Engine Accessory AC Generators

[keelsidedown]

I was looking around the web for engine accessory generator solutions and ran across the following (sorry, it's in Japanese):

ボルボã�‹ã‚‰ãƒ¤ãƒ³ãƒžãƒ¼ã�«ã‚¨ãƒ³ã‚¸ãƒ³ã‚’æ�›è£ …ã�™ã‚‹ï¼� : In the pontoon bridge

This picture show the generator attached to the accessory pully of a yanmar engine:

ボルボからヤンマーにエンジンを換装する！の画像:In the pontoon bridge

I was wondering if any recognized the make/model or had any suggestions for similar alternators/generators (I'm looking to size the voltage at 120vAC 60hz).

I've seen similar product in the Japanese market, but they all seem to be sized quite a bit larger. The ~2.5kw AC generator installed by the Japanese boater seems to be roughly the right size (power-wise and, more importantly, weight-wise).

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

4 Pole range

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, keelsidedown.

[Sailmonkey]

http://www.meps.com/


I believe this is what you're looking for

[forsailbyowner]

generator heads are easy to come by.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sears-Crafts...item4ac200bb36

[bglad]

What are you wanting to drive with the 120 volt system?

[twistedtree]

To get 60hz (or 50hz for that matter) AC power, you need some means to control the frequency. I'm aware of three ways this can be done on a boat:

1) Control frequency by running the driving engine at a fixed, controlled speed. This fixes the rotational speed of the generator and in turn fixes the AC frequency. This is the method used by your typical engine driven stand alone generator. Doing this in conjunction with a propulsion engine is problematic because, with few exceptions, the engine's speed is varied to control the boat's movement.

2) Generate DC power, then invert it to create stable 60hz AC. Any inverter-equipped boat already does exactly this. The engine's alternator charges the battery and the inverter draws off DC to make AC. If all you want to do is power an inverter, these can be made more efficient by raising the DC voltage, but that's a whole other topic.

3) Make a hydraulic AC generator. The engine drives a hydraulic pump at varying speeds, then a hydraulic motor drives the generator at a steady speed/frequency. At lower RPMs the engine will pump less hydraulic fluid, and might require lighter loading on the generator, but systems like this are commonly used on larger boats.

[keelsidedown]

> What are you wanting to drive with the 120 volt system?

There are a couple of AC units (one for the main cabin/forward berth and one for the rear berth; unknown draw, probably somewhere between 5 to 10 amps a piece). A 600-800 watt microwave (probably not at the same time). An LCD TV and some computer/network appliances (router, NAS, Apple TV, Laptop, etc.). That's pretty much it. Everything else is 12vDC. I'm going to try to wire most of the electronics into 12VDC power (looking for a decent DC power regulator with taps at 19vDC, 12vDC and 5vDC).

I'm thinking 4kw to 6kw MEPS solution looks good, especially considering they regulate the frequency independent of engine RPM.

[bglad]

The AC units are the deal killer. Everything else would work fine off an inverter. Might still want one so you can run your small AC loads when your main engine is not running.

[Tim R.]

I have a Seapower 5kw system from MEPS on my Yanmar 4JH2E. It works great and eliminates the need for a separate genset.

There is a lot more to it then just connecting up a generator. There is an electronic unit that inverts and conditions the power and also a source power switch a the nav station to switch between shore power and sea power.

We can run our reverse cycle 15kbtu AC/heater off of it no problem.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by keelsidedown

>

I'm thinking 4kw to 6kw MEPS solution looks good, especially considering they regulate the frequency independent of engine RPM.

I've used them in several oilfield trucks.....most of the time they're running two rooftop AC units and a computer rack that is extremely susceptible to power supply noise. My biggest complaint with them has been related to installation, so long as they're not installed under the chassis of the truck they're fine......I don't see that being a problem of yours though