Building a Pedal Powered Electric Generator

Greetings.. over the last couple of months, thoughts and materials have been gathering in order to build a pedal powered electric power supply, which could be used, amongst other things to recharge batteries and to power an amateur radio transceiver.

I am pleased to announce that the first stage of construction, getting an vehicle alternator to reliable produce power, has been achieved.

Pedal Powered Alternator – Stage 1

Stage 1 involved getting the alternator mounted properly and generating a stable output voltage.. which it did at 14.7V. This lets the alternator recharge the battery.

What has been constructed?

Step 1 – The alternator and wiring harness.

An alternator from a local used car parts dealer was purchased. I picked up a Toyota alternator for $55 at Gepps Cross wreckers. I started to build up the wiring harness.. it wasn’t really possible to test anything properly as (apparently) the alternator only starts to kick in at around 800-1000 RPM. Some quick calculations indicated that that the racing bike would be able to do provide this (with a direct friction drive with the wheel) at reasonably low speed (6km/h – simulated, it’s on a trainer.) It may be necessary to even further reduce the ratio by fitting a larger wheel to the alternator. This would also help with the traction if it was something like a go-cart or small sack truck wheel.

When obtaining the alternator, it is definitely worth asking for the connecting plug at the same time. Mine was stripped from a wreck at the wreckers, and supplied for no cost, which was quite handy. (I did have to go back the day after to ask about getting it though.)
Wiring_harness_500
The alternator was connected up like this… no charge lamp was used at this stage.

alternator-wiring

Step 2 – Mounting.

The mounting for the alternator was the biggest concern. It needed to be sturdy enough to hold the alternators weight and allow it to be held against the bikes tire and be rigid so that there weren’t issues with vibrations as the alternator and the bike wheel were spun up.

A mount made out of welded steel would have been possible, but an old pine board was also handy and fitted the bill quite well. A length was cut to go under the rear struts of the bicycle trainer, and the couple strips of wood were added for feet. The trainer was bolted down to this with a couple of 50mm stainless steel u-bolts.

A stand for the alternator was built from couple of pieces of pine board, length ways. The alternator was mounted by drilling a hole through the boards for a bolt, which allowed the alternator to pivot against the rear wheel of the bike. These boards are held in place by two full length brackets made from aluminium L sections, cut and drilled to suit.

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The final piece of the mounting is an eye-bolt through the other mounting hole on the alternator and a toggle connected to the base of the bicycle trainer stand (where a suitable hole had already been placed), which holds the alternator against the tire.

dsc05474

Step 3 – Assembly and Testing

Everything was assembled and a couple of trial hand cranks were done to run the alternator up. Everything ran smoothly without the alternator energised to produce power.

With the ignition switch on, but with the alternator just resting against the bike tire, the surfaces would slip as the alternator started producing power. This was solved by adjusting the tension in the toggle bolt holding the alternator against the tire.
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While peddling, the alternator produces 14.7-14.8V, and can be used to charge the battery that is currently attached.

What next?

The next step is to see what the system is like generating power for various loads.. and then use it to produce power for real world applications.

I plan to have it on display at the upcoming “Wireless Institute of Australia” National Field Day (aka. national publicity day)on the 23rd of October outside of the Bunnings at Parafield airport.

Update

The local “WIA National Field Day” event ended up being held in the Salisbury Town Centre (2010) and the generator was successfully demonstrated to work well recharging a battery for a Amateur radio.

This  article was originally published at “MawsonlakesOrg” on Blogspot

Homes of The Future

This week tune into Directions for SA, on Monday, 4th February, 7pm, Channel 9. The reason? The show, hosted by Kieth Conlon, will be presenting a special screening on “Home’s Of The Future”.

Dave Jonker’s house features on the program, with the emphasis being on ‘Internet Remote Monitoring and Control’ and control of the home using the Palm Pilot.

(Re)Welcome Kit

After a weeks delay, we were able to fill out the survey and pick up our welcome kit (number 202). It contains vouchers for the Mawson Lakes (UniSA) Sports Centre (free workout and squash game), Jeffries Garden Soils and Peter Engles Garden Centre.

The kit also contains a Delfin colouring book, and a ‘Moving In’ list of all the useful contacts for the area.

There is also assorted information on: Bus Services, Paper Delivery, Australia Post (Letterbox specifications and a mail redirection form), Mawson Lakes School, Endeavour College and the Mawson Lake Community Church.

Contact the Sales and Information Office on 8260 3333 if you’ve moved in and not received yours.

Temporary New Home

Some new details.. these are more current than the ones below.

Watching as things Develop!
Contact Details Editor: Paul Schulz (pauls@mawsonlakes.org)
Why this change? I have left my job in Technology Park at CAE MRad (although I will be around during the day doing some contract work for them). This meant that I had to find a temporary home for it.
Where is the site now? The site has been shifted to an account at Chariot. They have very resonable rates and had the account setup almost instantly.

Does anyone know… ?

Just a quick report from the Mawson Lakes Quiz night that was held at Endeavour College, oh.. a long time ago now.

Thank you again to to all our sponsors and to all the people who came. It was a very enjoyable evening. I have a couple of comments from the scorers, Beck and Fiona..

  • Joan of Arc was 19 when she was killed.
  • It has been checked, and only two of you got it right and this didn’t effect the final placings.
  • We’re sorry the questions were too hard. We designed them to be challenging, and obviously they were.
  • Apologies for the scavenger hunt stuff-up. We didn’t realise that there were proper prizes put away for it.

As planned, the event didn’t make any money, but it did go to show what could be done. A thank you also to Endeavour College for letting us use their building.

I’ve just been handed this late notice:

WANTED: 2 organisers for next years Quiz Night. Must be well organised, able to answer questions (as well as ask them). Applications can be submitted to the Social Committee.

Apologies for the delay..

There haven’t been any updates placed here for some time. This has been due to several compounding factors; a change of job, involment in running a quiz night and trying to get a house built.

Thank you for you patience. Please look out for the next Mawson Lakes Bulletin in you letter box. We have one now.. Beck built it out of leftover bricks.

Looking for a Door Intercom?

Posted by C M James

In my search for the correct door intercom system to suit our requirements for our new home, I discovered many types available. Of them all, Door Guard seemed to offer the most value.

The system is permanently wired, no batteries required and suitable for new or existing homes. The unit is flush mounted, with electronic door chimes, illuminated push button and auto level control, consisting of one door station and one room station, plus it can be expanded. The room stations are available in six decorator colours and the door station in two colours.

The basic system does not include installation or wiring, however, it may be safely installed and wired by the handy person, using colour coded cable at approximately $1 per metre. This is a door answering system only, however, if you wish to communicate between rooms, there is a variety of options in the Multicom range.

Lecture Series on Intelligent Technologies

The UniSA is holding a public lecture series on “Intelligent Technologies for Sustainable Development”, co-sponsored by DSTO and 891 ABC Adelaide.

  • DSTO Lecture 1
    Who Can Shape Today’s Intelligent Technologies Into Tomorrow’s System?
    Wednesday 10 May 2000, 6.00pm GP 1-09
    Professor Stephen Cook
    School of Electrical and Information Engineering, University of South Australia
  • Lecture 2
    The Intelligent Use of Materials for Intelligent Technologies
    Wednesday 24 may 2000, 6.00pm GP 1-09
    Professor Roger Horn
    Ian Wark Research Institute
  • Lecture 3
    Wednesday 7 June 2000, 6.00pm GP 1-09
    Intelligent Decision Making: A Mathematical Perspective
    Professor Jerzy Filar
    School of Mathematics, University of South Australia
  • Lecture 4
    Wednesday 14 June 2000, 6.00pm GP 1-09
    Leadership In the Technological Age
    Professor Lin
    Centre for Advanced Manufacturing Research, University of South Australia

 

Attendance is free! and each lecture lasts for about and hour including question and discussion time. Stay on after for refreshments.

To register your interest, please ring Moira Mawler (ph. 8302 5792).