[VAC] Re: Electrical Independence

[Jim Dunmyer <jdunmyer@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Sarah,
 Go to http://www.homepower.com and you might find those articles. I
KNOW they've published them in the past and have them on their CD-ROMs.

As Gerald J. says, all that's required is a mounting for the mower
engine and alternator and a belt drive.

Although this will work, it's not real efficient for charging deep-cycle
batteries because of the way the regulator works. It will cut back the
charge rate too quickly, making recharge of "low" batteries a long-time
proposition. In one of the HP articles, they show how to control the
alternator manually so you can prevent stalling the engine from the
initial excessive load, then keep the charge rate relatively high until
the battery is 70-80% charged, then taper it off. I believe that West
Marine and perhaps Ample Power sells special alternator regulators that
do this automatically, but they're fairly expensive. They also sell
special heavy-duty alternators that will handle this kind of usage
without failing.

There's a bit more to it than meets the eye. :-)

                                     <<Jim>>