dual alternators on pre tbi chevy 350 useing astro van brackets?

[down4thakrown]

anybody done this. i read that it will work but havnt seen anybody do it. i read that if you use mid 90's astro van brackets you can convert your v belt to serpentine and run a 2nd alternator in place of the a/c compressor.
heres the link that i found
How to install dual alternators - NO fabrication required!!!

 

[sweetk30]

thats cool

i just installed a 210 amp alt in mine over the 105 unit. fixed my juice needs .

and you wont be able to run a yoke in the empty a/c spot now also.

 

[Blue85]

That's a clean mod, but you give up 2 accesory slots to gain 1. The A/C delete pulley is kind of lame, so if you're already running one of those, this is a great mod.

With my (F-body) TPI brackets, I just located the 2nd alternator where the smog pump used to be. The fabrication was minimal - just a bit of grinding on the bracket, and a couple of braces. I bet you could put the 2nd alternator in the TBI compressor slot in less time that it takes for a trip to the junkyard and bracket swap.

1 big alternator rarely gives the idle current of 2 small ones and the dual setup provides a level of redundancy, but I do admit it's a terrible space hog. That 2nd one could be an air compressor or welder.

 

[down4thakrown]

i like the idea of runing a 2nd battery with out a isolator and a whole seperate system. but i think i was wrong about useing both brackets off the astro. idk where i got that from but you need the bracket from the v8 tbi. i also read that to use the altenator from the astro you need some kinda of sensor? its not as ez as just replacing the plug

 

[down4thakrown]

1 big alternator rarely gives the idle current of 2 small ones and the dual setup provides a level of redundancy, but I do admit it's a terrible space hog. That 2nd one could be an air compressor or welder.

wouldnt the welder be a 2nd alternator?

 

[Jessie James]

It seems to me that it would make a whole lot more sense to just install a single high amp alternator rather than go through all the hassle of having two low amp ones...

 

[dremu]

1 big alternator rarely gives the idle current of 2 small ones and the dual setup provides a level of redundancy, but I do admit it's a terrible space hog. That 2nd one could be an air compressor or welder.

It seems to me that it would make a whole lot more sense to just install a single high amp alternator rather than go through all the hassle of having two low amp ones...

Sort of. Note that the alternator's output is maximum at high speed, and is much lower at idle (see above). This all depends on the alternator type and winding, pulley, phase of the moon, etc, but you get the idea.

This sort of thing might make sense for the stereo and low-rider crowd; my reaction is this (slightly fixed for clarity )

and you wont be able to run a york in the empty a/c spot now also.

I find a decent big alternator and a York (air compressor) to be more useful than dual alternators.

-- A