What do y'all think bout this. We [my company, C.B.E.] are thinkin about buildin and sellin a small generator set used to charge a bank of 12vdc batteries. Low rpm jobbies with intermittant run time and selling for about $500 for manual start and about $600 for electric start. Do y'all think it would pay for the initial cost of inception, in sales? Just a rollin this around in my old empty haid and though I'd go to my friends and ask! Don't know if there would be that much demand for'm. Whatcha'll think? Matt. 24:44

-- hoot (hoot@pcinetwork.com), September 04, 2000

Answers

Hoot, are you talking about something similar to the gennydeecee 12 volt chargers? They seem to be doing well with those. Check 'em out at www.gennydeecee.com

-- Jim (catchthesun@yahoo.com), September 04, 2000.

Jim! Hey thanks for the url of this company. I didn't know anybody was even building these units. After lookin theirs over I think I would be interested in building something a little less expensive and "dressed down" than theirs. They do have a quality unit it appears and I'm sure they perform fine. The prices I saw, I think, would leave some people out of the market. I was thinking along the lines of not offering the inverter-just a stripped down unit that would be able to operate on gasoline or L.P.-for the same price. That way the customer could choose which fuel to use, when they wanted. Thanks for the info. Matt. 24:44

-- hoot (hoot@pcinetwork.com), September 04, 2000.

Hey Hoot, when I moved to the country 3 years ago I'd have bought one in a heartbeat. Had to cobble it together myself and figure it out along the way. The generator was the scary part, but we got lucky and it's been woking great. But if I don't get the house built soon to hook to the grid I may need to replace what I have so keep us posted on what you're doing.

-- Rod Perrino (redjouster@aol.com), September 05, 2000.

Love to have one when our generator dies. We use a 6K gas gen to supplement our solar panels. It would be really nice to have something to run on LP that is low rpm. Can what you're thinking of be rigged with an electric starter? My body doesn't do pull starts too well anymore.

-- Teresa (otgonz@bellsouth.net), September 07, 2000.

Teresa! Yes electric start would be what I'd want too. Still waitin for prices of engines before we will know just how much we would have to have for'm. I could buy those engines locally but cannot afford to pay retail for'm. Our "target" price for electric start and a 5 hp Briggs/Stratton is in the area of $650. but don't know yet. If they're too high then we just wont be able to assemble them. We'll keep ya'll updated as things progress-or-degress! Matt. 24:44

-- hoot (hoot@pcinetwork.com), September 07, 2000.

Hey hoot. I saw a guy at Farm Progress Days here in WI that invented a wire welder that runs on 2 12V batteries. He has been selling them to the Army, etc. It really is a neat outfit. Maybe he would be interested in packaging a setup with you. It was called the ReadyWelder. Looks like a cordless drill, well engineered and selling.

-- Dan (dan@invedyne.com), September 08, 2000.

There is already one on the market that runs 12volts. There are free plans on the net to build such a device. If you could get the price down in the $200 range I think you might have a better market. .How about a weed eater motor driven generator? Small and ready for action. In addition most 120v generators also have a 12vt tap as well. Not sure of your market, but I dont see a large market for such an item.

-- Gary (gws@redbird.net), September 11, 2000.

Just wondering how 'low rpm' is defined. 1800 vs 3600 vs ????

j

-- j (jw_hsv@yahoo.com), September 11, 2000.

J! Low rpm would be in the range of 800 to 1,000 rpm. An auto alternator will charge as much at this range as 3600 rpm. With low rpm and intermittent run time a large savings in fuel etc would be evident compared to continous run. In regards to price somebody else commented on-the price range of $200 couldn't be achieved when a 5hp Briggs/Stratton costs about $200 alone. The auto alternator will be around $100 along with other required parts. I seriousely doubt if these units could be sold for much less than $600, for the stripped down model, considering labor and equipment costs involved to produce them. I'm sure the market would be smaller than what would be needed to make it a successful venture. About the only customers that I can think of would be those unable or unwilling to build their own. I think at this point we will not proceed with plans to commence operation --unless a considerable larger customer base would appear. Thanks to all who responded! Oh yes, the weedeater model would be fine except it isn't nearly enough horsepower required to turn a 75 to 100 amp alternator under load. A 5 hp engine has to labor when confronted with the maximum load rating of the alternator. Steam anybody? Matt. 24:44

-- hoot (hoot@pcinetwork.com), September 11, 2000.