Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Living
Outside
Play
Technology
Workshop
Table of Contents
Bike Generator Patio Furniture Made from Recycled Materials w/ Voltage Regulated Battery Charging System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Intro: Bike Generator Patio Furniture Made from Recycled Materials w/ Voltage Regulated Battery Charging System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Step 6: Building The Voltage Regulator, Hooking up the Electronics and Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Step 7: Hook the Generator to the Electronics and Battery. and Completed! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
http://www.instructables.com/id/Bike-Generator-Patio-Furniture-Made-from-Recycled-/
Intro: Bike Generator Patio Furniture Made from Recycled Materials w/ Voltage Regulated Battery Charging System
For this project I refined some of the lessons I've learned building (or trying to build) bike generators in the past in an attempt to build one that was quiet, less obtrusive in
our living space, and capable of being used by a bicycle without any modifications or additions to the bicycle. The Table is flipped over onto its side when you need to
use the generator and functions as a front wheel rest to stabilize and balance the bike. I built the pedal generator and the table cover from scrap wood and a treadmill
that I found in the trash out on the street. For power storage and use I used a Deep Cycle Marine Battery and a 400 Watt Inverter I purchased from Harbor Freight. I also
built a voltage regulator using some electrical components from scraps and I realize that painting it wasn't quite as green as leaving it au naturale, but I figured the paint
would help prevent the wood from rotting and having to build another one. While the generator stand is made from scrap materials I found I did buy the battery and the
inverter, as well as some of the components for the Voltage Regulator I couldn't find in E-Waste. I connected the generator input voltage to a Deep Cycle Marine Battery
and Inverter through a diode and Voltage Regulator that I made.
I attached the Voltmeter where the Battery typically would be. I did the little backwards pedal hiccup halfway through to show why a heavy flywheel sort of thing is great
to have an a pedal powered generator, it helps get the spinning smooth. The reason the Voltage stays up after I finish pedalling is the inverter holding a bit of the charge
in a capacitor somewhere I guess. The beep at the end is me turning the inverter on so it drains the little bit of residual it had in its system. Normally the plastic tub with
the battery and electronics is inside the house, I just moved it out so the video would be easier to shoot, the cord goes in a slot under the door usually.
Finding The treadmill a while back was definitely the impetus for this project. While they aren't something one sees everyday out in the trash, they aren't too hard to come
by if you keep your eyes open(and watch craigslist too).I have built bike generators before with broken cordless drills and they are very noisy(best case scenario as loud
as a drill), also the drill can't support or balance the weight of a bicycle and that required a stand of some sort to rest bicycle pegs in. I fixed both those problems in this
iteration.
I hope in the future to build a charge controller to add to the system so I can add some solar panels and/or a wind turbine generator to power the battery(or in future
batteries). I'm currently working an a charge controller design I found at http://mdpub.com/555Controller/ . My electrical work is pretty novice so if you notice any ways
you feel the voltage regulator could run better please feel free to let me know.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Bike-Generator-Patio-Furniture-Made-from-Recycled-/
Image Notes
1. DC Permanent Magnet Motor From Treadmill
2. Rollers From Treadmill
3. Rubber Belt to Run From Rollers to Motor
http://www.instructables.com/id/Bike-Generator-Patio-Furniture-Made-from-Recycled-/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Bike-Generator-Patio-Furniture-Made-from-Recycled-/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Bike-Generator-Patio-Furniture-Made-from-Recycled-/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Bike-Generator-Patio-Furniture-Made-from-Recycled-/
Image Notes
1. 2X6 Boards inserted to slide front tire into.
2. Whoops ran out of paint, I'll finish it when someone throws away some more
half-used paint cans
3. Board Added to Strengthen Legs
Step 6: Building The Voltage Regulator, Hooking up the Electronics and Battery
The Voltage regulator I built following the schematics on the back of the packaging for the adjustable LM317 voltage regulator from radioshack. Using the Formula
provided I determined the 100 ohm and 1K would produce the output voltage of 13.75 VDC, which would be suitable to charge the battery. As you can see in the Video in
the Intro, the Voltage that ended up coming out was 13.33ish, due to losses to heat and the blocking diode, which is still suitable to charge the battery. There is no
protection currently in place against overcharging the battery, my thought being one will be able to monitor the battery while charging, and overcharging will require quite
a bit of hard pedaling and it will be apparent to the generators operator. Whenever I finish the charge controller I will add it to the system so I will also have the option to
add solar or wind power to it. I uploaded a schematic below.
IMPORTANT: Be sure to attach a substantial heat sink to the LM317 component, it will get pretty hot when you are pedaling as it converts the voltage down
for the battery.
That being said- Use the Heat if you can- maybe I'll try to add a stirling engine or something in the future, that'd be neat. Though as off now the heat sink is dissipating the
heat really well and its not really warming up too much. I attahed the LM317 component to the PC Heatsink using thermal compound and then later a layer or epoxy over
the piece to hold it on.
I mounted the Voltage Regulator, 12 V deep cycle battery, and inverter in a used Cat Litter Bucket. I picked this container as it held everything and also kept the battery
off of the ground.
First I hooked the Battery to the 400W inverter I purchased from Harbor Freight.
Next was connecting the cables from the generator through the Voltage Regulator to charge the battery. be sure to add a diode to the line between the generator to the
voltage regulator as shown so the voltage won't backfeed from the battery to the electric motor. The Diode does cause a small drop in Voltage, but its worth it to not have
voltage backfeed through the circuit from the battery or accidentally damage the components if I I happen to hook the generator up in reverse.
Image Notes
1. 400 Watt Inverter
2. Voltage Regulator Circuit
3. Heatsink and Cooling Fan Attached to LM317
Image Notes
1. EverStart 12VDC Deep Cycle Marine Battery 101 Amp Hours
http://www.instructables.com/id/Bike-Generator-Patio-Furniture-Made-from-Recycled-/
Image Notes
1. LM317 Adjustable Voltage Regulator
2. Leads for Cooling Fan
3. Voltage In From Generator and Blocking Diode
4. Heatsink/Fan from old computer motherboard
5. Ground and Voltage Out to Battery/Inverter
6. 1000 ohm resistor
Step 7: Hook the Generator to the Electronics and Battery. and Completed!
The Next Step is to Attach the Generator to the Electronics and Battery. It is good to use a larger size wire to do this so energy isn't lost to resistance in a small diameter
wire. I used the cord that I salvaged from a broken vacuum cleaner that I spotted on my way into work one morning. I used my Dremel to cut the plugs down so they fit
the solderless type fittings that the motor already had wired into it. Now the tricky part- You want to connect the generator so it delivers the V+ in and Ground/Negative
where its supposed to, and not in reverse or else the whole thing won't work. The Key to figuring this out is to take a voltmeter and measure the voltage on your battery,
making note which color probe is on the Positive and which is on the Negative, then compare that reading with what you read from the generator when you spin it by
hand the direction the bike will spin it it. For example, If I used my Red Probe on the Positive of the Battery and the Black Probe on the Negative of the Battery, and red a
Postive number, then when I switch the Leads to the Generator Output and read a Positive number when it is spun, whatever Lead the Red Probe is attached to is the
positive lead. Using This method I wired the generator to the Battery/inverter through the Voltage Regulator.
I realized at the ending of making this instructable I needed to drain the battery down a bit so I can tell you how long it takes to recharge with pedalling. so as soon as I
drain it down a bit I will charge it up and report back on the time it took.
Image Notes
1. Connecting the Plug to the Solderless Connectors
http://www.instructables.com/id/Bike-Generator-Patio-Furniture-Made-from-Recycled-/
Related Instructables
'No-welding'
pedal generator
stand by
chunkyhampton
Stationary Bike
Generator from
Washing
Machine by
andrew.spencer.2
How To Build A
Bicycle
Generator by
saullopez52
Solar Powered
Trike by
dpearce1
How to Make
Any Home
Appliance Into a
Solar Electric
Hybrid by DIY
Hacks and How
Tos
homage to
duchamp's
bicycle wheel a dual mode led
lamp (DC hub
generator or AC
plugin) by
pobriant
Advertisements
Comments
10 comments Add Comment
DarrenY2 says:
is the wattage output dependent on the inverter or the wattage rating of the motor?
24T says:
mykiscool says:
If you've got a car alternator, that can work also and it has a built in regulator.
trackzero says:
KlockworkKevin says:
KlockworkKevin says:
ianmcmill says:
Plus fav for the colors. This build will come in handy for the next blackout or ehh zombie apocalypse :D
marcellahella says:
wow! This is really too cool!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Bike-Generator-Patio-Furniture-Made-from-Recycled-/
vincent7520 says:
I know my comment will seem pointless but I love the colors you you used for this project.
Thanks for posting.
KlockworkKevin says:
Not pointless at all! thanks!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Bike-Generator-Patio-Furniture-Made-from-Recycled-/