A friend of mine has a steamboat --- a rather large (40') wooden, home-built steamboat, single industrial boiler, twin engine, a battery bank and a steam-engine-driven generator.
From day 1 after we launched the boat, it was pretty clear that it was essential to improve the steam-driven genset to deliver electricity to the battery bank. Initially, he used a typical 12v car alternator to generate current. I don't think we ever got more than 20-25amps continuous out of it. Then there was a heavy duty alternator---same story. Then I suggested (but did not recommend) looking at PMAC motor/alternators mentioned and sold online. He bought one. It did deliver current as a generator, but it got super hot and was nothing close to the efficient PMAC generator that the company advertised. It was clear to me that their online specs were very misleading and inaccurate! The only way to make that alternator efficient was to run it at high speeds and higher voltage. Claims that it loved low speeds and high current were not only wrong, but terribly wrong.
Ultimately, the best and most affordable generator element we used was a high efficiency DC brush motor. Not only did it happily generate 40+ amps into the battery bank but also worked as a great starter motor to start the steam engine rotating without having to stick your hand in there…I hadn't thought of that benefit J!
-MT
Posted by: "Myles Twete" <matwete@comcast.net>
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