6 volt gen. to 12 volt

If you turn if faster it will. It won't do well if you don't turn it faster than it did for 6 volts.

Gerald J.

And you'll have to turn it pretty darn fast and the ole' girl probably won't like that. If you want to flip over to 12V's, I can convert the 6V Gennie over to 12V. Runs about $250.  plus the ride. Or have your local rebuilder do it.. If yer' gonna do it, do it the right way this way you don't invite problems that you don't have time for....

With constant 6 volts on the field, it only takes doubling the shaft speed to get 12 volts. If the field poles aren't saturated at 6 volts on the field coils, and the field voltage rises with the armature voltage it won't take twice the shaft speed but a properly designed 6 volt generator ought to be close to saturated fields at 7.2 volts for a 2 brush generator with regulator.

Back about 57 years ago my dad and I picked up a 12 volt generator and rewound it for 24 volts. We didn't hire it done, we did it. I learned much about generators and 5 years later in an electrical machinery college course I learned that simply speeding it up would have provided 24 volts for that surplus radio equipment.

Gerald J.

Why can't someone make an altenator that looks like the generator that came on the tractor.What is the internal differance? Looks like they would sell well. Tracy Martin

Difference between generator and alternator. Fundamentally they are the same, with the generator using a mechanical rectifier, the commutator, and the alternator using silicon diodes for rectification. The output winding in the generator in in the armature and fixed in the alternator. The generator generally has 2 field poles and the armature (holding the output winding) spins in a magnetic field. The alternator field rotates and with the interdigital fingers one winding makes a bunch of alternating poles that spin the magnetic field within the stator winding. Basically when a wire moves relative to a magnetic field, current is induced. More current and voltage is induced the faster that relative motion. So the alternator is short and fat to get a faster relative motion. And the rotating field construction is resistant to centrifugal force so 10,000 rpm is handled easily. 10,000 rpm will likely throw the windings out of the slots of a generator armature. Then the fixed stator of the alternator has no sliding connections carrying high current, just slip rings to the rotating field carrying a couple amps and alternators have been built without slip rings.

An alternator can and has been built in the long, relatively slim shape of the classic generator and generators have been built short and fat like an alternator. I think later years of VW beetles had an alternator in the same package as the previous generator. When manufacturing material pennies are being pinched, the modern alternator shape probably uses less steel and copper than if built the shape of a classic generator. In VW's case changing the rigid generator mount that was belt driven from the rear of the crank shaft while also mounting the important engine cooling fan on the front end of the generator/alternator overrode the materials cost, I suspect.

Gerald J.

There is a Generator out there with Alternator innards. It also can be used as a one wire, but as Jay mentioned, it is an expensive unit. I looked into doing one of those back bout' 5 years ago or so, but never got the time to do the inside design. Still have the gennie chassis and some Alternator parts still sitting on the shelf yet for that project. Maybe when I retire, I'll git' more time to play around wit' it....
Steve@B&B

Charging a 12 (or 8) volt battery with an unaltered 6 volt generator will ONLY work if it IS a three brush generator using only a cutout, it won't work if the generator is a two brush with a voltage regulator. But the 3 brush generator will also overcharge the battery on long runs.

Gerald J.