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IO-390 RV-14 ALTERNATOR choice

J

jimkwalton

Active Member
I know this has been asked before but which alternator do you suggest? My has crapped out twice now and I have less than 400 hours on the engine.

[email protected]

Post here but any suggestions I would appreciate an email. I don't get on here very often.

Thanks

Jimmy Walton
 
jimkwalton said:
I know this has been asked before but which alternator do you suggest? My has crapped out twice now and I have less than 400 hours on the engine.

[email protected]

Post here but any suggestions I would appreciate an email. I don't get on here very often.

Thanks

Jimmy Walton
Click to expand...

I don’t think you can go wrong with the B&C 60 amp….that’s the one I’ll be using.
 
I have the Van’s issued Plane Power and have no complaints, yet. Over 300 hours. I do have a B&C stand-by alternator, too, just in case. May go with a B&C belt driven primary when the time comes, but I understand it is externally regulated, like the stand-by, which makes installation a bit more of a headache.
 
Update: I pulled the cowling and my air vent tube that was directed to the alternator was MELTED! I had removed the heat muff that is about 6 inches away and the heat from the number 1 exhaust manifold must be quite excessive right there. Apparently the alternator was shutting down due to heat. I ran it without the cowling and it worked just fine. So, putting a portion of the heat muff back on just to protect the alternator and using what used to supply my heat muff with fresh air, I directed it towards my alternator!

For those that say "bugs and rain" in your alternator, look at old cessnas. Their alternator/generators was right behind the spinner hub exposed to all the elements.

I also downloaded Savvy Aviation data and looked at my last flight where the alternator slowly died. It showed a slow decline in volts from about 1/2 hour into the 1.5 hour flight. On the test run, volts and amps looked normal.
 
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Update, to the Update:

I removed the alternator, Plane Power, and the back bearing was completely loose. I had this same alternator rebuilt about 150 hours ago.

Looks like I need a new one. Any suggestions on the best place to find a new Plane Power 60amp 12v for IO-390?
 
jimkwalton said:
Update, to the Update:

I removed the alternator, Plane Power, and the back bearing was completely loose. I had this same alternator rebuilt about 150 hours ago.

Looks like I need a new one. Any suggestions on the best place to find a new Plane Power 60amp 12v for IO-390?
Click to expand...

If the bearing died in 150 hours, that can't be viewed as anything but poor parts or poor design. Guessing that the same or a different flaw caused the need for overhaul. Why would you buy another PP alternator? I paid $40 for the 50A alternator on my 6 (auto version) and it is still working great 800 hours later. There must be a better choice for you out there.
 
A B&C convert

LR172’s Q above : Why would you buy another PP alternator?
I went thru this during my first 1000 hours. I didn’t want to change the mounting brackets or the wiring necessitated by changing to most everyone’s favorite B & C.
After about 500 hours I started having charging issues. I bought a used PP alternator from a VAFr that still worked. Carried it with me to prevent AOG. Between the 2 PP alternators I purchased 4 Hartzell brush assy at $85 each. During this time while flying I spent an inordinate amount of time watching my alternator and battery activity/condition. I decided the switch to B & C was REQUIRED after returning from St Simon, just an hour away, and the charging stopped and I was on JUST the battery. Not a major event thanx to Dynon backup batteries and dual Pmags. But it motivated me to make the switch.
I had spent about $600 TRYING to retain/salvage my PP install.
Bit the bullet and bought the 60 Amp B & C with EXTERNAL regulator. It took a couple of weeks due to needing parts as the install progressed. It took many flites before I felt comfortable NOT constantly monitoring the charging indicators. Now 300 hours later, I occasionally check the indicators and the B & C has been flawless. The $$$ & time spent converting to B & C has been WELL WORTH it. Just my story.
 
pilotkms said:
LR172’s Q above : Why would you buy another PP alternator?
I went thru this during my first 1000 hours. I didn’t want to change the mounting brackets or the wiring necessitated by changing to most everyone’s favorite B & C.
After about 500 hours I started having charging issues. I bought a used PP alternator from a VAFr that still worked. Carried it with me to prevent AOG. Between the 2 PP alternators I purchased 4 Hartzell brush assy at $85 each. During this time while flying I spent an inordinate amount of time watching my alternator and battery activity/condition. I decided the switch to B & C was REQUIRED after returning from St Simon, just an hour away, and the charging stopped and I was on JUST the battery. Not a major event thanx to Dynon backup batteries and dual Pmags. But it motivated me to make the switch.
I had spent about $600 TRYING to retain/salvage my PP install.
Bit the bullet and bought the 60 Amp B & C with EXTERNAL regulator. It took a couple of weeks due to needing parts as the install progressed. It took many flites before I felt comfortable NOT constantly monitoring the charging indicators. Now 300 hours later, I occasionally check the indicators and the B & C has been flawless. The $$$ & time spent converting to B & C has been WELL WORTH it. Just my story.
Click to expand...

I am a fan of ext regulated alternators. My experience in the auto world taught that the weak link is the intenal regulator and believe it just can't take the heat forever and is often the first component to fail in a well built alt and often sees an early failure when cheap non-branded components are used when re-man'ed. PP is taking an excellent ND alt and replacing the rear components (bearings, brushes, VR, etc.) with their own version. It seems to me that they are just not using good parts, as most ND's from the factory, with ND parts, easily make 100,000 miles and often 150,000 miles, which is roughly 4-5000 hours of use . IMHO, there is not one alt in the main stream auto world that has a reputation for troubles at 100's of hours.
 
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Lots of discussion of alternator problems on this forum. Alternators are pretty simple devices, regardless of what name is on the sticker on the outside of the case, and as long as they are kept within their design specifications seem to last just about forever.

I pulled a used ND out of a junkyard and used it on my Hiperbipe as a "mock up" to build the mounts. I then ran it just to see how it worked - flew it for hundreds of hours with no issues and it flew away when I sold it. Alternator on the Rocket is a Toyota 70 amp ND from NAPA, now converted to external regulation, still going strong at 500 hours.

How many of the alternator issues we see here are the result of bad installations? I suspect quite a few.
 
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