Make your own power with a pedal power bicycle generator. MAKE YOUR OWN GENERATOR READY TO SHIP GENERATOR SYSTEMS LIGHT BULB EDUCATIONAL DISPLAYS ALTERNATIVE ENERGY EDUCATIONAL DISPLAYS FREE VIDEO PLANS / INSTRUCTIONS FOR DO IT YOURSELFERS STEP 1 Video 1 Installing Generator & Plate STEP 2 Video 2 Connecting to Blower & Light STEP 3 Video 3 Installing Charge Controller STEP 4 Video 4a Video 4b Installing Blocking Diode - Easy Video For The Beginner STEP5 Video 5 Verifying It Works
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Make Your Own Power With a Pedal Power Bicycle Generator
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Make your own power with a pedal power bicycle generator.
MAKE YOUR OWN GENERATOR
READY TO SHIP
GENERATOR SYSTEMSLIGHT BULB
EDUCATIONAL DISPLAYS
ALTERNATIVE ENERGYEDUCATIONAL DISPLAYS
FREE VIDEO PLANS / INSTRUCTIONS FOR DO IT YOURSELFERS
NOTE: Someone who works out every day can put out between 200 and 300 Watts of power. Those who are not in so good shape can put out around 80 to 100 Watts of power as shown on the one hour workout
graph above.And Finally - Someone who is a competitive cycler can put out up to 500 Watts!!
SUGGESTED PARTS(Numbers on picture match up to items in table
below)
item US price Instructions
1 600 Watt Duracell Battery Powerpack
$149
2 300 Watt DC Generator $199 v ideo
3 Adjustable V-belt $79 v ideo
4 12V Charge Controller $159 video
5 Aluminum Adapter Plate $129 v ideo
6 Bike Trainer Exercise Stand $79 v ideo
7 Blocking Diode $89 video
8 Terminal Blocks & Wiring Kit for charge controller
$49 video
9OPTIONAL - WattsVIEW Power Monitor for windows $223
SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM
This pedal power generator stand can be used by small children on small bikes or by adults on full size bikes. See test results info below for benchmarking information. This data was recorded using a WattsVIEW power monitor while charging a 12V Deep cycle Duracell Battery Powerpack during a one hour charging session. For more information see the FAQ WEBPAGE. If you want to buy a generator stand you don't have to put together then take a look HERE.
TEST RESULTS / BENCHMARKING RESULTSVOLTS / AMPS WATTS WATT HOURS
Digital Multimeter, this is very helpful to have! $12.73 order
Wire Crimpers / Cutters $19.93 order
Wire Strippers $12.80
order
TIRE LEVERS $5.00 Order
Regular style fuse holder for cars. Get a 20 Amps or 15 Amp fuse from your loal auto store. FUSES - You can easily use a regular 20 Amp fuse from AutoZone or any other auto store, or you can use a thermal resettable fuse. The video instructions show a thermal fuse being used in Video #3 You can use either option. If you purchase the wiring kit you will receive the resettable fuse for your generator.
$3.51 Order
You can order the thermal fuse for $14.99 from MNS Power. A thermal fuse gets hot when too much current is flows through it and then opens up until you stop pedaling. This is called an er current protection device. After 20 seconds the thermal fuse will cool down and the pedal power system will be ready to use again. This fuse should never trip an if it does, it means there is something wrong with your wiring. Part number: 507-1325-ND
$14.99 Order
Do it yourself Bike Generator Wiring Kit for Charge Controller
If you want to charge 12V batteries or a 12V powerpack, you may want this wiring kit which includes wire, terminal blocks, thermal fuses, and mounting screws as shown in the video.
In order for you to use this wire kit, you will need to get a set of wire strippers and wire crimpers .
Use these free videos and plans to make your own pedal power bicycle generator station. Good for powering up your television or charging a battery or powering CFL / LED lights . Great source
of emergency survival power and an alternative green energy source.
Specifications Dynamo Model MNS-300-DC
Output Voltage Range 0 to 40 Volts DC
Nominal Current Rating 15 Amps
Peak Current Rating 20 Amps
Peak Power Output: (Charging 12V Battery )
300 Watts (15V X 20 Amps)
2" Diameter Pulley
Peak Operating Temperature 100 Degrees C
Cooling Method Air Cooled
Shaft Bearing Type Ball Bearing
Mounting Bolt Size 6 mm
Wire Lead Length ~12"
Wire Lead Size Size 12 AWG
Approx Weight ~8 Lbs
Number of Poles (Brushes) 4
Generator Type This is a DC permanent magnet motor
Typical Amp Hours during 1 hour of use ~6 @12VTypical Amp Hours during 1 hour of use 100 Watt Hours (0.1 KWH)
Voltage Output Graph
In the most basic of terms, a bicycle generator creates a potential energy when you move the pedals on your bicycle. The potential energy is measured in terms of "Volts". The faster you pedal on your bicycle, the higher the Voltage reading from your generator. If you want to see a video demonstration of how this works the go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCI_Ke1tA4o A "no load" condition is when you have nothing hooked up to your generator. It also means that you have have ZERO Amps of current flowing from you bike generator. While pedaling your bicycle generator in a no load condition, you will notice that you feel no resistance to your efforts, so you will be able to sit there for hours without breaking a sweat. The amount of power from your generator is measured in terms of "Watts". The formula for Watts is Volts X Amps. So in a no load condition with you pedaling the generator at 2000 RPM, you will be putting out 12 Volts X 0 Amps = ZERO Watts.
If you were to connect a load to your generator such as a Duracell lead acid rechargeable battery powerpack or a light bulb, then you would suddenly feel a resistance to your pedaling and you would begin to sweat. If you use something called a DMM or digital multi meter, you can measure the Volts and Amps from your bike generator and then calculate how many Watts you are putting out. For more information see the FAQ
If you are a non technical person, then please skip this section below. It's for geeks.
The data displayed on the above chart shows you three test case scenarios where the bicycle generator load is varied from zero, to five, and then 10 Amps of current. For a more in depth discussion on generator theory click here
INSTRUCTIONS
DIY STEP 1 INSTALL THE GENERATOR & BELT Video 1
Take A look at the video to see how to install the generator and belt on your system.
DIY STEP 2USE A VOLT METER TO CHECK GENERATOR IS WORKING- Also
see Video 1
MOUNT THE CHARGE CONTROLLER
At this point you could just hook up a floating ball display or light bulb to your generator. To do this, take a look at Video 2 If you want to store your energy into a battery powerpack like the Duracell powerpack then you should install a charge controller and blocking diode. Take a look
at Video 3 To remove your rear tire watch Video 4
DIY STEP 18 INSTALL BLOCKING DIODE
INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOSPART 1 PART 2
If you want to store your energy into a battery or powerpack, you should use a blocking diode. If you want to learn why take a look at the explanation at http://blockingdiode.com
Strip and crimp generator side of diode.
Attach the generator side of the blocking diode to the generator output terminals.
Strip and crimp wires to a cigarette lighter plug. Put on crimpers as shown in this photo.
14-60VDC INPUT, 110V AC Out - 300 Watts This device will take the output of your bike generator and convert it over to 110V AC power which his what you plug stuff into your home in the U.S.
14V DC-DC CONVERTER REGULATOR - 20A
This takes voltage from your generator and converts to 14.4 Volts DC so you can feed it into an AC inverter, or charge a lead acid battery with it.
$249
WattsVIEW Serial / USB Power Monitor Software Data logger (Windows 2000, XP, 7) VIDEO DEMO
$199 Order
TERMS & CONDITIONS 1. By following these FREE DIY BYO plans you agree to not operate this pedal power generator around small children or any individual who might stick
their fingers in the wheel, chain, sprocket, or belt while it is moving. 2.[1.] You also agree not to allow anyone near this bike generator with long hair or loose clothing that could possibly get it stuck and pulled in to the belt /
chain / wheel assembly while being operated and cause injury or death. 3.[2.] Also, By following these DIY STEPs, you assume all liability and responsibility for owning and operating you own pedal power bicycle generator. You
also agree to have a licensed electrician check over your assembled unit to make sure you have not wired up something up incorrectly BEFORE you hook it up to any kind of high power devices such as battery packs or lead acid batteries. Also, before you charge a Powerpack with your pedal power bicycle generator, you will read and understand the safety section of the owner's manual.
4.[3.] You also agree to send me a photo of your final project to share with others on this web page.
GENERATOR TECHNICAL DISCUSSION
A typical person can get on a bicycle generator system and turn the generator at 2500 RPMS. If you were to put a volt meter on the generator while it was spinning at this rate, then you would see a DC voltage somewhere near 14 Volts (See White Line@ 2500 RPM). However, if you have a 5 Amp load on your generator, like the load from charging a battery or powering a light, then your voltage output would drop down to somewhere near 12.5 Volts (See the Red line@ 2500 RPM). This phenomena is sometimes called "Voltage Droop" or "IR Drop" This data is often displayed in the form of a "Load Line".
This information is significant because it helps understand how much faster you would have to pedal when delivering 100 Watts to a rechargeable lead acid battery. If the battery charge voltage is supposed to be at 14.8 Volts DC, and you plan on putting 100 Watts into the battery, then the
amount of current from your pedal power bike generator would be : 100 / 14.8 = 6.7 Amps So based on this information - you would need to pedal your generator at about 3,200 RPM. (Approximating the path of the red line off to the right of the graph you can guestimate about 3,200 RPM). You electrical people may be looking at the data attempting to approximating internal armature resistance of the bicycle generator. For your convenience, that information is displayed below on the generator internal resistance graph. For those of you not so technical - a generator with an internal resistance of zero Ohms is the ideal generator - which unfortunately does not exist, but is what many strive for. Internal resistance of a generator is bad because power is lost in the form of heat inside the generator. One can see that the approximate resistance is about 0.35 ohms. This is a Permanent magnet DC motor working as a generator. It has a voltage rating of 24V with four poles. A two pole device would have more resistance & more power loss.