Sunday, September 22, 2013

DC Generator

Well I finally got my initial setup done with my little Diesel engine and my little starter/generator. The generator is quite modest in size but was built to last. My goal has been to couple the two together and get about 36 or so volts and some pretty decent amperage out of the little generator to use as a stationary  DC source for charging my small pack of LiFePO4 cells using my Synkromotive controller as the charger. The initial test is to see if I can even get a decent voltage from the little generator. Well, I did. I did not get what I was wanting but with a bit of tweaking I am sure I can get a bit closer. I did a video but for some reason the volume is terrible low. I must have mucked with a setting or two and forgot about it. So I will do another video tomorrow after work. In the mean time here are some photos of the setup. I only wanted to do a general setup because if the unit did not work as expected there really is no use in building a nice frame to hold the two together. But now that the initial testing is looking good I may start to plan on a nice frame that I can carry if needed. It would also be mounted on a small trailer and enclosed to reduce the noise from the Diesel. One nice thing is that this little diesel is California Emission Compliant. That is a big deal. I can also if I want, run BioDiesel. I may just do that too. But for tonight here are the pics of the setup I did. Works pretty good too.

Pete :)











5 comments:

  1. Pete,

    How many watts does the generator put out? I have been thinking about building a diesel generator on a trailer to drive my Fiero to EVCCON next year instead of towing but was not sure a generator big enough to drive the Warp 9 at freeway word be practical or legal. At 250AH/mile I would need a 15KW generator for a 120V battery pack. That seems like a pretty big generator and pulling a trailer, I would probably use more that 250AH/mile. Any thoughts?

    Randy,
    cztree.blogspot.com

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  2. Randy,

    You know, I can't answer that question. I first need to see if it will generate a usable voltage and current. I'd say that this setup will not be able to drive a car at freeway speeds directly. It is mostly for use as a charger to charge up when needed but where no power supplies are located. My goal is to have a fast charge setup so I can fast charge then be on my way. If needed and if I had ample fuel I could in effect travel quite a ways. This little generator may not be practical enough but then again it may be absolutely perfect for the DC setup in my VW. I am quickly warming to the AC motor setups available but I still want to be able to use my AC controller as a charger too like the Synkromotive. I have been in contact with Ives about that. I am sure he could build a small yet powerful kicker AC controller for available induction motors and even have it with a fairly wide range of voltages. Im really pushing him because some with the DC motors are having troubles with long drives with DC motors on board. I am looking now for a SepEx motor that I can also try for this project. A good GE sepex motor would be great. May not need as much as I thought. I have a tiny SepEx motor but feel it may not be as good as what is connected already. I'll try to figure out the wattage this puts out. I only know right now I can get 26 volts. Yesterday was the very first fire up of the unit. It is looking promising.

    Stay Tuned, theres more to come :)

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  3. Thanks for the reply Pete. I'll be watching for future updates on the generator.

    Randy
    cztree.blogspot.com

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