This bulletin board, hosted by the CDSOA, Inc., is the on-line meeting place for all Cape Dory owners and groups. We welcome everyone's questions, answers and comments about Cape Dory sailboat
sgbernd wrote:I would not place much value on a high output alternator unless you have the battery banks to take it.
If you have the usual dual lead acid battery set up and basic charge (no smart charger Li ion battery), you can only charge at around 10A anyway per battery. Next time you put a charger on your car battery, watch the ammeter. It will rail (15A) for a couple minutes, then soon settles down to 10A or less for the remainder of the charge. So a 40A alternator or a 400A don't make much difference as the batteries can't accept it.
Steve
Ooookay. Now ya tell me.. I think Beta Marine charged me $350 for the upgrade. I was actually hoping it might recharge faster. The 40 amp took forever to bring it back up
Not