[QUOTE]Originally posted by Brendan M:
Why does the generator that runs my truck put out DC, while the generator (note the similar spellings, and cause of my confusion) that runs my house puts out AC?
Is it because of the way it's built (e.g. more like a motor)?
This is a somewhat easy answer....(pay attention now)
The reason the "generator" that powers your house is called that, is because the originaly they were just that, "generators"... They produced DC currant to recharge the house batteries on the farm. Of course this is before the REA and AC electricity arrived in rual america.
Back then farms produced DC electricity in many ways... ie. DC generators mounted on windmills.... small acale hydro-electric... and gas generators..... for the most part these all produced anywhere from 12 to 48 volts (depending on the system installed)... and the batteries were normally 6 volts wired in a series-parralel circut.... so that depending on how they were tapped? The farmer could have electricity at whatever voltage his equipment needed. such as 6volt lighting...12-24 volt motors, 48volts for the B+ on a radio... and so on..
It wasn't untill the advent of WW2 that generators started also producing AC as well as DC...... There were many configurations during the war.... including one..the PE-103 that produced 1.2KW AC&DC...that's 10A@120V AC as well as 100A@12V DC...... it was also push-button start... with a 12V batt supplying the voltage/currant to spin the generator as a starter....to fire the single cylinder engine.
These also had the advantage over the modern gen's as the wisconson and B&S engines were low-stressed...(produced lots of power at low RPM) and could run for days on end without ever skipping a beat.....
Comared to modern generators that run on engines from Honda etc...that are high-stressed..... (engine/gen only produces power at MAX RPM) and are NOT intended for anything but teporary use (4-5 hrs at most)certainly not continous duty, as well as having ZERO DC capability.......
but that's why they only cost a couple hundred bucks at Home depot....While the bigger Onans...start at a couple grand..and go up from there...they ARE designed for cont. duty.
just my 10 cents worth....
michael
\'48 chev 2-ton boom truck (Boomer) '49 Chev 2-ton flat bed
'65 Chev 35ft school bus
'88 GMC 6500
'72 Superior 26ft class "A" coach
'50 Farmall "M"
'71 MGB GT
'68 Austin-Healey Sprite
'65 Austin-Healey Sprite
and various other odd British cars
and lots of old radios.....
Although we know what the speed of light is..... What I want to know is... How fast is the speed of DARK??
