Its a fact. Better to have a generator, years too early, than a day late. When the power goes out, Home Depot is sold out. None to be found.
This example of using a small gas engine to turn an automotive alternator, is not very efficient, but works good. Its also educational. Not everyone understands transformers, inverters, power regulation.
may have been mentioned already, but newer style alternators are internally regulated, one wire. No need to have that jumble hanging off. They produce maximum output at a much lower RPM, like 1000-1500. Not necessary to spin the motor so fast, burning fuel unnecessarily. Lastly, a larger pulley on the motor side will increase the alt. speed.
What a noise, a second exhaust does wonders. The most garages have in the bin, a old exhaust muffler. The most time is the pipe gone and the muffler good.
The best thing to use is a cheap automotive alternator and a cheap inverter! Most autos are around 80amps @ 12v- or 960 watts..combine that with a 2 battery(regular 80amphr marine) and you can run your motor for 1 hour and your 400watt inverter for an extra 1.4 hours!..sry.lol..cheap hacks are the best :)
Nice job and brilliant use of resources on hand to solve a problem. Those Briggs engines are true workhorses and you put it to good use back then. Hope your damage was minimal!
I built one of these about 10 years ago when I had to do some work on an island & didn't have a generator but had a collection of all parts needed to build my own such as this. It was loud, it ran out of gas every two hours but it got the job done, can't remember what was done with it after that though.
Actually one of my co-workers made mention they saw it still on the island. This is a privately owned island with people who live there 24/7. There was a collection of old lawn mowers & such already there. All I had to provide was the inverter & a set screw pully wheel, it worked to power small hand tools. I am an electrician with nearly 2 decades in the field & certified in electronics who enjoys building custom motorbikes so this wasn't a hard project for me.
whenever using a generator make sure your not backfeeding electricity back onto the main grid. when line crews come to fix outages they assume the power is off, but not if your feeding power back onto the grid with your home generator
kind of interesting in a MacGuyveresque sort of way, but not well thought out in terms of safety or possible implications to your insurance payout if you happen to burn your house down or electrocute a neighbor kid. good to be able to lash up in a mad max world scenario but a UL listed piece of equipment isn't very expensive if your time is worth anything, and is priceless if there was a house fire. even if your rube goldberg didn't cause it there would be doubt for insurance to exploit.
the alternator itself isn't the issue I was thinking of, more of the bare wiring, open belts, lack of overcurrent protection for the battery (overloading, hydrogen gas, arcing, little stuff like that), in a car there is fusing, in a car an exploding battery is contained
Wiring was zip tied securely from what I can see. Not much worse then being screw clamped to the side of a generator. Belt guards are natures way of killing off stupid people that don't stay the fuck away. The inverter will shut down if it is overloaded. Its outside so no risk of hydrogen gas buildup. He has the little thing from an older car (I forgot what it was called) that prevents overcharging. The inverter has a fuse on the back of it for the 12 volt circuits.
Very Cool! While you're in the DIY spirit, why not take the opportunity to "roll your own" and make a solid-state voltage regulator? That 10DN makes the perfect opportunity to do so. Just a thought. And, having that battery back-up is nice, so when you run out of gas, the battery simply takes up the load while you refuel it. True uninterrupted power, if you think about it.
I built a generator wit ha 6hp Briggs vertical-shaft (lawnmower) engine driving a Delco CS-144 140A Alternator. The alternator charges about 500Ah of assorted deep-cycle and tank batteries (that's right, US Army Tank battery), which, in turn, power a Xantrex Prosine 1800 watt Sinewave inverter. Works like a charm. Oh, yeah, forgot Key-start, too.
I was just telling a friend of mine how to do this over the phone a few minutes ago and thought I'd see if anyone else out their was a born survivor. Bet it saved your ass didnt it?
what your doing there is converting mechanical energy to electrical energy but you have somewhat of a useless step in there. First off the Alternator on a car by rights generates A/C current and internally converts it back to dc for the car. if you take out the rectifier that does that all you have to do to determine what A/C output you need is to add a step down or step up transformer.
It isn't that simple... the alternator will produce varying output AC voltages, especially when under load. His method allows the output voltage from the alternator to be rectified and controlled at about 13.8V DC which is ideal for charging up a battery bank as he is doing. All the converting seems unnecssary, but alternative methods would be far more complex. Stepping up varying input AC voltage will result in varying output voltage at the same ratio, will it not?
Could you explain in a little more detail what you mean. In the video I see what I think is a external voltage regulator off a say an early 70's Chevy. If I remember right these are a mechanical switch which would " shut " the altenator off to keep the battery from overcharging and boiling the it dry.
@StarCar98 He is using a Delco 10DN alternator and matching voltage regulator. Yes the black box holds the voltage constant at around 14 volts. Using a 10SI alternator as has been said would reduce external wiring clutter, but would be at the expense of being able to remote sense the ground. With a 10SI you can only remote sense the positive and can't compensate for voltage drop on the long ground wire he used between the alternator and battery.
thinking about it,if you use a ford mitsubishi 250 amp ambulance alternator and tie it on to a older VW rabbit 4 cylinder diesel engine,it would be great on fuel since they get 50 miles to the gallon
Yeah..that would be just terrific, but don't forget, that 250A. alternator is also rated at 12 vdc, so what you'd have is a measly 3kw. Powering that with a 4cyl. diesel engine would be similiar to driving a sewing machine with a large chainsaw engine. Kinda stupid...in every way.
looks like a delco 10DN external regulator 60 amp alternator,running a 400 watt converter will give you some light bulb power,it takes a minimum of 500 watts to run a refridgerator,and that briggs engine will really suck some fuel.
its pretty easy. and a fun project to do when your electric is our like ours has been for a WEEK. but we just went out and got a generator. but all you need is a engine thats monted to something like this, a good 150-200 AMP alternator, a good battery such as an Optima or die hard, and a good power inverter. but get a big one like a 1000-1500 watt inverter becouse the bigger the inverter the more stuff or bigger stuff you can run off of it.
Easy enough, trying to remember how to wire up an alternator with external regulator from spare parts left over from a 68 corvette long gone--difficult.. After hurricane Ike, no generators for 100 miles from here. Inverter from my boat..Gave me power for a TV, fan, and light 2 days after Hurricane... I now own a Honda 6500 Gen..
yea. that must have sucked being in that hurrican. we've been with out power for a week now and they say it could be at least 2 weeks before we get power. and now there saying were supposed to get anohter snow storm here in kentucky monday which is great becosue it will make it harder on the electric crews now.
That alternator you used,if you constructed your own controller (Regulator) for it will kick out the 120V (assume your US!) you need,it will only produce a few amps,but enough.The output V of the alternator is controlled by the V you supply to the field windings more volts in more out.
Ya did a great job, thanks for the ideas!!!
masterwm 5 months ago
Its a fact. Better to have a generator, years too early, than a day late. When the power goes out, Home Depot is sold out. None to be found.
This example of using a small gas engine to turn an automotive alternator, is not very efficient, but works good. Its also educational. Not everyone understands transformers, inverters, power regulation.
Excellent video, I enjoyed this.
buzz60016 6 months ago
may have been mentioned already, but newer style alternators are internally regulated, one wire. No need to have that jumble hanging off. They produce maximum output at a much lower RPM, like 1000-1500. Not necessary to spin the motor so fast, burning fuel unnecessarily. Lastly, a larger pulley on the motor side will increase the alt. speed.
jtnoodle 9 months ago
What a noise, a second exhaust does wonders. The most garages have in the bin, a old exhaust muffler. The most time is the pipe gone and the muffler good.
cusses.
lexpee 1 year ago
Very nice, but can you edge and generate power at the same time?
xaaps2010 1 year ago
cool, im planning on doing that with my edger. Can you tell me how you mounted the alternator to the edger frame? (personal message if you can)
rowen211 1 year ago
Your Task: Build a device to generate DC power using only items you can find in a small unpopulated town. Nicely done.
rorybz 1 year ago
Use an internal reg. 10si chevy alt. and you will not have to screw around with all the external wiring
bigjd60 1 year ago
very nice, thought of doing one myself/which is why i came alookin :D
pspheaven 1 year ago
How did u make it????? I like it
MrRedneckjosh 1 year ago
That's sweet how did u make it?????
MrRedneckjosh 1 year ago
Our Sun shine for one hour of energy can supply the whole earth of humans can use of the energy.
The whole earth energy come from sun, even animals, plants and humans. It just we don't know how to harness it. SUK me and humanity.
saehian 1 year ago
The best thing to use is a cheap automotive alternator and a cheap inverter! Most autos are around 80amps @ 12v- or 960 watts..combine that with a 2 battery(regular 80amphr marine) and you can run your motor for 1 hour and your 400watt inverter for an extra 1.4 hours!..sry.lol..cheap hacks are the best :)
jsmythib 1 year ago
How mych Amps?
wdowa94 1 year ago
the output is 230 v or 110?
SthealthRaider 1 year ago
Nice job and brilliant use of resources on hand to solve a problem. Those Briggs engines are true workhorses and you put it to good use back then. Hope your damage was minimal!
Job well done!
ngtflyer 1 year ago
@ngtflyer That was a tecumseh on that edger
GarrettJDB 1 year ago
well done, what a great idea
2winter5 2 years ago
run the alt. with a d/c motor
MrJetjoe 2 years ago
I built one of these about 10 years ago when I had to do some work on an island & didn't have a generator but had a collection of all parts needed to build my own such as this. It was loud, it ran out of gas every two hours but it got the job done, can't remember what was done with it after that though.
MrNightro 2 years ago
@MrNightro you woke up
Notownsoad 1 year ago
@Notownsoad
Actually one of my co-workers made mention they saw it still on the island. This is a privately owned island with people who live there 24/7. There was a collection of old lawn mowers & such already there. All I had to provide was the inverter & a set screw pully wheel, it worked to power small hand tools. I am an electrician with nearly 2 decades in the field & certified in electronics who enjoys building custom motorbikes so this wasn't a hard project for me.
MrNightro 1 year ago
Nice 12v generator!! I'm thinking of doing the same with my mower or snowblower.
Can you imagine if the great inventors of the world were afraid to experiment, for fear of an insurance company...
TomGoot 2 years ago 5
I think its great,nice work.I take it you keep deep cycles charged with this rig? once again good job. Joe
MrJoseph1157 2 years ago
whenever using a generator make sure your not backfeeding electricity back onto the main grid. when line crews come to fix outages they assume the power is off, but not if your feeding power back onto the grid with your home generator
Brysey19 2 years ago 3
kind of interesting in a MacGuyveresque sort of way, but not well thought out in terms of safety or possible implications to your insurance payout if you happen to burn your house down or electrocute a neighbor kid. good to be able to lash up in a mad max world scenario but a UL listed piece of equipment isn't very expensive if your time is worth anything, and is priceless if there was a house fire. even if your rube goldberg didn't cause it there would be doubt for insurance to exploit.
sparkyinwa 2 years ago
sparky... Your saying a alternator is less dangerous in a car then on an edger?
frosty9595 2 years ago 2
the alternator itself isn't the issue I was thinking of, more of the bare wiring, open belts, lack of overcurrent protection for the battery (overloading, hydrogen gas, arcing, little stuff like that), in a car there is fusing, in a car an exploding battery is contained
sparkyinwa 2 years ago
Wiring was zip tied securely from what I can see. Not much worse then being screw clamped to the side of a generator. Belt guards are natures way of killing off stupid people that don't stay the fuck away. The inverter will shut down if it is overloaded. Its outside so no risk of hydrogen gas buildup. He has the little thing from an older car (I forgot what it was called) that prevents overcharging. The inverter has a fuse on the back of it for the 12 volt circuits.
frosty9595 2 years ago
awesome
xconrad455 2 years ago
can you send me plans or just a list of what you used
aaronzack14 2 years ago
azbaby13,
Very Cool! While you're in the DIY spirit, why not take the opportunity to "roll your own" and make a solid-state voltage regulator? That 10DN makes the perfect opportunity to do so. Just a thought. And, having that battery back-up is nice, so when you run out of gas, the battery simply takes up the load while you refuel it. True uninterrupted power, if you think about it.
Nice work!
SSD99 2 years ago
I built a generator wit ha 6hp Briggs vertical-shaft (lawnmower) engine driving a Delco CS-144 140A Alternator. The alternator charges about 500Ah of assorted deep-cycle and tank batteries (that's right, US Army Tank battery), which, in turn, power a Xantrex Prosine 1800 watt Sinewave inverter. Works like a charm. Oh, yeah, forgot Key-start, too.
SSD99 2 years ago
This is my simple generator designs...
Nice work.
OverUnityNow1 2 years ago
I was just telling a friend of mine how to do this over the phone a few minutes ago and thought I'd see if anyone else out their was a born survivor. Bet it saved your ass didnt it?
RisenDevilz 2 years ago
have you manage to deal with any problems with overtasking the alternater
AXE2501 2 years ago
LOL this is cool 5/5
Nickgarage 2 years ago
can this be use to run a normal home kitchen micro-wave lights coffee pot "the ice box" etc
RCvolunteer1978 2 years ago
Great work mate :)
Bit messy but it looks like it works really well
May I ask what your powering?
mbainrot 2 years ago
2 fans, a small tv(no cable of course), and 2 small lamps
azbaby13 2 years ago
Get it?!
Alternator = Alternating Current= A/C
so.... in otherwords its an A/C Generator
I am actually going to do it myself so i will let you know how my venture goes. Goodluck
Chewylu103 2 years ago
what your doing there is converting mechanical energy to electrical energy but you have somewhat of a useless step in there. First off the Alternator on a car by rights generates A/C current and internally converts it back to dc for the car. if you take out the rectifier that does that all you have to do to determine what A/C output you need is to add a step down or step up transformer.
Chewylu103 2 years ago
It isn't that simple... the alternator will produce varying output AC voltages, especially when under load. His method allows the output voltage from the alternator to be rectified and controlled at about 13.8V DC which is ideal for charging up a battery bank as he is doing. All the converting seems unnecssary, but alternative methods would be far more complex. Stepping up varying input AC voltage will result in varying output voltage at the same ratio, will it not?
cyberdems 2 years ago
Could you explain in a little more detail what you mean. In the video I see what I think is a external voltage regulator off a say an early 70's Chevy. If I remember right these are a mechanical switch which would " shut " the altenator off to keep the battery from overcharging and boiling the it dry.
StarCar98 2 years ago
@StarCar98 He is using a Delco 10DN alternator and matching voltage regulator. Yes the black box holds the voltage constant at around 14 volts. Using a 10SI alternator as has been said would reduce external wiring clutter, but would be at the expense of being able to remote sense the ground. With a 10SI you can only remote sense the positive and can't compensate for voltage drop on the long ground wire he used between the alternator and battery.
danielthechskid 7 months ago
belt to loose, and thats a lot of noise for about 300 watts, get bigger inverter
jimynik 2 years ago
thinking about it,if you use a ford mitsubishi 250 amp ambulance alternator and tie it on to a older VW rabbit 4 cylinder diesel engine,it would be great on fuel since they get 50 miles to the gallon
boatmoter 2 years ago
Yeah..that would be just terrific, but don't forget, that 250A. alternator is also rated at 12 vdc, so what you'd have is a measly 3kw. Powering that with a 4cyl. diesel engine would be similiar to driving a sewing machine with a large chainsaw engine. Kinda stupid...in every way.
74VDC 2 years ago
looks like a delco 10DN external regulator 60 amp alternator,running a 400 watt converter will give you some light bulb power,it takes a minimum of 500 watts to run a refridgerator,and that briggs engine will really suck some fuel.
boatmoter 2 years ago
thats cool but whats the point of having an edger mixed with a generator?
evinsteven13 3 years ago
when all the generators are sold out and you can't get one after a hurricane... lol It comes in handy relly well... But we now have a honda 6500
azbaby13 3 years ago
kicks ass, you could even lower the rpm very much :)
Fabscher19 3 years ago
its pretty easy. and a fun project to do when your electric is our like ours has been for a WEEK. but we just went out and got a generator. but all you need is a engine thats monted to something like this, a good 150-200 AMP alternator, a good battery such as an Optima or die hard, and a good power inverter. but get a big one like a 1000-1500 watt inverter becouse the bigger the inverter the more stuff or bigger stuff you can run off of it.
wofobo 3 years ago
Easy enough, trying to remember how to wire up an alternator with external regulator from spare parts left over from a 68 corvette long gone--difficult.. After hurricane Ike, no generators for 100 miles from here. Inverter from my boat..Gave me power for a TV, fan, and light 2 days after Hurricane... I now own a Honda 6500 Gen..
azbaby13 3 years ago
yea. that must have sucked being in that hurrican. we've been with out power for a week now and they say it could be at least 2 weeks before we get power. and now there saying were supposed to get anohter snow storm here in kentucky monday which is great becosue it will make it harder on the electric crews now.
wofobo 3 years ago
lol that sucks
azbaby13 3 years ago
@wofobo
hope you bought a generaotr for all that...... sounds terrible
firedude201234 1 year ago
how meny amps dues the alernator give out ,,,and what do you use to smove out the voltige
zmandt1993 3 years ago
yankee enginuity,good job.
hunterlordnova 3 years ago
That alternator you used,if you constructed your own controller (Regulator) for it will kick out the 120V (assume your US!) you need,it will only produce a few amps,but enough.The output V of the alternator is controlled by the V you supply to the field windings more volts in more out.
silver760 3 years ago
complex...but SUPER kick ass
NRP1991 3 years ago
thanks =)
azbaby13 3 years ago
wow coolremeber me from random ricky XD
Ricky82295 3 years ago
yea i do
azbaby13 3 years ago
you could maybe put a bigger pulley on the edger so you wouldn't have to spin the engine so fast
Nza420 3 years ago
yea that could work
azbaby13 3 years ago