How much current can our alternators safely handle? Secondary battery pack build

[flinters17]

Hi guys!

I'm designing a small battery pack (50 - 100 Ah) that will sit in the back of my '89 Master Ace. I don't plan to do much with it other than run a cooler which pulls 12 W and charge some devices from time to time, maybe some lights for the campsite. I may add a 500 W inverter but I don't really have any intentions to use 110 V. So probably not.

Currently leaning towards the Orion 12/12-18 charger from Victron Energy. It claims to output 18 A continuously and a max of 25 A for 10 s at 87% efficiency. I've read about alternator issues on our vans, and have seen the thread about upgrading the alternator to a beefy 250 A. Seems like overkill for my needs, and I'd like to avoid it if I can, but I'm relatively new to car maintenance and I don't want to cause any problems by making a poor decision up front.

Does anyone know if the stock alternator will be able to handle the charger I'm considering, and if there would be any problems running the auxiliary systems while also charging the secondary battery?

[Maxisback]

My 87 4wd is a diy camper , Ive got a 110v onboard charger when on shorepower ,charges two deep cell batteries .Stock alternater only charges original batttery , but I have a bat to bat isolator between the two . I run a lot of lights and 12 volt fridge , been workin good a couple years now . Ide say the simplest would be a battery to battery charger , it will keep either battery from going completly dead from charging the other .

[potatovan]

I need to rebuild the whip that goes from the alternator too the wireing harness. I saw the thead on what wire goes here and does this... i want to know the gauge of those wires. Reason is i need to do it right to make sure i descovred the problem.