QA

Quick Answer: How To Build An Alternator Generator

How much power can a car alternator produce?

Conventional alternator may only produce power for about 500 Watt to 600 Watt. But nowadays, a single alternator can produce power up to 2500 Watt, depending on the power demand. The power that can be produced by an alternator is determined by the alternator rating.

How fast does an alternator have to spin to generate power?

An alternator has a normal range of operation. Most alternators need to spin at about 2,400 rpm at idle, have their maximum output above 6,000 rpm, and should never exceed 18,000 rpm.

Can a car alternator power a house?

The total power (in watts) from typical car alternator is too low for typical whole-house power supply. You can buy an inverter that provides 120V AC power from a car but you probably won’t have enough amperage to run a whole house– at least not seamlessly.

How much power is needed to turn an alternator?

An alternator takes about 1 HP for every 25 Amps of power. At full output, a 100 Amp alternator will need about 4 HP. For a long time, most alternators don’t operate at full output.

How many watts can a 120 amp alternator handle?

thats an average between output surges. Thats just sort of a relative rule of thumb. The other sorta relative rule of thumb is that 10 amps can translate to somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 watts so a 120 amp alternator could do 1200 watts.

Can you run an alternator with an electric motor?

You can use a DC motor to drive an alternator in order to invert a DC energy supply into AC. But you would be setting up a system with needless mechanical complexity. It would not be economical to needlessly drive an alternator by an electric motor. Magnetic force in an alternator causes a mechanical resistance.

Can you hand crank an alternator?

Can you hand crank a car alternator to power other supplies? – Quora. You can hand crank it. It has internal diodes to convert AC to DC. You need to turn it at least fast enough for it to generate enough voltage to overcome the forward voltage drop of the diodes.

Can I use an alternator to generate electricity?

Yes, alternators generate electricity most efficiently when driven by an internal combustion engine. Their application in a motor vehicle is common. Also as a stationary power source to charge batteries for off the grid power.

Can you use an alternator for a wind turbine?

Windmills can provide you with electrical power for free – but to convert motion into current you’ll need a generator. “A car alternator could be a handy solution if you’re stuck, producing a steady 12 volts as its spindle is turned,” says Dartnell.

What kind of electricity does an alternator produce?

Car batteries operate on one-way direct current (DC) electricity, while alternators output alternating current (AC) electricity, which occasionally flows in reverse.

Which way does an alternator spin?

Rule of thumb. If the engine rotates clockwise, which it does, then any pulley driven by the inside of the belt rotates clockwise, and any pulley driven by the backside of the belt turns counterclockwise, like the water pump.

Can an alternator produce 240 volts?

Therefore, you need an alternator that will produce at least 125 Amps. In reality, you need more than that, in order to still have 1500W after you get done converting it to 240V. Fortunately, without trying too hard, I could find 200A, 250A, and 300A (2400W~3600W) alternators … so this is definitely possible.

At what RPM does an alternator start charging?

The minimum RPM is highly dependent on the specification of alternator. But a basic alternator will produce charging current anything above 2000 rpm. We can safely say, an economy car will idle around 750 rpm, a sports car around 1250 rpm and a race car around 2000 rpm.

What is the minimum RPM of a 12V car alternator?

Typically, the lowest speed at which a car alternator is able to generate 12VDC is about 1,800 RPM.

How many volts AC does an alternator produce?

An alternator is so named because it produces alternating electrical current. This energy can be converted from one voltage to another using a transformer. Thus, the 12-volt AC output from an alternator can be transformed into 120 volt-AC current.

How many volts should an alternator put out?

A good alternator should maintain battery voltage between 13.9 and 14.8 volts (14.2 is optimum).

Is it OK to use a higher amp alternator?

You can never have too much amperage when it comes to alternators; therefore, you never have to worry about choosing an alternator with too high of a rated output. So high-output alternators will not harm your components or charging system, no matter how high you go with the amps.

How many batteries do I need for 5000 watt amp?

You will need at least one 450-500 12V battery or two 210 12V batteries to supply 5000 watts of power for 30-45 minutes. If you’d like an hour of 5000 water of power, you’ll need a 750ah 12V battery.

What size alternator do I need for 1000 watt amp?

As a general rule, you need about 100 amps of current for every 1000 watts of power generated.