alt.energy.renewable

On Mar 6, 3:46 pm, markk...@hotmail.com wrote:
> > I've done it for three years now. The batteries have a 6 year warranty
> > and cost $64 each. The alternator came from a junk yard at $10. The
> > charge controller cost about $175.
>
> > Todd Marshall
> > Plantersville, TX
>
> You may be interested in my home made voltage regulator for automotive
> or marine alternators;http://www.amsterdamhouseboats.nl/voltage_regulator.htm
> It's a free build yourself design, not commercial; but please link to
> the site, it improves my search engine rankings.
> My experiments with Delco and Bosch 80A alternators show full field
> current [at 14V] for both at around 5 amps; but full field voltage +
> current isn't required to reach full output. It depends on the
> armature speed; at higher speeds, less field is required.
> At full field voltage [+ current of course] you get 80A at around
> 2000RPM. there's a lot of torque and problems with belt slippage too.
> Efficiency is always pretty bad with these types of alternators, but
> gets worse as they get hotter. I find it better to run 2 [or even
> more] in parallel at half load each.
> My regulator will control multiple alternators simultaneously. I've
> had a Delco + a Bosch running in tandem for years.
> Regards, Mark Holden

What's really needed is a feedback loop from the battery itself. My
commercial solar charge controller takes the voltage out of the
alternator and adjusts the load using MPPT for maximum power transfer
to the battery (limited by battery temperature and phase in the
charging cycle (e.g. bulk, acceptance, float, and occasional
equalize)). I'm working on a circuit that essentially achieves the
same result by adjusting the armature current. This simple circuit
will eliminate the charge controller at a fraction of the cost and
complexity.

/T