Hybrid Fiero- Need genset help

[FieroChris]

interesting ..... I would think the simplest approach is to get a off the shelf 110v AC generator, plug a battery charger into it...

are you trying to get more efficiency by skipping the AC phase ??? not that I premote harbor fright, but they had some redicuious cheap 1000w generators.

for me,

after my car is finished, I am going to look into DEFC direct ethanol fuel cell,


I did find some hydrogen fired Fuel cells, off the shelf, ready to go... but they are fussy.. and expensive...

or a turbine engine generator.... I am not excited about a piston engine extender...

[mechman600]

A 1000W generator is not going to make much of a difference in range.

Here is the aero/HP results for your car:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/tool-aero...ToStep=5-200-5
=5.07HP/3870 watts @ 40 MPH, not counting efficiency losses.
You would need at least that in city driving to extend your range significantly. I believe that's one of the reasons that Ben removed the generator from his Electro-Metro in the end.

[Hondo]

Yeah, 1000 watt generator won't do much, thats why I am looking at puting 60-80 amps at 110v dc into the system. That should make me able to do all the city driving I want, since I coast a lot. I just bought 4 treadmill motors rated at 1900 watts at 110v dc each for $40 each on ebay. I don't know if the small diesel I saw will pull that much. I have a line on a 12.5 hp Kohler gas engine with electric start that I can pick up dirt cheap, so I think I am going to get it and do some experimenting with how much power I can generate with 2 to 4 of the treadmill motors. Should be fun. Once I get things sorted out, I would really like to get a diesel that would have enough power to give me my 60-80 amps, and run it on biodiesel.

[oil pan 4]

Cheap generators will only run for maybe 200 hours before you have problems with them.
The cheapest way to get a high voltage DC charger that I can think of is to use a 220v Varrac and set up an array of bridge rectifiers. One that has an input voltage of 220v and has an out put range of 0 to 300v. The decent sized varrac like I have can handle 5kw. But you would need a real generator that puts out 220v power, 110v power would work at greatly diminished capacity.
If you don't know what you are doing this can also be a quick way to die.

Turbine powered generaters suck fuel like you wouldn't believe, I work on those too.

[Hondo]

OK, I just picked up the used Kohler 12.5 hp motor. I am going to mount it in the front of the Fiero and belt drive 2-4 of the treadmill motors and see what kind of power I can generate. I will post some pics as soon as I get it in there. Thanks for the help guys, I think this setup will be a lot more efficient than converting the ac to dc.

Hondo

[FieroChris]

this is one site that is in early development... run it at a high capacity for a short period of time

Bladon Jets | Micro Gas Turbine Engines

no idea of cost...


looking forward to seeing the 3 generator setup...

[mort]

Originally Posted by Hondo

OK, I just picked up the used Kohler 12.5 hp motor. I am going to mount it in the front of the Fiero and belt drive 2-4 of the treadmill motors and see what kind of power I can generate. I will post some pics as soon as I get it in there. Thanks for the help guys, I think this setup will be a lot more efficient than converting the ac to dc.

Hondo

Just want to add a note of caution to your expectations. All generators produce AC, it is converted to DC by rectifiers or commutation. Silicon rectifiers are very efficient, with forward voltage drop around 2 volts at rated current - like 99% efficient for a 200 volt supply. Schottky diodes have about 1 volt drop at rated current, so half the loss of silicon. Mechanical commutation is notoriously bad, electrical commutaion is quite good, but expensive and complicated. I'm speculating that the generators you have use internal rectifiers. The inefficiency in AC generators is mostly due to using a design that allows the output to be varied independently of the rpm. In general, low cost permanent magnet generators are not variable, except by changing the operating rpm. But that means running your engine at an uneconomical rpm sometimes. However, you can switch your 4 generators on or off so you can have 4 different charging levels, which might work great.
-mort