Installed a plow...need advice on big 3 and alternator upgrade

[dunnroadmafia]

I recently installed a plow on my 96, western unimount to be exact, all of my research has pointed at 160 to 200 amps to run the pump. Right now I have a stock 105 alt and stock wiring. Today was our first plowable snow fall, and while running the blade the volt meter would easily drop close to 9 while also dimming everything out for the most part. I only plow two drive ways and a 1/4 mile private road so it is not a plow truck that is running all day non stop. Im thinking of upgrading to a ad244 alt and the big 3 up grade to remedy the issue, and want to know if the alternator plus big three would be enough. Or if I should jump to a lager alt.

Thanks,
Dunn

 

[Kran]

larger alternator, dual batteries, and 0 gauge big 3 would definitely help.

depends how high a voltage you're trying to keep. you can get up to 370 amp single alternator units for GM's that do about 220 amps at idle if you want to go that route but those are upwards of $500-750

 

[RichLo]

Yea, whatever you can afford will help. The alternator is a good upgrade, however usually high output alternators are rated at higher RPM than a plow usually revvs so I found your not really gaining much with that. unless you spend big $$$ like said above. I have two standard output alternators on my plow and when I run with only 1 battery it still drops the voltage to 9-10 when I have lights on, radio going, radiator e-fan going, heater fan on high, and doing a lot of back-and-forth's.

IMO from experience, two batteries is the best bang for your buck before you add a 2nd alternator or upgrade the alternator to a high-output. They even out the load over time better.

My plow is setup with 2 alts, 2 batts, and all good/fresh grounds and positive connections. Even when I put 75% good batteries in it, there is enough juice to handle worst case scenarios.

 

[upper_tanker]

GP Audio has big 3 kits for a decent price. However, you can get quite a bit of 1/0 CCA cable off of ebay and the lugs for a decent price. If you're going to run dual batteries, which I would do in a plow truck, I'd go this route. You don't need OFC cable if you're running two batteries, big wires, and an H.O. amp. A good plow motor shouldn't pull more than 150-170 amps. A bad one will draw more.

My dad has a 91 c3500HD dump and the bed pulls 150 amps with an empty bed. with 4k# of salt, it pulls 215.

CES (custom electric services) in Ohio is FANTASTIC. Jonathan is THE MAN when it comes to alternators. He just sold me an AD244 270 amp large case hairpin for $375. He assured me it would be the best option for me, since my dad needed at least 150 amps @ idle. I installed this thing, and it is definitely worth the money. At idle, warmed up, while lifting the bed with 4k# of salt, the digital volt gauge will drop from 14.2v to 12.8v, and climb back up to 14.2 pretty quick. The dump motor does not bog down like it used to. AND, the warranty on his alternators is unlimited lifetime free labor, with you only paying the cost of the parts. I highly recommend them to anybody now.

 

[Ken K]

If you have not made a purchase, I would suggest you see the offerings at www.alternatorman.com
The part a US and the latest high end copper positive plate and OE certified diodes. It uses a lager battery terminal 8mm. They offer an external fan cooled diode box to increase the total of working diode loads across 18, 80 amp diodes making heat failure a thing of the past for the AD 244. Just my 2 cents.