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Question:

How to convert old car into backup generator?

I have a 1992 Toyota Tercel that sits in my yard. It ran at one time, but has been driven so little that it now no longer starts. Had this problem one time before and paid someone to fix it. They replace the fuel pump to get it started again. Other issues are lost title, back left tire seems locked, and busted windshield.I hate to just trash this car and wonder how difficult would it be to turn the motor into a backup power generator for my house? Is it feasible? One of our sister companies at work has a diesel engine that acts as a backup power for their computer room, so I wondered if I could possible do the same for my home.Any suggestions?

Answer:

Turn Car Into Generator
Almost anything is possible if you spend enough time and effort on it. The real question is: Is it worth it? What you have is a crappy motor in a junk car. Take it out of the car remove the transmission. Attach the engine to a motor mount like an I beam box frame that you have fabricated. Attach a generator unit to the end of it. Then you need to fabricate a speed governor of some type to keep the engine running at 1800 rpm to generate 60cycle power. Lets not forget your crappy high mileage engine. It might work for a while but after all of this effort you will probably wish that you rebuilt it. OR You can just buy an 8KW generator for $2000 JUNK THE CAR.
as Mark said anything is doable in exchange of some work! if it is economical, the answer is no as for the speed control you need a cruise control modify-it to keep the frequency constant as an example a Chevy truck 350 in? is 200HP as a vehicle and 40 HP as a stationary engine! there are lots to modify such as cooling, lubrication to be compatible with new venture from an academic point of view it is worthwhile because you will learn a lot about engineering, and this is priceless information good luck Di
Yes just get your engine running and buy a giant alternator put it on your car. remove all other things from the belt that are not necessary to the engines functions. then call your electric company and tell them that you are trying to put a DC current into power your house. The power company (should not sure) provide the DC AC converter. Plus I know its true with solar panels, but if when you have your generator on, and your house is not using as much energy as its receiving your power meter will actually run backwards for feeding the grid. Which will might help with that cost of gas.

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