Help with idea on alternator and inverter

[Kawak]

No a cars motor doesn't have way more capacity then a generator, unless you're referring to the tank.
Firstly you would need to run the cars engine flat out all the time for it to be reaching its peak kw.
You'll end up spending a lot on petrol and possible damaging your engine. Save up and buy an inverter with some batteries rather.

Thanks for clarity, what will be a realistic kw that an idling car can put out if a high output alternator is fitted? Already have an inverter with some lithium batteries backing up lights and entertainment, a rooftop solar array generating 12kw per day, no issue adding more as am also keeping door open for possibly going off grid, would still need some way to charge those batteries come cloudy days, if a car engine can reasonably output 1.5kw continuously, that can be hooked up to power supplies and dumped onto the charge controllers? Or am I still missing something?

Not expecting my car to output 6.5kva, just enough to pump juice into those batteries if the power cuts are much longer (days) than normal load shedding.

 

[Geoff.D]

This thread has no crossed the line into total stupidity.

Sorry, but getting out while I am still sane enough to do so.

 

[Ivork]

A lot of the 4x4 peeps would fit these aftermarket alternators that doubled as generators and even welders.

Forrest Engineering Services

Unipower Agent, Power-Tek Product Agent, Vehicle Engine Driven Generators, Plan My Power Agent, Unipower 299 Supply and Fit, Engine bracket manufacturer. Forge Press and Machinery Repairs. Bespoke Machining. Manufacture of Forge Quenching Machines

www.forrestengineeringservices.com

Not sure where you would find such a thing any more.

 

[dillinger]

Convert your AC gen to a DC gen. Acquaintance of mine took a small single cylinder petrol engine and coupled it to a 24V DC alternator. He built it for a guy that lives at some border post, he rents it out to truckers that are parked there for days on end waiting for the paperwork to clear, they use it to charge their truck batteries.

I am busy building a control panel for a DC generator. The engine is a single cylinder diesel, 9.5KW, coupled to a 48V DC 150Amp alternator. In actual fact the alternator is AC 3 phase (no neutra, star point) with a bunch of diodes and a smoothing cap. The DC generator will be used on a cell phone tower to charge the batteries, it will start and stop automatically to charge the batteries.

 

[dillinger]

A lot of the 4x4 peeps would fit these aftermarket alternators that doubled as generators and even welders.

Forrest Engineering Services

Unipower Agent, Power-Tek Product Agent, Vehicle Engine Driven Generators, Plan My Power Agent, Unipower 299 Supply and Fit, Engine bracket manufacturer. Forge Press and Machinery Repairs. Bespoke Machining. Manufacture of Forge Quenching Machines

www.forrestengineeringservices.com

Not sure where you would find such a thing any more.

Go and look in the back of old old Car magazines, they used to be advertised there.

 

[Moto Guzzi]

Your original idea.
Normally:
In a car you usually has the situation where you never charge a flat battery from the alternator , or at least regularly, or a very low battery to working or full condition with the alternator directly connected to the battery, simply because the car would not start from it to begin with.
Additional:
However if you connect a flat battery(s) to a car's alternator after it started, its a totally different game. The Alternator will get hot, overheat, and if not cooled down, will be abused with such a repeating practise.

However you got inverter(s) with certain drain from alternator and chargers draining from inverters, which maybe a softer situation, however if it boils down to a huge draw like described before, you have fanbelt and cooling issues, don't think your engine would mind, however that is in a stationary position your not driving around to work and back with the batteries, so if you pull this off, you need a fan at your radiator aimed..

Cooling:
So if you managed 60-90% draw from extra alternator, you need to consider extra cooling for it(Housing with fan), and feed the car radiator with extra fan from the front, like you were driving, and quality fanbelt(s). Now you get to that awfull situation in nature where nothing is for free.