apu units

[99 pete379]

I'm thinking of building a apu unit for my pete I found a 4.5 hp diesel liquid cooled motor but I'm not sure if its enough to drive a alt and push coolent to heat the motor and bunk. Any ideais if that's enough hp

 

[Duck]

I'm thinking of building a apu unit for my pete I found a 4.5 hp diesel liquid cooled motor but I'm not sure if its enough to drive a alt and push coolent to heat the motor and bunk. Any ideais if that's enough hp

I have two gas generators at home.

One of them is 5 HP, 2500 watts. The other is 10 HP, 5500 watts.


A whole bunch of years ago I made a 12 volt generator out of a 78 amp GM alternator and a 3.5 HP Briggs & Stratton engine. As soon as I turned my 26 lb thrust trolling motor on high, it just about killed the engine. I was able to jump-start a car with a dead battery with it once, but then I ended up retiring it to the back of the garage & never messed with it again. A few months ago I grabbed it's starter rope & discovered the engine was rusted up.

 

[8978]

I'm curious what make and model that engine is. Never heard of a diesel engine that small and liquid cooled. I don't think it's good for much other than maybe drive a small alternator to help charge your batteries.

 

[Racer X 69]

I'm thinking of building a apu unit for my pete I found a 4.5 hp diesel liquid cooled motor but I'm not sure if its enough to drive a alt and push coolent to heat the motor and bunk. Any ideais if that's enough hp

From some web page about drag on engines:

The electrical drag will just be your voltage x current draw / efficiency, so a 12.8V battery at 50 Amps with a 60% efficient alternator will take 1.07kW (1.43HP).

You will need to figure out how much power is given up to turn the water pump on the engine you want to use. One thing to consider is that the load on the alternator will vary depending on what you are running in the sleeper, i.e. refrigerator, TV, microwave, etc. It would also be a good idea to have an inverter to run the TV, microwave, etc. so then the little engine and alternator are only being used to keep the batteries charged up.

 

[99 pete379]

It was a kobtua single cyilnder