Curmudgeonly & Skeptical presents Boned Jello: Emergency car generator

Wednesday, April 03, 2013

Emergency car generator

HOW HARD CAN IT BE?

About every other year, for the past 10, I've publicly wondered how car manufacturers have failed to implement one of the greatest consumer device ideas ever. I speak of course about using the car's silent running engine and 20 gallon fuel tank to power an emergency generator (that people stand in line during power outages to pay $400 + for).. This re-triggered the thought. Here's the secret drawings.

There are enough engineers out there to partner up with me to develop and sell a unit that homeowners can easily install themselves. Or have installed.

I'm waiting for my half of the billions of dollars in profit to start pouring into my wallet. . Who wants in? tap tap tap ....

Rodger the Real King of France 4/03/2013 12:18:00 PM 21 Comments

"If the number of Islamic terror attacks continues at the current rate, candlelight vigils will soon be the number-one cause of global warming. "
Argus Hamilton

21 comments:

Anonymous said...: A word of advice Boss on this item. and anything you may find at Harbor Freight and Chicago Power Tools are pure crap, shitty, suck!

They could be the worse tools you'll ever find. . . anywhere. I'm talking from experience here. The prices are inviting, but the nightmare isn't, after you buy it. After the tool "falls apart" in your hands, they won't even talk to you about a replacement.

Consider yourself forewarned!

Geo

You're welcome. . .; 4/3/13, 12:54 PM
Randy Rager said...: There's a reason people who work with their hands (blogger Neanderpundit springs to mind) call it Hazard Fraught.; 4/3/13, 1:03 PM
Anonymous said...: Caveat emptor, I suppose. I must admit to buying quite a bit there, only had one failure. I do avoid anything electrical.
-Steve_in_CA; 4/3/13, 4:07 PM
Cheesy said...: It depends on the tool. I bought a bench grinder for $25 more than 10 years ago, smoother and quieter than my Dad's B&D and still works fine. Stone shields were cheap crap, but easily replaced.; 4/3/13, 5:08 PM
Anonymous said...: makes me wish my car had a power take off, like a tractor

CF in CO; 4/3/13, 5:56 PM
george said...: Dear King, Northern Tool sells gen. sets that run off of tractor PTOs. There are exposed shafts and moving parts that would most certainly cut short the life of most Obama voters. I am very surprised that these items are still available. You idea is good and you can already get an inverter up to 1400 watts that can be wired to your auto/truck electrical system. This much power will run the fridge or a freezer and certainly small appliances. Remember keep extension cords short and the garage door open.; 4/3/13, 6:29 PM
Anonymous said...: Only thing that will realistically work with a car is hooking an inverter to the battery. Rigging another generator to the fan belt means more complication, with little to no benefit in added power. Car engines just aren't designed for sustained torque delivery. Diesel trucks or tractors are better suited for that.

Trevor; 4/3/13, 8:00 PM
Anonymous said...: Didn't a major truck manufacturer have this option on their new trucks at one time?

Maybe upgrading the alternator and wiring in an appropriate sized inverter would do the trick with minimum complexity.

Just stock extra fuel which is needed for the vehicles anyway.

--mech; 4/4/13, 12:07 AM
Anonymous said...: That's the real market, an end of times version of the Model A. Hint, it won't be a hybrid, or government funded.

Casca; 4/4/13, 12:28 AM
Anonymous said...: I have some experience with this. The inverter mentioned is the way to go. The car already _has_ a generator, an inverter converts it to 115 AC. It's a perfect short-term power source. If you want a better system,, install a second deep cycle battery. That can provide hours of power without running the engine and without draining the battery needed to start it.

The real problem with your idea is efficiency. You're running a 100 HP engine to do a job that only requires about 10. Fine for a few hours or a day to keep your freezer running but not for more than that. You'll burn far too much gas. Here's a better idea: stick one of those generators in a big lawn mower. That's a better match for size. You can find stuff online about guys using old lawn mowers to drive a car alternator and inverter for a cheap and dependable power source.

Annoyed White Male; 4/4/13, 6:56 AM
Anonymous said...: I think everyone should get one of these:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_437234-47615-MPV-710_?masthead=true&selectedLocalStoreBeanArray=

mower, gen set, ATV all rolled into one. It can go 17mph or be a stationary power source.
If I ever decided to build a cabin in the woods, this baby would let me tow a trailer full of wood and nails, and then power my saw, and finally power a small fridge for the cold ones after days work was done.
tomw; 4/4/13, 10:39 AM
Anonymous said...: Let's talk about definitions:
Generator = DC power generator using permanent magnets. These have generally not been used since the 60's.
Advantage: there does not have to be a battery to generate electicity. Generators are not affected by EMP.
Disadvantage: usually won't permit a battery to be charged at idle due to too low a voltage.
Alternator = AC power generator, requiring a battery to produce a magnetic field that replaces the permanent magnet. This requires a voltage rectifier to produce DC power to charge the battery.
Advantage: provides high voltage at low rpm.
Disadvantage: needs a battery to provide the magnetic field for power generation. Diodes in AC/DC converter are sensitive to EMP.
-Steve_in_CA; 4/4/13, 11:04 AM
Rodger the Real King of France said...: Cutting to the chase. When the power goes out I want to start my car, plug-in an electricity hose so I can have lights. Let's start from here.; 4/4/13, 12:40 PM
Helly said...: During the Montreal ice storm of 1998, I ran a Honda generator for 4 days and grilled. I had to fuel it every 12 hours, but otherwise life was normal.

Twelve years later, I discovered a better solution. Now I would simply walk into the Gulf with a speargun and grill whatever got stuck on the end of it.

Inverters. Ha.; 4/4/13, 3:35 PM
Anonymous said...: Rodge, go to Amazon, search for "inverter". You can get a 1,000 Watt inverter from Bestek for $75. You can plug it in the cigarette lighter, but I recommend going direct to the car battery. I have the 400 Watt version that I use at football games to watch TV on my big flat screen TV while tailgating. I only went with the 400W because I have a generator at home. Works great. Other brands/models may be good too, I just haven't tried them. Best advice you'll get is park close to a door (just be sure ventilation is good,) to keep the extension chord into your home short.

Trevor; 4/4/13, 8:05 PM
Jess said...: To make an AC generator with enough KW's to power a house, you'd need to mount the generator in the engine compartment, modify the main drive pulley, build a circuit to modify the rpms to handle the load, and do so without destroying the car in the process. It can be done, but buying a generator is a less expensive process.

If you only need enough juice to run a few appliances, one of the best "generators" is a diesel welding machine. You can find them used at a good price and use them to weld.; 4/4/13, 9:04 PM
Rodger the Real King of France said...: A 1000 watt inverter is useless when it comes to running your freesr, refrigeratoe, televion and computer. My 5000 watt works just fine, but it's broken every time I need it, and it sound level is about 500 db.; 4/4/13, 9:05 PM
Wabano said...: Problem is most of these small gennies are garbage...unless you run them often...the carburator get gummed up(no fuel), the starter burn out, or fail, so does the ignition system(corrosion)...So, for the third time, I have a dead horse in the garage, almost new...; 4/4/13, 10:53 PM
Wabano said...: On the other hand, it sure earned it's keep the three times power failed due to ice storms...the 8,000 watts genny kept three freezers full of meat going no problem...along with a few space heaters and the whole house...tho better not use the computer or fancy TV..; 4/4/13, 11:00 PM
Anonymous said...: Rodge, if you're looking to get more than 5,000 watts, a car will not get you there without potential damage. Sorry, I thought you were just looking for lights and a few things to keep it bearable. The power/torque curves of a gas car engine are not designed for that kind of load. Cars are designed for efficiency and endurance at low loads, with fast response to high output for short duration. Asking for high loads for extended periods will burn fuel at extreme rates, with potential for engine damage. There's a reason that companies that sell inverters for cars don't sell higher output versions: liability. And it's the same reason there's no one selling kits to upgrade gas cars to higher output alternators. Don't mean to be a downer, but if you really want a vehicle that can do what you're asking, you need to start with a heavy duty diesel truck.

Trevor; 4/5/13, 6:55 PM
Anonymous said...: Oh, almost forgot, if you want something quieter, jury rig a real muffler to your 5000 watt generator. Reliability is still a problem, but it would be safer, easier, cheaper to run, and less likely to ruin your transportation.

Trevor; 4/5/13, 7:03 PM

Wednesday, April 03, 2013

Emergency car generator

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