[Tim Morris]

Owned a 162F Turbo since June 19 with a Joe Huff engine since Nov 25.  Looking for a larger capacity alternator that will fit.  Anybody have any suggestions?

[Jared Hartzell]

Glad to have you here Tim! The factory was shipping out 12V 65 amp Leece Neville alternators before they closed doors, they have the regulator attached and you just have to install your pulley on it. I'd need to confirm the model number on mine later but I think it's this one: https://www.ascautoelectric.com/Category/110-683

[Dennis Wolcott]

Check with Bob St Denis, I believe he. and Mark put 90 amp alternators on their ships.
Dennis

[Sam Oliver]

Is a larger alternator than factory supplied to run extra lighting?  For night  or increased daytime visibility?  Just curious.

[Jared Hartzell]

Good question Sam, we really don't need alternators bigger than 65 amps, I think even 65 is overkill in most builds with LED lighting systems. I haven't measured the current draw of all systems together (that'd be interesting to know, continuous load has to be less than 25 amps with a good battery based off 37A installs). But, I wonder why anyone would want to use a 90A other than just to have it (and the added weight/wiring/fuses or breakers).

Wish we had Al Yard on here to answer this question! His inbox is full on the other forum, if anyone can contact him—please have him join us!

Also as a side note, I rev up to ~2,100 engine RPM to energize the alternator/regulator so it can excite the rotor field and reach cut-in; at idle the alternator speed is too low for stable regulation. We should see 13v to 14.2v on the FADEC display, which typically seems to read about .1 volts lower than measuring at the battery posts. Keep in mind if you have the traditional thermostat setup like I do, do not to exceed 2,400 rpm until the thermostat opens, as stated in the flight manual. Once you're at flight rpm, the alternator should have a very stable output.

Monitoring voltage in our helicopters is vital. If we're not charging properly during flight, it's only a matter of time before the engine quits. I did test this in a hover before with the bad regulator (anxiously waiting for a hover auto) and my Odyssey AGM battery was able to handle a full flight at hover for 1.5 hours from a fully charged state without quitting.

[Tim Morris]

Is a larger alternator than factory supplied to run extra lighting?  For night  or increased daytime visibility?  Just curious.

I'm running 3 extra electrical cooling fans (1 water and 2 oil) and my draw with all 3 fans running is too much.  I don't have lights

[Jared Hartzell]

Is a larger alternator than factory supplied to run extra lighting?  For night  or increased daytime visibility?  Just curious.

I'm running 3 extra electrical cooling fans (1 water and 2 oil) and my draw with all 3 fans running is too much.  I don't have lights

Wow, I'm surprised that they pull so much power. What's the draw from all 3?

[Sam Oliver]

Do you need all those fans for cooling, or is it just for extra piece of mind?    I see you are not far (for Texas) down the road from me.   I'll eventually be dealing with heat as well.   But I have a NA engine from Joe Huff.   Is your's turbocharged?   Is that the source you think of extra heat if that's what  you're dealing with?

[Tim Morris]

Do you need all those fans for cooling, or is it just for extra piece of mind?    I see you are not far (for Texas) down the road from me.   I'll eventually be dealing with heat as well.   But I have a NA engine from Joe Huff.   Is your's turbocharged?   Is that the source you think of extra heat if that's what  you're dealing with?

Couple of things forced me into these extra fans.  I am turbocharged and I forgot about the intercooler fan as well.  I am in south Texas and I am going to be training my bride to hover.  I found even at 75-80 degrees that five minutes was best were all I could get before water or oil or both were approaching redline.  I replaced the oil cooler and moved it to external of the radiator and it has two built in high CFM fans.   I added a second water radiator on the belly.  And I have a second oil cooler in the belly that also has a fan.  All these extra fans are switched.  

After none of this worked, I took the engine to Joe Huff and he found out the guy that did my turbo upgrade screwed it up and the engine was eating itself up and this was where most of my overheating problems were coming from.

Anyway, I find now that with all fans on I am getting an alternator warning light which means I am overloading it.  So, I want to upgrade my alternator.  Easier than pulling all these extra fans out.