More Do-it-yourself on NPR
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I very much enjoyed Friday's show. As a packrat who can seldom throw anything away, I am thrilled to know that there may be some practical use for the items that I have tucked away.
Specifically, is there any way to turn an old auto into a power generator? I live on a country lot, with a well. I would like a back up power source.
Thank you.
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Cerainly. Just start the engine and start pulling 13 Volt DC power from the alternator.
Connect up a DC-to-AC inverter to get 120 Volts AC
Lots of cars have 150 Amp alternators now a days.
Not HUGE power, but plenty for the occasional outage.
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here's more of a perma-link:
http://www.kuow.org/weekday.asp?Archive=04-05
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is this the same phillip torrone that i met at flash forward in san francisco a few years back and was nice enough to give me a couple flash books, we ate lunch with sam wan and jessica spiegel.
i caught your piece on NPR this morning and loved it, checking out the make magazine website now.
i tinker and build things all the time (already built a wok wifi antenna, saw that on slashdot). currently building a portable power supply out of 12v lead acid batteries complete with solar panel charging inputs and inverter, to have power on the go for bike touring and kayak trips :)
-derrickito, seattle friend up north (the one with girlfriend on crutches at the time)
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he might not be that far to the south of you. if it's the same philip, then you're in the same town.
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