The National Voltage Star

Top ten questions about high output. (High amp) alternators.Once a year I do a top ten high output alternator question and answer, I have saved up 10 question so here we go.I try to do a top 10 question blog one per year, I now have 10 questions so lets get to it.10) Why do you recommend running higher voltage in your high output alternators?A: Higher voltage reduces the amps required. If you have a load of 7000 watts and you are at 14 volts you will need 500 amps to power the load. However if you are at 16 volts you only need 437.5 amps. So you could power this load in two ways, 2 high output alternators at say 300 amps each running 14 volts or with two with dual alternators at 250 amps each running 16 volts. because you are at 16 volts you will not need to drive the alternators as hard to power it. You can check this on our tools page of our website http://www.rushps.com/tools.html9) If higher voltage reduces amperage requirements then why are factory regulators set at around 14 volts?A: a higher voltage requires more HP to produce. The automotive manufactures are walking a fine line between power and MPG they have found the best point to be around 14 volts this is magnified by a high output alternator.8) Will a high amperage alternator damage my vehicle?A: high amperage alternator will not hurt you vehicle in any way, in fact it can dramatically improve it. When you add additional loads you are reducing the available amperage for the entire vehicle, this can drive down the voltage. That will cause everything to run hot which can shorten the life of all electrical devices in your vehicle including the wiring. Keep in mind the high amp alternator will only produce what is needed by the vehicle, if you have a high amperage alternator ratted at 200 amps and you are only pulling 150 amp out then that is what the alternator will produce.7) Will higher voltage damage my vehicle?A: It can, great care must be taken here, if we are talking about a computer controlled fuel injected vehicle then you should never go over 17 volts, and remember both alternators share a ground so even if your extra vehicle load is completely isolated then they can affect each other. Also most batteries will bubble or mist above 17 volts, yes even “sealed” batteries.6) Can you adjust the set point on any alternator?A: most all alternators are set and cant be adjusted. Many newer alternators cant be modified because the alternator must “talk” to the ECU (vehicles computer). However we can modify the alternator in the vast majority of vehicles so that they can be adjusted. The simplest and easiest way to make the system adjustable is to install an external regulator.5) What is so great about an external regulator?A: well besides the fact that they are available in a voltage adjustable format the main reason is heat. The regulator is very susceptible to heat. If you get it out of the alternator it will last longer because it will run cooler. This will also allow it to operate more efficiently. All electrical devices are less efficient when warm.4) Why do you recommend converting to multi-ribbed serpentine pulley?A: in the late 80s and early 90s when big brother started to force higher MPG on the manufactures. They started to experiment with electrical control units (ECU), with the increased electrical loads they quickly found that they needed more power in the alternator and they needed it at lower RPM. “V” belts are not good at turning a tight radius, they are only good for around 2″, but a multi-ribbed belt can grip a pulley as small as 40mm, that gives you much better power at idle speeds and that will give you less stress on electrical devices, better MPG, brighter headlights, hotter spark, and more air from the heater.3) why don’t you like aluminum pulleys?A: aluminum pulleys are probably the biggest ripoff out there! Do you know that not one factory alternator uses an aluminum pulley? Aluminum pulleys are much cheaper and we all know the manufactures are all about getting it as cheap as possible, so why don’t they use them? Because they cant afford to replace them every one to two years. Next time you are at a wrecking yard take a look at some pulleys the engines. You will notice the plastic pulleys have huge valleys cut into them, in fact you will notice that the steel idler pulleys have been cut by the belt. The plastic pulleys are 3 times as hard as the aluminum pulley and the steel is 10 time as hard. Now the cheapskates at fly by night high amps are us will tell you “ we have a high strength anodize coating on the pulley”, O.K. the fact that you put the coating on the pulley tells me you know it is not right and that the belt will destroy the pulley without it. Second point is the coating will not last as long as the plastic pulley will. All of our pulleys are steel and we have the ability to custom build any pulley you may need.2) what is the most power you can pull out of an alternator?A: how fast things change, when I first started this company the worlds most powerful alternator available was a unit that was as large as a 4cyl engine and it was about as heavy, but it could produce a max of 350 amps with 225 at around 1000 eng RPM. Today we can produce the same amount of power out of an alternator that would bolt onto any engine, however the best we can do is only around 200 amps but that is at 800 engine RPM. Actually we could build a 500 amp but the problem is it would not produce any power below 2500 RPM. The alternator must spin fast enough to produce a magnetic field and that is what limits us from going higher than 350. So if you need more power than we can produce in a single alternator then we must add alternators to match your requirements. Here is a major benefit to running more than one alternator, lets say you need 350 amps for your stereo and your vehicles electrical needs, if we build a single alternator you will only have around 200 amps at an idle. But if we build 2 alternators of 200 amps each you will have 50 amps more than you need and you will have up to 250 amps available at an idle. You may be thinking you cant put dual alternators on my vehicle, there is no room. Fact is we can design brackets for any vehicle.1) Why are your high amp alternators more expensive than company X?A: this one never goes away, why does a Mercedes cost more than Yugo? Quality, we don’t cut corners, if your vendors cant provide us products that are up to our standards we will build the product ourselves. Everything is 100% new, and is the best possible quality. You may be able to find an alternator that is ½ as much as our alternators are, but over the life of the alternator you will replace our “competitors” alternator 4 times for every one of ours. The other factor is we are the only company with a lifetime warranty, I cant afford to have them come back, if you are going to offer this you must have high quality parts. Many of my customers will buy junkyard alternators, clean up the case and install a new stator, or even worse install a smaller pulley on a stock alternator, that is the only way to get them that cheap and make a profit. We understand that with the way the economy is today, you need the best bang for your buck, we provide you with a high amp alternator that will not need to be replaced every 6 months.Do you have a question that is not here? Send me a note darren@rushps.com, check our website www.rushps.com or just give me a call 801-557-7684