MacGregorSailors.com

Unless you have a very basic one, the charge controller on your solar array takes care of moving between the various charge phases while the panels are generating voltage. The voltage your panels produce will vary depending on the sunlight they see. The voltage your batteries see will vary depending on what the charge controller has been programmed to do.

Getting back to your bush charger: can you vary the speed of the engine that is driving the alternator or is it fixed with a governor to speed it up a little when it comes under load?

Be Free wrote: ↑Mon Apr 26, 2021 8:00 am Getting back to your bush charger: can you vary the speed of the engine that is driving the alternator or is it fixed with a governor to speed it up a little when it comes under load?

It has a throttle. The original one has a throttle plus a governor. That engine is a Honda clone. The actual Honda is quite pricey. I used a smaller cheaper engine with no governor. I thought the clutch would suffice.

Ix

Does the voltage go up at higher RPMs or is it capped at 14V. There's no point in running it any faster than what it takes to deliver the voltage you want or than it can deliver (whichever is less).

On both, the voltage stays the same regardless of rpm. On the one British unit, once you got it going, you could back off throttle a little, and it would still produce good power. On the one I made, it has to be revved to keep the clutch engaged.

If anyone’s interested in the website for the original setup that I
Imported from the UK:


https://www.thesupercharger.co.uk/

Theirs doesn’t have the clutch. You have to throw a switch, which will occasionally stall the motor. The clutch on my version simplifies operation.

Ix

Ixneigh wrote: ↑Tue Apr 27, 2021 11:01 am If anyone’s interested in the website for the original setup that I
Imported from the UK:


https://www.thesupercharger.co.uk/

Theirs doesn’t have the clutch. You have to throw a switch, which will occasionally stall the motor. The clutch on my version simplifies operation.

Ix

Thanks I'm interested. Like you, I think it might be a future DIY project. 69 dB, $625 plus shipping.

should be OK