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Bob Noble contacted Randy about his steam powered
Likamobile, one of only three in the  world.
The car is powered by steam, heated in a boiler. Because
of insurance the heating of the water to make steam
could no longer be done using coal. Instead, the burner
had to be converted to electric to provide better
control of the heat and resulting steam pressure. Here
is a portion of Bob's Letter….
Randy,
The burner and blower together require 6 amps. The idle
speed is zero, (direct drive, no, transmission). The
blower and burner run all of the time. The steam
pressure is controlled, by turning the fuel off and on.
The electric burner and blower are powered by a deep
discharge 12-volt battery, which has enough capacity to
run all day, (6 to 8 hours), then can be charged over
night.
That is the reason I want the alternator to provide a
minimum of 6 amps at 15 mph. The battery can take care
of the car at lower speeds, such as in a parade. I would
like a an alternator output of at least 10 amps at |
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higher road speeds (15 mph) to keep from draining the
battery, I want an alternator for when the car is taken
on tour where no battery charger would be available.
Bob Noble
 Two
other shops had tried to build an alternator for this
application with no success. It is very difficult to
build an  alternator
that will provide a strong output at such a low rpm.
Fifth Avenue was able to do it and exceed the required
output needed. Fifth Avenue's special built alternator
provided nearly 7 amps at 3 miles per hour and just over
18 amps at  15
miles per hour highway speed. Thus, the battery could
remain fully charged eliminating the need for the
battery charger altogether. In addition, the car could
be driven at full power without the worry of a dead
battery.
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