Can you use idling engine/alternator as a generator?

[mid4did]

Yes you could but a speed of around 1500 rpm would be required to get juice level up,but do remember long speels of no load are not good for engines and if done for long time then oil burning will happen,.

I can confirm this .Oil burning can happen by being sucked up to the turbo.It happened to me.
Freezing cold day a few years back and parked in a supermarket car park outside of chippenham.I let the engine idle and had the heater on to keep warm minding my own business,cup of coffee and sandwiches in between jobs.After about an hour I decided to move off and thats when it happened.The car,renault megane 1.9 dci raced down the outside road of the car park with a big plume of smoke behind and there was nothing I could do to stop it.I turned the engine off and it still kept going.Luckily I stalled it by putting in gear and hanging on the brakes.The sump was bone dry .I walked to the petrol station and got some oil,waited till it was cooled down and topped it up.Drove fine after that but never again will I let an engine tick over for any length of time.

 

[maingate]

I can confirm this .Oil burning can happen by being sucked up to the turbo.It happened to me.
Freezing cold day a few years back and parked in a supermarket car park outside of chippenham.I let the engine idle and had the heater on to keep warm minding my own business,cup of coffee and sandwiches in between jobs.After about an hour I decided to move off and thats when it happened.The car,renault megane 1.9 dci raced down the outside road of the car park with a big plume of smoke behind and there was nothing I could do to stop it.I turned the engine off and it still kept going.Luckily I stalled it by putting in gear and hanging on the brakes.The sump was bone dry .I walked to the petrol station and got some oil,waited till it was cooled down and topped it up.Drove fine after that but never again will I let an engine tick over for any length of time.

This was a problem years ago with Industrial engines (Generators etc.) if they were not doing any work and just idling. It was known as 'wet stacking'. Now that many diesels have a Turbo fitted, it becomes a runaway engine and ends in certain destruction.

 

[harrow]

This was a problem years ago with Industrial engines (Generators etc.) if they were not doing any work and just idling. It was known as 'wet stacking'. Now that many diesels have a Turbo fitted, it becomes a runaway engine and ends in certain destruction.

One point to observe is the engine oil level.

If the oil level is rising then it is very likely that diesel fuel is going past the pistons and into the sump.

A high oil level is very risky and can lead to the diesel turbo burning its own sump oil and engine runaway.

Leaving the van engine running for half an hour will do no more harm than being stuck in traffic.

 

[blights]

I recently had my EGR Valve replaced and was asked by the commercial fitters if I start it on the drive every so often and leave it running I said no I drive it up the dual carriageway for a good 40 mile round trip. I was then told good that is the best thing you can do the worst thing you can do is leave it ticking over as it just builds up carbon etc and that shortens the life of things like the EGR Valve etc, Moral of my way of thinking EGR Valve fitted nearly 300 nicker any other things it may be affecting who knows what cost a decent suitcase genny around 6-7 hundred in my head the genny or gas lo system will outweigh the cost of repairs eventually (I think) , I asked a AA call out guy this very question regarding the idling issue and it affecting parts he also confirmed it does affect these parts and others that was enough for me to stick to what I do.

 

[jeffmossy]

I have been thinking about putting on of these 400W Wind Turbine Generator DC 12V 24V Controller Regulator Home Power | eBay on the back of my van , I know it need s wind to work but most days in the UK have wind blowing, also it will charge at night

 

[mistericeman]

I have been thinking about putting on of these 400W Wind Turbine Generator DC 12V 24V Controller Regulator Home Power | eBay on the back of my van , I know it need s wind to work but most days in the UK have wind blowing, also it will charge at night

I considered a wind generator BUT in the end I discounted the idea as,
most folks I spoke to actually using them reckoned they were inherantly noisy AND needed a howling gale to get any decent amount of charge.

 

[jeffmossy]

I considered a wind generator BUT in the end I discounted the idea as,
most folks I spoke to actually using them reckoned they were inherantly noisy AND needed a howling gale to get any decent amount of charge.

Yes that is what I have been reading also , but I have 2 x 100w solar panels on the roof and 2 x 110ah leisure batteries and was thinking of wiring a wind turbine in conjunction with the panels just to keep these topped up, especially in winter

 

[mistericeman]

Yes that is what I have been reading also , but I have 2 x 100w solar panels on the roof and 2 x 110ah leisure batteries and was thinking of wiring a wind turbine in conjunction with the panels just to keep these topped up, especially in winter

We have 2 X 100w solar panels on the roof and a Durite voltage sensing split charge relay charging 3 x 100ah leisure batteries....
As we tend to move about a bit we don't struggle for power even being all electric cooking wise.

 

[Deleted member 36]

Regarding wind generators. We have been on a few aires where the odd van would have one. They are noisy and the noise is not a constant drone. It comes and goes as the wind gusts. I would not recommend one unless far from houses, and most certainly not for a van

 

[IanH]

F'in enormous wind turbines don't work for UKPLC on a national scale, even when put in places which CAN be breezy!!

So, how can any one imagine, even for a millisecond that some 1.2m dia idiocy will do more than charge a small mobile????:mad2::mad2::mad2::mad2:

Don't get me started!!!!!:wave:

BTW, just looked at your planned wind data sheet, rated wind speed, in other words the wind speed required for this thing to perhaps generate 400w, 35ft'sec. I mph = 1.47ft/s, 35 ft/s/1.47 = 23.8Mph. A rare event even in a windy place!
A friend on the south of the Isle of Arran, and he's up high, so a windy place has a 6Kw rated one. His average over years has been 750w!!!!!!!!!!!! Still, I suppose it charges his phone!

 

[IanH]

The thing is partly about cost though. A new gas oven is about £300 and a gas heater is upwards of £300, and an electric system with leisure batteries and solar panels etc is hundreds, whereas I already own an electric mini oven that works great(was £30) and already own a small electric heater(£20).

Very pleased with all the answers I've got in this thread lots of good info and leads.

Without being rude, and have no wish to be, the fact that you have 2 machines working well (on 240vac) is frankly irrelevant if you don't actually have 240vac!!
The easy way to go the gas route for a self build, which I recall you are doing, is to buy a second hand caravan, even a comparatively new one can be cheap, especially if damaged, and strip it. In it you'll find all you need, and all the upholstery you possibly need as well.

:idea::idea::idea:

 

[vwalan]

Without being rude, and have no wish to be, the fact that you have 2 machines working well (on 240vac) is frankly irrelevant if you don't actually have 240vac!!
The easy way to go the gas route for a self build, which I recall you are doing, is to buy a second hand caravan, even a comparatively new one can be cheap, especially if damaged, and strip it. In it you'll find all you need, and all the upholstery you possibly need as well.

:idea::idea::idea:

chassis cab and box then self build . use a cooker like this
INDESIT I5GG(W) 50 cm Gas Cooker - White LPG Convertible | eBay
ideal. built mine 17yrs ago used one similar but different make , still going strong . better made than camping cookers .
but as said camping ones are out there . baby belling cookers with an oven work a treat.

 

[maingate]

F'in enormous wind turbines don't work for UKPLC on a national scale, even when put in places which CAN be breezy!!

So, how can any one imagine, even for a millisecond that some 1.2m dia idiocy will do more than charge a small mobile????:mad2::mad2::mad2::mad2:

Don't get me started!!!!!:wave:

BTW, just looked at your planned wind data sheet, rated wind speed, in other words the wind speed required for this thing to perhaps generate 400w, 35ft'sec. I mph = 1.47ft/s, 35 ft/s/1.47 = 23.8Mph. A rare event even in a windy place!
A friend on the south of the Isle of Arran, and he's up high, so a windy place has a 6Kw rated one. His average over years has been 750w!!!!!!!!!!!! Still, I suppose it charges his phone!

The mistake people make is to stick the turbine on a short pole and attach it to the van. It is their ignorance of turbines that makes them fail.

I used a relatively small turbine but had it on a tall mast. It kept my batteries charged quite well. It did not put a huge charge in but if it ran overnight (and Winter nights are long) the total charge made a big difference to being off grid out of season. It was not noisy either, that is because it ran much smoother because it was not running in turbulent air. Your friend in Arran will be producing a lot more than 750W from September to March (which is when I mostly used mine).

 

[mistericeman]

As above ....

The impression I got regarding wind turbines from the folks i spoke to was that they needed to be at a decent height AND ideally in clean air ....neither of which is easily achievable on the back of a van .
They also needed to be of a decent size AND of a good quality (cheap = noisier AND more likely to have a low output AND fail prematurely)

Stuck on the back of a boat in a windy environment with generally lower power requirements they are a fair idea as well as the mounting of solar being more awkward .

As for the "You need to fit gas etc etc "

Not everyone wants to have gas on board ...I certainly didn't not so much from a safety point of view but more from not wanting to be filling gas/gas bottles up etc ...I just wanted to be as self contained as possible as far as power (barring filling up with diesel) was concerned,
something we have managed as in the twelve months of being away almost every weekend we have never needed hook up once ...Even over Xmas and new year .

Campervans etc have as many answers to different folks needs as there are questions ...there is NO one answer for everyone ...it's all horses for courses .

 

[mistericeman]

I'm my experience the only chance of a diesel 'running away' is that the oil seals on the turbo are so worn that the engine begins to ingest its own lubricant....
(the turbo impellor has a pressurised oil supply to its bearings)

As plenty above have said a spot of idling here and there (especially on a used engine) is unlikely to have anymore impact than sitting in traffic.
What special precautions do the thousands of industrial engines generators etc have (other than cooling etc) to prevent damage from sitting at constant speeds.
Even landrover were happy to just stick a few extra blades on the cooling fan when fitted to FFR (fitted for radio variants) along with a hand throttle to maintain a constant speed when parked up on radio duties powering the huge 24v generator.

 

[harrow]

I'm my experience the only chance of a diesel 'running away' is that the oil seals on the turbo are so worn that the engine begins to ingest its own lubricant....
(the turbo impellor has a pressurised oil supply to its bearings)

As plenty above have said a spot of idling here and there (especially on a used engine) is unlikely to have anymore impact than sitting in traffic.
What special precautions do the thousands of industrial engines generators etc have (other than cooling etc) to prevent damage from sitting at constant speeds.
Even landrover were happy to just stick a few extra blades on the cooling fan when fitted to FFR (fitted for radio variants) along with a hand throttle to maintain a constant speed when parked up on radio duties powering the huge 24v generator.

My firm used to run diesel, vauxhall combo and corsa in central London.

A mate that worked out of covent garden every day had one of these vans and on westminster bridge the diesel engine rang away engine going flat out with the keys out the ignition.

Clouds of smoke until the engine destroyed itself.

:hammer::hammer::hammer:

 

[mistericeman]

My firm used to run diesel, vauxhall combo and corsa in central London.

A mate that worked out of covent garden every day had one of these vans and on westminster bridge the diesel engine rang away engine going flat out with the keys out the ignition.

Clouds of smoke until the engine destroyed itself.

:hammer::hammer::hammer:

Ohhh it's very entertaining ....[video=youtube;j4rMfrERpG8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4rMfrERpG8[/video]

 

[IanH]

The mistake people make is to stick the turbine on a short pole and attach it to the van. It is their ignorance of turbines that makes them fail.

I used a relatively small turbine but had it on a tall mast. It kept my batteries charged quite well. It did not put a huge charge in but if it ran overnight (and Winter nights are long) the total charge made a big difference to being off grid out of season. It was not noisy either, that is because it ran much smoother because it was not running in turbulent air. Your friend in Arran will be producing a lot more than 750W from September to March (which is when I mostly used mine).

Sorry Maingate, you are wrong

The mistake any person makes is to think that any wind turbine will ever do anything of any known use to man!!

So, you're trying to tell me that you are willing to take a motorhome, already a very small place, and then, miraculously remove a considerable sized wind turbine out from within it, attach it to, your words, a very high pole then, if extremely lucky, perhaps, charge a mobile???????????

From Sept to March, my solar panel does exactly as you describe, with zero effort, zero wind idiocy, zero high poles?

Sorry, if the answer was wind power, WTF was the question?!:mad2::mad2::mad2::mad2:

 

[maingate]

Sorry Maingate, you are wrong

The mistake any person makes is to think that any wind turbine will ever do anything of any known use to man!!

So, you're trying to tell me that you are willing to take a motorhome, already a very small place, and then, miraculously remove a considerable sized wind turbine out from within it, attach it to, your words, a very high pole then, if extremely lucky, perhaps, charge a mobile???????????

From Sept to March, my solar panel does exactly as you describe, with zero effort, zero wind idiocy, zero high poles?

Sorry, if the answer was wind power, WTF was the question?!:mad2::mad2::mad2::mad2:

For a start, I don't have a little toy campervan, I have a proper motorhome. I have storage space, a large garage and a double floor throughout and a payload of almost 1.5 ton (at least I did when I used the turbine). My present van can barely manage 1 ton of payload, so I have had to leave the Jacuzzi at home these days. There again, the combined weight of the turbine and mast was about the same as fitting an additional battery. I would hate to think that for over 5 years the turbine did nowt and it was the electrical Fairies that kept my batteries going.

It's strange how it worked for me then isn't it. Of course there is no chance of your very strong opinion being wrong. You stick with it ... well it wants sticking somewhere.

 

[trevskoda]

Sorry Maingate, you are wrong

The mistake any person makes is to think that any wind turbine will ever do anything of any known use to man!!

So, you're trying to tell me that you are willing to take a motorhome, already a very small place, and then, miraculously remove a considerable sized wind turbine out from within it, attach it to, your words, a very high pole then, if extremely lucky, perhaps, charge a mobile???????????

From Sept to March, my solar panel does exactly as you describe, with zero effort, zero wind idiocy, zero high poles?

Sorry, if the answer was wind power, WTF was the question?!:mad2::mad2::mad2::mad2:

Better tell ni gov as there building new wind farms here every couple of weeks,im told we are almost 1/3 at low usage times and some times have to switch some of as to much lecy,surly ni fantstic well run stormont would not get this wrong.:idea-007: