OT / Auto Alternator for emergency Power! Any ideas?

[rooster]

Was wondering if something could be constructed using auto alternators to generate
enough power to operate a gas fired furnace, the small kind that hang from the ceiling ,
small blower motor.

Around here we had a winter storm with ice , falling tree limbs have knocked out power
to more than 500,K homes. The temperature was down in the low teens last night and
more of that is expected. A buddy of mine (rrt ford38) is using a kerosene heater and the
kitchen gas stove to keep the house above freezing, he is concerned about fumes though.
A generator would be the answer but everyone is sold out. Could be up to 5 more days
before repairs can be made. Anyone know of any contraptions that can be made up?

The picture shows my neighbors trampline sunk about 3? ft from the weight of the ice, are part of town didnt get bad compared to other parts of town.

[Dave]

Was wondering if something could be constructed using auto alternators to generate
enough power to operate a gas fired furnace, the small kind that hang from the ceiling ,
small blower motor.

Around here we had a winter storm with ice , falling tree limbs have knocked out power
to more than 500,K homes. The temperature was down in the low teens last night and
more of that is expected. A buddy of mine (rrt ford38) is using a kerosene heater and the
kitchen gas stove to keep the house above freezing, he is concerned about fumes though.
A generator would be the answer but everyone is sold out. Could be up to 5 more days
before repairs can be made. Anyone know of any contraptions that can be made up?

The picture shows my neighbors trampline sunk about 3? ft from the weight of the ice, are part of town didnt get bad compared to other parts of town.

Your best bet is a cheap generator.  Ive got a good deal here ..City water and gas heat . Ive never had a generator cause I can still wizz AND shower oh ya i got gas hot water too. But if you have a well and propane or oil heat then get a generator. You can conserve money by just getting one that will run the well pump and the furnace and the fridge. anything over that is more money. Id skip the alternator idea its gonna be costly too an prolly more than a cheap generator. Ya I know everyone is sold out but thats the norm on these deals. ride it out then go buy
Dave

[1FATGMC]

Small gas motor running the alternator, output to a battery and then a converter from 12 to 120.  You might have some of this or maybe some of this isn't sold out.

c ya,

Sum

[phat46]

Maybe you could find an inverter for an alternator. I have seen them at places like Harbor Freight and camping supply places, maybe at off road, 4x4 places too. Mount the inverter in a car, then run a cord to the furnace from the car and run the car long enough to cycle the furnace every few hours to keep the house above freezing.

[rooster]

My guess is that would be a inverter thats seen in the harbor freight adds. I would think that the fan in the furnace is no more that maybe 1 hp,but the gas valve would be 24 volts. Ill have to check with him. He has a rock head and wont move in with us for awhile.

[Fat Cat]

You mean something like this?

It should also be noted that to run the motor on the furnace effectively your going to need at least a 3000 watt inverter. Probably more, as the motor will probably need at least 15 amps to start and about 8-10 to run. A 2000 watt inverter has a max load of 9 amps.

You also would want to use deep cycle batteries to power the invertor. Regular batteries will not handle the load for a long enough timeframe without taking some damage.

[Fat Cat]

Another thought. DO you know someone with a travel trailer of an RV you could park in the drive way and run a line from the RV to the house with the generator in the RV running.

[rooster]

Another thought. DO you know someone with a travel trailer of an RV you could park in the drive way and run a line from the RV to the house with the generator in the RV running.

I dont know anyone but he might! I went to harbor freights site they got a 3000 watt inverter for 600 bucks http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=93400

Thanks everyone.

cant download your pdf.file

[Fat Cat]

cant download your pdf.file

Do you have Adobe Acrobat installed on your computer. Without it you can't read the file.

[enjenjo]

downloads fine for me.

[enjenjo]

Get an old push type lawn mower with a good engine. Remove the blade, and install a double belt pulley. Rig two alternators to drive off the engine.  Use an invertor to get 115 volts AC output.

[SKR8PN]

To bad you ain't a little bit closer............I have a 15,000(yup, 15,000) watt standby generator(propane) wired to the house with an automatic transfer switch.... and a 2800 watt Yamaha invertor I just bought for my race trailer

Like has already been stated.......... Briggs and Stratton engine,a couple of alternators, a battery or two, and a convertor will get you all set up

[GPster]

Some random thoughts on this deal. I don't think inverters run free or without some loss of the output. If you're going to make 12V DC then use that. If you're talking about a small heater that hangs with capability of moving some air then use some type of blower motor out of a car. As far as the 24 volt control for the gas valve there are heater valves that are refered as "Power Pile" A normal thermocouple in rated in MV (?) which is enough power to keep the pilot valve on a gas burner open so if the pilot goes out the gas valve won't open no matter what the thermostat wants it to do. The thermocouple creates this electric power from the heat of the pilot burning. A Power Pile unit makes enough power from the heat of the pilot burning to operate it's own gas valve. This is not out-dated technology as it's still used in the garage infared heaters which brings to mind another part of this theory. An old style furnace may only be 65% efficient which means that 35% of the heat is going up the chimney and drawing a vacuum on the house ( older style wood-burning fireplaces suffer the same) which is causing it to suck cold air in through every crack around windows and doors. Not very efficient in a no power situation. The little infared heaters burn less gas and don't waste any of the heat. Because they burn less gas the combustion gasses are less and you can't expect 70 degrees out of them but they can keep temps above freezing. Yes the new furnaces are more efficient but you're going to need not only enough 120V to run the blower and the control system but you will also have to run the combustion blower. Unless all of this system operates you won't burn any gas and get any heat. If a jury-rigged fan doesn't run on the infared heater there will still be heat under it. If it's cold outside put the stuff out of the refrigerater in an ice chest and set it out on the porch. If you have city water and there is water pressure let the faucets drip a little bit. The ground temperature should have the water enough above freezing to not freeze if it's moving.If you're talking well water, shut off the water going into the house and open up all your drains, especially the bottom of the hot water tank. Don't worry about showering. you have to sweat to stink and you won't be doing much of that. Every time I come up with the same kind of worry my wife just sits me down and says "That's Life"  I knew of a layer that bought a beautiful piece of wooded land and built a great house on it. He was affraid of loosing power because of his location so he bought a huge generater powered by a motor that ran on natural gas. Well it got cold for a while and trees started loosing branches and that caused him a loss of power. He went to start the gererater and cranked and cranked but nothing happened. Somewhere there was a low place in the gas line and water had settled in the line there and froze. Keeping him from getting any natural gas. When he figured that out he had cranked the generater so much that he had run the battery down. Guess what the battery charger ran on? I don't know everything but I try to pay attention. GPster

[1FATGMC]

Another thought. DO you know someone with a travel trailer of an RV you could park in the drive way and run a line from the RV to the house with the generator in the RV running.

I dont know anyone but he might! I went to harbor freights site they got a 3000 watt inverter for 600 bucks http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=93400

Thanks everyone.

cant download your pdf.file

I don't think I would go that route.  You still need batteries and a way to charge them.  A 60 amp Alternator is only going to put out about 700 watts, so if you used just one to charge the batteries you would soon fall behind.

When I made my suggestion I thought the motor you would be powering would only be 1/3 hp or so.  How many amps doesn't what every you are trying to power need??  Start amps?? Run amps???

I go rent a room at Motel 6 for a couple nights.

Good luck and  c ya,

Sum

[phat rat]

Was wondering if something could be constructed using auto alternators to generate
enough power to operate a gas fired furnace, the small kind that hang from the ceiling ,
small blower motor.

Around here we had a winter storm with ice , falling tree limbs have knocked out power
to more than 500,K homes. The temperature was down in the low teens last night and
more of that is expected. A buddy of mine (rrt ford38) is using a kerosene heater and the
kitchen gas stove to keep the house above freezing, he is concerned about fumes though.
A generator would be the answer but everyone is sold out. Could be up to 5 more days
before repairs can be made. Anyone know of any contraptions that can be made up?

The picture shows my neighbors trampline sunk about 3? ft from the weight of the ice, are part of town didnt get bad compared to other parts of town.

Your best bet is a cheap generator.  Ive got a good deal here ..City water and gas heat . Ive never had a generator cause I can still wizz AND shower oh ya i got gas hot water too. But if you have a well and propane or oil heat then get a generator. You can conserve money by just getting one that will run the well pump and the furnace and the fridge. anything over that is more money. Id skip the alternator idea its gonna be costly too an prolly more than a cheap generator. Ya I know everyone is sold out but thats the norm on these deals. ride it out then go buy
Dave

Dave, you may have gas heat but the same as any furnace other than wood, you need electricty to power it.  No fan kicking in, no heat generated.