Any way to get a 48V generator?

sub3marathonman
sub3marathonman Solar Expert Posts: 300 ✭✭✭
in Energy Use & Conservation #1
As in Soylent Green, where in the future Edward G. Robinson had to use a bicycle generator to have light in the apartment, is there any way to get a 48V generator to use with a bicycle to recharge a 48V battery bank that is used with an XW6048?

While it is more of an incentive to use as exercise, I also don't want to spend $1000 to generate $1 of electricity per month.
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,613 admin
    #2
    Re: Any way to get a 48V generator?

    Realistically, an Olympic bicyclist will generate 100-200 watts over an hour with 500 watts for a few minutes...

    Call it 100-200 WH... With power at $0.10 to $0.20 per kWH (grid power)--you are looking at 1 to 4 cents worth of power per session (or less if you assume 50% losses for typical mechanical to electrical conversion systems)...

    While you will have nice legs--Add a 250 Watt panel and generate for 4-6 hours a day while sipping iced tea.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • waynefromnscanada
    waynefromnscanada Solar Expert Posts: 3,009 ✭✭✭✭
    #3
    Re: Any way to get a 48V generator?

    Wow! I remember as a kid the extra load the old bicycle "generator" powered 3 watt headlights would add to the effort required to get from point A to point B at night. Can't imagine pumping a 200 or even 100 watt generator for more than a very few minutes before exhaustion sets in. I love Solar :)
    But hey, if you're determined, go for it, but don't be surprised if you quickly begin to crave solar too :D
    If you can't find a 48 volt generator, you could always use a 12 volt unit and up the voltage by peddling faster :p
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  • dak664
    dak664 Registered Users Posts: 14 ✭✭
    #4
    Re: Any way to get a 48V generator?

    A hub motor with a regenerative braking controller would do that.
    http://www.ebikes.ca/hubmotors.shtml
    http://www.ebikes.ca/store/store_controllers.php

    The bionx system is probably the best known but for a stationary bicycle you don't need such overkill.
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  • ggunn
    ggunn Solar Expert Posts: 1,973 ✭✭✭
    #5
    Re: Any way to get a 48V generator?

    I always have thought that an idea for a "green" business would be a gym which used generators rather than dumb weights and springs as loads, and grid tied their outputs. A single cyclist won't produce much power, but what about 100 of them?
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,613 admin
    #6
    Re: Any way to get a 48V generator?

    We have had a few threads about generating power in a gym.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • waynefromnscanada
    waynefromnscanada Solar Expert Posts: 3,009 ✭✭✭✭
    #7
    Re: Any way to get a 48V generator?
    ggunn wrote: »
    I always have thought that an idea for a "green" business would be a gym which used generators rather than dumb weights and springs as loads, and grid tied their outputs. A single cyclist won't produce much power, but what about 100 of them?

    I've always thought it very strange that treadmills for human exercise have electric motors to drive them. Never made any sense to me. No different than using a crane to lift someone over a hi-jump, then having the "jumper" brag about how high he jumped. If the object is to actually get exercise, then driving a generator would make a lot more sense.
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  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    #8
    Re: Any way to get a 48V generator?

    Wayne;

    That is the difference between "exercise" and "work". :p
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  • HuckMeat
    HuckMeat Registered Users Posts: 24 ✭
    #9
    Re: Any way to get a 48V generator?
    waynefromnscanada wrote: »
    I've always thought it very strange that treadmills for human exercise have electric motors to drive them. Never made any sense to me. No different than using a crane to lift someone over a hi-jump, then having the "jumper" brag about how high he jumped. If the object is to actually get exercise, then driving a generator would make a lot more sense.

    Most people who run on treadmills are more interested in replicating running on the street or trail, not doing the hamster wheel. The feeling between the two would be pretty dramatic. Producing 200W on a treadmill would probably require that the user hold onto something static and push against the belt, not hardly a 'running' treadmill. ;)
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  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    #10
    Re: Any way to get a 48V generator?
    HuckMeat wrote: »
    Most people who run on treadmills are more interested in replicating running on the street or trail, not doing the hamster wheel. The feeling between the two would be pretty dramatic. Producing 200W on a treadmill would probably require that the user hold onto something static and push against the belt, not hardly a 'running' treadmill. ;)

    so why do you suppose they walk/run on the street? i know a few might be out to pick up other people for dates, but they do it for the exercise. when the weather gets bad it can then go indoors. some people can't go out or it isn't safe to do that on the street and so the exercise machines can come into play. i say, why not generate some power if you can rather than consume it? it might not be allot of electric generated, but it will give people a good workout and an appreciation of how much it takes to generate and sustain even small power levels.

    we can call them, "lean green exercise machines", and i'll claim the rights to this so if you want to use the terms ask me.

    btw, my old 6th grade teacher told me that work is defined as the ability to do the job. with exercise there is no job, just redundancy to burn calories and/or tone muscles. of course i always had the notion he was wrong on that definition as it isn't the ability to do the job, it is actually doing the job imo.
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