Alternator Load Test Help

[Ctreve]

Hi First topic here,

I am a grade ten high school student building a steam engine for a project. I have finished designing it but I am stuck on the generator part. I plan to get a small car alternator and use the steam engine to turn it. My teacher says I need to build some kind of circuit to put a load on the generator to test the engine. I am looking for any ideas of what I should use, resistors, light bulbs? I am good at electronics and I have the use of the electronics shop at school so materials will not be the problem.

If you have any ideas that would be great.

[RP]

Can you give us an idea of the amount of POWER the steam engine will be able to produce?  An appropriate load could be made in a variety of ways but we need some idea of scale.

If your engine will produce 3hp (~2,200 watts), that's a different kettle of fish than a tiny engine that can produce say 1 watt.

That information will also help in advising you on selecting or building a generator.

Also, it would help if you could share some of your design drawings (or pictures of the engine if you have any yet).

[SparWeb]

I'm guessing that you want an alternator for testing the steam engine.  As in:  you will use the alternator to load the steam engine, to produce test results of power and RPM about your engine design.

If that's the case, then you don't need an alternator, exactly, you can use a "load" of any sort on the engine.  May I introduce you to the prony-brake?  It would be simpler than building an alternator.

On the other hand, maybe the goal of your project is to turn a souce of steam into an electrical power generator.  If so, then we'd love to help, and you've come to the right place!  Some more info right now will be helpful, as RP said.

[ghurd]

I am a grade ten high school student building a steam engine for a project.
I plan to get a small car alternator and use the steam engine to turn it.

A car alternator is not at all suitable.

I can't imagine they (anyone who knows up from down) would let you build a steam engine large enough to effectively power a car alternator in grade 10.
And they let me build a fully functional firearm, and shoot it (repeatedly), in school.

Even if they let you build it, and you build it twice as good as NASA specs, pretty sure it takes a license just to put any heat in it.
Suprised nobody mentioned something on that topic yet.
G-