Electric supercharger??

[Rustyrangie]

Hi, Not sure if this is the right forum but I reckon most of the engineering types will lurk here.

Came across this while idly browsing (Coronation Street's on!)

Do a google on "electric supercharger"

Appears to be a an electric "blower" downstream of the air filter.

New to me, has anyone seen one? got one? tried one?

I don't want one myself, just interested that's all.

Bob

[geoffbeaumont]

There're are loads of them (and the usual snake oil salesmen selling 'instructions to build' - hidden in the small print) on eBay. I'd be surprised if they can shift enough air to be beneficial on a small engine, never mind on a land rover. Never seen one in the flesh, though, but then I've not seen a reputable company selling them either, which probably says a lot...

[simonr]

Where is Turbocharger when you need him? Someone give him a shout!

He did a calculation based on this idea, it may even have been on the old forum. The amount of power you would need to drive a fan capable of shifting enough air to make the slightest difference, it would need the kind of electric motor used for electric drag racing!

Si

[TomG]

Can understand it wouldn't work at high rpm as the engine is shifting serious volumes of air, but how about if it kicked in at say <1200rpm or at certain manifold pressure for extra low end grunt? with some sort of switchable bypass (two big flappy solenoid valves) when rpms went above a certain point. With a high-end winch motor driving it?

Alternatively, fit a quad leafblower setup: http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/Leafblower_20Supercharger

[Rustyrangie]

Yeah, that was my thought too.

I did a bit on gas flow ages ago for OU/ Transco so I know it's not as simple as it sounds.

However a quick rule of thumb calculation says a 4 litre V8 flows 2 litres per rev.

Therefore at 4000 rpm it'll be flowing around 8000 litres/minute, i.e. approx 280 cubic feet / minute (cfm)

so to get any boost at all you need a supercharger to exceed this figure.

That's one hell of an electric motor!

The pictures in the ads show a box around 4 inches cubed, wonder what's in it? Not a lot, probably.

I liked the bit in one of the ads that said "even the car manufacturers don't know about this" yeah right.

Bob

[Turbocharger]

Err, yeah. As the calcs say, it needs to flow a lot of air. And then you bear in mind that if it's supplying 280cfm, it's giving enough air that it's not getting in the way any more. You'd ideally like some pressure rise to make it effective so, for 2 bar inlet pressure you'd (fag packet calc) need to double that cfm figure.

I think similar ideas will appear, but only when cars are running 48V and are more like a piston 'power turbine' on the side of a gas turbine, as a heavily turbocharged diesel engine could be considered. I suspect we'll see more of this as series hybrid electric cars become in vogue, and the transient response of the engine isn't significant any more - this would be the chief benefit of the e-charger.

[ROGUE TROOPER]

I have the plans If someone wants then :0

JET STREAM ELECTRIC SUPERCHARGER INSTALLATION

Please be sure to thoroughly read these instructions before attempting the installation.

These instructions will teach you how to build a Jet Stream Electric Supercharger that will fit any 3" or 4" intake, whether it is aftermarket or bone stock with little or no modification. There are two versions of the Jet Stream Electric Superchargers. We highly recommend building the 24,000-rpm version of the supercharger to maximize your horsepower gains. We recommend this because as far as costs go the two versions will basically cost almost the same to produce.

The first version runs off less power from your vehicle battery but will not produce even close to the horsepower gains of the more powerful unit. This may be used if you are only looking to increase your gas mileage or produce small gains on a smaller sized engine. Basically if your engine is 2 liters or lower then this could be a realistic option for you. Anyone who is looking for a large gain in power or has an engine large than 2 liters in size it is recommended you only use the more powerful supercharger.

V1 Parts list (Small Supercharger – 8,000rpm, Roughly 250cfm airflow)

1-Attwood 3" or 4" Turbo IN-LINE Blower (exact size will depend on the size of your intake tubing, be sure to measure just to be sure).

1- 3" or 4" piece of soft pipe, you may or may not need this depending on your intake. A 90 degree or 45 degree plumbing elbow may also be needed.

1- SPST Momentary Pushbutton Switch.

1- Roll of electrical tape.

1- Metal Bracket.

1- 25ft Roll of 12-Gauge wire.

1- 3 ½ inch Dryer Ducting Pipe (aluminum) with several hose clamps.

Please note we highly recommend using a K&N or similar cone air filter in conjunction with the system to assure the highest possible air intake. Also if used with a stock intake you may have to modify either the intake system or modify the in-line blower, this is an option, but not recommended.

Example of Finished Electric Superchargers

Inline Electric Supercharger Jet Stream Electric Supercharger

As you can see above the Inline version is simply inserted into your factory intake tube while the Jet Stream Version acts more as an Aftermarket Cold Air Intake. The Jet Streams “ram-air” type setup ensures that you are bringing in the coldest air possible (which will also result in a great increase in performance).

Once you get the fan-installed reconnect the air filter.

Next connect a piece of the 12 gauge wire to the ground terminal of the battery, and then run the wire neatly to the ground wire (black) on the fan. Please be sure to note that the keyword in the previous sentence is NEAT, you don’t want it coming loose and getting in the way of moving parts, plus you want it to look good don’t you?

Now you will connect a piece of 12 gauge wire to the positive terminal of the battery and run it neatly to the throttle body, be sure to leave about 3 inches of wire to work with here, you will need it later. As mentioned before, keep the wire neat and secure! You want it to look good don’t you?

Next you will have to run a piece of 12 gauge wire from the in-line-blowers positive wire up to the throttle body, once again you will want to secure the wire neatly and leave about 3 inches to work with here.

Next you will want to connect the 2 wires to the Mini switch.

Be sure to properly wrap any bare wires around the switch with the electrical tape so that they will not touch each other or something else if they come loose. Another option is to wrap the wires in heat shrink tubing, but this is up to you.

Now, with everything hooked up, press the button and make sure the fan comes on. If it does not, be sure to check all your connections and make sure they are all secure.

Now comes the tough part. Depending on your car, you will have to mount the switch in a position where it is activated during wide-open throttle (WOT). Below is a picture of our test car where you could mount the switch on the throttle body so that the switch is depressed only at wide-open throttle. The Red mark represents where the switch would be mounted; the blue mark is the part of the throttle that would come in contact with the switch at wide-open throttle. The second picture is how it would look at wide-open throttle, so you can see how it would depress the button.

Depending on your vehicle, you can install the button in a way that your throttle depresses the button and turns the fan on at wide-open throttle. If you can’t seem to find a way to mount the switch anywhere on the throttle body; you can alternatively run the wires into the cabin and mount the switch so that the gas pedal will push the button when it is stomped to the floor, which would be at wide-open-throttle. This part of the installation, you are partly on your own because you will have to take different approaches depending on what vehicle you are installing the supercharger on. Be sure you really mount the switch well, you do not want it to come loose and interfere with the operation of the throttle, this would be very dangerous, not only for your vehicle, but for your safety also.

If this should ever happen, be sure to shut off your engine, but do not turn the key so much that your steering will lock on you. An alternative to doing this is to just put your car in neutral until you can come to a complete stop and then shut your car off, this will eliminate the possibility of your steering locking up before you can come to a complete stop. This method may be a little harder on your engine, but it is much safer for you.

V2 Parts List (24,000 RPM Supercharger capable of up to 2psi boost!)

1-Watt-Age 3" or 4" depending on the intake, Powerfan 400/6 - with “cobalt” or similar motor

1- 3" or 4" depending on the intake, piece of soft pipe, you may not need this once again

1- SPST Momentary Pushbutton Switch

1- Roll of electrical tape

1- Metal Bracket

1- 25ft Roll of 12-Gauge wire

The installation instructions for this blower are the same as the other one, so you will just want to follow those. The only thing different about this one is that it spins at 24,000 rpm’s instead of 8000 rpm’s. This blower is recommended over the 8000 rpm model due to the fact cars with larger engines, need more air, and the 8000 rpm model may just be giving your engine what it needs and not give it anything extra, it may actually be a little restrictive. So the 24,000 blower is highly recommended here. It also will give you about three times as much airflow (roughly 750cfm over the smaller units 250cfm which will dramatically increase your performance).

The cost of this fan is about twice as much, but it is definitely worth the extra boost. ($60 instead of $30)

So where can you find all these parts explained above? Well here you go, below are websites that will help you find the parts necessary and their prices. Remember, as new materials become available you will have the option of increasing the performance of your supercharger. There is also another option that has not been explained here. It involves doubling up two finished electric superchargers which could potentially double your airflow and dramatically increase your performance. This however can often take up much needed room in your engine bay so be sure to check your clearance before attempting the install!

Below Are Websites that offer all the necessary parts needed.

Inline blower (V1): http://www.amarket.com/imbl03.htm ($16), http://www.sandiegomarine.com/products.php...=1&subcat=8 ($19), http://www.cpostores.com/hamiltonmarine/browse.cfm/4 ($20), or you can call a boat shop in your area.

Watt-Age 3" fan (V2): http://www.electricjetfactory.com or http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/131401.asp

($35) or you can call a local hobby shop.

The cobalt motor can be found here:

http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/131480.asp (ASK ABOUT UPGRADING FROM THE PREVIOUS UNIT, THEY WILL BE WILLING TO HELP HOWEVER THEY CAN!)

Push button switch: Radio shack (part # 275-1556a)($2.39)

UK BUYERS:

Inline blower V1 : http://www.marine-hardware.co.uk/acatalog/...Blowers_89.html

The cobolt motor can be found here

http://www.sussex-model-centre.co.uk/item.asp?ID=1760

the switch can be found here

http://www.cornwallelectronics.co.uk/?page...cafbaaef79d3997

[ROGUE TROOPER]

As a matter if interest, the 3.9L at full shout (about 5500rpm) sucks in 288cfm and for the 3.5L its 259cfm, so its pointless for a V8 unless you fit 2.

I did some research into this but decided the cost was too high for very little gain.

[NoHummer-Ed]

I tried a petrol leaf blower on a moped. It had an effect - that the thing would run at a slow speed. It idled a bit lumpy and as soon as you opened the throttle a bit it went full open, wheelied and you land on your bum. Never found if it made it go any faster cos my bum hurt too much to ride it & dad wanted his leaf blower back.

Ed

[Rustyrangie]

Interesting thread, I'm pleased I started it.

Liked the moped story Ed, the sort of thing I'd have done when I were a lad.

Wouldn't work on my V8 anyway as it's on LPG. Hence the blower, if it ever managed any boost, would simply blow the anti-blow-back flap on the plenum open.

That would be interesting. A cloud of LPG/air mix lurking around under the bonnet looking for a spark or a hot manifold then....Boom!

It'd sort the rust out I suppose.

Bob

RRC 3.9V8 efi, still in bits... but not quite as many