Home made electric generator using alternator and batteries?

I am thinking about putting together a rig using something like a alternator and batteries to store the energy and maybe a bike rig to power the alternator and was just looking around to see if anyone has done this or knows of a website with good tips and stuff.

I'm not the best with electrical terms but what is the easiest way to determine how much power you can generate with an alternator and how long it will take to fully charge x amount of batteries. or how much electricity a few lights and a radio or whatever would use compared to the capacity of the battery/ies?

 

Re: Home made electric generator using alternator and batter

search the threads we've done a bit on it...
http://www.survivalmonkey.com/forum/showthread.php?p=91665&highlight=alternator#post91665

 

Re: Home made electric generator using alternator and batter

almost everything you need to know is here:
http://theepicenter.com/tow123199.html

I think this link is in the thread tango posted as well

 

Re: Home made electric generator using alternator and batter

Don't forget if youve got a push lawn mower in the shed; you can use that (vertical motor ) and a bracket or hole in the mower deck to "kluge" one together...saw that somewhere and a 12v marine batt can ride on the deck.

 

Re: Home made electric generator using alternator and batter

Cool, thanks guys. I'm not sure when I will actually start but this will help a lot.