Super-capacitor generator setup

I think this scheme would work nice but I have to cross it off my list. A bit too expensive for me. Need the resources for other projects and don’t want to depend on an expensive (in my book) inverter.

For me, it’s best to leave the surge issues for the big gridster and I’ll focus more on electrical items that run on DC with no major surge and low power.

I do like the super cap idea and I might use them to power up the rotor coil so no need for a battery to get DC, or three phase ac, out of an alternator. Might even do that with a large common cap. More math needed. A super cap might be the ticket to power my small blower but more math and I need to measure the current draw of both items… Fun, fun, fun…

I wouldn’t cross it off my list. I would just put it at the bottom… Revisit it in a year or two. You will see more favourable numbers. The industry is going through a fairly major growth phase right now.

Some toys showed up for when the snow starts to pile up. I hope work slows down January and February.

Another new toy showed up…

Claimed to be NOS but maybe an old stock rebuilt. Odd that the older style is much easer to find and seems to be cloned. Sometimes the advertised 12si is really a mixed up 10si/12si…

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Sweet, Jeff! Great find!

So what is it…?

It’s a blast from the past… 12si alternator. Not the best choice but fine for what I want… Pump up my smartphone with chartric and light some led lights.

The used 10si, that i was going to use, was used for an alternator conversion for my new 60 year old tractor… :scream: so that’s why this showed up.

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These two responses seems to be saying opposite things, so which is it?

Obviously there is no point in installing a ‘supercap’ on a lawnmower, if it is truly going to leak down after 3 months, or even 3 days, as madflower69 seems to suggest~~~

If I’m going to jump-start my lawnmower, I may as well leave out the battery & the ‘supercap’, and save those expenses altogether. I’m not trying to become an electronics expert, but if the leakage is truly somewhere around 3 days, I see no point in having ‘supercaps’ in that application. It is true my lawnmower may sit for months at a time.

Another quick question, the video of the motorcycle mentioned ‘cold starting’ at 24F, which is great, but what about heated applications? as if ‘engine mounted’ next to the starter itself, temperature might be 300F in that location, would the ‘supercaps’ work well in that environment?

Just curious…

Oliver

I’ve been jumpstarting my mower for years. It’s saved me quite a bit of battery cost, and really not that hard to do…

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I pull start mine.

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More toys showed up. From left to right: a nice potted step down to USB voltage, a step up to USB, volt meter and a switcher regulator to try with my blower fan. The paper has the time/voltage data that I started to collect.

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What did you say???TomC

Chris; I had one of those “jumper battery things” for a while and it worked great for me. Start my lawn mowers, old cars, and best of all run my hydraulic "cherry picker:. The problem is it didn’t last as long as a good 12 V battery that was maintained. Have other people had success with these portable battery jumpers?TomC

Hi Tom, that’s what I say when yah need 20 characters. Sunny day today but I have to work on repairing stuff for winter, inside. Got the snow plow adapter welded up for my new 60 year old tractor.

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Adding more characters to his short post so the forum would let him post it.

A lost inverter showed up at the door yesterday. It’s only 300w but seems well built. No fan so that’s why the 10lbs weight. Morningstar puresine 300.

Another snow storm showing up in about 12 hours…

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Pretty… I keep thinking of getting a small pure sine for work lighting and cordless charging…

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Hi Tom, I have had 3 of them now. The first lasted for years, used it in place of batteries in garden tractors , mowers and whatnot for years. Second was just like first but junk from the start. Wouldn’t hold a charge and would do nothing but help a week battery. Third was pretty good not as good as the first. For me the cost is to close to that of a real battery any more, I wont be buying another unless 300 amp plus in the thirty dollar range. That probably not going to happen again. Best thing about them is no core charge.

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Thanks Jim. I guess a cart with two 6 volt batteries would work better from what you have experienced. ( 6 volt would jump both 6 and 12 volt vehicles ) TomC

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this year I broke down and bought one for the lawnmower, It seems I buy a full size one every couple years and still vehicle sharing. You can never have to many.

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Pooh, talk about slow go… :cry: Seems like I’m in slow motion all the time…

Anybody know if Sun Xtender batteries are any good? I have not found any real reviews of them but a lot of solar supplies handle them.

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