My Account | Cart Contents | Checkout | Contact Us  
Quick Picks

T-Rex Recommended Generators

Advanced Search
Briggs & Stratton
Reliance Controls
My Account
Shipping & Warranty
Privacy Notice
Conditions of Use
Contact Us
About Us
Press Releases



Products Featuring Stamford Alternator


Mecc Alte

Products Featuring Macc Alte Alternator

Mecc Alte

Models With

Generator Models With Generac Alternator


Models With
By Winco

Generator Models With Alternator By Winco


Toronado -

1966 Oldsmobile Toronado

'66 Tornado


1970 Olds Cutlass 4-4-2

1970 442

Cutlass 4-4-2

Another Sweet 4-4-2

Another '70 442

T-Rex Generators

T-Rex Generators Home Page

Home Page

Alternator-Equipped Generators

The TYPICAL ALTERNATOR employs a rotating MAGNET and a fixed CONDUCTOR.

1971 Oldsmobile 98 AmbulanceThe most-basic alternator utilizes a rotating magnet and fixed conductor. Sometimes, instead, the conductor travels around a stationary magnet. Technical explanations can make alternator operation sound complicated. We'll concede that constructing an alternator at home from scratch may prove difficult. Understanding how one works is actually pretty simple. Take the conductor for instance. A conductor is simply some material (like copper) that has the capacity to accumulate electricity - under the right conditions. The magnet in an alternator is intended to create or manufacture those conditions.
This 1968 Vista Cruiser Is A Little Rough, But Something You Don't See Every Day

A brief HISTORY of the alternator or AC GENERATOR.

1966 Toronado - Color-Coordinated Wheels Are A Nice Touch
The concepts behind AC generators (alternators - these terms are often used interchangeably) date back to the late 1800s. Early AC generators operated by passing multiple conductors, one by one, close to a sizeable magnet, a method that worked, but was inefficient and limited in its output. The first units reminiscent in their operation of our modern AC generators were constructed in 1882 by J.E.H. Gordon, a British electrician. His machines were bulky and inefficient, not especially practical, however their potential, compared with previous models, was significant. The first multi-phase AC generator appeared in the 1890s. Standard 50 Hz and 60 Hz electrical frequencies were years away, so, to be useful, these early machines needed to serve applications (the applications in question were primarily lighting-related, but occasionally one could involve powering an electric motor) that ranged in frequency from 16 Hz to 100 Hz.

A Really Nice Example Of A Preserved 1969 Olds 98

The typical ALTERNATOR inside a PORTABLE or STANDBY generator also UTILIZES a magnet and conductor.

1977 ToronadoThe most common alternator in a portable or standby generator creates its electricity by rotating a magnet (or rotor) inside of an electrical conductor. Remember that an electrical conductor is nothing more than a material which can accumulate electricity when the right conditions exist. If you shine a flashlight into a portable generator's alternator, you will notice tightly-packed copper windings. An excellent conductor or reservoir, this copper wiring amasses electric energy whenever the magnet passes one of its poles (in the case of a portable generator, a two-pole configuration is common). Suppose you shone the beam of a flashlight into the generator end of your unit and discovered cloth or plastic windings, windings composed of horse hair or woven grass? If any of these conditions was present, your generator wouldn't work. Cloth, plastic, horse hair, woven grass, and a great many other substances lack the capacity to accumulate electric energy, in the presence of a magnet or anything else. So how about this: suppose you found, inside the generator end of your portable unit, the copper windings you expected - along with a slice of wood where the magnet should have been? Same result - the generator wouldn't function - wood lacks the capacity to manufacture electricity in a conductor. The complexity of AC generators has increased over time, but the simple principle behind their operation remains the same: they require a magnet and a conductor - a conductor to accumulate electricity, a magnet to produce it.

Finally Located A Picture Of A 1970 In Green - This Is One Of The Best-Looking Toronados Oldsmobile Made

CONTINUOUS electricity is PRODUCED by patterned MOVEMENT of a MAGNET past a CONDUCTOR.

1:43 Scale Model Of A 1967 ToronadoAn alternator produces continuous electricity by moving a magnet (a magnetic field) around a conductor in a predictable and rhythmic pattern. It is actually a combination of magnetic force and motion that generates electricity in the conductor. A magnet or magnetic field that was static (unmoving), if placed near the same conductor, would generate absolutely nothing. You may have heard the word, "stator", associated with an electric generator. A stator is nothing more than an iron core wrapped in copper windings - in other words, what you should have seen when you pointed your flashlight beam into that generator end. Like any conductor, the stator's job is to develop and store electricity when conditions are right. Your generator motor, its gasoline, propane-burning, natural gas, or diesel engine is used to rotate the magnet which begets electric current in the stator.

Oldsmobile From The Year 1904

How does a BRUSHLESS alternator WORK?

1970 Cutlass 4-4-2You may have seen in an advertisement or product brochure the term, "brushless alternator". The brushless alternator is actually composed of two alternators that rest end to end on the same shaft, one slightly bigger than the other. Working together, this pair produces "clean" electricity - in other words, power with a stable sine wave and limited fluctuations. How is this managed? The smaller of the two alternators (called the "exciter") in its purpose essentially replaces the magnet that we described above - in that it motivates the creation of electricity in the bigger unit. The interior of the exciter is set up like a traditional alternator, featuring fixed field coils (which act as the conductor) and a rotating armature (which acts as the magnet, developing electricity in the fixed coils). The bigger or "main" alternator harbors the opposite setup - a stationary armature (the magnet) and rotating field coils (the conductor). Included in the assembly is a "bridge rectifier" (a combination of capacitors that changes AC current into DC current).

This Vintage Olds 98 Is Dripping Options

ELECTRICITY is manufactured in the EXCITER, rectified, and PASSED along.

1973 Olds Delta 88 Royale RagtopThis is how the two-alternator brushless system works: electricity is created in the exciter - the rotating armature, functioning like a magnet, engenders electricity within the field coils. The resulting AC output is then transformed, by the bridge rectifier, into direct current (DC). The DC output then stimulates the rotating portion of the main alternator - which remember is the conductor portion, and this produces AC current at the outlet panel of the generator. A "brushless" alternator, then, is a motor sending power to an exciter - which in turn submits power to a main alternator. This two-step setup allows for cleaner electricity at your generator's outlet panel than can be achieved by direct connection between a motor and lone alternator. The brushless system also sports fewer moving parts (no brushes, for instance, to wear out). The brushless design has become somewhat transitional - a conduit between the machine sporting a traditional alternator and our modern inverter or digital generators. Modern inverters make their clean electricity with the same series of steps as the brushless unit - but they utilize electronic components rather than a pair of alternators and a bridge rectifier. In other words, a digital generator's electronic components create AC output, transform it to DC or direct current, and transform it again, into smooth stable alternating current for use at the generator outlet panel.

Nice 1974 Toronado

Did you know that the NUMBER of POLES an alternator boasts will directly AFFECT engine SPEED?

1966 Full-Sized Oldsmobile In Target RedThe number of poles in an alternator impacts engine speed. For instance, the motor powering a two-pole generator, to achieve a frequency of 60 Hz, must operate at 3600 rpm. To achieve 50 Hz requires 3000 rpm. A four pole alternator, to manufacture the same output at the same 60 Hz, requires just 1800 rpm from its motor (for a frequency of 50 Hz, 1500 rpm will suffice). This is why: poles within an alternator are the conductors, the locations at which the manufactured electricity accumulates. A two-pole alternator has half the conductors of a four-pole unit. This entails that its engine must maintain twice the operating speed to manufacture the same amount of electricity. Sort of. At each pole inside of a four-pole alternator, lower amounts of electricity are produced than what can be found at the two poles of a dual-pole model. Because of this, the four-pole alternator wears better, will normally enjoy a superior service life and demand less maintenance - and these benefits extend to the motor operating it (which must run at half the revolutions per minute to produce the same AC output).

This Is Supposed To Be A 1971 Olds 98 - Looks More Like A '73 To Us!

Need Help? Call 866-613-9115
Powered by
Shopping Cart
0 items
Asco 300-1000A-3Ph-Open Transition ATS-NEMA 3R


See more specials...

Online Payment Service

Other Links:
3-Phase Generators
20kW Generator
Backup Generators
Caterpillar Generators
Commercial Generators
Diesel Generators
Diesel Generators Used
Gas Generators
Generator for House
Generator PTO
Generator Standby
Generators Home Use
Industrial Generator
Natural Gas Generators
Power Generators Diesel
