Can you use a car alternator to build a wind generator?

Question

I am very interested in trying to build my own small wind generator, I seen that you basically need a alternator, blades to build the fan, cabling and a battery. So could you use a car alternator and also how many 12V batterys would you need?

I think that was a little rude, judging by what you posted you seem to be a all around d*ck!

But thanks to the others who replied, you info was very helpful. thanks again.

Answer 1

You may have better success with an alternator with the field coils replaced with permanent magnets and the regulator removed. This will maximize the voltage output and allow you to regulate the voltage at the battery bank. The less electronics and other items to break up the tower the more reliable the system will be.

You should use deep cycle batteries, not automotive starting batteries. The number of batteries will depend upon the voltage your system operates, power capacity of the generator, and size of inverters. Do not go overboard with too many batteries or the generator will never be able to fully charge them.

There is someone near me who is building the blades with PVC pipe. He uses it to turn a permanent magnet DC motor to act as the generator. I'll try to find his web page later.

I'm hoping to get back to my wind generator project shortly. It's been tied up in municipal bylaws and idiotic permits...
Visit my web page for ideas.
http://members.rennlist.org/warren/wind.html

Answer 2

Alternator Wind Generator

Answer 3

Diy Wind Turbine Car Alternator

Answer 4

Of course you can do it. You just need one 12 V battery to make it work. Without figuring out what you're going to do with it, and how much the wind is blowing, you'd never be able to figure out just what more batteries would accomplish.

An ordinary alternator will put out about 75 or 100 amps max at 12 volts. That's about 1000 watts or so. You can get an inverter to make 110V AC out of that, but I'm not sure if you can synchronize that with the house.

Answer 5

You can do this with a car alternator but it would be more effecient to get a generator that was designed for a wind generator use. An automobile alternator needs to run at a speed of at least about 1000 RPM to function at its rated output.

Answer 6

You can build one but you are going to need a constant wind velocity in order for the alternator to provide ample charge to the battery. The number of batteries you need depends upon the rate of discharge which will be determined by what you are going to do with the energy that you harness from the wind. ie; light bulbs, motors etc. Of course you know that you will need Marine type batteries right?

Why don't you start here: http://www.otherpower.com/otherpower_wind.html
And here:
http://www.lookout2000.com/windpower/

Good luck! It's a lot of work!

Answer 7

Yes you can, infact the Electrovent" company produces a small windgenerator which uses an automotive regulator. They do repace the built in regulator but otherwise it is a stock item.