Finally some answers about a Bigger Alternator??

[OttoNP]

Well kids I picked up a new toy the other day, a clamp on ampmeter. This is a fun little gadget that measures how many amps are going through a wire.

Since people are always asking here if they need a bigger alternator, this device is extremely helpful in this determination.

I haven't played with it in my boat yet, but I have found that the alternator in a car and in my truck produces about 40 amps right after start up and then it tapers off to around 20 amps fairly quickly. I haven't tried it after I've been driving for a while but I'm guessing it will decrease to around 15 or so. It is high to begin with because of starting the vehicle. Now, you could just take the wattage of your system, divide by 12 and add 40, that should be your min alternator rating.

The other thing I haven't done yet is see if how much of an amp's watttage we typically use, no one uses the limit.

If you really want to make sure your not overloading your alternator, I suggest you pick one up.

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