generator bike system

Wattsup · February 2009

Hi all

I first like to say, what a great forums this is. I have learned so much here in the last year.

From reading here, I have designed and installed a small off grid system in my cottage in northern Ontario, Canada.

I am in the middle of building two genybikes. (one for me and one for my wife) so we can go biking out at the cottage on those cloudy winter night in hopes to bring the battery bank up a bit, and get a little exercise at the same time.

I use a 40 amp 200 volt diode to stop power from feeding back to the dc motor.
just get on and go

Here is a pic of the first attempt
picture.php?albumid=4&pictureid=13

I will be making a better mounting bracket

This is the dc motor I got out of a treadmill that the controller had burnt up.
picture.php?albumid=4&pictureid=14

Here what the mate shows when I am peddling at a good pace maybe 20 km on a normal bike. If I really work it I can push it to tops 15-16 amps, but not for very long.

picture.php?albumid=4&pictureid=15

I thought I would throw this out there for comments & suggestions:D

Mark

boisblancboy · February 2009

Re: generator bike system

Thats a pretty cool setup. How long have you been using it? Do you have it directly connected your battery?

Wattsup · February 2009

Re: generator bike system

Hi boisblancboy

I feed this first into a breaker then it feeds into my mx60 which then go to the
bats.
I have been using it for three months now

Mark

boisblancboy · February 2009

Re: generator bike system

Very interesting! Well if you ever get into good enough shape you could get yourself a larger motor and create even more juice! Good job though, I think small simple ideas like that are very cool.

hillbilly · February 2009

Re: generator bike system

That's awesome. I've seen some bicycle/genny kits out there before for sale, but that looks fairly simple. You did allude to some trial and error though, and I am sure that it always looks easy at first glance ("the bravery of being out of range"). I'd love to hear more of your experiences, what worked, what you learned along the way... etc.
nice work.

Brock · February 2009

Re: generator bike system

I imagine the voltage is set by how fast your pedaling, so do you find you have to pedal fast or do you somehow have it geared down? What is the voltage range as you pedal?

Very cool! I had read an average adult male can power about 1/4 HP for an hour which would be in the 190w range (without losses) so you’re doing really well!

Wattsup · February 2009

generator bike system

Hi hillbilly and Brock

Thank you for your comments

Yes there was some trial and error.

1. At the start I did not have the diode in line and if i stopped pedaling it would keep on going til the voltage dropped off and the mx60 goes into snooze mode.

2. I would start to pedal and it would take a while before the mx60 would wake up and start to pull from the motor. some time two minutes wasting my power.
and it was easy to pedal at first, but with a load on the motor much harder of course. The harder I pedal the more torque the motor would demand. and the higher the amperage would go:D

so I soon learn that just before dusk when the wattage from the panels was down to around 5-10 watts is the time to hop on the bike for as long as I could
about 1 hour. This is very good exercise:p

3. yes the faster i would go the higher the voltage, highest i was seeing was about60 volts, until the mx60 kicked in and the mppt would bring the voltage down to the required volts and amperage.

PS In the summer My wife and I like to go for a 10- 20 km ride depending on wind conditions.

Mark

Brock · February 2009

Re: generator bike system

Just think of how much power you generate on that 10-20k ride. Well you could find out

niel · February 2009

Re: generator bike system

wattsup,
i think i, and others, might be interested in hearing more details for your particular bike genny with the materials used, parts costs, and general encounters of putting it together. many buy exorcise bikes costing several hundred bucks and up only to get exorcise from them. (i bought a cheapo as mine was a $100 air resistance elliptical.) what you've done is make that work more productive by charging up batteries. hmm, how about one of those 200w grid tie inverters too?
anyhow, i would personally like more details on the ratios you have between the wheel (size) and the genny and what materials are in place for this geared up coupling. also could you give me the link for the genny?

icarus · February 2009

Re: generator bike system

Wow,

A stationary bike to Exorcise! Where is Linda Blair when we need her!

In all seriousness, I have always considered most exercise equipment a cross between the torture's handiwork and a hamster cage. As someone once said to me, "running is something to be done to avoid getting bit by a dog!" In this case at least people could be powering the TV they are watching while they are at the gym!

I have this memory of some primitive military generator like this in years gone by.

Tony

boisblancboy · February 2009

Re: generator bike system

You know, if all the bikes at gyms did this they would be able to have a little grid tied system going! Haha, just a random thought.

But for sure, I would be very interested in here more of the particulars on this bike.

homerramirez · February 2009

Re: generator bike system

Exercise and sell it to the grid @ .10 per kw?......lol.....but acording icarus laughing is a good exescise too, thanks for that, in the other hand, off grid and far away from civilization could be a life or death situation and some folks apreciate or might need threads like this one.

Keep'em comming,

Brock · February 2009

Re: generator bike system

LOL, just flashed in my mind, an inclined ramp, basically a HUGE tread mill that people could run "up" powering a generator, powering the facility.

niel · February 2009

Re: generator bike system

brock,
hey, why not? it would certainly make some people who don't exercise more willing to do so seeing another side benefit to it.
tony,
i too used to think there's no need for such things, but needs change as do circumstances. i am at high risk of injury in some weather conditions along with certain types of activity for medical reasons and i elected to solve it by getting one of those cheap bikes.

BB. · February 2009

Re: generator bike system

One of these (or two if you are Lance Armstrong)--and you are happily selling your calories for $0.02 per hour (assuming 200 watt GT inverter with $0.10 per kWhr power rate).

-Bill

hillbilly · February 2009

Re: generator bike system

Yes, I'll add my name to those who would like to know a lot more about your nifty little system. I am normally inclined a bit like Tony, in that I like to run FROM the gym... but, I agree with Niel that actually getting some charging benefit from that exercise makes it a lot more satisfying. I think that this idea would be good to explore much further too (about the gym's, my wife and I have joked about that idea for years). Now if only we could get treadmills for the dogs and convince them that it was worth it for them .... then we'd be getting some serious power....
Thanks for sharing

Wattsup · February 2009

Re: generator bike system

LoL

WOW
Thanks for your interest in this very simple project that cost me nothing to build as I am a appliance repair technician and the permanent magnet motors i am using are out of exercise treadmills that were scrapped.

And the bikes were free as here in North Bay, If you don't want something useful you put it to the curb with a free sign on it and someone in the need will pick it up.

You all have inspired me to start on bike #2 this weekend.8) And I will do a better report in the near future.

In the mean time have a look at this.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rO3Qp_2uf5I

Mark

generator bike system

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