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GeneD
09-13-2004, 10:28 AM
I need to hear some pros and cons on marine alternators vs auto alternators.
I took a marine motorola alt to the alt place, and the guy told me to stop screwing around and just get the Delco alt with the marine conversion kit (baffles blah blah).
The owner of my marina told me to never put auto in a boat.
The alt guy told me the Delco is a superior unit, and the marine units cost a mint and don't hold up as well.
What do the esteemed members of the Registry think?

GKricheldorf
09-13-2004, 11:03 AM
I do most of my boating in the ocean. Now i could buy a "auto" alternator yearly because they rust. Or spend the money on the "marine" one and it lasts for years. My father in law has been using an "auto" alternator in his boat. He is finally going to buy a "marine" version since has has been replacing it every year as well. So my vote is if you boat in the salt water get the marine alternator. If you are fresh water only wait until someone else chimes in.

Glenn

Cuda
09-13-2004, 11:15 AM
The main difference is the marine are spark free so you don't blow your boat up. Other than that, I'm sure it's the same housing and windings.

Cuda
09-13-2004, 11:17 AM
Gene, I see you're in St Pete. Go to Will's Starters on 49th street. I've dealt with them for over 30 years. I bought a rebuilt for my BBC for around $80 or so. They usually have one in stock, or they can rebuild yours.

David Ochs
09-13-2004, 12:35 PM
Gene,
Cuda is a wise man. Safety is what you're paying for. Same goes for the starter, carb and all that stuff. Spend the bucks, we want you around for a while longer!

Forrest
09-13-2004, 02:02 PM
Geno, you can easily "marinize" a standard Delco alternator by purchasing a screen kit for $15.95 (http://www.amarket.com/imscrkit.htm) and a "one-wire" self energizing voltage regulator that you can buy at most any alternator/starter repair shop. I've done this conversion many times. The conversion is safe and reliable and you can save a bundle over buying a marine Delco alternator. While you have it apart to do the conversion, be sure to zinc-chromate prime and paint the aluminum alternator housing as well as the screen kit.

Marine starters, on the other hand, usually have a steel plate behind the bendix to separate the sparks from the brush contact with the commutator from the open area of the starter nose where it protrudes into the flywheel housing. I have no idea where to find the parts to marinize a starter and for that reason, I have always purchased a true marine starter.

Formula Jr
09-13-2004, 03:40 PM
Gene that's funny cause even here in a non boating community, a for real marine alt is the same price as a car's. Maybe I got a good shop.
Don't put a car alt in a boat. I've seen one go off at a gas dock. Fuel -Air bombs are powerful things.

GeneD
09-13-2004, 07:43 PM
Wow, we're getting some good reponse here.
Here's what I see...

Pro-Marine:
1. Comes pre-explosion proof. It's all built in. (explosion proof components required in engine compartment by Coast Guard regs)
2. Made for your engine. It's comes in a nice and sweet, small package, and it has all the wires on it to hook up to 'your' wiring harness. It looks like it belongs there.
3. Doesn't rust, very fast anyway.

Pro-Auto:
1. It's an alternator. If you make the right selection, chances are it will be a good one, it will do what you want, when you need it - with a little coaxing.
2. It's cheap. No denying that.
3. You can scam a lifetime warrantee on one at on of the discount auto parts joints. Never have to buy an alternator again. (I was very please with that warrantee when I had my Corvette - like a boat it malfunctioned more often than I care to remember)

Con-Marine:
1. They're expensive, no denying that.
2. When they break, it's always mega bucks to get 'em fixed.
3. Little or no warrantee.

Con-Auto:
1. Need to modify for marine use by the use of baffle screens front and rear of the casings. Requires disassemby of alternator for installation.
2. Not made for a salt water environment. Will corrode quickly and with veracity.

Con-Auto/Marine:
1. They break. And always when there is no way you can get it fixed before the alternator joint closes at 12 PM on Saturday. (and if by some miracle you get there before they close, there is no possible way for them to help you today...it's always the same)

What to do?

1. I'm thinking that marine is the way to go for permanent replacement. It's just right, it was made for the engine, put back what was there.
2. Have a spare ready for those 'I've got to go boating or I'm gonna bust' days. I'm thinking get a good one from Auto Zone, with the lifetime warrantee ($59), and build a marine/auto alternator to satisfy the bursting effect of staying on the trailer. It sounds like a nice little project, one that is do-able. You can't always build a marine alternator on a budget, it could take years! But the auto to marine conversion kit is cheap. I've got the one with the two prong connector that plugs into the two sensing leads (on top of the Delco alternator) and turns them into separate leads that plug into the stock wiring harness. It all is very fuctional, only it 'looks' like an auto alternator, and THAT is a turn-off.

This marine starter thing was a mystery to me a while back. It wasn't until I had purchased a starter for my Corvette that I realized the guy at the starter shop wasn't BS-ing me about the marine unit having bigger coils. Just like the marine units I was having rebuilt, the armature is bigger, thus making the coils bigger, producing more torque. But the Corvette starter didn't have a rubber gasket on the housing cap, nor did it have the steel plate rubber gasket thingy by the bendix. But mechanically - petty much the same.

Auto vs Marine: They need to make a movie.

Formula Jr
09-14-2004, 02:48 AM
I didn't know about the lifetime warranty thingy you're talking about Gene. I've always just bought rebuilds. The last Marine alt I bought was 47 dollars with the exchange. Three years ago. And I do have to get a new one since everything in my boat got fubared with saltwater.
That kit ideal with the lifetime warranty sounds pretty cool a this point but what do you explain to them when you bring back this rusted brick that was supposed to be in a car?

Walt. H.
09-17-2004, 02:29 AM
Gene,

Heres one listed on E-Bay
DELCO 1 WIRE MARINE ALTERNATOR

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=31284&item=2489578147&rd=1

Theres ten alt, available

Walt :checkered

Forrest
09-17-2004, 04:26 PM
Gene,

Heres one listed on E-Bay
DELCO 1 WIRE MARINE ALTERNATOR

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=31284&item=2489578147&rd=1

Theres ten alt, available

Walt :checkered

There you go Gene. That's probabaly cheaper than you or I could put one together for after buying the screen kit, a "one-wire" voltage regulator, and a Discount Auto reman Delco alternator.