Power trailer (continued)

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This is continuation of a previous diary entry:

http://www.fieldlines.com/story/2008/11/11/213333/08

I finally made a little more progress on my power trailer.

I got a good sized plastic box mounted in the front to hold the batteries and electronics.

I gave up on my 40 watt panel as the 1'x4' size was problematic.  I instead settled on a 30 watt panel which is a much better fit.  You can see it mounted on the top of the battery box.

I also mounted volt and amp gauges in the box.  When you press the weather proof button, the voltage gauge is powered up and the lights on both gauges turn on.

I'm happy to report that, on the infrequent occasion that the prevailing winds manage to miss the 40' trees surrounding my 22' tower, the Air 403 seems to work properly.  I expected it would, but after its undersea adventure and two weeks soaking in sand and salt water I am happy to be able to confirm that it can make a measurable amount of power.   It only spun up to speed for about 10 seconds at a time before the turbulence would turn it around backwards, but in those brief periods it would produce 5+ amps.  I expect that once the trailer is in an unobstructed location, it will work well.

My plans currently call for 2 210 AH 6v golf cart batteries but right now I only have a single 25 amp hour battery. The picture above shows it is getting overcharged by the 30 watt panel.  I put a 100 amp load on it for 30 seconds after that picture was taken.  Once the load was removed, the voltage had dropped to 12.5.

I also have to say that I am very impressed by this panels ability to produce voltage in low light.  When hooked directly to my battery load tester (load off) the voltage gauge was pegged at 16+ volts.  I had to turn the panel upside down, place one edge on the ground and lower the other side to within 2" of the ground before the voltage dropped to a measurable number (<16).

I'm going to start working on mounting the lawnmower generator next.

[kenputer]

Great looking setup! but I wonder if it is a good idea to have the solar panel mounted to the black cover or does it have standoffs to give air movement below?

Ken

[richhagen]

Nice to see you making progress there.  Impressive that that alternator came through with such little damage.  

It may be noisy and take high winds to make power, but I guess it is robust.  I seem to remember you writing that you were going to replace the bearings, and obviously you got new blades, but pretty amazing that more of it wasn't ruined based upon the carnage and sea water all around.  

Standoffs to allow for air circulation around the panel are likely a good idea because as the panel heats up its output voltage will drop.  For most 36 cell panels this will not be much of a problem, but in your case, I would also wonder about the aging of the panel from the heat.  My old epoxy coated panels which look similar to yours have yellowed a bit on the epoxy, probably from UV, but I have seen some small cracks as well, and can't help but wonder if temperature extremes were also a contributing factor.  I have a definitely developed a preference for the (tempered glass-EVA-Cells-EVA-tedlar) type of construction as unless you crack the glass, or gouge the tedlar on the back, they seem to hold up pretty well, and for them to work out economically for me, they need to last a very, very long time.  Rich  

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The panel has small standoffs.  The rubber grommets in the bolt holes hold it about 1/4" off of the top of the box.  It is an epoxy coated panel on an aluminum backing.  I think it is a "Solarex"(?) brand panel.  Anyway, it is an old panel, but it has never been used so it is "like new".

Yes, I replaced the bearings and bought a new set of blades from Southwest Wind Power.  I am also amazed by how little damage it sustained.  When I told the people at SWWP what had happened, they said it was probably a lost cause and not worth the effort to try and fix.  I'm glad I didn't listen.  

I went to start the engine on my lawnmower generator this afternoon.  It has no spark.  I probably need to replace the points and condenser (again).  It seems to need that every couple of years whether I use it or not.

It has great compression and I know it will run if it has a spark...but replacing the points is a pain.  I may look for an electronic ignition kit for it.  On the other hand, I have several larger lawnmower engines that already have electronic ignition, so I may just swap out the entire motor.  Depends on how much the kit costs...

I think that I will move the battery box back about 6" to make room for the generator in front of it.

[dnix71]

Sears parts stores stock the electronic replacement for points. I did my sidewalk edger last year. The points would grow white fuzzy corrosion after a week outdoors in south Florida humidity.

It's a Briggs standard kit. It requires a soldering iron to complete and there were no instructions. It took me a while to figure it out. The part # is 5025D. You compress the plastic wings on the kit and wedge it in the engine coil. There are two versions of the kit, one for 2 prong coils with the middle disc and one for Techumseh e shaped 3 prong coils.

You take the wire off the condensor and solder it to the stubby wire on the kit. The bare wire with the ring is grounded to one of the engine coil bolts. I didn't need the insulated wire with the ring that comes with the kit. If you don't break the key when you pull the flywheel, then you'll have a spare, since the kit comes with a key.

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Thanks!

I picked up another points/condenser kit from O'Reilieys today for <$5.00.

I'll probably put it in tomorrow, but If I can find the electronic kit, I'll buy it and save it fore the next time.  In my experience, it is generally the condenser that goes out.

Flux?  If you are listening (or anyone else who knows), what exactly does the condenser do anyway?  I've been replacing them for 30 years and never really was sure EXACTLY what their function was.

[jimjjnn]

Condensor(capacitor). Used for arc suppression across the points when they open. Supposed to prevent burning of the points from the reverse EMf of  the coil, as I recall.

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Replaced the condenser and points today and the motor started right up.  The old points looked like new, so I'm sure that the condenser was bad.

I'll be wiring it up in the next few days and should be able to get some reading as too how much power it will produce.  I plan to see what happens when I attach my 100 amp battery test load.  If it can maintain voltage with that load and not stall the engine I'll be very impressed.  I expect it will not maintain voltage OR stall the engine.  Worst case, the engine will stall.

It is only a 3HP engine.  The alternator is rated at ~100 amps.  I'm looking forward to seeing what it will do.

Finally, on a side note, I want to say how impressed I am with old Briggs and Stratton engines.  I picked this one up off the side of the road on heavy trash day.  It had lived a long life mowing lawns...until the mower it was attached too had rusted out.  I have used it on a number of projects from fans to generators over the years.  Despite the fact that it is probably almost 30 years old, other than replacing the condenser every few years and changing the oil now and then it has never needed anything.  It always starts easy and runs well.