I know some guys have done it,right ?
Need part #s and where to buy.
Need to rev for the 200A alternator to charge battery for 4000 watt inverter
to run TC roof air.
Like at a rest area having lunch and resting a little.

Thanks
Roy

 

 

Stationary Engine Idle Control
The 4000 watts is at 120 volts.
This is part of a Ford PTO option.I do not find them for a 6.2 gas,only for diesel .i also found a really old
thread of someone installing on a V10. I do appreciate your concern for long time use,and agree.I have tested,
my AC years ago with a Killawtt.As I remember running was 1900 watts.Will retest tomorrow.They also have available
now electronic (MicroAir) for much lower starting watt load.
I tend to try off the wall stuff (like PU tag axle)
Thanks again for your reply.

Roy

 

It sounds like you're basically trying to run a rooftop a/c via an inverter drawing most of it's power from an engine alternator.

An alternative approach to the one you're investigating might be to add a second alternator to your engine. Some of the marine alternators from Balmar and similar companies can put out a hellacious amount of amps even at idle - it all depends on the rpms of the alternator, which is controlled by the drive and driven pulley sizes. Could probably adopt a magnetic clutch like is used on engine a/c compressors to turn it off while you are running down the road, to prevent it from being over-driven when not needed.

 

Tried something similar one time with one of our diesel motor homes years ago. Battery blew apart.

 

Interesting. On the one hand, those marine alternators are usually used to recharge a large house bank, not a single battery. On the other hand, they are usually hooked up via sophisticated voltage regulators that allow for bulk, absorption, and float voltages.

I had actually thought that, since it was between the alternator and the inverter, the battery would just sort of float, neither charging nor discharging. Guess not.

I wonder if you could wire an alternator directly to an inverter with no battery in the middle?

Well, that's a project for someone with more interest - and money - than I've got . . .

 

Just make sure your alternator can handle the load. What alternator capacity do you have? I do the same thing on mine ('17 450 with dual HD alts). In the summer, I actually run the AC going down the road when its really hot and the dogs are in the TC. And yes, it's great at a rest stop. Just keep the truck running and power the AC on the inverter. I usually keep the fridge in AC mode while traveling too. (Though if I run the AC I switch the fridge back to gas and minimize all other AC loads). Microwave works great too (not at the same time as the AC). I have a 2500W (continuous)/5000W (surge) inverter. 1/0 gage wire run from truck battery to a quick disconnect in the bed, with 1/0 gage coming from the TC batteries to another quick disconnect fitting. The cabling is isolated from the battery by a 500A continuous duty relay right at the truck battery, controlled by an upfitter switch. No generator to carry around, as the truck's alternators serve the duty.
2500 Watts at 13V is about 192 amps. Figure another 50A for the truck (lights off, heater blower on low, etc). Rough numbers say you'll want a 250A alternator (or bigger) to run continuous without discharging the batteries. Or, accept a little battery discharge and only run it intermittent. Key is, you need to supply that 200 amps to the TC's batteries - must wire a heavy 1/0 or 2/0 cable to do so.

 

nuctrooper
i have the 200 amp optional alternator.i have the 4000 surge,2000 continuous inverter. Tested my AC with house/Morton 120.AC fan only was 230 watts,fan and compressor was 1430 watts.I could not see the start/surge as i was alone.
My plan is to only run 15/30 minutes,of course with truck running.
I found the Ford part for diesel,but not for 6.2 gas,although they have a sheet on directions.

Thanks for your post ,very interesting, The theory is not crazy as some think. or we're both nuts
Roy

 

Ah. Now that I re-read your initial, I see you already mentioned alternator size. My bad.
200A should do fine as long as you monitor battery voltage and shut off the A/C when voltage drops to about 11.6-12.0, and give the truck idle time to restore the charge. Tied into your truck's batteries, this will also slowly drain your starting batteries, so pay attention as voltage drops. Shouldn't be a problem. Run some control tests to see how long until the batteries discharge and then set an egg timer. If it is dropping too fast, you could always upgrade your alternator. Get a 240-280A unit, just be sure to upgrade the alternator output cable to match.
I love having full 120V power running down the road without an external or built in generator.
To combat the starting surge on mine, I turn the temp control to warm, then fan to slow, A/C to slow, then temp dial back to cold. Splits up the blower and compressor starting surges.

SEIC directions for 2015 gas and diesel are at https://madocumentupload.marketingas...b952b&v5=False

 

 

You know the RV industry has tried lots of variations of this over the years as has the auto manufacturers. I'm dated myself badly here, but when I was still working my way through college working HVAC we had one of our pickups (a GM) with a small genny that actually ran off a belt that was engine mounted. It would never have pulled an AC load, but for small onsite work it saved hauling another piece of equipment. It was belt driven however and the belt design did not work well.

Cummins also did the same thing mounting a genny as a pilot project on one of their large diesel motorhomes although it never seemed practical to run the diesel rather than have a separate onboard genny. That never made it into production, but I did see the prototype. Next Cummins did an integrated system with a large battery bank and inverter so the generator was interfaced, but the battery bank carried the entire load until it started to run down. They had an entire power point on their website several years ago, but it is long gone from their website.

Its not nuts. There are all kinds of possibilities. Things just have to be sized according to load. Endless possibilities.

 

Temporarily

 

 

I am old school. Was a Ford mechanic when the engines were flat head and SEIC was a throttle **** on the dash.