Minigenny work

[fungus]

Hi,

I'm making a small wind generator based around a ceiling fan. It was dismantled and then HD magnets were put on top of stuck-together pennies(7 for each mag). I also put the rectifiers in a little box thing that came with the fan. I'll be planning to use the original fan blades. I tested it with only 4 coins and it could make about 9v oc maximum in 15-20mph wind. Luckily, i found a bit of rigid steel conduit that's thread on the end matches the ceiling fan and have put it on a small tower. It'll light up a bunch of LED's with a very slow(10rpm?) spin by hand. I dont have any pictures with it on the tower but here are some others:

[drdongle]

you will get more output if you use iron or steel rather than copper spacers.

[fungus]

Actually, I sorted out the pennies into the magnetic ones and used them(half of the ones here are magnetic, half not).

[drdongle]

If their copper then their all "non magnetic". they look copper in the pictures. I think they make some from Zinc back in 42 when there was a shortage of copper for the war effort.

[fungus]

Well I live in Britain and I've found that all coins after 1980 are magnetic. It must be some sort of compound.

[drdongle]

OK my bad I thought they were US "pennys"

[Titantornado]

What would be the result of using taller magnets, rather than using the penny spacers?

[kitno455]

dr- read up on the clad coin act of 1977. all US pennies produced after 1982 have a zinc alloy center. dozens of pets die every year in the us from zinc poisoning after eating a 'modern' penny. they are still not magnetic, though.

wanna see something neat- scratch the edge of one of these pennies so the zinc shows a bit. drop it in sulfuric acid for a couple days. the zinc is gone, and the penny is completely hollow, paper thin shell.

allan