Doble battery charging

Hey there, folks! I have been trying to figure out how the Doble steam cars charged their batteries, considering they used an electric blower to run the burner and boiler. The engine doesn't idle and has no clutch, as far as I know, so how were the batteries recharged? I've been considering the design for my own project, and figure Doble likely had a better idea than I'll have!

Thanks for taking the time!

The crankshaft of the engine extended out the right side of the casing and drove a shaft forward to run the auxiliary unit that had the four water pumps also the vacuum pumps and oil pump as well as the generator.

Rolly

I see, thank you. It simply didn't charge when you weren't moving, then.

Aristophanese Wrote:
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> I see, thank you. It simply didn't charge when you
> weren't moving, then.


Jim Crank addresses this in his book. I believe there was a later modification for dual batteries to address the rapid draw down in some situations.

Jim Crank was pretty explicit that the French-Coats and Staley cars, which had smaller auxiliary engines to run pumps, blowers and generator were a large step ahead of Doble.

Thank you for the info! It really seemed to be a less than ideal arrangement to only be able to intermittently charge the batteries. Especially if they are critical for the burner. I'm glad others agreed.

If I recall correctly, Jay Leno's traction engine actually has a steam dynamo to run the lights. That's something I'll have to research.