Bicycle Powered Generator Guide Alternative for when the power plants are down in Gaza

Materials needed: Bicycle Stand Bicycle frame 24V ! scooter motor !" ! #attery char$er A car #attery% or somethin$ similar !"A! inverter &ires for electrical connections and various #i'e parts and tools(

Bike stand

)irst you need somethin$ to hold your #i'e( *ou can either #uild your own #i'e stand or #uy them( &e used a #ou$ht stand for the #ac' and made our own for the front( Buy a stand: +hese stands are especially nice for the #ac' wheel #ecause some of them are ad,usta#le from side to side -ri$ht and left to the rider.( +his variation ma'es ali$nin$ the connection to the motor easier(

Make a bike stand for the front wheel

)or the front #i'e stand% we used a few #loc's of wood( +he #ase was created #y a 4/4/240 wood #loc'( 1sin$ two 2/40 plan's% we created the #olt"holdin$ #loc's #y ma'in$ a 20 hole hi$h enou$h to #e comforta#le when you ride( )or us% this ended up #ein$ a#out 32 40 from the $round% #ut this is varia#le dependin$ on the size of your #i'e( +he support #loc's sandwichin$ either side of the two hi$h #loc's were made #y sawin$ a#out 4 inches off of the 2/4s( +hese support #loc's were attached into the #ase #loc' with 2(50 screws% allowin$ enou$h space in #etween the #loc's to fit the tall #olt"holdin$ #loc's( )inally% 60 screws were drilled in dia$onally from each side at the support #loc's% throu$h the #olt holdin$ #loc's% and into the #ottom #loc'( &e threaded the 20 #olt throu$h the holes in #oth 2/4s to create a place where the front for' of the #i'e could #e rested( A $ood idea when drillin$ screws is to pre"drill your intended location with a sli$htly smaller #it than your screw( +his ma'es the process a lot easier( +his is for those who only have the #i'e frame( 7f you have a front wheel attached% don8t worry a#out this9

Bike frame

Any #i'e frame will do% as lon$ as the pedals spin the chain(

Bike to motor
:ere you a$ain face a choice: you can use the #ac' wheel to spin the motor% or you can $o more directly from the chain to the motor( 1sin$ the #ac' wheel wastes some ener$y in friction and spinnin$ a mass( But $ettin$ the correct $ear ratio for the chain"to"motor strate$y proves difficult( +his step is the most hands"on and difficult of the process( &e recommend that you use the #ac' wheel as the connection to the motor( :owever% if you want to have a more efficient connection% we also have a more comple/ option( &hy you need a motor: the motor converts movement of your le$s into ! electricity( !hoosin$ a Motor: A stepper motor% car alternator% or an electric scooter motor will all wor'( &e used a scooter motor( +he motor produced volta$e proportional to its ;PM ( +he motor produces current #ased on the load attached( )or reference% a mountain #i'e tire $oin$ at 2< mph spins at 25< ;PM( Additional ;PMs for the motor come from the ratio of the wheel size to the frictional cylinder on the motor(

Back wheel option

Ma'in$ a #i'e $enerator usin$ the #ac' wheel is the more common method( )ind a motor that can mount a cylinder that can $rip well to the #ac' wheel of the #i'e( 1sin$ a hin$e and various plates of aluminum% you can construct an ad,usta#le mount for the motor that will allow you to vary the amount of contact #etween the cylinder and the wheel( *ou attach the motor to the upper plate% and ad,ust the position or an$le of the plate with a #olt or screw( +he #ac' wheel option will $ive you all the ;PM that you need"the $ear ratio #etween the wheel and the cylinder in the #ac' creates plenty of ;PM and thus more than enou$h volta$e( Additional ;PMs for the motor come from the ratio of the wheel size to the frictional cylinder on the motor(

Chain to motor option

+o attach the drivetrain of the #i'e directly to the motor% you will need a few chan$es of $ear ratio( Ad,ust the main chain from the lar$est chain rin$ in the front to the smallest $ear in the #ac'( 7f you have a de"railer -the thin$ han$in$ down that chan$es the #ac' $ears. you do not have to ad,ust the chain len$th( =therwise% this instructa#le #y carlo(urmy can tell you how to ad,ust the chain len$th( 7f you want% you can remove the #ac' rim from the a/le #y cuttin$ the spo'es% #ut spo'es are tou$h( Get a second chain and ad,ust it to $o from a lar$e #ac' $ear to your $ear#o/ -more on this soon.( *our #ac' $ears will now have two chains on it( 7f you ma'e slots instead of hole when you attach the $ear#o/ to the stand% you can slide the $ear#o/ up and down to ad,ust the tension on this chain( >ven with the dou#le chain% you will pro#a#ly still only #e producin$ 6"? volts #ut the pedalin$ will #e very easy( +he scooter motor produces volta$e proportional to the ;PMs -revolutions per minute. of the motor shaft( Gear#o/ Strate$y: +o $et more rpms spins% we added a $ear#o/ with a 3 to @ ratio( A $ear#o/ or transmission ,ust ta'es the spins of an input shaft and turns an output shaft some faster or slower( =ur $ear#o/ was an old dual"shaft motor A! motor( &e added a coupler to the output shaft of the $ear#o/ and input shaft of our motor( &ith the e/tra rpms% the #icyclist had no pro#lem $eneratin$ the volta$e( :owever% our $ear#o/ also had a feature that slowed the rpms when too much torAue was applied( 1nfortunately% this feature made our motor only produce (B amps when the #attery was en$a$ed( !hain"rin$ on the #ac' $ear: &e also #olted a lar$e chain rin$ -$ear. to the #ac' $ears to $et a lar$er ratio( &ith this strate$y we could produce 32"35V(

Motor !hoice: Another way to ad,ust for the rpms is in your choice of motor( =ur motor was rated at 24V when turnin$ at 2@<<;PMs rpms( Motors with lower rated rpms will #e harder to turn #ut will produce hi$her volta$e per turn( ;e$ardless of how you $et e/tra rpms% you will need to spin a shaft with the #icycle chain( &e too' a small $ear off of a cassette and welded it to a metal sleeve( +hen we drilled and tapped a hole% and screwed in a #olt to secure the $ear to the shaft( !ouplers are also availa#le for sale( Good ,o#C that was the hard part(

Motor to charger

&hy you need a char$er: +o char$e% #atteries need a volta$e sli$htly hi$her than their output volta$e( Puttin$ in too hi$h a volta$e can dama$e the internal circuitry of the #attery% reducin$ its lifetime( 1sually% circuits tric'le a little #it of current in a #attery( But with a #icycle cran'in$ out watts% you want to put whole amps( Battery char$ers hold the volta$e steady at the appropriate point% and then increase the current allowin$ hi$her than normal transmission of power( Pic'in$ a !har$er: ;emem#er that the volta$e of your motor will #e varyin$ with the speed of your pedalin$( +he char$er we used ta'es anywhere from 32" 24V( +hou$h char$ers may #ra$ outputs of 3<s to 2<s of amps% #atteries cannot stand such current( )or e/ample% the #attery we used has a ma/imum char$in$ current of 5(4 amps( !hec' that the current of your char$er matches the limit of your #attery( !onnectin$: &ith a multimeter% measure the volta$e comin$ out of your motor( !onnect the positive output of the motor to the positive input of the char$er and vice versa with the $round wire( ependin$ on the direction you spin the motor% the positive wire may not #e the red wireC the motor wor's #oth directions #ut $ives inverse volta$e( 7f you can ad,ust the output current( As you may e/pect% lar$er current char$es the #attery faster #ut ma'es pedalin$ harder( A word of warnin$: o not overload the char$er9 ependin$ on your $ear system% it can #e very easy to put out more than 24V( oin$ so will #rea' your char$er( 7f you will not #e the only one usin$ the

system% consider addin$ zener diodes in case of e/cess volta$e( Some num#ers for thou$ht: An iPhone 5 #attery has a capacity of a#out 344< mAh( Det8s say you output 2 Amps from the #icycle into the 32V #attery% and use a soc'et on the inverter to char$e your phone( +hen it would ta'e 4< minutes of pedalin$ to create enou$h ener$y to char$e your iPhone from nothin$ to full capacity( Di'ewise% at 4 amps% only 2< minutes( +o char$e the entire #attery% it would ta'e a#out E hours when outputtin$ 2 amps(

Charger to battery

&hy you need a Battery: !har$in$ your laptop could ta'e a few hours% #ut you pro#a#ly do not want to #e on your stationary #i'e for that lon$( +he #attery holds your $enerated watts to #e doled out on an as"needed #asis( !hoosin$ a Battery: +raditional car #atteries are called lead"acid #atteriesC you do not want lead"acid drippin$ from your #attery if you tip it over( )urthermore% if a car #attery is tipped over% it can short circuit and e/plode( Marine #atteries or sealed #atteries can withstand the tippin$ of a tumultuous world( Ma'e sure your #attery is rechar$ea#le( And finally% choose the capacity of the #attery to match your needs( &e chose a 3@ Amp"h #attery #ecause it holds a#out three laptops worth of ener$y( !onnectin$: 1se the same caution as you do when ,umpin$ your car( !onnect the positive terminal first for added safety( +he volta$e across your #attery will #e different when you are char$in$% when it is sittin$% and when it is dischar$in$C they will #e a#out 34V% 32(5V% and 33 V respectively( +he spec sheet for our #attery warned to stop char$in$ when the volta$e reached 34(4 V( !hec' your #atteryFs spec sheet for its ma/ volta$e point(

Battery to inverter

&hy you need an inverter: +he A! inverter converts the ! volta$e from the #attery into A! volta$e% which is what comes out of most electrical wall soc'ets( *ouFll often see inverters on a small scale in car adaptors% where they ta'e the power from the ci$arette li$hter -which is hoo'ed up to the carFs #attery.( Most $eneral purpose A! inverters are Modified Sine &ave inverters( 7f you want to 'now more a#out how these inverters wor'% here is a $ood reference source( !hoosin$ an inverter: &hen shoppin$ for inverters% you want to loo' for a few features( )irst% ma'e sure that the output A! volta$e is at the level of wall plu$s( &all soc'ets usually put out a#out 32<V% #ut it isnFt a#solutely necessary to have your volta$e match thatC anythin$ from 33<"36< Volts A! will #e fine( Be sure that the freAuency of the output is at ?< :z% which is standard in the 1nited States( Another thin$ to consider is the watts that the inverter can output( +he power needed from the A! inverter will depend on the type of electronic appliance you are tryin$ to use( )or some reference% cell phone rechar$in$ ta'es less than 5 watts% while a microwave will consume 35<< watts9 Since price $oes up with the power output% you will need to ma'e some decisions on how much you want to spend and what appliances you e/pect to power( Another important feature to have is an inverter that can ta'e a ran$e of volta$es( Many $eneral purpose inverters will only ta'e in a 32 V ! input( Since the actual output of a standard rechar$in$ #attery can vary from less than twelve to ,ust over 34% it is important to find an inverter that will #e a#le

to ta'e that ran$e of volta$e inputs( )inally% to protect your appliances it would #e important to 'eep the inverter in an open location( +ransformin$ ! to A! will create some heat% and circulation is important to 'eep the inverter functional( As for our choice of inverters% we decided to $o with the &a$an 4<<& converter with two additional 5V 1SB ports% from McMaster"!arr -model ?E@BG22. ( &e 'new that we werenFt $oin$ to #e attachin$ hi$h power appliances to our $enerator% yet we needed enou$h to power somethin$ li'e a des'top computer and monitor% which com#ines to a#out 25< watts of power( +his inverter will reco$nize if there is an overload of input volta$e and shut off% protectin$ your appliances from sur$es( 7t also came conveniently with #attery clips% which we used to hoo' up the #attery to the inverter( :ow to hoo' it up: 1sin$ the #attery clips% hoo' up the positive and ne$ative leads to the matchin$ leads on the #attery( &hen attachin$ the second clip% e/pect a small spar' as the circuit completes( Ma'e sure that youFre holdin$ the ru##er ends of the clips when hoo'in$ up the #attery(

+a'en from http:HHwww(treehu$$er(comHslideshowsH$ad$etsHma'e"#icycle"powered"$enerator"3<"stepsH