Have anyone installed a Electomax serpentine belt kit on a Westerbeke 21 , or for than matter any engine.
i am looking at upgrading my v belt to this layout.
Has your current, very old and basic belt system failed you in some way, Thor??
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
It drives 120 amp alternator that is de rated to 80 amps. Just on the limit at 80 amps it generates a good deal of belt dust over time and the belts need regular replacement.
Serpentine would solve all that.
Thor: Usually that belt dust comes from rusty pulleys. Maybe not in your case, but . . . . .
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
If you have the room, increasing the size of the pulleys keeping the same ratio (more or less) and going to a longer belt may solve the problem and be easier than going to a serpentine belt.
Mike Jennings.
NS5 Chancy.
Port Moody, BC.
I thought multi-rib, serpentine type belts were the cat’s meow.
I ordered my Beta 35 with 2 - 100 amp alternators. Both alternators are controlled by one Balmar regulator capable of that configuration. The regulator is set at 75% on the Belt Manager setting. Each alternator has independent 2/0 cabling to the house bank. Both positive alternator cables are protected by MBRF fuses at the battery end of the cables.
The house bank is 3 group 31 Firefly carbon foam variant of AGM and are capable of accepting the max available current from the alternators
Both 6 rib belts produced some dust and periodically I could hear the squeal of belt slippage.
After about a month of use, I removed the belts, degreased all the pulleys and installed new Gates belts. I also performed the belt tightening with a lever for more belt tension.
I have adjusted the belt tension more than once to account for the stretch of the new belts
The belts still produce some dust.
Does anyone have a suggestion/comment.
Ward Woodruff
N33 #8 Margery
Niantic Bay, CT
The kits are available from Electromax for most engines and are a simple bolt on install. If you have the stock 40-50 amp alternator there is no advantage but with higher amp like my 120 amp There are 4 advantages, no dust, belts will last the life of the engine, less torque on the drive train and better power transfer. It would also allow me to increase the output beyond the regulator capped 80 amps .
Other options are doubling the pulley and / or going to a large pulley. But moving to 1/2 from 3/8 does not buy much and the cost is the same.
Beta now sells their engines with serpentine belts.
Ward
I am told the tension is 5lbs or 1/16 defection.
I’d check the belt alignment. Here a good article on how to do that.
https://marinehowto.com/marine-alternator-installation-tips-tricks/
Thor,
Thanks for that tip on alignment.
I did check alignment with a straight edge across pulley faces. All pulleys appear to be aligned.
Ward Woodruff
N33 #8 Margery
Niantic Bay, CT