Outdoors

World's smallest 8-kW generator rocks a deafening microturbine

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The ARC microturbine generator: an ear-splitting 8kW genny you can carry like a toolbox
Fusionflight
The ARC microturbine generator: an ear-splitting 8kW genny you can carry like a toolbox
Fusionflight
The ARC doesn't come with an inverter, and connects to an external fuel tank
Fusionflight
At just 9 kg, this thing outperforms petrol generators ten times its weight
Fusionflight
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Drone-maker Fusionflight has announced an 8-kW microturbine generator that weighs less than one-tenth of what an equivalent petrol generator would, and it's the size of a toolbox instead of needing its own wheels – if you can handle the epic noise levels.

This company is best known for its JetQuad UAVs – ultra-fast VTOL drones using thrust-vectored jet turbine propulsion to act like quadcopters on steroids. Their performance levels are absolutely epic compared against electric quadcopters, with theoretical top speeds over 400 mph (644 km/h), much like Mayman Aerospace's turbine-powered Speeder flying motorcycle design.

They're amazing little power units, running on diesel, kerosene or jet fuel, with 5 percent turbo oil mixed in. And Fusionflight has taken advantage of their extreme power density to create an ultra-portable generator that packs an 8-kW punch. The ARC microturbine generator measures about 17 x 27 x 52 cm (6.7 x 10.6 x 20.5 inches) and weighs just under 9 kg (19.8 lb). For reference, a petrol-powered machine like the Gensafe GF8000 weighs 107 kg (236 lb) and uses a 459 cc engine, although to be fair it's got an inverter built in as well, where the ARC microturbine requires you to buy one separately.

The ARC doesn't come with an inverter, and connects to an external fuel tank
Fusionflight

Fusionflight says it's powerful enough to run an off-grid home with, light enough to mount as a range extender to small electric aircraft and drones, and it offers a way to charge up an electric car where no plug-in options are available. Mind you, it won't charge the battery back up as fast as your EV drains it on the highway – by our math, the Tesla Model 3 uses around about a constant 15.6 kW at 90 km/h (56 mph), rising to around 21.6 kW at 120 km/h (75 mph).

Still, the ARC turbine generator is easily stackable, so you can run them in parallel if more power is needed. That's if you can deal with the noise.

Fusionflight doesn't give any figures for noise, nor indeed does JetCat, a leading supplier of these kinds of microturbines. But I've stood behind David Mayman as he lifted off wearing a jetpack powered by similar turbines, and the noise split the sky right across Sydney Harbour. One noise evaluation study on an older JetCat P80 turbine measured 116.5 decibels – louder than a chainsaw, a jackhammer, or a typical rock concert.

At just 9 kg, this thing outperforms petrol generators ten times its weight
Fusionflight

To be fair, turbine noise is typically high-pitched, it can be quite directional, and it can drop off quicker with distance than lower-frequency vibrations like your typical thrumming petrol generator. And Fusionfight has surely put some thought into noise reduction on this thing, so we wouldn't imagine it'd be as loud as the P80 in that study.

But it's still a 130,000 rpm turbine, and if the video below is a good indication, this is not a machine to switch on when the baby's sleeping – even if the noise is kinda awesome. Skip to 3:30 to hear it being switched on and throttled up to 50 percent. No pricing is available as yet, but these turbines are not cheap, so you can probably expect to pay a fair old premium for the extreme reduction in size and weight that the ARC delivers.

Source: Fusionflight

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12 comments
Daishi
I will always love the sound of a turbine firing up. The memories. I love hearing the YTK Jet bike start up too but not if I lived next door to it probably: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xTO2TNS0BM
paul314
How long can it run before needing maintenance?
Steve Jones
So, the next innovation could be a folding silencer.
Those things are, after all, mostly empty.
Username
How long will it run on its tiny fuel tank?
Mark Lewus
So many issues with this. Let’s put the noise aside. The fuel economy is stupidly bad. Using a harbor-freight quality 8kw gasoline generator as a reference (about 0.85gal/hour/full load) and converting for the energy density difference between gasoline and kerosene, and using the turbine spec sheet value for fuel consumption, it uses 5.5x as much fuel as the gasoline generator. Plus the cost of that 5% turbo oil which currently runs around $27 a gallon. Then add 10%-15% loss to convert the 48 V DC output to something useful, since even if you do need 48 V this output is not regulated. If you do need 120 V, a 48vdc to 120vac inverter is going to be almost the same size and weight as the turbine itself. But here’s the biggest issue. The service interval, as with all turbines of this size class, is 25 hours. And when they say service interval they’re not talking about changing the spark plug, rather they’re talking about tearing down the turbine and replacing the bearings. I’m not sure what market this is intended for, or if this was one of those projects that got done just to prove they could do it. I can’t imagine this being useful unless you need the absolute maximum power density, you don’t care how much noise it makes, or how much it costs to buy, or how much it costs to run. And after all that you don’t mind tearing it down to its bits every 25 hours.
Slowburn Fan
Very cool. Would like to see a smaller design on a battery motorcycle. That only runs at higher road speeds, so don't burn any cars. Cut the range on electric motorcycles is very low
jerryd
Lotus does 35kw in 115 lbs. I with a hot rodded 160cc go cart motor on E85 do 8kw and ultralight alternator of magnet discs on the motor shaft with coils between them in 45 b and $500 in parts.
If you want really light the Norton Rotary engine with light alternator would weigh about the same but cost much less.
Ashley Cobb
Micro Gas Turbines are better suited to buildings IMHO. That way you have a permanent fuel supply, whether that be gas, petrol or diesel, and waste heat can be used to boil water and reduce base load energy consumption of the HVAC by heating the air. It also makes it easier to manage noise levels. This seems like a “we did it because we can” exercise.
Sciencie
Some people have too much time to waste.
christopher
No mention of fuel-consumption, but these jets are always THIRSTY, so it's almost CERTAINLY heavier, more expensive, and supplies less KWH than a standard pack of lithium batteries of the same total mass (generator+fuel+alternator) would.