HP plus some for losses, but I would not think over 3 HP.
I have a 12Kw generator I use for home backup. My Kubota BX1500 diesel tractor (15HP) powers it without an issue. Mind you I've never pulled 12Kw from it, but we've had it over 8 Kw with electric water heater, oven, well pump etc. and Kubby was still humming along.
I have a 12Kw generator I use for home backup. My Kubota BX1500 diesel tractor (15HP) powers it without an issue. Mind you I've never pulled 12Kw from it, but we've had it over 8 Kw with electric water heater, oven, well pump etc. and Kubby was still humming along.
I have now turned my attention to the sleeping accommodations and have have realized how similar the conditions are to those on a sailboat. Since we slept on the boat either at anchor or on our mooring, the rocking motion surely felt being in a cradle with mom continuously rocking me.
Alas, no such rocking on the Motorhome.
This is a Classic Lattoflex braun bed that was manufactured between April 1978 and January 1998. I bought this bed around 1979 and still sleep on it.
The slats both rotate and flex under ones body weight and movement, so you are not sleeping on a rigid plywood sheet as most of us are.
Initially, a 3.5" thick Dunlop latex (real rubber from the sap of a rubber tree) mattress was used. It lasted 30 year of nightly use, three to five times the life of a standard mattress. I made a mistake in ordering the new latex mattresses, forgetting that the bed had European dimensions, so the American single bed, 2'-9" wide was almost 3" too short. We suffered for many years using cylinder shaped bolster pillows to fill the gap.
About three years ago, we finally gave up and discarded these mattresses, well before the end of its useful life.
Also, there was now a more advanced latex foam available called Talalay. They are about 7" which and come in various densities. My wife is 5'-1", 106lb and I am 6'-1" and 206lb and we sleep on separate mattresses of different densities. There are also 2 separate beds and the mattresses are joined together with a zipper. Unlike almost all of the zippered mattresses, our zipper is on the bottom, not the top. This allows the use of 2 separate fitted sheets to be used making it much easier to put them on. The mattresses are also hinged to allow raising the head or feet, all manually.
I have a bad back with two fractured vertebrae (compression from 2 falls) and multiple disk issues. However, this arrangement has kept me almost entirely pain free with no surgeries.
Lattoflex has newer models and they sell just the frame without the bed.
Latex mattresses are a natural material, not manufactured from oil like almost all other foams. It is hypoallergenic and does not provide habitat for vermin and especially bed bugs.
The Tally mattresses are especially designed to be used on solid flat plywood bases without springs, so They are especially appropriate for the Motorhome.
Alas, no such rocking on the Motorhome.
This is a Classic Lattoflex braun bed that was manufactured between April 1978 and January 1998. I bought this bed around 1979 and still sleep on it.
The slats both rotate and flex under ones body weight and movement, so you are not sleeping on a rigid plywood sheet as most of us are.
Initially, a 3.5" thick Dunlop latex (real rubber from the sap of a rubber tree) mattress was used. It lasted 30 year of nightly use, three to five times the life of a standard mattress. I made a mistake in ordering the new latex mattresses, forgetting that the bed had European dimensions, so the American single bed, 2'-9" wide was almost 3" too short. We suffered for many years using cylinder shaped bolster pillows to fill the gap.
About three years ago, we finally gave up and discarded these mattresses, well before the end of its useful life.
Also, there was now a more advanced latex foam available called Talalay. They are about 7" which and come in various densities. My wife is 5'-1", 106lb and I am 6'-1" and 206lb and we sleep on separate mattresses of different densities. There are also 2 separate beds and the mattresses are joined together with a zipper. Unlike almost all of the zippered mattresses, our zipper is on the bottom, not the top. This allows the use of 2 separate fitted sheets to be used making it much easier to put them on. The mattresses are also hinged to allow raising the head or feet, all manually.
I have a bad back with two fractured vertebrae (compression from 2 falls) and multiple disk issues. However, this arrangement has kept me almost entirely pain free with no surgeries.
Lattoflex has newer models and they sell just the frame without the bed.
Latex mattresses are a natural material, not manufactured from oil like almost all other foams. It is hypoallergenic and does not provide habitat for vermin and especially bed bugs.
The Tally mattresses are especially designed to be used on solid flat plywood bases without springs, so They are especially appropriate for the Motorhome.
As an alternate, you could use Froli_Travel springs under your current mattress to improve the experience.
Each spring has a small rubber bank that controls how firm the support is, so you can have firmer support under the potions of your body that are the heaviest. The individual springs snap together to accommodate any size or shape bed and they assembled spring does not have to be physically attached to anything. Just assemble it, lay it on the plywood and put a mattress on it.
Each spring has a small rubber bank that controls how firm the support is, so you can have firmer support under the potions of your body that are the heaviest. The individual springs snap together to accommodate any size or shape bed and they assembled spring does not have to be physically attached to anything. Just assemble it, lay it on the plywood and put a mattress on it.
Matt
It turns out that the designer and owner of Wake Speed worked for Balmar for about 20 years. I spoke with him at length about the Wake Speed, which is his design. He probably designed the Balmar regulator too and may have not been supported on the technology that is the basis for the WS500. He gave me a lot of information on the Balmar alternators as well.
I felt that it was a slam dunk to use the Wake Speed with the Balmar. Based on the constant traffic regarding the firmware, I think I made the right choice. There is a lot of feedback from users and a constant flow of upgrades. The only problem is that Apple is not as well supported but I think that it is getting better.
Sailor man. You probably know this but when an engine is rated at 28hp it means that the engine can produce 28hp at the peak of the torque curve. That might be say 2000rpm. This means at 2000 rpm with a wide open throttle it will be able to hold its revs against a 28hp load. Make no mistake, it will sound like it is labouring.
Your 170A alternator will need 5.2hp when running at its peak. A car moving down the road at constant speed only needs about 10 to 20hp so you can see that the Balmar is a big load. And you have 2 IIRC. The GMC might be needing more than 20hp to move but the 455 is going to know that the alternators are there.
Bruce:
The only definitive information that I have found is on the Balmar 96-48-60-K6 and 96-48-100-K6. These are 48vdc alternators.
The 96-48-60-K6 needs up to 8 hp from the engine (60 amp)
The 96-48-100-K6 needs up to 11 hp (100 amp)
In the 12v alternator series
XT-VT-170-K6 needs 5.2 hp (170 amp)
AT-DF4-200-XX need 6.0 hp (220 amp)
I have installed a 96-48-60-K6 (48v) and a XT-VT-170-K6 (12v)
These are very efficient alternators and if they are running at the same time, they may draw as much as 14 hp. However, with the very sophisticated WakeSpeed WS500 regulator, I suspect that much less hp would be needed. I also expect that with the regulators, they will need far less hp.
However, the original alternator with its rudimentary internal regulator will be far less efficient. It probably works at 100% when the clutch engages.
Therefore, I would not be surprised that the Delco could draw in the 20 hp range.
With the very large battery banks and several alternate sources for charging: i.e., solar, shore, battery to battery charging, dc to dc converters, I don’t think that the alternators will be called into action very often.
