[kurts52]

1997 Open with twin 6b 5.9 330hp
Would anyone know a reason that the alternators that came with the boat (100 amp per Tiara) would be replaced with Balmar 190 amps and with the remote voltage regulators. Thinking of going back to the original one with internal regulators. Just easier to work with and a whole lot cheaper to replace.

[trit21]

My 2000 Tiara 3500 has external regulators as I thought all Balmar regulators were externally regulated that Tiara installed. ?? Don't see much advantage to the internal regulators vs external really.

[kurts52]

Both the regulators are corroded from the salt water and terminals are broken off so they need to be replaced.
They are quite pricey. The alternators are also quite old. Just trying to get going here and not go broke.

[momentum]

I went to one wire delcos on my 40 with 8.3 s . No regrets after 2 yrs .I also disconnected the electric pre heaters , that saves the altenators .

[Chris Burkard]

Tiara began using Balmar Alternators when they switched from flooded cell lead acid batteries to Gel Cell. I don't see any issue with going to a standard Delco Alternator. If you do have Gel Batteries, you may have to switch to a flooded cell or AGM battery design as I do not think the Delcos are designed to charge gel. Make sure you switch over your battery charger to charge flooded cell batteries.

Good Luck!

[todc]

I know this is an OLD thread, but I can't find much on alternator specs for Tiara's. I'm currently on the hunt for a 2005 (ish) 3600 Open and wonder about the alternators. My understanding is that stock (i.e. Delco) alternators might not be designed to put out the spec level current (e.g. "100 amps) for the long periods necessary to charge a large house bank. They might be designed to put out this current level for the short time it takes to recharge a battery bank after starting the engines (including inlet heater operation) but can overheat if asked to put out a high level for the hour or more required to recharge a large (200+) amp hour house bank.

Also, internally regulated alternators will work fine if you don't ask them to recharge large battery banks from deep discharge conditions however they do a very poor job of managing charge rates, specially on deeply discharged battery banks. To do this, you want an externally regulated alternator(s) (smart three step regulation) that can be set for battery type (e.g. flooded or AGM) and takes battery temperature into account.

Does anyone know if/when Tiara started installing proprietary high output alternators (e.g. Balmar) on 3600 opens? Do they use the "Max Charge" external regulators on them or what? If they install them, do they do it on both engines?

I've looked at several but I forgot to check this feature.

Thanks for any info, Tod

[trit21]

My boat is older but I will post this for more information. I have a 2000 3500 with Cummins 6bta. Both alternators are balmar model 190-100, 100 amp. They are externally regulated using Charles regulators and I also have a Charles battery charger.

[todc]

Tom - Do you think these are original from Tiara. Either way, nice for you!

[trit21]

They are stock from Tiara yes.