Avocet
Well-Known Member
Nah - I doubt I'll get 30-odd pages out of it!
NB, but practical! DIY generator
- Thread starter Avocet
- Start date
William_H
Well-Known Member
I reckon it might be wirth trauling the junk yards etc fro a 240vAC alternator for the Honda engine. It will haved run a 3000 RPM. Essentially an old alternator should be OK as there is not much to go wrong but you might need to rebuild or build a new regualtor for it. Far better than going DC then to AC unless you really want the battery operation option.
Regarding solar inverters, as said yes definitely they must have a 240AC from the grid into them to get them to produce AC. As said this is to get the AC timingh in sync withy the mains and also to protect workers etc. So in the case of a power failure there is no danger from the inverter except if anyone contacts the DC in wires which can be over 300v DC.
I guess you could find a stand alone solar inverter not common (or rewire a normal solar inverter to run off a small inverter running off a battery) but it would have to be completely isolated from the mains grid. And of course no sun no power. But much cheaper than trying to run batteries in a system. good luck olewill
Regarding solar inverters, as said yes definitely they must have a 240AC from the grid into them to get them to produce AC. As said this is to get the AC timingh in sync withy the mains and also to protect workers etc. So in the case of a power failure there is no danger from the inverter except if anyone contacts the DC in wires which can be over 300v DC.
I guess you could find a stand alone solar inverter not common (or rewire a normal solar inverter to run off a small inverter running off a battery) but it would have to be completely isolated from the mains grid. And of course no sun no power. But much cheaper than trying to run batteries in a system. good luck olewill
Beyondhelp
Well-Known Member
I've got one of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KDE6700T-KIPOR-SILENT-DIESEL-GENERATOR-/280964788070 its in a sound proof enclosure I built for an old compressor in the garage, as quite frankly its not 'silent' at all... Last time we had a power cut I isolated the house from the grid and ran it from that. Didn't even notice the difference except for things like phone/internet etc didn't work as the boxes in the road were also dead!
cliff
Well-Known Member
+1 - Kipor 3000Ti - superb engineering. precision castings on engine - nicely forged crank and con rod (yes I have had the sump off out of curiosity to see what was inside) - workshop manual available as are spares if needed - so far all I have changed on mine is the spark plug and oil.
Mind you I also have a 5kva diesel jobby - unfortunately it is hand crank to start - fortunately it usually starts first or second attempt. Runs the house nicely - lights, boiler, microwave, toaster, TV etc (and it runs on RED)
Jegs
Well-Known Member
mattnj
Well-Known Member
for an alternative view...I had 2 Kipors, both failed very quickly (inside 3 months), under light loads (I had the 2600 version) both with electrical faults, I really don't think they can go into the "superb engineering" category, but that's just my opinion of course.
Avocet
Well-Known Member
Just another question... Would an ordinary lead acid (car) battery be likely to suffer any ill effects with an alternator pumping (say) 60A into it and an inverter pulling 60A out of it simultaneously for (say) up to 5 minutes at a time? Most of the time, I imagine it would be half that or less. The way I'd imagine it working would be that there would be short periods (under a minute) where the inverter would pull more from the battery (say 80 or even 100A), where, obviously, there would be a net discharge even with the alternator maxxed-out. Then there would be a period where the current draw would fall below that which the alternator(s) could supply, and it would start to re-charge. Then there would be the majority of time when the discharge rate was well within what the alternator could manage and (I assume) all would be well.
fireball
Well-Known Member
If that were the case then the battery wouldn't know anything about it.
Starter motor type situation then
I would think so yes....
Avocet
Well-Known Member
Really?! I can see why you're saying that, but I just assumed that having that much "energy" flowing through it might have SOME sort of effect? OK, going back to the car analogy, I guess you could have all the lights on, heater, wipers, heated rear screen, heated seats, fogs, engine management, electric power steering and heaven knows what else flowing through the battery - which could amount to over a kilowatt, I suppose?
Yes, that seems fair enough. Starter could manage to pull a few hundred amps in fact.
I would think so yes....[/QUOTE]
fireball
Well-Known Member
But it's not flowing through it is it - the battery is a stabilizing voltage source, that is all ... the current will go from the alternator to the kit you're powering - it just happens that you've got a battery in parallel - do the circuit diagram...
Avocet
Well-Known Member
Aye, I guess so. Just seems slightly odd when I think of it without the rest of the "car" round it!
Beyondhelp
Well-Known Member
Once a car engine is running the battery does nothing! (other than charge for a short time and level out and voltage fluctuations from the alternator).
mattnj
Well-Known Member
Funny you should mention that, as I was thinking of re-opening my old thread with my new hairbrained generator idea....in fact, I think I will, seeing as the old one was so popular!