I have a Jack & Heintz R1 400 amp aircraft generator. I'm going to the Delta steamboat meet near Rio Vista Ca. this weekend and plan to take the generator along to sell it as there are many do-it-yourself people there.
The two main reasons that someone would buy this generator are to build a welder or as a motor for an electric vehicle.
I have found several websites with directions and schematics for building welders but have not been able to locate much info on using this type of generator as a motor.
Does anyone know of a source of this knowlege that I can print out and show to prospective buyers?
Not to argue, but a 400 AMP generator is pretty large. Are you sure that this is not a 400 CYCLE generator. 400 HZ stuff is, or at least was, quite common on aircraft.
Can't help with making it "motor", but will say that if it gets used that way, it will not be optimum.
Take care. Have a good trip on the Queen, and please post pix when you get back.
Don't know where you will find the printed info., but I ran a 1975 Fiat 128L coupe on a 400 amp aircraft Generator years ago. I used a simple dual voltage control (24/48 and field weakening for speed control.
Brian, those 300 and 400 AMP DC generators were very common military surpluss for many years, and they made EXCELLENT electric motors. Some airplanes even used "starterators" - starter generator cominations.
My 400 amp generator that I used in the Fiat put out about 20 HP on 48 volts without field weakening, and about 80 for short periods with field at about 15%. I limitted my weakening to about 30%, +/-. It would get the heavy little fiat up to 50mph with the 400 amp breaker, which prevented me from getting more than about25 or mabee 30 HP out of it before tripping.
I converted a totally rusted-out VW beetle about 25 years ago to electric power. I got a Kaylor adaptor that holds the old flywheel and clutch assembly and mates to the VW transaxle. It has the 16-tooth spline to take standard jet engine starters or starter/generators. I got a GE starter/generator. it was rated at 400 A 28 V continuous as a generator, or 1300 A 30 V for one minute as a starter. I don't think I ever got it up to
400A, as my trolling motor batteries didn't have terminals that could handle that. I did cruise around the neighborhood with it, and it worked. I had 4 90 A 12 V batteries in it, and built a field controller that was hooked to the "gas" pedal. The only down side to it was that particular motor was very noisy, especially with about 30 V on the field. Without an armature controller, the motor idled at about 3000 RPM. It would cruise at about 30 MPH on the level at 125 A or so, and 250 would get it ZIPPING up a steep hill. I intended to convert it to a hybrid with a motorcycle engine, but never finished the project. (No way could it be licensed, the body was hanging in pieces.)
Your motor doesn't have the series field connection that a starter/generator would have, so it probably has to be run in the shunt mode. You need to connect the field to 28 V first, and then connect the armature to whatever power source will run it.
Wow!! Sounds impressive!! I stand corrected. Sorry.
One thing that should be emphasized if Leo uses one as a motor is the need for some sort of a minimum field current protection or fixed shunt so it can't get a runaway.
Take care. Good luck, and Leo, please post pix if you do get it running.
The aircraft generator "commutating feild" is a permanent shunt that does somewhat limit the no-load speed (at 24 volts) Running higher voltages could possibly get high enough RPM to "unwind"
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