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This is a genset I'm working on, mostly learning as I go.
I found that the 18.5 KW generator exchanges feedback with the automotive style alternator attached to the governor controlled diesel engine through a controller board. To automatically increase power output from the fixed speed engine, more excitation voltage/current is fed to the alternator which in turn increases the excitation voltage/current to the the main generator.
Anyway, here is the controller which not only is an antique, it is also not functioning
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I found a place which may rebuild it, I thought about troubleshooting it a little, but I do not have a schematic, just the service manual from Kohler, which doesn't cover the controller at all.
The controller uses ferrite doughnuts like a clamp-on amp gauge to sense.
Following the service manual we manually excited the main generator field and that worked, it put out power to the mains(two phase 115 is what it is wired for at the moment.)
I thought maybe I wanted this because I am a home-brew fuel man; I process 25 gallon batches of biodiesel in a Apple-turnover (upside down modified electric hot water heater, originally designed by Girl-Mark as the Appleseed biodiesel processor)
But 27 horse power diesel? It is too much, if I could make this 18.5 KW generator charge my battery bank in fifteen minutes that would be cool, well I'm sure some one will chime in about ultra fast battery charging, but rest easy, it was a pipe dream anyway.
Then in another lie-awake-nights, wish I was really dreaming kind of affair, I thought, could I get a controller that would instead of getting feedback from its own output for voltage correction, why not use the grid? I wrote about that back in February or march, and it is one of the more popular pages on my site, even though I've received no feedback, interesting tags, I guess.
what do y'all think?
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