Test: Alternator vs. no alternator = 10% MPG gain @ 70 km/h - Page 8 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

Nerys · 03-10-2010, 02:25 PM

My eventual goal is flexible solar panel as an integrated part of the roof (think glued to the roof) so 100% roof area coverage then heavy acrylic coating to protect the panel surface (or thick clear coat??)

yes multiple batteries and deep cycle (good quality deep cycle) cells are a must. I am even thinking about going with a NIMH pack.

IF I manage to convert the head lights and all nav lights to LED that alone would have a huge impact on power draw as the head lights along on low beam consume 110 watts.

No charger needed I will just leave the alternator in the car and keep a "belt" in the trunk. if the **** hits the fan I slip the belt on and "pop" start the car.

gone-ot · 03-10-2010, 02:29 PM

...how about connecting an A/C-clutch onto the alternator, that way you could engage/disengage it as needed?

Nerys · 03-10-2010, 02:31 PM

hmmm thats an idea but would the spinning belt and free spinning clutch still drag on the engine? how much?

also is it not the wrong size? (I have never seen an AC clutch as tiny as my alternator pully so the alt would be spinning at the wrong speed? ie a lot slower than normal.

Frank Lee · 03-10-2010, 04:16 PM

Everyone talks about re-purposing those damned a/c clutches and yet the only one I've ever seen do it is Mad Max.

Piwoslaw · 03-10-2010, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nerys

also is it not the wrong size? (I have never seen an AC clutch as tiny as my alternator pully so the alt would be spinning at the wrong speed? ie a lot slower than normal.

If it's slightly larger (10%-20%), then it'll be an underpulley when engaged. Just make sure that your voltage won't be below 14V in the low rpm range that hypermilers stay in. Maybe replacing the pulley on the engine side with a larger one would help?

Frank: Do you know Mad Max? Maybe you could ask him to post here?

Frank Lee · 03-10-2010, 05:21 PM

I don't know how he did it, but obviously it works!

Mcgarry97geo · 05-12-2010, 10:27 PM

Sorry you can't clear coat a solar panel. Clear coat is made to protect your paint, mainly from uv rays. I was thinking of trying to use a smaller alternator and mounting a propeler on it then sticking that off the side of my radiator. Have no idea what it would generate or if you would have to go with a small wind turbine generator. And hopefully it dosent make the car less aerodynamic. Or even worse if it over heats the engine.

Nerys · 05-12-2010, 10:49 PM

Yes you can clear coat solar panels. anything that won't harm glass won't harm the solar panels.

in fact many solar panels are already "coated/sealed" which is actually a problem since many times those coatings are NOT UV stable and they fade and get foggy destroying the ability of the panel to receive light.

SO a uv spray would not be a bad idea. you might loose a fraction of a percent of performance but you might gain that back by STOPPING the degradation of performance over time.

if the panel is GLASS ie you touch it and its glass you don't need a coating since glass is not effected adversely by UV

hotrodfeguy · 05-13-2010, 07:52 PM

"Sure, you could hack the field circuit of the alternator to increase its output."

This previous post sparked an idea. What about hooking up a relay setup(not a wiring guru here) that would full field the alternator when a switch is applied? Kind of like a poor mans Prius switch that only full fields when stopping/slowing. Kind of like the fuel/ignition cutout.

Also the battery solution I think would be a gell cell battery. They take ALOT more power and never boil down.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...-how-4356.html

Formula413 · 05-13-2010, 08:21 PM

It's a solid concept, in fact you could almost turn the car into a mild hybrid. You could easily wire a relay to the brake switch so that when you stepped on the brake the alternator would go into full charging mode. I picked up an idea for my Civic hybrid from another member here to wire up a switch to disable both charging and regen, then add a relay that overrides the switch when the brake is applied, so it will always regen on braking. The idea is to never have forced regen (IE while driving) by only using as much assist as can be provided for by regenerative braking.