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Old 09-06-2015, 07:13 PM   #1
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Free 12 Volt Generator

Our recent power outage got me to dig out an old diesel powered 12 volt generator that I made and used to have on a boat. It's a true marinised diesel. Fresh/salt water heat exchanger and water cooled exhaust with a high output 120 amp alternator. Hooked it up to a hose in place of having a convenient ocean nearby and ran it to charge the trailer battery so we could use the microwave for food heating.

I don't have a Honda 2000 that just about everyone else seems to have. I hadn't bought one because for home use in a power outage it's a little too small, and no, I wouldn't buy two to parallel . So the successful use of the 12 volt generator got me to thinking and that's not good sometimes. It means I end up making problems to solve and work to do.

So I went through my storage room, the room my wife calls my junk room and Myron would say it's a room with junk too good to throw out.

I found a 2 h.p., brand new, never run, Briggs and Stratton engine. It must be about 35 years old. Always thought that I might use it on a cement mixer or something. Found a brand new, never used 120 amp. high output alternator with an adjustable regulator. And the aluminum and the rubber feet. So I thought I'd see if it was even feasible to use it for a battery charger, especially after heavy battery use on a cloudy day.

Did a down and dirty prototype, crude but usable. Showed that a worthwhile amount of charging can be done even with 2 h.p. Of course if you crank up the volts and try for heroic amounts of charging it will bog down. Even the 4.5 h.p. loads up a bit for heavy charging. But, it weights 30 lbs., all up, so I'll be carrying it with me on any trips where solar may not be much use. Seemed like a worthwhile little project. Total cost: nothing, everything was on hand, some of it I just had to dig for.

Ron
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Old 09-06-2015, 07:32 PM   #2
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Your camping neighbors are going to love that old Briggs and Stratton. Maybe if you tell them how resourceful you were it might help.
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Old 09-06-2015, 07:48 PM   #3
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Funny thing is Ron I have been considering building the same thing ... I have a 5hp BS engine sitting here and a 130A alternator. What my design challenge is to make it quieter than a Honda 2000. This is my winter project
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Old 09-06-2015, 09:02 PM   #4
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I didn't mention that part but I'm well aware of it. Personally I hate the sound of someone else's generator. I'll be quieting it down. Not rocket science, I've done lots of work with sound shields etc. In this case I'll just be adding a secondary muffler and see what noise level I'm left with. I like boondocking and that's the situation where I'm not likely to have too many neighbours. Even then, I'd still like it quieter than it is out of the box. Still a work in progress.

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Old 09-06-2015, 09:10 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ian G View Post
What my design challenge is to make it quieter than a Honda 2000. This is my winter project
It could be done, or at least quieted significantly but it does get more difficult because then you're into a sound shield for sure. Then, of course, you're into a more difficult cooling situation for an air cooled engine. It's possible to drastically quiet it, just more work. In my case I'll quiet the exhaust and see where it ends up.
I do have a sound shield with a baffled intake, probably adding a fan for cooling might make up for the restricted airflow. Who knows, something to play with.

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Old 09-06-2015, 09:32 PM   #6
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A prime consideration for noise is not only the exhaust but the intake can also be the source of considerable noise, addressing both should result in a quiet(er) engine
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Old 09-06-2015, 09:43 PM   #7
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Usually that's done with a baffled intake. But again, the downside is the restricted airflow and if it's an air cooled engine then it solves one problem at the expense of another.

I did design and build a sound shield for a friends monster compressor that made a horrendous amount of noise. Used a baffled intake but I set it up to monitor interior air temperatures to make sure they didn't reach unacceptable levels. That situation, on the air compressor, was made a little easier because the unit sucked in great quantities of cooling air despite the baffles.

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Old 09-06-2015, 10:18 PM   #8
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Uh-huh...
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