I bought an old moving truck that I only want for storage. It will be parked on my off grid property. I would like to rig it to run a generator that could charge up a large bank of batteries for when my solar isn't collecting enough power. I know it can be done but I'm curious first, how to do it, and second, if it's worth doing? Thank you very much for your input.
The engine in the truck is designed and built to move the truck. There are far cheaper to run and more effective options for direct charging any battery bank. You need a small diesel or possibly a quality OHC petrol engine on gas direct coupled to a suitable alternator, regulator and control system. The engine you are suggesting has the ability to spin up a huge alternator - possibly ten times bigger than needed for your purpose so expect fuel consumption to match. A fixed speed stationary engine has much different cam and fuelling profiles, and a very accurate engine speed governor fitted to ensure the correct frequency and phasing at all times when the unit is under load. This means that the truck engine will be very unsatisfactory for your proposed alternative use.
For emergency and the occasional deep cell charge up, yeah why not. You could either use the alternator that came with it, and maybe add a few more, or head down to Harbor freight and buy a 10kv generator ($350)and hook it up to the back side of that 7.2 using a few parts from behind the Grainger parts counter. However, if this is a 7.3 Ford(International) motor we're talking about. You're better off selling it for parts and buying a brand new Honda or Onan generator. Those international motors are a headache.
Yea, mount up 1 or 2 more alternators, I assume you'll already have the charging electronics to go with your battery bank. The electricity from the alternators is already 12V, which is wholly usable by a battery bank. You could even set this up so that the engine automatically turns on when the amperage drops below a certain level.
By the time you pay for all the parts and get it engineered you'd be money ahead to just buy a ready made genset. Besides the actual generator you need to attach to the engine a good genset has a lot of electronics in it to maintain a steady 120V 60Hz signal.
Yes but it is over kill (THAT'S ENOUGH TO RUN A LARGE HOTEL) What you wont is a small quite cheep generator (some of them cannot be herd running) What about a wind generator? ALL THE BEST TOM
