220v alternator

[gakman]

I run a food truck business so I tow around a trailer which is like a kitchen on wheels. On the trailer I have a 10,000 watt 110/220v gas generator that powers up all the equipment (3 refrigerators, freezer, toaster, water heater, lights, computer, etc.). The generator is brand new but at times it flake out so there is no power when that quits.

So I thought... what if I change my Expy's alternator to give me the electrical power that I need and my trailer just plug into that? At first it sounds absurd since we are all used to getting only 12v out of our vehicles. But think about it: my gas generator (or any generator for that matters) that puts out 10,000 watts only has a little 16 hp gas motor running it. The Expy has a 5.4 litre V-8, that's HUGE compared to the little 16 hp engine.

If this works that would be so cool. The V-8 may have to be reved higher (than idle) to give the power but it should not take that much. And it certainly is a hell lot more quiet than that generator.

Has anyone here done this / thought about this? Is this a possibility? I tested my requirements and I need about 8 kWh of power.

Thanks for your help.

 

[2blackfordrides]

Ive never done it.... But if ur gonna do it, u maybe able to have a local electrical shop rebuild urs to a higher amp( or run 2 alts)... Im having it done with mine and its only costing about 100 bux.... The only reason im doing it is becuz im running somany aftermarket lights, screens and speakers... Not to sure but u may have to run a series of batterys or powercells to hold the juice its producing and then a few ac converters(not sure if they sell one for 10000w or not).... I would try to contact ridnclean on here... He does competition audio and really knows his stuff about it.... He runs 2 alts and series batteries.... So i would try gettin ahold of him and see what he thinks.... I would think if this works, it would be alot more inexpensive than the cost of the generator( not sure what u paid for it....lol).... Just my .02.....

 

[gakman]

Thanks for your comment. Good point about taking the D/C to A/C. I will look into that.....

 

[gakman]

another thing I am considering (electrifying the trailer) is using hybrid-electric technology, like they do in city buses. That would mean a bunch of batteries with a generator to charge them as needed. But that would be cool (and green).

Of course there is also the hydrogen fuel-cells idea.... I won't mind my trailer peeing water LOL

 

[2blackfordrides]

Yea that would be a good idea to.... Proly more expensive but u never know.....

 

[alexhozee]

would be a nice project to work on!!

Don't forget you're expy needs 12VDC to work otherwise you have everything setup and the car won't start LOL
'
If you're gonna work with more batteries don't forget to use isolators for charging only the batteries who need the voltage, so the alternator doesn't have to work under a 100% load constantly.

keep us informed and good luck

 

[tonydiv]

I've actually looked in to this for a boat, to use as a poor man's gen-set.

There are generator "heads" that can be run off of a 25 hp or higher motor.

We were going to mount the generator next to the front of the motor and spin it with a serp belt. The idea was to use an air conditioning compressor clutch on the generator so that it wouldn't spin until you wanted to use it.
You would need a way to set the idle on the truck to that specific rpm (easy to do on a boat)

If you are handy enough to fab up the required brackets and pullys, it really isn't that bad of a job. Biggest issue on the truck (vs a boat) is finding the room for the generator.

I believe that harbor freight tools has that generator.

 

[RidnClean]

like stated above, you'd definitely need a 2nd alt that can run by itself, if that gets into trucks computer system...lights out...

 

[tonydiv]

http://www.harborfreight.com/10000-watts-max-7200-watts-rated-belt-driven-generator-head-45416.html


This is the one that we were going to use.

 

[alexhozee]

looks good, you have to to set the engine at the RPM that way that the generator gives you the load you wanna have.
Like 2500 RPM to give for instance 8KW.

Only the next thing I'm thinking of, you're expy will have a lot of hours instead of miles on the engine.
It will have more running hours on the right rpm for the generator than drivin it.

The magnetic clutch is a good idea.

 

[keelklan]

So what are you going to do about your Engine overheating because it has set in one place with no air moving across the Radiator?

Instead of trying to soup up your Expys Electrical system why dont you just fix your gen set or get a roll around backup, It would cost way less than doing all the mods your talking about and a whole lot less headaches?

 

[Stoned06]

My brother in law rigged up a welder to run off the serp belt so he can fix his rig on the trail if it breaks something. Not exactly sure how he set it up, but I do believe he mounted a second alternator and used that. If he could do that, you should be able to run some sort of 220V alt/generator with a similar modification. I'll see him this weekend and I'll try to remember to ask him how he set it up.

 

[ELVATO]

So what are you going to do about your Engine overheating because it has set in one place with no air moving across the Radiator?

Instead of trying to soup up your Expys Electrical system why dont you just fix your gen set or get a roll around backup, It would cost way less than doing all the mods your talking about and a whole lot less headaches?

As long as his RPMs are up, the radiator fan should move enough air to cool down the motor. Or, he could switch to electrical fans

 

[bobthegod]

I think your going in the wrong direction......Do you want to run your engine for hours on end? After all that use you'll need maint and repairs....DOWN TIME = loss of revenue. Go get a Honda EX series generator. They are very quiet and very dependable. To get your car rigged up to run 10,000 watts is going to cost more then 3 gnerators, with all the batteries relays, circuit breakers, and wiring involved. right now you got a generator and a plug,hat could be easier then that. Your car sits there and doesn't run endlessly. Generators are made to run for hours on end and they work even better with a load on them. The worst generator is one that sits or doesn't get a good load on it.