Ok, got it built and ran into some stumbling blocks, ill start from the beginning. the dude at the small engine place told me the blade is used as a flywheel so he recomended using a heavy steel pulley and he had one so i got the pulley and belt for $15 unfortunatly automotive belts and pulleys are a different size then industrial pulleys and belts but this series is close enough for what im doing (dont ask what series belt i used im in the house now) I got it all built and fired it up on a charged battery and it started to charge 10 amps, i through my load tester on the battery drew out 100 amps and it stalled instantly. i did some tests and it would run untill i drew out about 40 amps. i looked the engine over pulled the plug and its caked in oil. i cleaned up the linkage on the carb and air cleaner and plug etc but still it stalls. my concensus is the engine is plain jane wore out (not a surprise i did score it from the dump) but it runs real well so after some thinkin i figured out how the voltage regulator works, it senses how much current is needed for the alt to put out and send a certian amount of voltage to the stator wire 12v=full output 6v=50% 0v=0 output or somewhere in there. so i thought about using a resistor in series after the regulator to trick the alt into thinking it only needs to charge at a certian level. i went one step further however i grabbed a old dimmer switch i had from a 79 f150 i stripped. i wired it in turned the dimmer switch off fired up the engine hit the toggle for the load and as i slowly turned the dimmer switch the engine would work harder and harder and it would charge and charge more and more untill it slalled. i hooked up my amp clamp and my load tester and dialed in the max amperage that motor can handle without stalling. the max amperage is 40 amps any more then that and it will stall. the max amperage it can run at and not stall with varieing loads (lights turning on and off, load tester turning on a off etc.) is 35 amps. so i drained a 550 cca battery and tried to charg it up, when I hit the power nothing happened there was not enough juice to trigger the stator this is why i put on the battery, that way i can use this as a power pack for some lights etc. the small battery (although no good) holds enough juice to trigger the stator to start charging. the tank of fuel lasted for about 30 minutes at 35 amps just before it ran out of fuel it started to drop the amperage going to the battery so it was for all intensive purposes charged i even did a load test on the battery and it passed. now heres my delema. i like the idea of charging at 35-40amps for a few reasons, its easier on the alternature and a 35 amp charge is about right for a fast charge on a battery any more and it shortens the life of the battery dramaticly. after some tests i figured i need to either put in a variable resistor like the dimmer switch or a fixed resistor of 6ohms rated for 2.2 amps. i like the idea of a variable one because it gives me the option of charging at a lower amperage. I tried to use a dimmer switch from a 110v light same as the one on your wall right now but it didnt work i couldnt get any power through it I couldnt even read continuity on my meter i tried 2 of them. i think there is a difference between a 110v variable resistor and 12v resisitor. i tried a few fixed resistors i had around here (one from the blower fan from that same f150) but nothing was close enough to that 6 ohms i need. I am thinking about just using the dimmer switch from the pickup but i dont know if it has the capacity to not burn out (need to reasearch more on that) heres a pic of it . i still need to make some carrying handles or whatever. i am back in camp tommorow so no more updates for a few weeks.
for the full thread click here http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=671837&goto=newpost -gbm-
Not even gonna show this to my brother because he'll be asking me to weld up a mount for the engine so he can build one Nice job on the build, have you thought about building a chainsaw mixed drink blender yet? Saw one of those recently somewhere on the net.
it's cool and all but why not just use a battery charger? mine has a 50 amp feature and a timer that probably works about as well as this thing does. i will say though that i always run an engine for a while after i charge a battery but it's just 'cause.
oh while we're on the subject my friend's dad has an old ford york style AC compressor rigged up to an old electric motor from an edger that he uses as an ac vacuum pump and another buddy had one he had hooked up to a little briggs motor kinda like this that he used as an on-board air compressor for air tools, etc when he went 4 wheeling, you can do the same thing with the truck ac compressor and leave it installed in the truck but you lose the ac that way and he drove this thing everywhere, this was on an old 70's jeep cherokee chief.
Actually, there once was a company on the West Coast that actually sold a kit to convert a York/Tecumseh A/C compressor to an air compressor. You could order the new seals, oil, intake air filter, oil dryer, hoses and compressor mounts for Ford, Chevy and Mopar engines. If you wanted and didn't have one; they'd even sell you a rebuilt compressor. (A friend of mine went that route and was p!$$ed - the company didn't even take the "Kragen Auto Parts" sticker off the compressor!) If anybody is interested; I have a Ford/York/Tecumseh compressor core in need of a rebuild. When the engine and steering/suspension are done on the Cougar, then I'll think about the A/C. At that time I'm looking at a Sanden as well as the new lines, evaporator, dryer/expansion tank, etc, etc to take it to R-134a. Even if I (foolishly) keep it on R12; I'm going with the Sanden just to take about 30 pounds off the front of the engine! Cost wil be nothing plus shipping - probably cheaper to grab a core at a junkyard, though.....
Really! How much "retrofit" is necessary? (Obviously the accumulator/dryer, but what else?) EDIT: And what's the "per pound" cost?
I dont have a 50 amp charger i just have a 15 amp i do have a 2800 watt genset that i was bringing along with me hunting an whatever but It aint cheap to run it long enough to charge my batteries with the 15 amp charger. this little thing will charge a 1000 cca battery from 30% charge to 100% in a tank of fuel (1 liter) and its much quicker. those reasons, and the fact i have alot of junk around my place. im into this thing for like $30. and I have to much time off i think, 2 weeks every month, all hail fly in camp jobs -gbm-
absolutely no retrofitof any kind necessary. IIRC, it's about 10-12 bucks a can. it costs a little more than 134 but since it requires no retrofit it's actually a bit cheaper in the long run.
Ya I do have a 130 amp 3g taurus alt on my pickup and its setup with isolated batteries for the camper but i dont always have the camper on the truck and running the truck isnt cheap either. not to mention punching 130 amps into a battery is not the best way to go. but im sure it boils down to gbm gets bored and isnt really the watch tv kind of guy. -gbm-
Dammit! With a thread titled I'm expecting to see pictures of mass destruction and total chaos! Not a gasoline powered battery charger, which BTW, I have an 8 cylinder version in my car that works just fine thank you, even if it is more expensive than plugging my other one into an outlet! Please GBM, I implore you, next time you get bored, BLOW SOMETHING UP!!! and take pictures!
I could have amused you a few years ago when we accidentally started a brush fire that shut down a major highway in N.Y. , didn't have a cam for pics
