Quote:
Originally Posted by CC-Mo
So it's safe to say a generator will keep a new battery equally charged as a car with an alternator?
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That would be YES! Generators did so for years. But alternators are an improvement for several reasons:
1. They charge at idle speed, while a generator doesn't. Thus headlights dim noticeably at idle with a generator and the battery will gradually run down if you are just puttering around town with the lights, radio and heater on.
2. Alternators usually last longer. There is a rear bearing instead of a bushing, and the brushes only carry a small load.
3. Less electrical "noise" with an alternator which makes electronic gadgets happy. In a generator, current is generated in the armature and transferred through the brushes. Look in at the brushes at night with the headlights on at a fast idle and see the fire fly as the current arcs across the brushes! Generator brushes carry 30-40 amps, while an alternator's brushes only carry 2 to 3 amps (whatever the field current is). An alternator can be described as an inside-out generator. Current is generated in the case windings instead of the armature, and the field windings are in the rotor (armature in a generator).