GM quad large case (AD244) alternators

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I got tired of blinking lights so I did a little upgrade to my electrical system. All the quad alternator brackets I looked at on the web didn't allow access to the power steering pump which is kind of important... plus they are way over priced. So I made my own out of 1/4" 6055-T6 aluminum plate instead. I need to ditch the lead acid battery for AGM and put in a bank of 3 or 4 AGM batteries for a 10k power inverter also. But it's a work in progress. Needless to say my amplifiers are happier now and so is my truck, no more disco lights!
 

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How much power are you running?

That's the current rating on the alternators?

More batteries won't do anything unless the current draw exceeds what the alternators can produce.

Hi Perry 4 x 250 (1000) amps. All the alternators tested a little more than 250 amp (max) but i'm calling them 250 amps each.

I'm looking at installing a 10,000 watt inverter. So I can power the house in case of emergencies and also run power tools off the truck. I'm still shopping for an inverter but from what I've reading they require a bank of 3 or 4 deep cycle batteries and runs of 4/0 guage wire.
 
those alternators wont last long at idle while running your house. the ad244 is a wire wound alternator and will make most of its power at 1700 to 2000 alternator rpm(not engine rpm) and will over heat at idle. a 10kw generator would be a much better option. even the best aftermarket builder cant beat that. Also most engines cant produce enough idle HP to turn 4 alternators at full current draw. i know you wont be pulling that much power all the time but it would be more efficient to feed a 18hp single cylinder vs a V8.
But if that is your desire to do it that way then i might suggest a fast idle control for your truck. Thumbs up on making your own bracket. Best wishes.
 
those alternators wont last long at idle while running your house. the ad244 is a wire wound alternator and will make most of its power at 1700 to 2000 alternator rpm(not engine rpm) and will over heat at idle. a 10kw generator would be a much better option. even the best aftermarket builder cant beat that. Also most engines cant produce enough idle HP to turn 4 alternators at full current draw. i know you wont be pulling that much power all the time but it would be more efficient to feed a 18hp single cylinder vs a V8.
But if that is your desire to do it that way then i might suggest a fast idle control for your truck. Thumbs up on making your own bracket. Best wishes.

Hey Bill thanks for responding. I built these three phase alternators myself so if the diodes burn it's my own fault. I don't have the part numbers handy at the moment, but I went with NTN bearings, 250 amp strator, high quality rotor, voltage regulator with 14.7 volt set point (15 seconds on 90 seconds off at peak), full copper heatsink recitifer with 6 x 80 amp diodes. I also added 10SI 1 7/8" overdrive pulleys to bring the alternator RPMs up at engine idle.

I do a lot of wood working so the alternator bracket was a cakewalk. I first went to the junk yard and bought a power steering bracket. Then I made the alternator brackets to fit the power steering bracket out of 1/4" hardboard. I then installed the hardboard brackets in my truck (test fit). I had to reroute one ground wire and move the PCM (computer) forward about 3" to make space for the lower alternator. Once I had everything tweaked with the hardboard templates. I used my woodworking router and a flush trim carbide wood cutting bit to cut the 6055-T6 brackets.

There is some slight modification need to the cast aluminum power steering pump bracket but it's nothing major at all.

I also had to go with a 60mm idle pulley to replace the stock idler pulley so I could use an off the shelf 06 ~ 10 Ford F350 Gates heavy duty fleet runner belt (125 5/8").

Here's a few pictures of the work in progress.

As for the 10k inverter - I'm going to give it a go. My wife wants to get a fifth wheel camper so it'll at least come in handy for that. I also want to be able to run my wood working tools and. 12,000 lb winch off the truck, since we are looking at building a log house in the very near future.
 

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The small roller bearings your using for idlers will be turning some really high rpms, do you know what they are rated for ? Its a well made setup, neat and tidy.

They are SKF 6200-2RS (single row 10mmx30mmx9mm 2 rubber seals) rated for 15,000 RPM MAX with a temperature range of -40 degrees to 212 degrees F.

I was originally going to go with 5200-2RS (double row 10mmx30mmx14.4mm 2 rubber seals) but they are only rated for 7500 RPM MAX, 1/2 the max rpm of 6200-2RS and surely would have failed.

This is a really good site to calculate rated bearing RPM for poly filled bearings. MicroPoly - Maximum RPM Calculator It gets you in the ball park then you can research specific brands. Some are poly filled others oil filled so just make sure you order the right ones.

I've got a number of comments on the clean install - Thanks. I still have my hardboard templates so I can duplicate the brackets very easily.
 
Isn't an inverter that can reliably produce 10kw going to cost more than a 10kw generator?


Hi Perry call me crazy... But I'm measuring space on the passenger side of the motor for a belt driven brushless generator head. I figure I could put it on a electric clutch pulley and hang it off the motor with another home made bracket. I just started looking at belt driven brushless generator heads but some are looking to be very doable.
 
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