Regulating the field manually in modern alternators

[Cornelius]

Now, i'm charging the batteries 'by any means possible'.
I went for connecting the old and new bank in series, and use the 24V charger. Currently, it draws a total of 16A (been charging for 2hrs.), and the voltage over the old bank are 16V+; bubbling sadly away, and my newer bank have 14.1V; enjoying every mA it gets...

When i've got my newer bank up to a reasonable level, i think i'll rip out the transformer from that 24V charger, and unwind half of the secondary windings, because i do see the need for a 'ongrid' charger sometimes. The electronics in the charger are just a timer, so i'll see what i'll do with that... (I do have an picaxe with a small program that turns off a mosfet at 14.5V; a pushbutton turns it on. Maybe i can use that...)

I do have a car, but i can't get the car closer than 60feet to the bank, and i doesn't have that kind of cable i would need for that long run...

[Cornelius]

I've sucessfully taken off some of the secondary winding on the 24V charger, and it now gives me a stable 14.4V at the end of the charging cycle.

Note the 'wire' (more like a copper band) in the front; 12 turns wenf off. The size of the wire are approx. 1/4" x 1/8"

A couple of pictures of my successful manual field regulator for my auto alternator, with my mating with a 3-phase motor running not-so-successful on single phase:  

[mike90045]

So disconnect the overcharged bank, and attach the charger direct to the low bank.  Batteries don't really care about voltage, it's AMPS that charge them.  voltage too low, no amps, voltage too high, max amps the charger can supply.   

What's your base voltage?

[Cornelius]

Oh, yes; i've disconnected the old bank as soon as i was finished with my 'rewire' i don't use that bank anymore; i used it only to charge my newer 12V bank with that 24V charger this time only, as an emergency...

The batteries DO care about voltage when they're reaching 100% charge. it's ok with an equalizing for a couple of hours, but no more...

Base voltage? 12V.

[mike90045]

for about a 100 bucks, you can get a switching type charger, 40A @ 12V.  Made by Vector/rebranded to Black & Decker
110 Amp Engine Start - 40 Amp / 20 Amp / 10 Amp / 4 Amp Continuous Charge Rates - Smart Battery Charger Model # VEC1093DBD, but it has to see about 10V in the batteries before it turns on.  And you can charge your car with it too ! Gel & deep cycle settings, EQ and de-sulphate .  Some complaints several years ago on Amazon about the battery clips falling apart, but I think thats OK now, mine is about 3 years old, and doing fine.

[Cornelius]

Ah, yes.
But one of the main points, besides getting my bank up to charge, was to manage with what i had around here. (Which i forgot to mention... )

I have an 8hp, 1-cyl Yanmar diesel (boat engine with horizontal cylinder) sitting outside here, which are the real target for my newly modified alternator. I'll start on that one as soon the snow melts...