One for you Petter VZ (m type owners)

HI Chaps

I'm probably not alone in finding that getting a Petter VZ- the 1.5hp m type, to run smoothly is somewhat difficult, and finding a piece of equipment that can provide a continuous, and substantial load can be tricky, especially if you dont want to use a water pump.

i've decided to go down the route of a car type alternator. now once you've picked yourselves up off the floor i will admit, that these dont go down to well in the SE fraternity, due to looks and authenticity. however, there is a way of concealing the alternator and i'll show you how in this thread.

now the advantage of an alternator is, that providing the battery the engine is connected to is charged, it will not impart a high load on the engine at startup, and because of its design, it can be made to have a clamped variable tension adjuster fitted, so that the engine can be started with the alternator in idle.

it should be noted that you should never run an alternator without it being wired up and a battery fitted, as it causes unfavourable magnatism in the windings, much like an unearthed mag.

a car type alternator is not hugely efficient, and will only produce 500-600 watts of power for every hp put in, so thats about as much as an M type will need, this equates to something around 55amps, however, i found that 35amp (one of the smallest and cheapest alternators you can now get) will be suffice. the alternator also needs speed on its side, so running a belt round the flywheel is the best aproach in order to get a target of 3500-5000rpm when the engines at its own running speed.

more stuff to follow (and pictures when i can)

Paul

Hi Paul!

Thats a good bit of information i will bare that in mind when i get a alternator!

I cant wait to see the pictures!!

Hope everything goes well for you

Thanks
Adam

its looking good bro, going to fire it up in a few minutes, see hoow it goes, dad's done the control box, same it doesnt look old, but it'll be concealed to make the setup look better.

go and rain a scrappy for an old ford alternator, thats all i'm using. your enfield would run well with a 100amp alternator

Paul

Nice one!!

I have got a alternater already off a Renault 5 1.4i but i have got any brackets made up i was hoping to use it with the 6PB?

Adam

the size of the engine doesnt matter, its the amps that the alternate is rated to produce that matters, about 35-50amps shouldnt be too bad on the pb

got the engine running last night, and charging well, the alternator loads the engine up okay, but the engine still isnt running right, so i'm going to check it over, as it needs a look at, got some issues with it i never resolved when i got it, so here it goes.

The electronics worked well, with the engine producing a steady 13.6-14.5volts on load, i.e. battery and two 20w lights.

incidentally, i found that too much tension on the belt can be as bad as two little, as it applies an unnecessarily high load onto the engine, on top of the load imparted by the alternator. at the moment its running with a "linked" belt, that is, a belt made up of links, like a chain, these are normally riveted, however this one is made up from interlocking tabs, this is only a temporary measure, and i'll replace it with a rubber Vee-belt, using this one as a good template for it.

Paul