Author Topic: Trolling motor project  (Read 2097 times)

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HydroCamper

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Trolling motor project
« on: June 27, 2005, 04:03:14 AM »
Take a look at the pictures to learn more about this project. The goal of the project was to build a portable hydropower system that could generate 20-30 watts of continous power to be used for remote roadside camping with an output of 110 volts. The project uses the smallest outboard trolling motor with a simple aluminum cage built around it. After a little experimentation it was found that the trolling motor worked much better running in reverse. The biggest problem with the project was with the low voltage the generator produced. Testing showed that it produced between 2 and 6.5 volts depending on the stream speed. Standard inverters require 12 Volts. To overcome this problem of difference of voltage 1.2 nickel metal hydrid batteries were hook in parallel to creat a total the required voltage. A mechanical mixer was built to switch the voltage from the trolling motor to a section of batter bank. I attempted to build a transformer that would boost the voltage but I could not find a design that would work, so I setteled on the mechanical switcher. The mechanical switcher has higher opperating efficiencies anyway. To power the mechanical swiches I used a gearbox from a wall timer for turning lights on and off. The disadvantage to this is that it requires the inverter to always be turned on. After getting everything together and doing some stream testing I found that power output of the trolling motor could be greatly increased by placing it in the best position. Just an inch of movement in a stream can make a big difference. I had planned to fasten the generator down by using stakes and lines to the cage, but found that placing rocks on the top of it worked just as well. How much water is needed? Enough to fill a 1 foot pipe that drops 6 inches or more. A one foot drop is really good boosting the power to 6.5 volts for some great charging. I have not tried it, but I suspect this design would work very good by placing in front of or behind a culvert pipe or culvert bridge. I am using a 400 watter inverter that can surge to 800 watts. I have ran a 650 watt drill off this system with success.


If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions I would love to hear from you.


Travis

« Last Edit: June 27, 2005, 04:03:14 AM by (unknown) »