[Denny Gaultney]

My 1997 Tiara with 6CTA 8.3 Diamonds was outfitted with external voltage regulators and Balmar alternators.
One finally died in 2018.
It was prior to an extended cruise and I wanted to replace both alternators.
I opted for new single wire Cummins 160 amp units with internal voltage regulators (purchased from Seaboard).
At the same time I purchased and installed belts, tensioners, idlers.
I have been very pleased with this alternator changeover and have had zero issues in 2+ years and 1,000+ hours.
One alternator charges my 6-battery house bank in just a couple hours cruising.
Good luck with your repairs!

[Denny Gaultney]

Yes sir, it is.

I selected the Phasor 8.5 kw, an 1800 rpm unit. I liked the lack of electronics and the price point.

Thank you for your reply.

[Denny Gaultney]

To wrap this post up, I wanted to post the remedy.

With a service call we determined the oil base to be porous.

The part is no longer manufactured. I have been unable to locate one.

Replacement genset has been ordered.

[Denny Gaultney]

We are cruisers. We anchor out a good bit on weekends. Planning to make a 4 month trip north on the ICW this year – our first really long trip.

We are not big generator users – when we are out we generally run it a couple hours to have hot water for showers. We occasionally use it to run A/C to cool down the cabin in summers or heat it up in winter before we retire for the night. But away from the dock we never run the genset overnight for air conditioning. And don’t run it all day long for climate control or anything.

We now have an inverter set up that handles the refrigerator and freezer and small electric needs. And we use a gas cooktop when we anchor out. If we run the main engines at least every 3 days, the house battery bank suffices for our needs, with the exception of hot water.

The boat is a 1997 Tiara 4000 Express. The 9 kw genset was sized to run everything- two a/c, hot water, electric cooktop, microwave, coffee maker, hot water heater, battery charger, etc.

I thought about finding a solution for the hot water and mothballing the gen but we want to have a generator for our trip. And we’ll want one in working order for resale of the boat down the road.

Thank you for your input.

[Denny Gaultney]

Thank you, Tony. Went to the boat intending to refill the oil and run it to look again at the leak. But instead I added a quart to the unit and waited an hour. Sure enough oil appeared underneath the base. I scoped out the removal and replacement of this oil base. Not likely to be done in the boat because the 14 bolts holding the engine block and oil base together are likely to be seriously corroded. Definitely beyond my physical capability.

This is the 3600 rpm B spec 9 kw. Loud with the cover off. Noisy with the cover on. Motor is strong and never failed to light up and perform. The generator side has also been trouble free. However, with 1330 hours over 22 years it’s not heavily used.

I have not gotten to asking for quotes but I expect this repair, assuming it’s done out of the boat, is $1500 – 2000 labor including removal from boat (it will lift up through the engine hatch and it’s situated in the center of the boat near the hatch). Found part pricing but no part available – it was around $1600. Sure do dislike these kinds of decisions.

[Author]

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