This Portable Car Alternator Charging System from The Back Shed solves quite a few problems when it comes to portable power. If you have a dead battery and no plug close by to charge it what do you do? Get a boost is one option but if you would like to be self reliant this alternator charging system is a cool idea. It uses a small gas motor to turn a standard vehicle alternator so it can provide a ton of charging current and will last as long as you have gas in the tank. Turns out a big part of the build was adapting the cooling fan to blow in the opposite direction since the motor spun the alternator in the wrong direction when it was all bolted together.

“This is my first build of the portable charger. The motor is a Kubota 5.2hp 200cc 4 stroke I bought off ebay a few years back. The alternator is a 75amp 12v Bosch with internal regulator. At the time I had access to a laser cutter, so I lasercut the adapter plate from 3mm mild steel. It worked pretty good, but wasn’t very portable. Since then I’ve mounted the charger to a old trolley, see the photo above. Now its portable.The wheels are from an golf buggy.”