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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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