Using a car alternator with a bike to power my home? How much energy can I produce?!
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In this video I will be using a car alternator in combination with an old bicycle in order to create my own electrical energy. Along the way I will show you how a car alternator works and how we can use it with a bike. That includes electrical and mechanical modifications in order to reach the best output performance of the alternator. At the end I will then show you how much power I was able to create and whether I could power my home with it. Let's get started!
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Music:
2011 Lookalike by Bartlebeats
0:00 Project overview
1:39 Intro
2:12 Initial tests
3:39 Bike modifications
5:17 Creating a wood construction for the bike
6:10 The problem with the exciter coil
7:43 First proper tests with the bike
8:30 Alternator regulator modification
9:13 Final test & verdict
Part 2 ;-) : kzhead.info/sun/eqydeausbpSYrI0/bejne.html
Good day! Try to replace the alternator with the hub motor you used to convert your bike to ebike. Set it up with the controller but unplug the battery then test the voltage it produce in the battery terminal. Take note switch on the ignition. Please give it a shot.
L@@patrickarcega9861 5th 76
@@jpoe7448 i don't get it.
Now all you need to do is use that same setup except use water along a stream or something.
U could actually get a small electric motor and 4-5 more alternators to charge multiple batteries.
As a child living during a civil war in Sri Lanka in the early 90s, the most common electricity power source we had was by peddling our bicycles that had simple dynamos attached. We couldn’t do much with that, except for powering some FM/SW radios, but nevertheless it was useful for many under that circumstance.
Thanks for the feedback :-)
@@greatscottlab you can also use the electric bike hub motor as a generator... I'm pretty sure you can generate a pretty good amount of electricity out of it.
@@jeruelvidad901 When i was a kid i had a light setup for my bike that included a generator with a knurled wheel that ran along the tire. It had a little rechargeable battery pack so the lights didn't go out when you stopped but when you started pedaling again they sure brightened up.
@@keithyinger3326 yeah, I also have that in my bike when I was in elementary but it only lights up when the wheel moves since it doesn't have a battery.
Yep, needs to tighten the belt to really get the power out of it.
3:09 "with something like a 6 Puls-Brückenschaltung"
6 pulse bridge rectifier for those who can't speak German.
Das hier ist Gold xDD
ONLY FULL BRIDGE RECTIFIER GANG
Hmmm
@@segfault-berlin tnx, this Brückenschaltung from video makes me cry
Instead of taking apart the alternator, all you had to do was add a battery. Then connect a inverter to the battery. The more power that you draw from the battery, the more the alternator will supply as long as you can maintain a constant rpm.
Could you essentially turn the alternator with a drill that is powered by the alternator which is charging a battery system?
This involves a loss of Efficiency so even if you started with a fully charged battery it would drain down till flat .
@@Suzukidave The battery connected between the alternator and the inverter acts like a reserve. And the alternator needs the battery to start producing current.
@@mike77tmc2 sorry mike I was trying to reply about useing a drill to power the alt .
yep an auto electritian wired one up for charging batteries at his work but it takes 1 hp to drive an alt and we cant generate that for very long. He had a 1 hp motor attached and it worked well. maybe a smaller gen would work rather than a car one .try a wipermotor
As a cyclist, seeing 1440w and the prospect of powering your home with it, almost made me fall off my chair, given that is upper end sprinting output 😂. Love the experiments, keep up the good work!
This man can do it, he's got cheetah blood
What if you play with the gearing? Could you find a ratio that lowers the amount of work required to produce that wattage?
@@bluecollarworktips5586 since wattage is volts x amps, it's sort of a total energy measurement. No matter the gear ratio, that's an insane output from a person for any length of time
@@downtube8fs cheetah are very poor at stamina, they are good at short bursts of energy.
Generator power out is entirely based on the power put into the pedals multiplied by the efficiencies of the generator and the bike/pulley system. My old legs can put out 150 Watts on average for about an hour. Maybe keep a fridge cold or slightly warm up a room. 1440W is a lot, essentially a mid size space heater. @bluecollarworktips5586
there’s a video of a cycling athlete using a set up like this to power a toaster, really makes you appreciate how much power they draw by how hard he was working
kzhead.info/sun/hpiIZdqnhnWndIk/bejne.html
Makes me appreciate a 300 watt solar panel too
@@d942yd42 Jesus the muscles on that Guy, he looks like a cartoon character.
The toaster is a very high draw though, you would want to store some for sure so you dont have to some how output 1000w.
Power isnt the issue... but the intensity over a short time.
You need a third wheel on the belt, to hold tension, preferably with a spring, that will assist against slippage and thus increase your maximum output
Came here to say this the belt is flopping about and no where near taught.
I like the versions with a charge controller and battery so the bike serves as a back up way to charge your power box
@@gregorytrenhed8318 CHARGE is half the key..storage is the other..
Or set it up as a slide so you can really crank on it while tightening the bolts.
Taut fkin ac
You've done a great job breaking down why an alternator operates in the way it does. Thank you! Beyond the very cool engineering you've described very clearly. Great production!
Hello,great video. Here is help. Step 1. keep your bike set up with alternator the way it is, attach it to positive and negative posts of car 12 volt battery.. Step 2. Buy a Power Inverter 400 or 500 Watts,DC 12V to AC 110V Car Adapter with 5A (connect to car battery terminals) Wave Inverter USB Charger Adapter W/ Dual Outlets for Car Home Outdoor Use. Step 3. Peddle bike alternator to charge battery. Step 4. Plug in household items such as TV, radio, phone charger, computer (maybe coffee machine) note: it takes a car idling at around 1000 rpms 45 minutes to charge a dead car 12 volt battery. So doing your calculations you may be able to charge the battery in ??? If you have wind generator just bypass the bike and have two wires from wind turbine to battery. Or if you have a gutter make a paddle boat mini wheel over your alternator attach to building in harness. When it rains the water goes into gutter and pours over paddle altenator wheel with two wires to battery to charge. Would have to water proof or extend shaft to get out of rain. Same can be done with your bike back wheel over river with a paddle wheel connected to your alternator with wires to car battery and adapter to plug in for free energy
lol
Excellent advice.... I was left wondering why he hadn't gone the route of using an inverter.
and if you connect 5 inverters then you can have all power almost for free. no pedaling required.
Hey Scott , you cycle's is in low gear. shift it to the small gear at rear and large gear near the pedal for more rpm and power. PLEASE try it😄
But then it will be even harder to pedal
@@charlie_nolan Yes but you can get more power right . It will be a good excercise 😅
@@ethangreen2022 yeah I too accept that
@@ethangreen2022 Yes but considering that he is on a flat surface and the cycle is elevated from the ground it might be ok. I guess
@@ethangreen2022 I guess only Great Scott should find out atleast in the behind the scenes video.
A one wire alternator is your best bet as you only need power in and ground. It requires no separate voltage input to operate, as it's fed by the regulator.
It also requires a lot of rpm to _start_ self exciting.... Ford vehicles with the Cologne engine using a 130A 3G alternator you just have to ground the regulator screw to go full field. (But that would probably cause the belt to slip) They do make a good scooter or go-kart motor though.
I'm guessing that the exciter coil in a one wire alternator is connected internally in parallel with the output voltage, thus self-excited and very likely also regulated, in this case the regulator might be harder to deal with than with a separate excitation coil. I'm betting a permanent magnet excitation might be better than any other form of excitation in the long term.
@@1900OP Maybe a permanent magnet starter motor would be a cheap source for one large enough to actually be useful?
@@1900OP I had a chrome alternator rebuilt, and it's a one wire system and is obviously powered through the regulator. A pm system is used on some alternators, but both are good in different ways.
@@jimurrata6785 Output voltage too low.
This is very useful, and just on the edge of my understanding. I did electrical engineering at college a long long time ago and still get flashbacks to class but can't for the life of me remember what it was all about.
They taught you to accept "not to think"
@@radleysmith7528 It really was an awfully long time ago. I think I liked Boolean algebra and Karnough maps. There's a strange warm feeling in the memories. When you get to this age you've had so much time you genuinely can't remember, but if you can work it out from first principles again, you're still sharp. I'm saying nothing about Boole, but you'd be amazed how your mind wanders in the queue in Tesco.
@@neilbain8736 Don't let them pack your shopping Niel that requires analitics, let them carry it though
@@radleysmith7528 LOL Bag packers exist but I can do a better job myself.
Me too. I was interested in electronics up until then. It was as dull as ditch water, I can remember that much!
You can add pulley tensioner to prevent slippage of your belt. Alternator can be used for any house appliance as alternative source of Electrical power supply...you can use the electrical circuit diagram of Solar panel ( that uses battery, controller and inverter). The bigger the amperage of Car alternator the bigger power capacity you can get.
So, can work?
@@mihai.1302 It would make the slippage less of a problem, but it would also increase resistence, so it would probably work better, but would require more pedal force in general.
I concur. All of this is accurate. The resistance with a tensioner would be minimal, compared to the added friction, thus, increasing positive motion on the alternator. There is so much slop and wasted energy in this wooden set up it made my teeth itch.
2 things I'd recommend on this project. One add a tensioner to keep the belt tight. And maybe a pulley system to increase the final rpm
Absolutely agree, it would be very easy to adjust the ratio to exponentially increase the RPM of the final drive. Incorporating some Capacitors might (just an off the cuff brainstorming) upgrade the starting power for larger demand requirements. I love being inspired by these great minds. Love to learn constantly. Majority of people don't realize that we don't have to be slave to big corporations and box stores to depend on for alternate gadgets, because they are not going to promote things to help us keep from spending a lot of money. So many things are simply much more inexpensive if you have knowledge or even think outside of the box. One example Fog-X, probably what 3-4 dollars. Look on the ingredients on bottle or MSDS, it's ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL, ie: rubbing alcohol that you can purchase for about 1 dollar US in a much larger bottle than Fog-X. Now I don't fault the makers of Fog-X, we live in a Capitalist economy after all. But you don't have to be a Sheep if you choose not to.
Yes definitely a pulley system
@@wildchild2193 the contrast in the replies... lol
Yes agree.
And a flywheel
[amount of food required to fuel your body + time needed on the bike] > [cost of electricity] But the knowledge gained is invaluable!
Human bodies are horribly inefficient at power conversion. Vast majority of caloric intake is converted to heat. Only a few % is converted to usable work.
While you are right that this is an inefficient form of energy production when taking into account food, this would be a great excuse for somone to exercise!
- gym fee.
@@protonjinx even carburated gasoline engines do that much better
@@protonjinx It's not _that_ bad if you only count the time you're working, without including resting. Maintaining a 100 W output produces about 200 W of waste heat, so the efficiency can get close to 30%. The single-digit % values come from dietary tips, which essentially assume you only workout for half an hour or hour a day, while maintaining your body has a relatively flat cost per hour. It mostly comes from bodies just having so many moving parts. The lowest levels of metabolism, like converting pure glucose into mechanical/electrical energy, can by various estimates go as high up as 95% or more. This is not too surprising when you realize it's basically an electric dynamo, _not_ a thermal engine (which would be ridiculously inefficient at such low temperatures as 36 °C, of course!). Getting from there to actually moving your legs powering a bicycle drops the efficiency like crazy, though. But using that energy to power something like chemical synthesis? That's pretty awesome, compared to having to do chemistry at high temperatures and pressures.
I made a generator like this several years ago from a stationary exercise bike. The cast iron flywheel acted as a pulley to mate with the alternator at around 25:1 gear ratio. Using a buck converter and a 9v battery I was able to vary the voltage energizing the coil which had a direct relationship on pedal resistance. I was able to output perhaps 50Watts for a short time with reasonable effort, but when turning up the voltage coil resistance became too high that the alternator would barely spin with maximum effort. It was fun to experiment with.
This genius comes up with answers to questions that have only been answered for 60 years.
60? Try 100 years
Where are your videos?
An Olympic cyclist is able to generate about 700W for about a minute. It is absolutely wild how much energy we use as a species.
At last a comment that rates human power in watts! Bravo! It struck me as the obvious thing to consider first, but no one does. I'd guess that a person of average fitness might sustain 200W for half an hour. So its daft to fuss about technical efficiency without a ball park figure for the max attainable with ideal 100% conversion.
@@raykent3211 I am a average cyclist, and yes we measure our power in watts. I have a crank on my cycle that shows me how much watt i put out. Actually, when some "average" person, that is not superfit nor super non-fit, they usually think its hard to keep 140watts for more than 30minutes. Best i've done is 270watt for an hour. And 270watt for one hour is nothing compared to a Tour de france pro. They probably can do 400watts average for 4 hours. Going from 270w to 400 is HUGE. I can keep 400Watt for a couple of minutes at best, before my legs hurt
@@raykent3211 Some years ago I experimented in the gym with stationary bikes, finding 150W power was acceptable for a longer time (say 30 mins or maybe more), 250W made my heart race quite a bit and was able to keep it up for around 10 mins.
@@AndrewTSq hi, what device it is?
@@raykent3211 Another interesting fact, to sustain 100W of energy output factoring in the efficiency of human metabolism requires about 60g of glucose per hour, and the Oxygen required to metabolize that glucose represents about 300 maximum capacity breaths based on some back of the envelope estimations of human lung capacity and efficiency at exchanging Oxygen. Sustaining that 100W of energy output also produces about 200W of waste heat. These estimations are almost certainly a bit low, I rounded a couple things up and didn't factor in stuff like self-repair and other necessary metabolic upkeep for simplicity. Incidentally, humans produce about 100W of waste heat at base metabolic rate, not doing anything, that represents around 20G of glucose per hour, and 100 maximum breaths, which is about one breath every 36 seconds. My math checks out okay on that based on myself. Edit: Some math
Just after the war, my Dad a US Merchant Mariner went to a German Dentist. He placed a new filling, using a drill powered by a bicycle. He also observed a vehicle being powered with a combination of coal and wood gas, where the fumes were being directly fed into the carberator. Germans said that while it takes a while to to get it started, it could run a fairly long time, more so if there was more coal in the mix as opposed to wood. They also had a wheelbarrow and hammers, they were collecting bricks from bombed buildings and using them to make new construction. It's always about ingenuity and converting one form of power to another, or in the case of the dentist's drill, just converting motion, and hard WORK with the hands and brain. The filling lasted over thirty years, quite an accomplishment on the part of the Dentist, considering the conditions he was working under. All the Best! DE W8LV BILL Pietschman.
Painful?? Lol
That is ingenuity and problem solving at its finest! I think you’ll find this interesting. In the final years of WW2, the remaining Nazi scientists and the engineers were forced to undertake what can only be described as an impossible task for the technology of that era, they created an entirely unique approach to solving the fuel shortages with respect to gasoline, kerosene, and the various chemicals needed to keep their aircrafts flying, their truck wheels spinning, and their tank tracks rolling. With Hitler ensuring that the immediate vicinity of his every location was both armed to the teeth, and had plenty of fuel for escape should whatever battle ensue, this meant that they had to come up with something else, but something no one else would consider possible. Their tireless work led to some of the coolest things the aeronautical field has ever seen to this day in my opinion. Airplanes that utilized wood burning and coal for the needed propulsion, altering the rotary engines of their day in different ways to develop an alternative rotary style steam engine of sorts, using fire wood and coal to fire up the engines and who would’ve thought that those ultra-heavy pile of metals would work as a functional aircraft?!? The Planes did nor have the capabilities of the traditional ones, that goes without saying but they did work! Another innovative last ditch effort to win the war was the Nazi Cold Rocket Engine and another KZheadr named Integza actually did a video on it where he 3D printed one himself. It was pretty freaking cool. I’m with the rest of the world in hating the Nazi’s but I have to give credit to those in which credit is due regarding the field of science, against all odds and some of the most Especially considering scarcity in resources that were crucial to their survival leaving them with no alternative: innovate, or die. I do sometimes that their crazy last ditch efforts of innovation kn particular, the wood and coal aircraft, were is not given the credit that it deserves today (for obvious reasons I will admit). taking science and the field of mechanical engineering right up to the line of impossibility. The scientific achievements those Nazi scientists accomplished at wars end, is nothing short of the ingenious engineering and absolute marvels the world had seen by then. When the Allies had all but destroyed Hitler’s oil production and the other supply lines that the Axis Powers relied upon so heavily near the end, leading him to issue an executive order for the remaining scientists and engineers to develop an alternative means of power as well as alternative methods for producing the thrust needed for aircraft propulsion. I cannot understate just how insanely difficult this task must have been at the time with all the lack of free information, dwindling supply lines for the Axis Powers, and the undoubtedly terrifying amount of pressure placed upon their shoulders to make all of those things happen with such meager materials and available resources at hand. There is a reason that the Brits, the Soviets, and the U.S. wanted to get a hold of as many Nazi Scientists as they possibly could at the time, America was arguably the winner as Operation Paperclip lays out in detail, it was the Russians however that seized most of Hitlers V2 Rockets as well as all of the Experimental “Wunderwaffe” that it could find which I’m sure we will never know the true extent of, but in mg opinion “Die Glokken” was not among them…. Not trying to give kudos to the Nazi’s or anything by bringing this up, just giving credit where credit is due.
One of those mountain men shows had a truck that ran on wood fumes. I also remember the Bosnian war where people fixed paddle to generators and strung them across a river on oil drums.
the coal and wood fuel you are referring to is called a gasifier. It's actually extremely effective as a fuel. It's a neat read to look into.
@@tylerhusky4065 Wood And Coal Burning Would Have Been A Gimmie To Any People In That Situation. There Were Nothing Left For Them To Uses…. By De Facto They Have No Choice…..
I know this is an old video but I wanted to mention. If you connect the single wire in the socket to the 12 volt output of the alternator you could use a very small battery on a pushbutton to quickly 'excite' the field and start the power production,then it would be self sustaining until you stopped pedaling. This wire is usually connected to the ignition in the vehicle. The other terminal is typically a signal wire for the alternator indicator on your dash to show a charging issue.
It's hooked to the run position on the key not the start position so it receives voltage as long as the the car is running which is y if you disconnect the battery the vehicle stalls older cars with generators instead of alternators you could do what you said
Thank u
You need a generator not an alternator ,alt takes power to make power a gen does not
@@rodneyfox5566 an alternator is a generator . It runs off the serpentine belt.. it is a true generator.. but for it to run properly it needs an electric load on it or the voltage generated will fluctuate wildly.. a lite bulb works great as a load.. the battery in a car is the load as well as the electrical equipment in the car.
@@rodneyfox5566 and an alternator produces AC electricity ! It is converted to dc inside the alternator . All generator induction motors produce ac electric.
you are the model of determination! enjoyed your persistence, even if didn't achieve all you wanted. keep up the good work!
4:00 to get highest rpm you need to use the biggest gear in the front and smallest gear in the rear.
Came here to sat exactly this, that was not the highest gear he was using.
I thought that was odd. Especially when he then calculated the ratio for the belt..
maybe he's paid by big electro companies to keep us from using our bicycles as power generators?
Not only by that, you can see, he's definitely a good electircal engineer, but not a mechanical one :).
"At the back wheel, i had to do some tinkering to get the chain in the highest gear" *puts it in the lowest gear*
had he had the chain on the right gear, he would probably have had a little more of the double effect he got
I face palmed when I seen this.
Buy a 250 amp alternator It produces 240 volts if you go around the rectifier. buy a 3/4 horsepower motor 240 volt single phase. hook it up to the the alternator with a belt and spin it up. The alternator will run on 12 amps which leaves 238 amps to run your house. Plenty of power to run your house. Remember, the magnets spinning causes the wires to make power it is not free power. The courts have said you have the right to be independent so it is legal.
@@wanttopreach of course you're not speaking of something you're doing. cause this can't work. many have tried the perpetual motion machine you're talking about but... not yet.
@@wanttopreach courts ? I don't need approval of the courts to do anything with my equipment
Everyone is talking about how to add tension to the belt. Here's a trick from an old lapidist. In rock shops, we use electric motors for a number of machines, which have a similar design to the alternator. When mounting the motor, use an ordinary door hinge. Mount the hinge to the base board and the motor to the other part of the hinge so that the motor tilts in the direction that the belt is going (In this case towards the bike). You can tilt it toward the bike to put the belt on, and when you tilt it back down it should not sit perfectly flat. That way, the weight of the alternator will provide the necessary tension.
what a nice idea !! but i dont think the alternator is heavy enough to provide enough tension when used used at that high of an rpm in this particular case.
Automotive crank pulleys are 3:1 ratio compared to the alt pulley (6” crank, ~2” alt… or very close). The alt can produce voltage starting around 3000 alternator rpm up thru 18000 rpm. Thats your sweet spot for producing voltage and current, 3k-18krpm
A ton of the comments that I read, recognized the rpm issue with the "highest gear". Yes, more rpm would be gained by actually switching to a higher gear, with a slight trade-off in torque needed to rotate the alternator at said higher rpm. The two biggest issues that I see are belt slippage and primarily the fact that the wrong alternator is being used. This is an internally regulated alternator that requires external input to aid in regulating the output. An older, non-internally regulated alternator is what is needed. The one-wire styles used on the old Chevies or Ford's. They put out an unregulated max amperage and max voltage at rpm that is then regulated through the use of a firewall or fender-mounted voltage regulator. These alternators usually put out their max amperage, anywhere from 75 up to 150, and max voltage, anywhere from 12.6 to 14.2 volts. Yes, they still require the primary input of 12vdc to the exciter, but often, the voltage input from a 9v battery can be used to engage the exciter until the voltage output from the alternator can then be used. A decent start to the project. Don't give up yet.
yes. old style GM "1-wire" alternators are best.
Chain drive is MOST efficient of the three types - Chain, Belt, Gear. The LEAST ENERGY LOST occurs with chain drive. Alternator needs sprocket -- chain -- chainring of pedaling apparatus. I have noted that direct tire attachment to alternator fixed , like the resistance devices on standard bicycle stationary mounts does not slip, heat, or wear, as can belts.
Its not self excited not an issue.
So do you need a voltage regulater ? finally got a old Ford alternator had the regulator separate but I don't have that I'm going to try to turn it with small electric motor see what I get out of it ... if it does have power can you run directly after that if you have some sort of regulator ? just have to use it to charge batterieslike a solar panel? I've been trying to figure this out for 3 years
Older style >non internally regulated, one wire - style "alternator"< is in fact a dynamo. The difference between the two is pretty big. The dynamo uses permanent magnets and produces dyrect current, while an alternator uses electro magnetic coils, and produces alternating current.
Great Scott: From time to time, I make mistakes. Electroboom: From time to time, I make something right.
ROFL !
Nice experiment! If you put a tensioner on the belt, you will decrease the belt slip and up performance/output. Would have to experiment with the spring force to optimize before too much tension overcomes the optimization of belt slip.
Yea the belts too loose.
Forget a belt.. put a chain drive on it..
Also change the ratio of the pulling gear increased by 3 and reduce the size of the pulley .. that will triple the rpms..
And add a start run capacitor off of a dc to ac inverter !! It will amaze you !!
This setup should give you more power than you will need ..
The effort needed to rotate an electrical generator or alternator, that's electrically loaded, is surprisingly high. That's why people into car drag racing prefer to not use an alternator at all, it noticeably robs engine power. But in normal family cars, we can spare the horsepower, for electrical power.
When you have to create electricity manually - you realize just how incredibly cheap electricity really is.
Underrated comment! Fred
Right humans don't require anything to run, so where does your exhale carbon dioxide come from. Maybe some form of energy metabolism. Thank a farmer!
@@autopeep24 No, you misunderstand. I should have said "...how incredibly cheap electricity is to BUY from the electric company".
@@OregonDARRYL yes, your right. Sorry for the misunderstanding and it was a great academic exercise.
Somehow I understood that comment . Lol
What a lot of people don't know about is surge resistance pressure, in other words if you remember cars before they had computers to maintain RPMs when you turned the headlights on while idling you would hear the engine bog down some and at the very instant you turned the lights on it would be very difficult for a person to turn that alternator.
All my Hyundai Ponys do this.
Interesting thanks.
Fun experiment, there was one of these at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle years ago. Humbling when you realize just how little power a human can put out compared to even the smallest motors.
That's why I love your videos you don't let us waste time and money thank God for you Man
You came in time! Just couple minutes ago I was trying to make a plan to do this! ❤️
I watch your videos I liked the light added in multimeter
As far as i can remember car alterrnators are terribly inefficient so you might want to look for something better.
Oh Sir app yaha
Same.. I have tried this type of experiment few days ago.
দাদা তুমি এখানে?
Great video. I needed to learn this! I like that he is able to show us on paper as he explains what is going on with his experiment.
Good job. ...heard work never fails. If you make the grooves on the alternator's shaft and remove the pulley, you can get more rpm + definitely tension required
If you open up the Alternator, you will see that the Rotor is a set of inward pointing steel fingers with a coil inside. If you press off one of these sets of fingers, you can remove the coil and put in a strong permanant magent from a large speaker, then press the steel fingers back on. You will now be able to generate electricity without providing exciter power. A permanant is not used when the alternator is used in a car, becasue the exicitaition voltage must be changed to regulate the output as RPM and electrical load changes.
Thanks for that info - I was always wondering why the hell no perm magnets? What if your car battery is flat etc. I know in synchronous motors they rely on tiny amounts of residual magnetism to get the whole system going, was wondering why it would not be possible with alternators as well to have a similar setup?
That final calculations makes you realize how much energy there is in car fuel!
Or really, how much energy you're not getting to the wheels
Charlton Heston 1973 dystopian movie "Soylent Green". With his movie roommate Edward G Robinson used a bike/alternator to charge the batteries that powered their apartment.
Given the era of that movie, the alternator did not have the regulation circuitry this one does, and may even have had permanent magnets.
HI, it was also just a gimmick for that scene - its not really possible to generate usable power of a bicycle Here is sydney there is the "Power House Museum" one of the science exhibits is a bicycle with small generator, you sit of the bike and pedal, in front of the bike are some lights on a pole and a buzzer and up top a car horn, the scale shows 5watts 10 watts etc In my prime i could barely get it to go past 1/2 way and light up a very dimly light 2 incandescent car headlights - typically from 50's to 70's cars, full brightness they are 60 watts each on low bean and about 80 on high - both bulbs barely glowed like a small flashlight and the light was very yellow
In his book, first published in 1962 by Hachette, Bibliothèque Verte, Mon chien, mon ile et moi, Jaques Talrich decribes how he was left on a deserted island with a few fish hooks, a gun and a dog and some other equipment to re-enact a modern day Robinson Crusoe. He had to report daily by radio to the sponsors, and for this he was supplied with a radio transmitter powered by a battery that had to be rechargesd with a hand crank. It took him at least a half hour of vigorous cranking daily to recharge sufficiently.
@@Nono-hk3is Such alternators existed... they were just few & far-between in production-model cars at the time. GM had the internally regulated 10SI-series alternator, but Chrysler still used an external-type... which, following a DIY wind-powered generator article in Popular Science at the time, was the choice for building such.
IM AT THAT AGE. THAT I REMEMBER THAT MOVIE. LOL
Maybe consider adding a belt tensioner to get rid of the slack in the belt. At higher RPMs the loose slack in the belt can cause it to slip. Probably could make a frame from scrap wood to attach the tensioner pulley and mounting frame to the board. Or even pivot the alternator on one bolt and a wedge or spring underneath to tighten it up. Idk just a suggestion
I made a decent bike generator back around 2013/2014 using a treadmill motor and produced about 300 Watts. Mine was a lot more stable. I wont post a link here but anyone can go find it. Way before that, maybe around 1999 I used a car alternator to charge lead acid batteries. My experience was way better. But also more of a workout. I used batteries and the exciter coil was powered by the battery bank. It was very hard to turn once you flipped on the switch. Very big workout.
Came for the content, stayed for the fantastic penmanship.
fantastic indeed....
Agreed! Even when retracing. How does the felt tip not give out? Granted, I rip through paper as though I'm trying to chip stone.
Thank you for all of your hard work. That looks like something I would’ve tried, but my work schedule is so severe that I would not have given it the detailed attention that you did. Again thank you
Did that years ago for a ham radio field day. We used an old fashioned auto generator (not alternator) to provide 12v to power a 2 meter rig. It worked, but most of us couldn't keep up the pedling for very long. I know you can get the alternator to work. Look for how people have used these in wind powered generators.
The alternator (or generator) combo with a small (chain saw or edger gas motor) is what I have in my emergency kit for a backup genny. It doesn't have the capacity of my 4kw dual fuel genny, but is handy as an emergency backup... (Think Harbor Freight 900w mini-genny) Taught me how to make my own in the event of a zombie apocalypse.
Thanks for the video. I create bike ride videos and one idea was what you've done so I could watch the videos whilst producing power. You've saved me so much time by sharing your results. Much appreciated.
Hi Scott ,great video thank you .Sorry it did not go like you hoped. I know you're not going to give up on generating more power. One previous comment stated largest ring on the front or near the pedals, smallest chainring at the rear wheel will generate your highest RPM. Thanks for the cool info. I would like you to create a wind turbine. Then show us all how to do it. P. S. It was difficult watching you pedal so fast knowing there were many more RPMs at the rear wheel waiting to be found by you. Thanks again John from Texas. USA
I'd had the same idea for generating energy, but not knowing how to was happy to find your video. In theory it seemed like it should work and a bit sad to see it won't. Thanks for giving it a go.
Well, some numbers have already been presented. Here are some more, or a summary. A horsepower is around 700 W. A human in rest generates about 100 W as heat. At full effort a well trained human can produce also about 700 W of mechanical power (plus an increased amount of heat!). Using a half wave rectifier of silicon diodes, can reduce the rectifier loss to some 0.5 - 0.6 V and with Schottky diodes to maybe 0.4 V. I am not sure how big germanium diodes were ever made or today available, but some tiny ones used to have a drop of about 0.2V. After the onslaught of silicon, there were for a while ads presenting "Mr Germanium" or "Oliver Germanium" who touted the benefits of germanium over silicon, regarding the lower losses. By the way, rather than a bike, a rowing arrangement can utilize the human mechanical effort better.
I think a tensioner on the belt would greatly improve the set-up
Use a tractor alternator, it only has two wires and designed just for charging. Far cheaper and works well.
Supposedly the car alternators with the multiple wiring can be wired in a series where they power themselves continuously.
thanks for the advice.I'm considering if a small turbine could be installed on rising water main.use the pressure in the system to trickle charge.also,could small turbines be installed on pipework running from header tank.surely you'd get something with gravity.just an idea.if you'd like to chat about a few more ideas,im always happy to share ideas.maddog,west cork. republic of Ireland
you can buy ready made one wire general motors alternators ready to go under 60 bucks at most auto parts stores. I probably sold 200 over the years
Could I get some details...please :)
@@madeinjungle1977 Auto zone carries a 120 amp gm motors alternator for 68 bucks. Just ask for it. Tell them you want a one wire gm alternator. Or go out where the fuses and pigtails are and get the 3 dollar plug with wires to convert one to one wire. Works on the dual blade plug style general motors alternators like the 7140
ElectroBoom waiting for “Full Bridge RECTIFIER” GreatScott: **In German**
It's not a full bridge rectifier. A full bridge rectifier has 4 Diodes and this one has 6.
@@allcrafter3747 even fuller bridge rectify yah
It's called Gretz Bridge in Poland, named after German scientist. I'm wondering if it's used anywhere else too.
@@allcrafter3747 full wave bridged rectifier has four diodes, two on each pole..a half wave two diodes, one per pole converting only half a cycle. 👍🏼🤔
@@allcrafter3747 we see six diodes there cos it's rectifying three phase you can't simply use 4 diodes to rectify 3phase
I did one years ago with a old exercise bike and a old tractor alternator. Powered a cabin in the mountains of Idaho. Worked ok.
It also keeps you warm in the winter -- at least while you're pedalling . 😅
If you take the diode pack out all together, the three wires that are hooked to it are 3 phase . Hook a wire to each of the 3 wires at low rpm you should get 100 volts an the faster you turn it , you can get up to 440 volts a/c out of it. I built one 28 years ago and it worked great..
yep...these output ac and its rectified and regulated thru the diodes in the alternator... ive used the same alternators in homemade gas powered generators.. 120v and over 5kw but the ac is many thousands of cycles vs standard 120 v 60 cycle house current... still useable to power many devices and as far as lighting goes, the cycles dont matter at all
The professor made one of these in like 10 minutes on Gilligan's Island and that was like 50 years ago... ;-)
Gilligans island in Puerto Rico?
@@sebastiannieves5472 lol, no.
Was that the episode where he made it from bamboo gears and the boat altenater with rope.. ? Or was there a show where they made a wind mill type ?
@@peterrivney552 I tend to think bamboo and boat alternator. But enlighten me?
@@rillloudmother bamboo bicycle ?
Great job. A friend of mine who is in the MTN biking hall of Fame as a builder. Ross Shafer founded Salsa cycles he had a bike powered TV in the break room. He also built a human bike powered metal lathe. Really cool. Keep reaching out, our planet smiles on folks like you 👑
He really needs an electric bike. The alternator could charge the bike battery. Just a bit of pedaling to get the system started then it runs on its own 🙂
Thanks, I've always wondered about this idea myself! So a surplus DC motor may be a better option.
Thank you for an entertaining and educational video, I always wondered why more people weren't using alternators in this manner to run wind generators etc? You've clearly demonstrated the inefficiency of the concept and why video's claiming to show 'free energy' devices are such tripe! Keep it up.
Just saying a flywheel setup for this would be great along with the belt tensioner. A different motor would make all the difference as well. Depending on what alternator he is using can also effect the results of this test.
3:09 "Sechspulsbrückenschaltung" --> awsome!
With the bike and the alternator both secured, a tensioner on the belt would help. You'd be able to raise the amperage of the regulator beyond where you were able to without it (causing slippage).
How many calories does your body burn pedaling your bicycles????
@@rodgerjames9160Zero, because I have no desire to do that. Just pointing out how he could possibly resolve the slippage issues he was encountering.
Great demonstration.Simple explanations for the unknowledgeable to understand there are complex limitations to generating useful power.
This brings back memories. My dad owned an alternator and starter rebuilding business, and that was my summer/weekend job while in high school/college.
I used to rebuild/repair GM alternators with their diode trio, rectifier, etc. Learning the most important tool was 2 straight paperclips to keep the brushes seated before cracking the case open. I went to help a friend fix theirs, a couple of years ago, on a non-GM car. Only to learn, 'not repairable' welded shut. Buy complete new one. :(
@@spockmcoyissmart961 The sad issue with a lot of modern stuff
With good condition, you're supose to output about 200w of power with your legs. So with 1 hour of workout, you can be able to run your laptop for 2 hours :)
Or my desktop for 12 minutes
My laptop easily runs 8h from the 50 Wh battery, that makes 6.25 W on average. So with 200 Wh it would be 32h! Or 16h for half an hour, which sounds pretty fair to me ;)
Or if you have pinebook pro you can probably run it for day or two :D
But car alternators have the worst efficiency of all types
I think 200W estimate is too high. I think human is around 1/10th hp so that equals ~75W on a strong bike stand. Think about 10 guys in tug of war with a Clydesdale. Seems about right. You suggest 200W, which would be just under 4 guys.
I love these "free lunch" videos. I now have learned from KZhead many solutions to the perpetual motion problem.
All 3 wires o the alternator end up connected to the battery in your car when the ignition switch is on and when the car is running. I learned this years ago when I connected a lawn mower motor and an alternator. I did not need a battery but I had to short one of the small connectors to ground or to each other just for an instant to get it to generate. The other was connected to the output connection! The other problem, the lawn mower motor no longer had a blade attached to it that acted as a flywheel and the motor would kick back when trying to crank it! We used it for an emergency 12 Volt supply to power ham radio equipment. I miss the fun of being young!
The most important part of the alternator is the diode/rectifier/voltage regulator. If you remove it, you will create ac, not DC, AND you will generate the same amps but at significantly higher voltage. The biggest thing to remember is at any given RPM, the voltage, amperage AND frequency changes. The frequency is what you need to watch if you switch to ac generation.
Read my comment
Nice video. Car alternators are quite inefficient ~40% if I remember correctly. Best bet is to get a permanent magnet dc motor as your generator for your bike setup. The best place to get a cheap one of these is from a treadmill. I picked a broken one up for free, just has to move it. The motor rarely fails, it is usually the motor controller which it was in my case. These motors are compact and are usually rated between 2.5 HP to 5 HP.
Do you have any idea as to the efficiency when a tread mill motor isused as a generator? Years ago I used a wind shield wiper motor as a generator which had a permanent magnet field. Upon some investigation I was disappointed to find its efficiency to be only around 50%. Central power plant generators can have efficiencies as high as 96%, I believe. This is not the efficiency of the overall plant, only the generator portion thereof.
This video will come in handy for California residents.
The irony is that many of them have resorted to using gasoline generators to charge their EVs 😂
We tried this idea at university. The engineering guys built the alternator rig, and I supplied my racing bike, which i use for USCF road racing. I was able to power it for about 20 minutes before I was tired and my legs were in pain. We changed it to a small 12V brushless motor, and I was able to power it indefinitely, but the current was only enough to charge a small device.
to avoid slippage, you should put on a tension pulley
Also I think he's losing a lot of power by not having any tension on the alternator pulley. I've seen it before in a car with a bad tensioner having low voltage problems
If you peel the belt on, its enough pressure. I size belts exact, minus a half inch. I think thats 13mm or so. You can also bring a belt up to heat, if sized too large, to shrink another 26mm or so.
It's irrelevant...because a man can nowhere near turn that alternator at full "volume" My experience is, you have to stand and push down on one peddle just to get it to go down once... Though I am experiming with a 14 amp 12 volt alternator hooked up to an airdyne.... If I achieve that to work I will consider it to out do my own exptations...
@@DarkLinkAD his belt was really loose, I guess if he peeled it on that would suffice but I still think having a little tension on the pulley would go a long way in terms of power, not too much tension though
This was a fun video! Nice work! You have shown a very common problem. Engineers today have very little experience in fabrication .
Excellent system; you have to put in so much more than what you get out. Cheers!
Great job, thank you for sharing and demonstrating eyeball engineering . Shine on
If you add a flywheel, your input/output will be more stable. Heavy enough and you probably won't have to peddle all of the time. Put a tachometer on your bike and you can find what speed is the minimum to produce what you need
I was thinking of one of those rowing machines . Has anyone tried this idea?
You got it check out Billions in change
You will have to pedal all the time- if you don't, the flywheel slows and you need more effort to get the heavy flywheel back up to speed. The only positive effect it has is to act like a mechanical regulator, keeping a smoother, more stable rpm.
That is what I was thinking; A flywheel (or just weights attached to the back rim) while used in a lower gear can help move things much more consistantly at a higher power output. When you are biking on the road your body becomes the 'flywheel mass' that keeps the bike moving at a steady rate even though the down-strokes of the pedals are inconsistant. When you lift the back wheel you loose that. Another thing sorely missing is a tensioner on the belt. The alternator would work much better with a higher magnet voltage, and the tensioner would prevent that slippage. So more gain on the alternator, combined with a flywheel to even out pedaling efforts would probably go a long ways towards making something like this work. Enough to power the whole house? Oh, probably not. But enough to supplement a solar array on a cloudy day? Maybe. Or enough to power 1 or 2 household items? Probably. But this is why you have kids. If it is going to take him 14 years with this setup to power his home, then he just needs 14 kids pedaling non-stop to live his dream! lol
A 1960's General Motors "two wire" alternator works wonders in this case usually runs an older style V belt.
I was thinking about it in 2008. An old 1960's Alt/w an external voltage regulator. A 12 volt car battery. 12 volt electric motor/w a V-belt and an invertor... I wonder if it would work? Or would the electric motor drain the battery faster than the alternator could recharge it?
@@hanc37 yes...you will use more energy than you produce
@@hanc37 yeah it would just drain the battery. You're talking about a "free energy "device of which there is no such thing. Physics has laws, you know.
@@hanc37 You are talking about a perpetual motion machine, and this would not run for very long. The reason is that the energy conversion efficiency at each step of the process is less than 100 %. Thus, eventually the battery runs down because the process puts in less energy than it takes to drive the process, and things come to a stand still.
Tensioner, less belt slip, better gains. Good stuff!
Interesting. Thanks for saving me a lot of time, money, and effort before I attempted something similar. I'm too damned old to pedal something for hours at a time, anyway.
If I didn't see it wrong the gears of your bike isn't at highest one which is tge amallest one for back wheel and biggest one for the front one.
I think he forgot the gear ratio between his leg and the wheel gear :v
its annoying because scott always half-asses these videos and doesnt do things properly before coming to a conclusion
@@nicomarino96 "He mentioned that the belt slipped...." because there was no tension pulley.
@@nicomarino96 maybe glue some card board disk on the side so gotta some more high so it not gonna be slip... 😭Hard english
Old Chevy alternators work excellent for this since they have built in voltage regulator and large spade pins to connect to.
that's how generators work, you can attach it to a ratchet gear and flywheel for a more consistent output
This will come in handy for the future when we are living with net-zero
Use an exercise bike, they have high quality bearings and heavy wheels that you can use as a flywheel
I was thinking what about a stationary bike? when he built the frame Then thought he had more flexibility with gear change
@JSacchetti1 lol funny but you're right. Adding a flywheel to this is pointless. Also what do the bearings have to do with this?
@JSacchetti1 Well no not really, different bearings are designed for different applications.
@JSacchetti1 LOL wat?!
@JSacchetti1 Not true they make cheap in China.
The alt pully can be changed to a smaller one. That with a bigger drive wheel and a belt tensioner would be great. The exciter wire could be activated by a hand crank on the handle bar.
Thank you for the details in your video. I enjoyed watching you do something ; I’ve always wanted to try. I guess that makes me vicarious in nature😂.
Regardless of it not giving a good result, that experiment and build is great stuff.
All I can relate this with is Hydropower. It's really been in my head for like two weeks. So think this setup, but on its side and using a water vortex to spin a flywheel/ fan, which connects the flywheel to the alternator, via belt and boom. Consistent, natural energy.
Living next to a river would give you that source. I have silly question. Why not set up a gear ratio where you peddal and it powers like 10 of these.
At 4:09 you have the gears backwards. Front sprocket should be on largest ring and wheel one should be on the smallest in order to get the highest RPM.
Give the guy a break, he's not a Mechanical Engineer afterall... Did you SEE the frame he made?? Wood and steel bracket construction, but the bike was held on with ZIPTIES!!! xD
@@ConorFenlon bro that frame had me scared for his life lol also his belt tension was basically non-existent with a few tweaks he could get some power out of this thing.
@@circle7motorsports Facts. Guy's a lunatic!
You my friend have saved me time and money! Thank you very much.
I gotta say, using an induction motor as a generator says a lot about your electrical knowledge. I would have taken the video down and never mention it again. I also gotta say, I admire a man that can own his errors. That's how you learn. Great video.
If you use the smallest gear on the wheel, the wheel will turn faster => big gear at the peddles and small gear at the wheel = highest gear ratio ;-)
Great scott uploads a video and I leave my school classes.
I'd stay in the classes trust me I'm out of lockdown now and my maths is screwed
By leave you mean alt-tab?
Glad you like them!
So what? You're opting for the better education
@@Krmpfpks In the covid era...yes
Thanks. This video has helped me along for my recent group project. Thank you again
Got to hand it to you mate that was so interesting to follow and a real plus for your ingenuity.
It is the correct concept. Here in Alaska the remote cabins use a windmill to do this. The typical car alternator used is a GE because it has an internal regulator. This can be used to charge a batter bank for basic lighting.
I like the windmill idea of the power application. With this power source this idea could provide plenty power to run everything with dc power.
I ordered an alternator last year to try that myself. I will let you know how it turns out. Great video.
Please do!
To increase power outputs with rpms use a gear ratio to 1:1 ratio as best as possible with a fan attachment to additional cooling to prevent fire/overheating.
10:1 Ratio. We want to power that puppy up, and need more direct power to make it bark.
Ive already seen a home powered by alternator in Waipio Valley Big Island Hawaii, only difference is that theirs was hydro driven from a waterfall up the side of the valley using a water pump from the same vehicle they got the alternator off of bolted them together with a direct drive off the water pump to the alternator both mounted to a 55 gallon barrel
Gilligan's Island had a bike generator that worked great, I think you need some bamboo.
He needs to either remove the one side of electromagnet and put magnets there or either he magnatised and it will work fine. Many people have done that already.
STU377 my good sir next round on me..lol. Fuggin brilliant sir. I don't give a hoot who you are, that shit is funny
@@chucktaylor4384 Thanks, bro. God bless.
I used a treadmill motor 12 volt, and works well. Used a belt off my son's car around the rear wheel to connect the bike to the generator. Either way, the idea does work, just takes some work.
we have modified these altinators by cuting out space in the eciter rottor and adding neo dymium magnets using a 24 volt altinator we were able to gain 10 times the voltage and output a constant 240 volts from each phase ,so it gives 2 x 240 lines of a few thousand watts each, going to try and power it via a tiny 25cc chainsaw motor i found and build an electronic ignition/timing solution for better efficency