Automotive engine for an electric generator?

[mysticguru]

If you have the car and it has cruse control, see if it has a cable from trans for speedo or if electronic pick up. If electronic, use the cruse parts to govern engine. If the car was a stick shift, use the steel flywheel for kinetic energy to reduce variance, if auto , you will want to find a flywheel. If you have the cruse with electronic speedo you can use the speedo pick up on the flywheel for pulse input, set cruse then press accel button till at 60 cycles. It will adjust engine until shut down. If you need more info, let me know.

[Pleiades]

Unfortunately the vehicle doesn’t have cruise control. All of the dials are analogue.

 

I got a quote on the digital speed governor I want and the whole system (governor, actuator, and speed sensor) are going to cost me about $1200 USD, which is still less than a 10 kW genset, but its still a lot of money to risk on a project that might not succeed. The generator head is another couple thousand as well.

 

I've been busy with work and my other project this summer (a crucible furnace), but I might get some time this winter to call up the governor people and the generator head people and pick their brains on the topic.

[Rocket Man]

try for a dc gererator head and a chunky inverter. an automotive engine isn't designed to run at a fixed rpm under variable load.

 

ask the engine's manufacturer for an optimum efficiency curve (power/rpm)

 

a servo throttle with a microcontroller ought to do it, all you'd need to look at is the rpm and the torque.

you probably only need a tacho and an ammeter.

[Lymey]

I hope this thread isn't too old to bring up, but I built a generator set with an Isuzu 1.8L diesel engine and a 10 Kw generator. It worked perfectly right from the start 8 years ago. It kept me warm and living normally for 4-1/2 days last winter when the power was out here near Seattle.

 

If you're still interested, I can give you information and pictures if it will help you.

 

Lymey

[Lymey]

For goodness sakes, you don't need a $1200 governor! I used a simple belt driven centrifugal governor like is used on all kinds of tractors and generators and it works just fine. The engine speed is very steady. There is plenty of rotating mass in the engine, flywheel and generator to give the throttle time to add power if needed.

 

Here's a governor that should do the job for you with a little adapting. You may have to change the pulley to get it running in it's RPM range.

 

http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?Item=28-1653&UID=2007100121440082

 

If the generator is driven at the proper speed it will automatically put out the proper voltage. That's the way they're made. Of course the speed of rotation determines the frequency since they're synchronous generators.

[Pleiades]

Thanks, that’s really helpful. That’s exactly the kind of thing I was looking for when I started looking around for governors, I must have been searching for the wrong thing or something.

 

I was starting to think I was the only one who ever though of doing something like this project.

[MrMongoose]

I think the question here should be why, not how. A diesel powered generator is going to cost more to run than your share of several large scale power stations, it will produce more pollution, and you'll have the sound of a diesel engine constantly echoing through your house.

[Norman Albers]

Interesting thread. All my Briggs and Stratton one-bangers and also our tractors have a sensitive centrifugal throttle dump. The time or two I drove a car with cruise control it seemed to have a strong feedback also. As I scratch my head to remember feedback theory, a simple proportional control will keep you within a "small' range" of RPM reduction. Isn't there a point where you can increase this feedback slightly over that point, to where the control point stays closer to what you want? The cost is a bit of wandering, so damping helps. Beyond proportional control are offset control and even rate control.

[Pleiades]

The generator isn’t for constant use, it’s mainly because we have a lot of overhead power lines where I live and a fair number of hurricanes pass by each year, so power outages are a regular event. Since I already have the engine, I’d rather spend money on a 10kW generator head than a 3kW air cooled gas generator set that will break in 3 or 4 years. Besides, I have fun doing this kind of stuff.

[richard]

Filter and use old vegetable oil. The power will be free then, besides any maintenance costs.

[Norman Albers]

Huh? I thought you had to "crack" or whatever the right term is to treat veggie oil with lye to break it down. BIODIESEL. I too should have a generator in case electric power goes out in fire season and we need well water. This is a 2KW load

[Lymey]

Glad I could be of help.

 

I'm using a Voltmaster AR100 generator which turns at 3600 rpm and is 10KW. The engine turns at 1500 rpm. I'm using a double v belt drive.

 

If I was building one now I think I would probably use one of the inexpensive Chinese 1800 rpm 15 KW generators and direct drive it from the engine. I'm pretty sure the engine would handle it at that speed. 10 KW is just adaquate for my electric heat in cold weather.

 

Good luck with your project.

[Norman Albers]

Sounds like Lymey is pointing the way. For a handful of years I played keybords in a seven-piece rock band--sooo cool. Vocalist, Latin percussion, trumpet, me, etc. We did, twice, a major blowout at their property on their stock generator. The display on my Ensoniq synth had a slight blink but all of my logic was OK.

[Pleiades]

If you want to make biodiesel, then yes, you have to crack the oil, but it is still possible to run a diesel engine on straight vegetable oil, you just need a few modifications. For one, the engine wont start on cold oil, so you need to switch over to diesel before you turn off the engine to run diesel through the injector pump, then when you go to start it, its full of diesel, and then you can switch back to oil. A fuel preheater also helps. Biodiesel doesn’t require any modifications to be made to the engine.

 

I've considered running the generator on oil or biodiesel, but it depends on how much time I have to spend on a weekly basis going around to restaurants collecting oil.

[Norman Albers]

Whoa, Betty, is that the deal, Pleiades? Preheating will be more serious, I suspect, but I hear you. For heavensake, do not be sloppy because oil spilled turns rancid. I had to conflict with a well-motivated son of a friend whose spillage smelled up my hard-earned piece of real estate.

[Pleiades]

I’m not considering it that seriously, it’s just an idea I've toyed with.

[visittokiran]

are yaar,

i am tybtech student from electrical stream. i want some topic for my final year project. the topic should be innovative. if u have any idea about this plz tell me:eyebrow: