I need to be able to charge drone batteries whilst at remote locations.

I can connect my battery charger to the defender's 12V battery but it doesn't last for long if the engine isn't on.

My question is, would I do damage if I leave the engine idling for an hour or so whilst drawing circa 40A from the vehicle/alternator?

I am concerned that I could overheat the alternator or damage the engine/turbo....

Its not an ideal solution but short of fitting a dedicated 24V alternator or buying a generator I'm a bit stuck at the moment

[Edited on 14/7/15 by tegwin]

given that all is in good condition, it is only the same as sitting in traffic with the heater, lights, wipers and (heated window ) on

so no, all should be good, as long as your alternator is charging ok at idle,....

you didn't fancy fitting a 24v alternator then?

hth

I'd really like to stick a 24v alternator in there and a split charge system but I'm not sure how long I will be keeping the truck for and unsure if the drone flying business will ever make any money :p

For now a slow charge from the 12v system is all I can hope for


On mains power I have a 1.5kw 24v transformer to power the battery charger

I wonder if it would be possible to power a 24v alternator using the PTO system on the Land Rover?

It is (or was) a factory option to have a PTO on the transfer box for a hydraulic or electric system. Id imagine retrofitting such a system could be a bit of a fiddle and rather costly though

I thought most alternators s wrer about 100A so should be fine?

I often have to leave vehicles running as I seem to have bad luck with starter motors. I just put the internal heater on to help cool the engine.

Honda silent generator? Always easy to sell on if you decide to stop.

Should be ok. Military land rovers were kitted out just for that, to charge batteries for radios, they had a hand throttle that could be locked to set the idling speed.

what model of landrover is it? if it has a 200 or 300 tdi engine there is a kti available to add a second alternator that allows a completely seperate system to be installed, the winch challenge guys use them to fit. 24 v winch to a 12 v car.
look on ebay i think gigglepin make the kits

It's unlikely you'll be able to pull 40 amps out of the alternator at idle.