Learning about truck APU's

Learning about truck APU's

There are some things you ought to know about Alternators. The most important thing to know is that when they get hot they lose half their rating. So a 60 amp alternator may be lucky to push out 40 Amps one time it gets hot. This is why Comfort Master makes use of a 250 Amp Dual Rectifier alternator & a 100 Amp alternator with an outside heat sink, which also extends the life of our alternators.


Dual Rectifier Alternator: Alternators produce AC current, like the current from your house wall outlet. Then it makes use of a bridge rectifier, usually with 6 diodes, to convert the AC current to DC for the battery & vehicles electrical method. With Dual Rectifiers, you get 12 Diodes, which spreads the current load over a much larger area making the alternator one time as long lasting & one time as efficient at converting the AC current it makes to DC. The plenty of benefits include: less heat build up, less current loss, higher amperage output when hot & more power. &, the service duty & life increases substantially. When the rectifier heats up the diodes won't pass as much amperage through them, therefore, the amperage output drops. With our double rectifier alternator you have one time the amperage carrying capacity & double the cooling surface area to keep the diodes icy. This all adds up to... MORE POWER, LESS HEAT PROBLEMS & GREATER RELIABILITY.

Questions to ask:

Does the APU you are taking a glance at use dual rectifier alternators or an outside heat sink to keep the output up & increase the life span?

A few other metrics you need to make line up. Amps, BTU's,Generator/Alternator,oil heat or block heat,stand alone systems. Make definite you reference this information when buy a APU