#87 | Can we FIX THIS?! Alternator upgrade while CRUISING ON A DEADLINE | Linnea Sailing

What would you have done in this situation?
One would have hoped that when buying an upgrading kit, sold for a specific application, it would actually fit. But those rules does not seem to apply to magic world of boat work…
So when buying a new alternator, we looked for the kit which should fit our Volvo Penta D2-55 engine. We even ordered it through a dealer and had discussions with several other dealers as well, to be sure we got the right parts. So imagine our surprise when it doesn't fit and we find out that Balmar (who makes the alternator) knew all along there was an issue with this specific kit for this engine… Well, I get upset just writing about it!
But we can't stay engine-less in Newport forever, so let's see if we can fix it! Let Marcus bring out his best engineering skills, a little help from friends and some willpower, and we should be fine - right?
Fair winds!
Emmy & Marcus
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We are Emmy and Marcus, a Swedish couple who has decided to leave our home and set sail out into the world with our boat Linnea. After a season in the Caribbean, we decided to leave Linnea in Trinidad and fly back to Sweden for the hurricane season. This allowed us to get an extra year of sailing and reach even more beautiful destinations for our second season of cruising. For now the goal is Greenland and back home to Sweden, via the Caribbean, BVIs, Bahamas, US east coast, and Canada. But who really knows how far our dreams might take us?
Welcome aboard our floating home Linnea to join us on our adventures!
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[@patrickjohn2990]

I am happy that you were able to solved the installation problem. I did a similar upgrade from my stock 60 A alternator to the Balmar 170A earlier this year. I have a Yanmar engine so I had issues. I will recommend installing a remote DPDT toggle switch wired to the regulator so you can operate in small engine mode, or Float mode from the cockpit with the flip of a switch. Safe travels

[@linneasailing]

We have thought about doing an installation like that 🙂 I’m taking it that you have one and are happy about it? Have you ever felt the need to use it? Thanks for the tip!

[@EnriqueDeQuesada101]

Great video!!

[@linneasailing]

Thank you!

[@linneasailing]

What would you have done? Sent the stuff back to Balmar or tried to fix it?

[@danknox9986]

I am think of doing a similar alternator upgrade. Maybe it would be good to pass on Balmar. Btw your install looks very nice.

[@linneasailing]

Cannot say we are very pleased with the support we got, but the alternator works great! If there is another option for your engine and you value good customer support if something is not right, then I would look at something else as well 😉 But either way it’s really nice to have that extra charging capacity!!

[@marlonribeiro2216]

Festool, Wera, Kamasa, best tools!

[@linneasailing]

We are super happy with all of them!

[@svgabrielle]

Hi Guys! Good you got the alternator install sorted ... but how could Balmar get this so wrong? You are not the first KZbinrs to document installation problems for a Volvo D2-55 which must be one of the most popular European sailboat engines installed in last 20-years! Hope you have kept the old alternator and pulley in case that system fails in some far away place. Think we'll stick with the standard install until Balmar (or a competitor) produce a kit that works 100% with no worries and provides acceptable customer support. Thanks for sharing :-)

[@linneasailing]

It really is a mystery how then managed! They blamed the supplier who apparently had changed something in their manufacturing process or specification :P We definitely saved the old one as a spare! :D Do you also have the d2-55 engine?

[@svgabrielle]

@@linneasailing We do but with the later standard 115A Mitsubishi alternator and carry a spare alternator too. Good chance that somewhere along our liveaboard journey, the alternator will fail. The 115A alternator limits at around 80A when warm. We have 600Ah Lithium with mostly Victron components however chose a Renogy 60A DC-DC charger for alternator as Victron product was a super-silly price at the time. Very interested to see how you get along with the Balmar. We're a power hungry boat and can always do with a bit more from the alternator. Thanks again for sharing 🙂

[@linneasailing]

That's a nice set up :) Our original alternator only produced around 30A when warm, so this is a huge difference for us! With the new one we get out about 120-130A and it's rated for 170A. The more energy we have, the more we use! But it was a real treat to be able to use the induction hub to save gas and run the water boiler to take a hot shower when it got cold. It would have been impossible with the old one!