Go-kart engine to charge electrical system?

[Weight]

woman, man what is the problem? the claim. a lawnmower engine driven alternator doing all that is claimed is not do able. I could not find anything on the link you gave us. Was that a trick?

 

[abnorm]

I read thru most of that link........her original referenced "AC" was a homemade ice/dry ice based cooler using a finned radiator type coil/water and 12v fan......

 

[tx2sturgis]

Yall know about these right?



12v 55A, portable.

There are other brands and capacities, this one was handy in my bookmarks...


https://www.macfarlanegenerators.com.au/products/c113/Outback-Battery-Chargers

 

[CityWoman]

woman, man what is the problem?

I didn't say it was a problem.  Where did you see the word "problem?"  I said it was interesting.

. . . the claim. a lawnmower engine driven alternator doing all that is claimed is not do able.

She said she used a go-cart engine, not a lawnmower engine.

. . . I could not find anything on the link you gave us. Was that a trick?

Did you scroll down to the comments and read the one from Happy Camper that was posted on March 7, 2014, as I suggested?  That comment is where the quote [that started this thread] came from.

Is it really so impossible for a go-cart engine hooked up to a car alternator to produce the 12v she needs for a laptop, electric blankets, lights, and water pump for about a week, with 15-20 minutes of recharging after that, or every 2-3 days when running her A/C? That's all she uses it for.

 

[CityWoman]

She said she used a go-cart engine, not a lawnmower engine.

Are they the same thing? I know nothing about engines.

 

[highdesertranger]

"Is it really so impossible for a go-cart engine hooked up to a car alternator to produce the 12v she needs for a laptop, electric blankets, lights, and water pump for about a week, with 15-20 minutes of recharging after that, or every 2-3 days when running her A/C? That's all she uses it for."

well no it's not possible. 15-20 minutes will not recharge the battery to 100%. that electric blanket throws quite a load in the equation. if the battery is depleted to 70% or below it is going to take hours to recharge like 7 or 8. also the battery should be recharged every day not every 2-3 days. sitting partially charge for a day then discharge more then sitting again is going to seriously shorten the life of the battery. highdesertranger

 

[Ballenxj]

"Is it really so impossible for a go-cart engine hooked up to a car alternator to produce the 12v she needs for a laptop, electric blankets, lights, and water pump for about a week, with 15-20 minutes of recharging after that, or every 2-3 days when running her A/C? That's all she uses it for."

well no it's not possible.  15-20 minutes will not recharge the battery to 100%.  that electric blanket throws quite a load in the equation.  if the battery is depleted to 70% or below it is going to take hours to recharge like 7 or 8.  also the battery should be recharged every day not every 2-3 days.  sitting partially charge for a day then discharge more then sitting again is going to seriously shorten the life of the battery.  highdesertranger

This, plus really noisy.

 

[SternWake]

High amperage for short periods can get a person through a multiple day outing, but Not a full time dweller.

The battery to live even a decent lifespan, needs to get to 100% somewhat regularly, and this takes time, lots of it, 50% to a true 100% can be done in about 6.5 hours at the fastest.
Any claims saying otherwise should be ignored. Either the battery was not 50%, or it was not recharged to 100%.

One of these run in the morning for a while on a well depletted batteries, can return a good amount, but ....

YOu gonna run one for 6.5+ hours when the battery is gasping for air from constant abuse, being chronically undercharged?

 

[caretaker]

i got a push lawn mower i souped up, that bad boy goes thru a quart if fuel in 10 mins. cuts the heck out of coconut fronds tho. i also had to regrind the blade to be like 2 machetes, the whole blade not just the tips. TOP TIP: if you ever have to mow stuff thats wraps around the blade and kills the mower, grind the whole blade, if you have to still do precision mowing leave the tips alone and grind everything else.

 

[CityWoman]

Okay, so...  I just re-read tinycamper's blog post and realized I made a mistake.  The poster calling themselves Happy Camper, who was quoted in the OP here, is not Sharon's sister Gail whose van was featured in the article, but was indeed a random commenter who showed up to share details about their own setup.   But we don't know if they are male or female. Unfortunately, their avatar doesn't link to anywhere - I wish we could see their rig!

Apparently Gail plugs into shore power whenever possible and, while she has a very low-tech DIY camper, it is a different van described by Happy Camper.

So, anyway, Happy Camper has stated:

• his/her van is nearly 40 years old;
• his/her van "doesn’t have built in AC;"
• he/she uses a "totally portable" power system, DIY'd from a small go cart engine and a car alternator;
• it is not connected to his/her van’s wiring anywhere; and
• it charges a deep cycle RV battery, housed in a plastic case with 4 fused 12v cig lighter outlets mounted inside the battery box.

Happy Camper claims that this system provides "all the 12v needed" to run the following for "about a week":

• laptop;
• 12v electric blankets;
• lights; and
• water pump for the shower.

They say that the battery is recharged periodically for 15-20 minutes.  At first I thought that meant once a week, but I think perhaps it is done after the use of each item.  I think it unlikely that all these items would be running at the same time.  However, Happy Camper also says he/she recharges every 2-3 days when running the A/C "constantly," so maybe they did mean only once a week when not running A/C - that's a little confusing.

Here is how Happy Camper describes their A/C, which was also a DIY project:

• "I use a non-evaporative swamp cooler, no venting required, and runs on 12v . . . With the block of ice and water in a 40qt 7 day cooler, the ice will last 4-5 days . . . I built my own using an old auto heater core to circulate the cold water through, in a sealed box with a 12v fan behind it, then a small 12v bilge pump to circulate the water. I built the air exchanger box out of coroplast (feather weight, but sturdy, plastic cardboard).. . . The cold water flows through a heater core, just like your cars air conditioning except without the compressor and freon. So there is no moisture introduced into the air like there is with evaporative coolers. I’ve used mine all over the SE, and with the addition of ice, it will actually blow colder than most AC units. [I've] switched the water out for anti-freeze to keep it from freezing up, and put a block of dry ice in it on a small shelf to keep it out of the anti-freeze solution. At 130f+ outside, I actually had to open some windows to let some heat in! My van doesn’t have built in AC, so I just leave mine running in the back if I need it while driving too. I just sit it in the center aisle right behind the front seats and aim it forward."

So, I am guessing that means that occasionally the go-cart generator also powers the pump in the swamp cooler A/C?  Their sink uses gravity-fed water from a container set up high, so no power or battery used there.  

Happy Camper says they use a kerosene stove/heater, which he/she states "sip so little fuel, that even in REALLY cold weather, running it on low all day plus cooking, heating water, etc. it will still use under one gallon per month of kerosene."  They keep food in a cooler (calling it, a "tent trailer style ice box") -  with one block of ice needed per month.

Happy Camper claims that the "Total cost for all of the electric I need or want averages about $4 a month for one gallon of gas" and "I get all of my heating and cooking for under $6 a month this year."

Now, I am still trying to understand why it really so unbelievable that a homemade go-cart engine generator can power "enough 12v" to power a laptop, 12v blanket, lights (which probably aren't many), a shower pump, and sometimes a swamp cooler.  I don't know much about this stuff, and I "get" that batteries have to be recharged often, but since so many of her "appliances" and fixtures are non-powered and manual, it seems feasible to me. And are they really that loud?

 

[highdesertranger]

that Happy Camper person sounds real familiar. if it's who I think it is that person is a he not a she. and he used to be on this forum.

I am not saying it's impossible but to do it right you are going to be running that generator a lot. many hours everyday or your battery is going to have a short life. plus it's going to cost you in fuel. a couple of bucks a day for a year is over 700 bucks. could have just bought a nice little solar setup. highdesertranger

 

[CityWoman]

that Happy Camper person sounds real familiar.  if it's who I think it is that person is a he not a she.  and he used to be on this forum.

Oh, I love the challenge of doing a little detective work, so I did some searching here. I think I found who it was: The CamperVan_Man. He always starts his posts with "Greetings!" just like the person who commented in tinycamper's blog. I read through some of his posts here and he's mentioned living and traveling in a van for many years, that he helps people do conversions very inexpensively, seems to prefer easy low-tech DIY methods, uses a "golf cart engine," and a non-evaporative swamp cooler. Last post was in 2014. Yep, I'm pretty sure it's the same person.

 

[highdesertranger]

dig a little deeper Camper Van Man was a reincarnation from a previously banned user. but you are on the right track. yes that is him. highdesertranger

 

[user 37446]

He had an older low top Dodge van I believe? Often getting into squabbles? If that's the one I remember from my lurking days.

 

[caretaker]

this is exciting, watching the hounds on the scent, deductive reasoning is fun, like the satisfaction of when you figure out your gonna win at solitaire or monopoly. what is he, a stink bug or something?

 

[user 37446]

I probably shouldn't care, doesn't add anything to the OP's querie, yet I just remember a particular forum member who was very oppositional and made wild claims about how you could recharge house batteries simply with a few minutes off a generator/alternator. It's been "myth-busted" many times yet it could lead newer members astray.

I was one of those who wondered what all the fuss was about with recharging, after all my starting battery lasts for 6-7 years and never has anything but the alternator, so why wouldn't a house battery do the same?  How come my 120 amp alternator doesnt just recharge everything n 5 minutes??  :huh:

It took reading a lot of posts, several longer ones by SternWake, for me to understand that's not how it works. (Wishful thinking). So when someone comes on, posts information which is proven incorrect, gets into arguments, gets warned, gets banned, then comes back on as someone else, then it's fair that we should be made aware.

 

[caretaker]

is wood gas the right direction

 

[user 37446]

I could really benefit from that system. I leave Phoenix and come all the up north in May and return sometime in October specifically to beat the heat. It's going to be, lets see, 118 on Monday, 119 on Tuesday and 118 degrees on Wednesday back there. I could have saved all the gas, meals on the road, 24 + hours of mostly monotonous driving, wear on myself and the car, and just "fired up the 12v A/C". Man, what a dummy I am to miss out on that 65-75 degrees!  :-/.  

Plus, I could probably just idle the car and fully recharge my 200 amp hours of batteries in the 30 minutes it took to bring the temps down from 120 to 75.  Sheesh! 

 

[wayne49]

Was this the same guy who claimed he could fully charge his house batteries via the cigar lighter socket?

 

[highdesertranger]

yep. highdesertranger