I have a single alternator setup on an 05 powerstroke. I have the stock stereo, no fog lights, no cab clearance lights, but I do have a snow plow. I currently have the stock 110amp alternator, and notice when I plow during the winter that the alternator has a hard time keeping up. I have been looking at a couple different 6g alternators with the larger cases: the 185amp ($288) and 190amp ($358) from dcpowerinc.com and the 160amp ($294) and 200amp ($354) from alternatorparts.com. Given my minimal draw, I assume I really do not need an added external rectifier and that it would probably be overkill for me situation.

Have you used any of those above? Opinions? What would you do?

 

DC POWER ALL THE WAY

that stock alt is barley enough for the stock truck that snow plow is hard on it

 

Think I need 190amp, or will the 185amp suffice?

 

I had like a 7 page thread on here not too long ago, about issues with my alternator. Most popular setup that was suggested was the 270amp with 1 gauge charge cables, but if you don't wanna spend 570 bucks on an alternator, the best suggestion was the 195 amp. I'd change out both batteries while you're at it too.
I didn't have the money at the time for the DC, so I just went with the O'reilly 130amp and put 2 new dekas in. First alternator was bad, had it changed out with the lifetime warranty and so far no problems. But for sure, I'd go with the DC if you can swing it.

 

dc power. i looked at the other guys and was underwhelmed.

bear in mind that engine, cold, draws the whole stock alternator.

 

strongly suggest the xp series, and more is better.
you are gonna be running a lot at low speeds.
your batteries, ficm, and injectors cost a lot more
than the difference between 180 amps and 270 amps.

 

not to hijack the thread but what if you have the dual alternator set up? what would be a good choice from the DC line up?

 

DC Power XP250 or XP270..... Plowing means high draw at low RPM and the XP's from DC Power are designed to provide just that! Read below from their site.

"DC Power Engineering’s Proprietary High Output XP Series Alternators are built on the world’s first Segment Conductor (Hairpin) alternator design. The XP series alternators are 20 percent lighter and provide a 50 percent increase in output than a conventional wound alternator. This is achievable by using rectangular copper for its stator, which increases the density of the windings from 45 percent to 70 percent. These patented technological advances have made it possible to increase the generation efficiency by 10 percent to improve fuel consumption and performance. The XP series alternators are capable of producing a minimum of 150 amps at idle at 275°F and can produce as much as 200 amps at idle depending on the vehicle application thus producing as much as 70 percent of it's maximum output at idle. All of these breakthroughs in technology have allowed the XP Series Alternators to be the most reliable, durable and best performing alternator on the market. Guaranteed."

Our factory alternators charge at around 65 amps at idle.... DC goes as high as 200 amps at idle if you go with the XP270 (which is what I have installed). Perfect alternators for your requirements! Call Stan at DC and he can answer all your questions... great guy! They also have a sale on now I believe..... if not try for 15% off their list price.... I know they just had an order back out on them and they have a bit of a surplus.

 

I was looking at the SPX 300. It sounds like the SPX series would be even better for idle and low rpm.

Does anybody know the output of the factory HD alternator in 2006?
I got the higher output one that came in the snow plow pkg.




.

 

I believe it was 130 vs the 110 amps if I am not mistaken.... same thing goes though, at idle it is a minimal charge.

 

that is what i thought until i talked to DC power, and they
said "buy the XP, it's better". folks on here said the same thing.

the only difference between the spx and the xp is the windings
in the xp are done with square drawn wire, and instead of a wave
winding, they are done in a hairpin winding. it's harder to do,
takes longer, and costs more. it also gives a better grade of power
output.

and the spx has a more blingy cnc machined case.

 

It did seem odd that it was cheaper than the XP series.

 

Thanks for all the input guys! I spoke with Stan at DC who recommended the 250amp and 270amp XP Series due to their robust design. After a little more discussion, he said given I went 4 years on the 110amp oem alternator and 2 new batteries, that the 190amp alternator they sell would probably work fine in my situation, but that the XP Series would be the premium grade alternator. They had the xp series in stock and were expecting the oem series in 7-10 days. Decisions, decisions!

 

My stereo would eat OEM alts about every 5K

I went with a DC Power 190amp 15K+ and still going

I had heard the lower amp 185-190amp units are built on the same plateform as the 250-270amp FWIW

Anythings better than a China alt

Does that help or make it worse???

 

Both! I will probably go with the 190amp version, and I bet it will be all I need.