My epic center generator build

[agrezy1]

Been wanting to build one of these for couple years finally did it.had the 3.5 Briggs engine bought the 75 amp alternator from O'Reilly and bracket and pulleys from theepiccenter.com still have to wire it up but engine is never been run so wanted to break it in.all I wanted was something I could run economically to charge my batteries on the trailer I'm building I work with onan generators everyday but I wanted something easy to work on and easy and cheap to get parts for and quiet low rpm engine epic says it will produce power for alternator at idle with the pulleys they use.will say it's very quiet at idle.kinda excited about it so far it has exceeded my expectations.

 

[hugemoth]

Are you using an alternator with a built in regulator? They work fine but always go to max field current until they reach their set point of about 14.5 volts. If you can access the field winding you can use a resistor to control the load on the engine, or there are schematics on line to build an external adjustable current regulator with adjustable max voltage. It's nice to be able to turn down the current so the engine can be run at low RPMs for less noise.

 

[agrezy1]

Are you using an alternator with a built in regulator? They work fine but always go to max field current until they reach their set point of about 14.5 volts. If you can access the field winding you can use a resistor to control the load on the engine, or there are schematics on line to build an external adjustable current regulator with adjustable max voltage. It's nice to be able to turn down the current so the engine can be run at low RPMs for less noise.

Using internally regulated they claim it will charge at idle with these pulleys.we Will see.

 

[John61CT]

I'd go large frame Leece-Neville 200+A with best fan available, it's heat build-up that severely limits output on regular small alts.

multi-groove serpentine belt, dual's not enough

pulleys sized to output 120-150A at 30% above idling

and Balmar MC-614 external reg, customized charge profile setpoints, slow ramp up, "belt-saver" de-rating

or maybe a Sterling, Mark Grasser, or Ample Power, but I believe not as customizable