Small car engine as a generator?

"BaconSandwich is tasty." (baconsandwich) 07/02/2015 at 19:21 • Filed to: None

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This is something that has been floating around in my brain for a little while: How difficult would it be to re-purpose a small car engine to use as a generator in a homemade hybrid vehicle? As far as small engines go, what’s out there and what would be reasonably straightforward to work on?

As far as vehicles with small engines:
- 1.0 L 3-cylinder Ecoboost Ford Fiesta
- 1.2 L Mitsubishi Mirage
- 1.4 L turbo from the Chevy Sonic RS

I suppose there’s the older Geo Metros. What other vehicles with small engines am I missing? Is there really anything that’s the equivalent of a small-block Chevy, but with only 4 cylinders?

jariten1781 > BaconSandwich is tasty. 07/02/2015 at 19:39

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Not sure exactly what your goal is, but current kei car engines are 660ccs made for auto duty.

You can get away with a pretty dinky engine if you’re talking series hybrid since you can run constant rpm at max power or efficiency (whatever your goal is).

jester74 > BaconSandwich is tasty. 07/02/2015 at 19:40

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I’ve seen classic VW engines used in a generator capacity.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > jester74 07/02/2015 at 19:45

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I suppose that’s an option I hadn’t thought about. I imagine they are reasonably simple to work on.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > jariten1781 07/02/2015 at 19:46

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That’s more or less what I’m thinking.

Your saying 660 cc makes me wonder about using a bike engine. I’d think they wouldn’t be very good for generator duty, though.

jester74 > BaconSandwich is tasty. 07/02/2015 at 19:52

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They are the easiest engines to work on. Fuel and spark. That’s all you need.

Jordaneer, The Mountaineer Man > BaconSandwich is tasty. 07/02/2015 at 20:45

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I suggest something air cooled so you don’t have to worry about a cooling system (maybe get a fan though).

bryan40oop > BaconSandwich is tasty. 07/02/2015 at 20:57

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Isn’t this how the volt is set up?

And those engines are great but wouldn’t you want a low end torque low revving engine instead? less stress, less fuel. Kind of how some V8’s were used as generators back in the day.

I mean a diesel would be great but they’re typically quite heavier.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > bryan40oop 07/02/2015 at 21:25

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Sort of. The Volt does have a direct drive that kicks in when cruising at highway speeds, otherwise it can act as a generator.

I imagine something with low-end torque would be better, but finding a small engine with low-end torque seems to be a bit like finding hen’s teeth. It seems like there is always going to be a trade-off: size, weight, or power - pick one. Finding something that is reasonably low on all three of those, again, tricky.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Jordaneer, The Mountaineer Man 07/02/2015 at 21:26

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Perhaps not a bad idea.

boxrocket > BaconSandwich is tasty. 07/02/2015 at 22:59

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Some modern engines rare designed to work with computer interaction, so something simple is best, plus for most homes a generator doesn’t need much effort to generate power, hence why small engines are common. Perhaps a lawn tractor engine to start, then build up to a small auto engine?

Are you planning something like the Hammerhead Eagle I-Thrust (later Geoff)?

BaconSandwich is tasty. > boxrocket 07/02/2015 at 23:10

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Well, hopefully something more like a hybrid Scamander:

Gotta start somewhere, though...

orcim > BaconSandwich is tasty. 07/03/2015 at 02:50

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Most car engines are designed to deliver the necessary power and torque at a range of rpm’s, while generators are designed to produce efficient power at one speed (generally, unless you have a Honda IS series genset, in which case solid state power circuitry to the rescue, small rpm’s are small power, large rpm’s are large power.) So you have mismatch, there.

A purpose built motor for one speed at one torque configured for the generator’s needs would be the most efficient. I’d argue that ID’ing your generator first (or your small candidate list) for specifications required, then step two is research engine types that can deliver efficiently at what the generator needs. You might find that an off the shelf commercial Kubota or Honda (used?) will do the trick without going all automotive. But maybe that would be expensive and less efficient but more available is better. Anyway - those are the parameters.

Had a friend that got a 200 lbs 3.5HP “diesel” (which means, oil burner since it burnt anything at all and was built to last) to run his generator, which he hand wound himself to match the engine. Now he just squishes coconuts and gets power.