Charging system . A different look

[Versatile]

This is a one off idea i am having. To me my Skoolie doesn't have to have a totally self contained charging system. The expense of soar is steep but getting better.Gen sets are expensive and noisy. I have a 92 Geo Tracker . 96-and later 4x4 low mileage Trackers can be purchased for easy $2 grand.They tow just fantastic and yes there are Trackers and Suzuki Sidekicks that have NO rust. These 4 cylinder 1.6 engines get easy 23-27 MPG at 65 mph. Stock they have about a 45 amp alternator. A $24 Bracket gives you the ability to install a 1 wire GM alternator of any Amp you want.I will use at least a 95 Amp. I even have room to put another alternator on the drivers side .
Around here we have lots of ice and some very cold spells. Very common to start your vehicle and let it idle an hour or more with heat on to warm it up and melt the ice. Why not use this time to charge batteries? I understand it will take longer that that to charge 4-6 deep cycle batteries.
What drawbacks are there to this? I mean electrically? Engine wise?

[family wagon]

You may find that you have to rev up the engine to get full output from the alternator. It's easy enough to figure out if you can find an output curve graph for the proposed alternator. Don't forget to account for the ratio between alternator and crankshaft pulleys to convert alternator speed to engine speed.

It won't be the most fuel-efficient way of getting the job done, but it's capital-efficient if you wanted to tow a zuk anyway.

[ol trunt]

At risk of sidetracking this thread but because there two zuk's at hand, I have a question about rpm's on the 1.6 l engine. Given a stock set up, what rpm should the 1.6 be turning at 65 mph? My toad is based on an '89 Tracker 4 x 4 automatic that has smaller diameter tires than stock and seems to me to be running at real high rpm's as a result (3000@55 mph). Thanks, Jack

[2kool4skool]

Originally Posted by ol trunt

At risk of sidetracking this thread but because there two zuk's at hand, I have a question about rpm's on the 1.6 l engine. Given a stock set up, what rpm should the 1.6 be turning at 65 mph? My toad is based on an '89 Tracker 4 x 4 automatic that has smaller diameter tires than stock and seems to me to be running at real high rpm's as a result (3000@55 mph). Thanks, Jack

Jack, some '89s had the 1.3 engine and some 1.6s. The smaller engine had numerically higher diffs than the 1.6.

My '90 has taller tires so I really can't give and accurate 55mph rpm.

[Versatile]

Thanks for the replies. I don't have a Tach on my 92 1.6 8V. auto. not 4x4. I will purchase another with 4x4 and keep this one also.. A 2wd auto cannot be a Toad.

[cadillackid]

a Bosch SB200 alternator fits in the bracket 2 bolt style mount of most other alternators... they are 200 amp and have the capability of 140 amps at jusr 1500 rpm alternatpr speed... you can see what the measurements are but my guess is it might just fit the tracker? you can get many different pulleys for it...
-Christopher

[Carytowncat]

YES! i am a supporter of using a water cooled fuel efficient quiet running automobile as a generator. Why not!
I did it for awhile when i first got the bus, used a 99 Volvo. Worked great.
I know a guy who used a car to power his house for 3 days during an outage.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by Carytowncat

YES! i am a supporter of using a water cooled fuel efficient quiet running automobile as a generator. Why not!
I did it for awhile when i first got the bus, used a 99 Volvo. Worked great.
I know a guy who used a car to power his house for 3 days during an outage.

I used my Chevy volt to power a 2000 watt inverter during a power outage... while you couldnt gain access to the 360 volt DC pack easily.. the car had 2500 watts of 12 volt power available to it.. so a 2000 watt inverter ran beautifully... the car started and stopped its gas engine as it felt the need to keep the battery system charged... it was a beautiful thing.
I had my gas furnace running with all of its zoning and modulating gear, a frig, some computers, etc...

-Christopher

[Versatile]

How many amps will i need?

[cowlitzcoach]

Originally Posted by Versatile

How many amps will i need?

You will need to do a power inventory to determine the amount of juice you will need.

Remember, all electric motors whether they are big things like compressors in A/C units or little things like a computer fan use more juice on startup than when they are in constant use. You will need to allow for the jump at startup.

Using a convertor/invertor that uses the battery bank can help in the power spikes that happen with startups which can reduce the maximum amount of juice production required.

[crazycal]

I haven't had my full dose of coffee yet so forgive me if I sound confused. You want to buy a car for $2000 that you can hook up a one wire GM alternator because you don't want to spend $500 for solar panels? Then you want to tow this car around because it's better to drag an extra few thousand pounds behind your bus to do what? Is this setup for your bus? If you need to run your car for an hour to get it warm in the morning, you might consider a block heater. I reserve the right to come back and change this post if the light in my head comes on.

[crazycal]

Solar panels can be had for $1 +/- per watt. That's pretty cheap compared to when I first started looking at solar. Back then it was about 8 per watt.

[Versatile]

I was wrong about Solar. i just got back to speed on it. The vehicle is going along anyway.Why not be able to use it? What is wrong with that? I can't stand a generator buzzing in the back ground.I am gong to use Solar after read about it for about 2 hrs yesterday but i want a back up system. I want function for good value. You add a generator and then you have to purchase it give it a mounting spot and then maintain it and put up with the noise.
My way is to use plug ins like Tow trucks use for jump starting on both ends. They plug into a fender mount.I am just utilizing what i already own and will do the job.