Dual Alternators anyone ?

[Broncobill78]

I've kicked this one around for a few years now. Now I've run several trucks with dual batteries and never had a problem and the last time that I had a camping trailer it was made from a F-truck bed and included the complete rear axle. I removed the driveshaft yoke and fabricated a pulley that I ran to a spare alternator that was mounted up on the frame. When I towed the trailer it spun the pinion which spun the alt and THAT was tied in to a pair of deep-cell marine batteries mounted in the trailer itself. At the time I thought it was a pretty slick arrangement but right now I'm not so sure. The spare Alt kept the deep-cells charged whenever I towed the thing at highway speeds (that's why I thought it was so slick) and they were always topped off when we got to the campsite so who could complain ?

ANYWAYS,

I've been thinking and since I don't keep the top on & don't really care for or use the AC I'm wondering if it wouldn't maybe be a better use of my underhood space to ditch the AC compressor and swap it out for an additional alternator. It shouldn't be too hard to setup a completely separate set of wiring to keep them apart. The primary Alt can feed the truck and primary battery while the secondary keeps the spare battery charged and feeds a secondary set of electrics. Right ?

Anyone see any deal-breakers here ? I've kicked this one around ever since I setup the spare alt on the trailer frame and used it to feed to spare batt. I have NO idea why this shouldn't work, does anyone else ?

 

[miesk5]

yo Bill,

I've seen em in ambulances models for 80's and 90's F series and one Bronco;

Dual for On-Board Welder Installation in a 90 Source: by flamedfordbronco

GL!

 

[BroncoJoe19]

I've kicked this one around for a few years now. Now I've run several trucks with dual batteries and never had a problem and the last time that I had a camping trailer it was made from a F-truck bed and included the complete rear axle. I removed the driveshaft yoke and fabricated a pulley that I ran to a spare alternator that was mounted up on the frame. When I towed the trailer it spun the pinion which spun the alt and THAT was tied in to a pair of deep-cell marine batteries mounted in the trailer itself. At the time I thought it was a pretty slick arrangement but right now I'm not so sure. The spare Alt kept the deep-cells charged whenever I towed the thing at highway speeds (that's why I thought it was so slick) and they were always topped off when we got to the campsite so who could complain ?
ANYWAYS,

I've been thinking and since I don't keep the top on & don't really care for or use the AC I'm wondering if it wouldn't maybe be a better use of my underhood space to ditch the AC compressor and swap it out for an additional alternator. It shouldn't be too hard to setup a completely separate set of wiring to keep them apart. The primary Alt can feed the truck and primary battery while the secondary keeps the spare battery charged and feeds a secondary set of electrics. Right ?

Anyone see any deal-breakers here ? I've kicked this one around ever since I setup the spare alt on the trailer frame and used it to feed to spare batt. I have NO idea why this shouldn't work, does anyone else ?

Dave,

I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work. It seems that you are a master fabricator and have abilities far beyond my own. You remind me of my uncle who used to build stuff and tinker around building toys such as a 12v battery operated bubble blowing machine, and a number of 12v boats that we ran by cable (not radio controlled) in our swimming pool. I think he used heater fan motors. Man those boats really zipped along, it brings a smile to my face just thinking about it.

I have a motor home and the one alternator keeps all three batteries fresh, the one for the engine, and the two auxillary deep cycle batteries. So it seems that putting a second alternator in would be an exercise in doing it ... welll just because /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I ocasionally thought that it would be cool to be able to hook up a 110volt ac generator to a car engine so that it could act as an emergency back up electric source should there be a major power failure.

Do alternators generate more power at higher speeds, or do they generate the same amount at idle?

How many 110 volt amps could an automotive alternator generate after going through an inverter?

If they generate more amperage at higher speeds, perhaps if they were driven by a speed increasing pully system one could get max output at engine idle.

I have also seen threads on how to change an ac compressor into a regular compressor for trail rigs. I imagine that they are very low volume high pressure setups.

 

[gatorbronco]

Do alternators generate more power at higher speeds, or do they generate the same amount at idle?How many 110 volt amps could an automotive alternator generate after going through an inverter?

If they generate more amperage at higher speeds, perhaps if they were driven by a speed increasing pully system one could get max output at engine idle.

Alternators definitely produce more amperage at higher engine speeds. Your stock alternator is designed to supply the minimum amount of power needed at idle in order to get the best gas mileage possible. Automotive alternators actually produce A/C directly from the engine rotation. A built in converter changes this to DC in order to power the components of your truck.

Typically, the stock bronco alternators output 80 amps continually. If you were to hook up an inverter and assume you could use all 80 amps, (which would require rewiring) you would be looking at 80amps*12V=960Watts. When you convert to 120v, 960/120=8amps. This number would probably be even lower because the inverter will lose efficiency due to heat. So without major upgrades to your alternator, you wouldn't be able to safely generate more than about 7.5amps A/C.

I think a pulley system wouldn't be a good idea. If you want to get the peak output from your alternator, a system which raises the engine idle would be better. If you had a pulley system set-up, your alternator would probably overheat and melt whenever you drove around.

 

[BroncoJoe19]

Alternators definitely produce more amperage at higher engine speeds. Your stock alternator is designed to supply the minimum amount of power needed at idle in order to get the best gas mileage possible. Automotive alternators actually produce A/C directly from the engine rotation. A built in converter changes this to DC in order to power the components of your truck.
Typically, the stock bronco alternators output 80 amps continually. If you were to hook up an inverter and assume you could use all 80 amps, (which would require rewiring) you would be looking at 80amps*12V=960Watts. When you convert to 120v, 960/120=8amps. This number would probably be even lower because the inverter will lose efficiency due to heat. So without major upgrades to your alternator, you wouldn't be able to safely generate more than about 7.5amps A/C.

I think a pulley system wouldn't be a good idea. If you want to get the peak output from your alternator, a system which raises the engine idle would be better. If you had a pulley system set-up, your alternator would probably overheat and melt whenever you drove around.

OK, so we are just playing around here.

Aren't there 130 Amp alternators out there?

IF so they would produce almost 13 amps AC. Now with that kind of amperage one could run his refridgerator, OR a small room airconditioner, OR a dozen 100 watt bulbs, a 3/8 in drill.

I was thinking that one would use a pully system to increase the speed of the alternator, and that it would be used when the truck was stationary, and idleing. That one would not leave it hooked up all the time, but instead there could be a tensioner pully that would tighten the belt, yet make removal and installation of the belt easy for when one wanted to use the alternator for AC. I figure that since we are having BroncoBill78 do all the work, we can get as elaborate with the design as we want. With the belt removed, there would be no drain on the engine, or any of the auxillary parts.

Would it be doable to remove the internal converter that is in the alternator and still regulate it to generate 120V AC? Thereby increaseing the efficiency of the generating unit? Less loss of heat in converting to DC, and then back to AC again.

 

[gatorbronco]

OK, so we are just playing around here.Aren't there 130 Amp alternators out there?

IF so they would produce almost 13 amps AC. Now with that kind of amperage one could run his refridgerator, OR a small room airconditioner, OR a dozen 100 watt bulbs, a 3/8 in drill.

I was thinking that one would use a pully system to increase the speed of the alternator, and that it would be used when the truck was stationary, and idleing. That one would not leave it hooked up all the time, but instead there could be a tensioner pully that would tighten the belt, yet make removal and installation of the belt easy for when one wanted to use the alternator for AC. I figure that since we are having BroncoBill78 do all the work, we can get as elaborate with the design as we want. With the belt removed, there would be no drain on the engine, or any of the auxillary parts.

Would it be doable to remove the internal converter that is in the alternator and still regulate it to generate 120V AC? Thereby increaseing the efficiency of the generating unit? Less loss of heat in converting to DC, and then back to AC again.

Well if BroncoBill is doing all the work I'll probably need a few alternators installed to power the widescreen, kegerator, dance floor, etc, etc....haha. I see your point now with the pulley system...you could basically just use the alternator whenever you needed it. It really wouldn't be too difficult to rig something up with the tensioner you were talking about. Let us know when you get that working BroncoBill.

I think it would be easy to remove the internal converter in the alternator. I have no idea what the voltage would be however....You would probably need to look into some kind of voltage regulator/booster for that end of it.

 

[BroncoJoe19]

Well if BroncoBill is doing all the work I'll probably need a few alternators installed to power the widescreen, kegerator, dance floor, etc, etc....haha. I see your point now with the pulley system...you could basically just use the alternator whenever you needed it. It really wouldn't be too difficult to rig something up with the tensioner you were talking about. Let us know when you get that working BroncoBill.
I think it would be easy to remove the internal converter in the alternator. I have no idea what the voltage would be however....You would probably need to look into some kind of voltage regulator/booster for that end of it.

Hey Dave!

LOL... Do you think we could put a kegerator in that trailer of yours? /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Man.. I'm a liking this idea more and more!

 

[Broncobill78]

Hey Dave!LOL... Do you think we could put a kegerator in that trailer of yours? /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Man.. I'm a liking this idea more and more!

Well, it's not the running amperage that does you in, it's the *startup* draw that kills you /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Have you ever bothered to measure or lookup what your refrigerator draws when it's just tooling along compared to when it first spins up the system ? I can probably guarantee that anyone here with a generator has /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Those startup amps just f*ckup the whole equation /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Not that I want anyone to think that I'm NOT in favor of keeping the Keg cold when the next hurricane hits. I mean, $hit, why else get the thing if you can't keep it cold ? This ISN'T Great Brittan, beer is *supposed* to cold over on our side. Isn't that why we fought the damn war ? I was never a scholar but I'm sure that cold beer had *something* to do with it. Either that or it was the whole tax & tea thing, lemme grab another one and think on it.

Speaking of our Cousins, here's a complete Non Sequitur. Does anyone know why the Brittish were called "Limey's" ? 10 points for anyone who knows /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

At any rate, it's just something I'm kicking around. I know that with a small volume tank hidden somewhere between the framerails the AC compressor could be pretty useful, but on the other hand a second alternator and a pair of deep-cells could be too. As this wreck becomes more & more of a woods-truck & toy questions like this start becoming more Germain. I'm more inclined to go with a secondary hi-output alt, a pair of deep-cells and a converter and bring along some *electric* tools rather than relying on pneumatics and a constantly running engine. This thing is WAY too beatup to ever be a street-truck (I haven't even STARTED to patch the bullet holes) so it keeps looking more & more like a trailbeast. $hit, where's the fun if you're not breaking parts ?

 

[BroncoJoe19]

Speaking of our Cousins, here's a complete Non Sequitur. Does anyone know why the Brittish were called "Limey's" ? 10 points for anyone who knows /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Eating limes prevented scurvy on long sailing voyages.

Sooooo what can I trade those points in for? /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[Broncobill78]

Eating limes prevented scurvy on long sailing voyages.Sooooo what can I trade those points in for? /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Damn !! And here I thought an obscure Naval reference would slip past everyone. Used to be that back in the day the fledgling US Navy thought the English were crazy for insisting on their sailors drinking Lime juice or eating them fresh when available. Nobody understood it for several decades. Those wacky Brits.

$hit, I didn't think anyone actually *read* my rambling posts from beginning to end, most times I can slip something completely ridiculous into the middle and nobody notices /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> ******* History Channel

 

[Shadow_D]

:lol: