Any info on Revatek alternator regulators?

dlochner · Thursday at 12:28 PM

tfox2069 said:
Anyone have any experience with/knowledge of Revatek alternator regulators? Saw them at the Annapolis Boat Show. Love that the ability to program via your phone over Bluetooth or WiFi. Claims its charging regime reduces charging time by 20-35%.

Revatek | Alternator regulators

Shop offering the world's most advanced alternator regulator for marine and RV battery charging. Works with lithium-ion LiFePO4 and lead acid batteries. For boats, yachts and recreational vehicles. Supports NMEA 2000, NMEA 2K, RV-C, 12-48 volts and CANBUS protocols for easy integration and...

revatek.com

This is the first I have heard of Revatek, however, it appears to be one of the new generation of external regulators that use amperage instead of voltage to set the field voltage. Its competition is Wakespeed and Arco Zeus.

For those who have not been following the external regulator evolution, in the past 5 or 6 years it has rapidly evolve. Older regulators, like the Balmar ARS-5, 614, and 618 used charging voltage to control the field current which worked well for lead acid batteries because of the charge acceptance rates and voltage are strongly related to the State of Charge (SOC). However, in the world of LiFePO4 the charge acceptance rate is pretty flat and the relationship between SOC and charge acceptance is pretty weak; LFP batteries have a very flat charge profile. Using amperage, essentially counting the amps put into the battery while charging is a better method for LFP batteries.

Wakespeed was the first to market with the new generation of regulators, it come on the market around 2021 with several updates since then. Last year 2023, the Arco Zeus came to market and now the Revatek. It is too soon to tell which regulator is "best" although the current darling of the cutting edge folks seems to be Zeus. Who knows where Revatex will land.

If considering one, it would be wise to remember early adopters of new technology are often considered to be on the bleeding edge of technology for good reason. Regardless of how good the product is and how thorough the testing, the v1.x products inevitable reveal new issues once released to the market. Last winter a friend installed a Zeus right after it was released and had several very expensive problems. Eventually the company stepped up and the problems were resolved and he is now quite satisfied with the Zeus.

A project I am working on now will use a Zeus regulator and an Arco high output regulator.

ARCO Zeus Bluetooth Alternator Regulator | Bluetooth Regulator

Discover the ARCO Zeus Bluetooth Alternator Regulator—your ultimate voltage regulator for efficient battery management and enhanced energy performance!

arcomarine.com

Wakespeed Charge Smarter - Wakespeed

Intelligent Engine-BasedCharge Control Wakespeed is leading the charge in RV, marine, and commercial transportation applications. Offering smart DC charge control systems, Wakespeed’s advanced alternator regulator, the WS500, is the first of its kind and delivers unsurpassed quality and...

www.wakespeed.com

colemj · Friday at 4:23 AM

dlochner said:
Older regulators, like the Balmar ARS-5, 614, and 618 used charging voltage to control the field current which worked well for lead acid batteries because of the charge acceptance rates and voltage are strongly related to the State of Charge (SOC). However, in the world of LiFePO4 the charge acceptance rate is pretty flat and the relationship between SOC and charge acceptance is pretty weak; LFP batteries have a very flat charge profile. Using amperage, essentially counting the amps put into the battery while charging is a better method for LFP batteries.

I agree that this current/voltage difference is a step forward, but I really don't see how it matters that much. IMO, the ability to communicate with other parts of the electrical system, and the ability to better regulate output based on variables like engine load or alternator temperature, etc, are the more compelling features.

For example, we have an ARCO Zeus 275A alternator controlled by a Balmar 614 charging a lithium bank. Lithium's flat charging profile means the alternator runs full-out until the batteries are fully charged, then shuts down. This always happens at the same time the battery monitor says all of the coulombs have been replaced - so having the alternator control based on coulomb counting at this point is no different in practice.

However, the Balmar regulator is ham-handed at controlling the alternator and engine environment. That 275A alternator cannot run full-out without glowing cherry-red. So this means I have to set the Balmar to limit the field current overall, while also relying on its temp sensor to cut the output in half if it starts to overheat. All of this means it is not controlling the alternator efficiently, and it is leaving current on the table when it doesn't need to because it only allows for gross adjustments.

And it knows nothing about the engine load. While this would never be an issue on our engines, an alternator this size on a smaller engine may bog it down too much when that load is needed for propulsion. The newer regulators know this and roll back the alternator output proportionally when more power is needed for propulsion.

Mark

mermike · Friday at 4:42 AM

Mark - while the Arco Zeus can use a user-defined output curve based on RPM, I'm unaware of any dynamic engine load inputs on either the Zeus or Wakespeed. Can you expand on that?

colemj · Saturday at 4:11 AM

mermike said:
Mark - while the Arco Zeus can use a user-defined output curve based on RPM, I'm unaware of any dynamic engine load inputs on either the Zeus or Wakespeed. Can you expand on that?

I don't have direct experience with them and was only going by the marketing material. This is probably fraught with truth shading, like all marketing. It is also possibly a misunderstanding on my part.

Zeus:
"Additionally, Zeus can manage the engine's power, allowing you to configure the alternator’s power take-off, optimizing energy creation to quickly replenish your battery bank."

Revatek

Boost Mode: Harnesses the full power of the alternator to charge the batteries when the Altion senses that the engine has excess power available across the full RPM range.

Wakespeed doesn't make any similar claims.

Mark

Hayden Watson · Saturday at 7:11 AM

mermike said:
Mark - while the Arco Zeus can use a user-defined output curve based on RPM, I'm unaware of any dynamic engine load inputs on either the Zeus or Wakespeed. Can you expand on that?

On the Zeus, if you have an engine that has common rail ECM control, the computer calculates the % of power output. The Zeus can access that info and adjust the field to limit %power to whatever level you set. If you have a simple mechanical engine like my Universal, you need to set the output based on RPM. I am not sure what the new Revatek does. They seem to be about the same price so this spring I will get the Zeus and let others Beta test the Revatek.

Hayden Watson · Saturday at 7:14 AM

colemj said:
...
Wakespeed doesn't make any similar claims.

Mark

As far as I am aware, the Wakespeed does not monitor the ECU for power output like the others do. It does have a "White Space" parameter that lets you adjust the output based on RPM like the Zeus.