Author Topic: Converting power created from a homemade generator  (Read 35451 times)

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Gitrmstr

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #33 on: September 10, 2015, 09:05:30 PM »
Yes I forgot it was for a bike, I guess using wind power wouldn't yield any useable electricity. I will continue with the bike plan.

The whole iron ring with the magnets attached seems a bit complicated. Would I have to remake my stator? Or should I start from scratch and maybe plan a bit better?

hiker

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #34 on: September 10, 2015, 10:15:58 PM »
It's not really--just some plywood cutouts glued together ,,with a flat bar curved inside,,then just a bunch of small oblong metal squares stacked and super glued together,, for the coil holes,,then just a simple handheld coil winder from some scrap wood,,,it's a slow process 😛😛 check Facebook in anch. Alaska--bill Wallner--I just posted a vid on their,,,,,well hope it works out for you,,,,,,,
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electrondady1

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #35 on: September 11, 2015, 07:41:17 AM »
very difficult to evolve your present wooden core alternator into some thing that puts out much juice.

go down to canadian tire and buy two cheap skill saw/table saw blades.
buy another 8 mags like the ones you have.
strip the mags out of your wooden alternator
glue them down to the saw blades
you can reuse the copper to build a stator for
 a dual rotor axial flux  alternator .
that is the standard alternator configuration built on this site .
« Last Edit: September 11, 2015, 07:49:23 AM by electrondady1 »

electrondady1

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #36 on: September 11, 2015, 09:00:21 PM »
i have nothing against radial flux
Ive been saving  up magnets like yours for a while now
I've got 56 of them on a shelf for a big dia. alternator vertical axis mill.
i was thinking of going radial

Gitrmstr

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #37 on: September 12, 2015, 06:08:10 PM »
Thank you for the recommendation electron! Would my 24 gauge wire be suitable for the dual rotor axial flux alternator you suggested? I'm very interested in continuing with tinkering and building more!

electrondady1

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #38 on: September 12, 2015, 11:11:01 PM »
how did you come up with the turn count for your radial ?   see what one of your  coils will produce at you target rpm. it's customary to do a test coil to get a useful voltage at the target  rpm

Gitrmstr

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #39 on: September 13, 2015, 05:37:56 PM »
I just fit as many on as I could haha, I think it ended up being 30. I will sketch up some designs tonight and report back here with the design and some questions!

Gitrmstr

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #40 on: September 15, 2015, 05:27:27 PM »
About the dual rotor axial flux alternator described a few posts above, what would the saw blades be attached to allowing them to spin in synchronization with each other? Furthermore, would the saw blades count as a steel backing to increase the strength of the magnets? Also, are rectangular shape coils good for this design? or would a tall trapezoidal shape be better?

Finally, would a standard 6 gear bike be good enough to either directly drive the rotors or would an additional gearing system be required to produce the required RPMS? (I realise it may not be possible to answer this question without knowing the coil count).

hiker

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #41 on: September 15, 2015, 08:11:15 PM »
heres one i built a few years back---stator is plywood with coil cutouts -coils are epoxyed in place..might be of some help....
two diffrant mills..
WILD in ALASKA

hiker

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #42 on: September 15, 2015, 08:18:41 PM »
test stand...another old mill --i flew on the back of my motorhome for years...
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electrondady1

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #43 on: September 16, 2015, 08:16:59 AM »
hiker used threaded rod but Princess auto has 5/8" cold rolled steel axial shafts , locking collars and a good selection of bearings.
yes the steel blades contain the magnetic flux.

i use a round piece of wood as a center section. glued to one of the blades.  i drill 4 holes in the steel blade and wood to retain 4 bolts that will act as height adjustment  to give the proper clearance between the stator and the magnet rotors.



Gitrmstr

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #44 on: September 16, 2015, 10:34:30 PM »
Thanks for all the ideas!

Concerning the circular saw blades as a rotor for the magnets, what size diameter would I be looking at? Would it be wise to iron out the details of my coils such as shape and size, then place them as close together and then place the magnets accordingly?

electrondady1

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #45 on: September 18, 2015, 07:46:59 AM »
you have to fit an even number of mags on each rotor with spacing between them about the same width as the magnet . can be a bit tighter maybe i/2 the width of a mag. once that is done you can start messing with a test coil.



Gitrmstr

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #46 on: September 18, 2015, 05:33:19 PM »
I will be getting the saw blades and bearings and the rod this weekend, after setting it all up I'll post some pictures and coil results

hiker

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #47 on: September 18, 2015, 08:39:23 PM »
heres a 9 and 12 setup--9 coils--12 mags  per rotor...3 phase -3 coils per phase...its easy once you get it... : }


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Gitrmstr

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #48 on: September 20, 2015, 06:24:20 PM »
Hello everyone!

After shopping this weekend I purchased more magnets, 5/8" threaded rod and saw blades.

Is that spacing between the magnets good enough?

Also, how would I go about testing a coil?
Thanks in advance.

electrondady1

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #49 on: September 21, 2015, 08:06:52 AM »
cool set up.
now you need something like one or two of these and attach it to something solid like your work bench.

electrondady1

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #50 on: September 21, 2015, 08:25:10 AM »
if the mags are glued down to the rotor and attached to the threaded rod you can spin the mag rotor  freely in the bearing.(princess auto has all kinds of bearings)
i normally place one rotor on the shaft and cover it with a piece of thin card board. now you can place the coil on the cardboard surface and spin up to speed . keep your fingers well away from the teeth of the saw blade/mag rotor.
 
i use a musical metronome to give me 60 beats per minuet . when i spin the rotors in sink with that metronome i know I'm turning it at 60 rpm which is my target rpm.(about 1/3 of the vertical axis mills top speed.

you want to get a usable voltage at an attainable rpm. with just one rotor involved it will give you about half the voltage of two rotors.




« Last Edit: September 21, 2015, 08:34:34 AM by electrondady1 »

Gitrmstr

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #51 on: September 23, 2015, 07:20:41 PM »
Thanks electrondady! I will be headed to princess auto this weekend to purchase some bearings and pillow blocks.

Gitrmstr

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #52 on: October 08, 2015, 09:18:49 PM »
Good evening folks, sorry for the long lapse in replies!

I've obtained all the required materials including the bearings. After setting it up I have made a 50 turn test coil with my wire, but I'm not getting any readings while I spin the rotor with my hand. Am I just not reaching a reasonable speed? I will be hooking it up to my bike this weekend and will hopefully get some readings to share with you all.

electrondady1

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #53 on: October 09, 2015, 09:40:44 AM »
so the mags are down nsnsns
 if your still building in single phase the coil legs have to be wide enough to be over two mags at once. as in a mag width plus 1/2 a space.







Gitrmstr

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #54 on: October 09, 2015, 10:17:36 AM »
I was thinking of going three-phase for this project. But as of now I only have one coil up to test it but no numbers. Thanks

Bruce S

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #55 on: October 09, 2015, 11:20:28 AM »
This has probably already been covered, but if you're not getting any readings from the meter, what settings to you have on the meter? DC or AC?
50 turns of what size wire? I may have missed the size your are using.
50 turns of even 30 ga wire (0.25mm) should have a decent voltage , even turning by hand.
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Gitrmstr

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #56 on: October 09, 2015, 04:27:56 PM »
Thank you for the reply Bruce, I have my multimeter set to read AC current, and I'm using 24 gauge wire.

Bruce S

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #57 on: October 09, 2015, 04:51:31 PM »
Hopefully, it's AC voltage :).
 Try setting it for the lowest AC voltage , my freebie's starts at 200Vac but will show all the way down to 1.5Vac with a sustained output such as a transformer.
I normally much prefer the "swing needle" types they show pretty quick!
A easier way for you could be to use a drill, just chuck it in, spin it up! ATM it won't matter the RPMs you just want to know that it's producing output. Next step would be to know the RPMs , and voltage.

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Gitrmstr

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #58 on: October 09, 2015, 09:47:06 PM »
I'm making power!!!  ;D
Spinning it with my fingers yields some results, too late to start writing them down and doing calculations! Will update in the morning.

Gitrmstr

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #59 on: October 10, 2015, 06:19:28 PM »
Alright, so spinning one rotor at 60 rpm with the coil beside it yielded a max reading of 15.6 at the 200V µ AC setting. 60 RPM should be easily attainable on a bike, would increasing the RPM boost the voltage?

What should my next step be? Should I test other sizes of coil turns and see what would work best?

Thanks in advance.

electrondady1

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #60 on: October 11, 2015, 08:20:09 AM »
that's a lot of voltage for one coil . with ceramic mags and just one rotor.

 

Gitrmstr

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #61 on: October 11, 2015, 09:42:29 AM »
That was a spike, the average was about 9.8 at the 200 V AC µ micro setting. After research I haven`t been able to fully understand how much that is concerning the µ measurement.

OperaHouse

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #62 on: October 11, 2015, 12:59:59 PM »
If that is micro amps AC, that is not a lot of voltage.  I would be concerned for the safety of the meter on that setting but most meters that can measure that low on AC have good protection.

Gitrmstr

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #63 on: October 11, 2015, 04:29:53 PM »
It is set to the 200V micro setting. I bought the meter from Canadian tire and it seems to be quite sturdy so I`m not worried. So at 60 rpm making that kind of micro voltage should I increase the amount of turns on the coil? Or get a new gauge of coil entirely.

electrondady1

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #64 on: October 11, 2015, 09:25:15 PM »
these guys don't know anything about canadian tire or princess auto.
i 'm not talking about hurting your meter .
what I'm saying is that is a remarkable level of voltage for a test coil using half the magnetic flux on a single coil @60 rpm.
your talking about getting a charging voltage from one coil  and half the mags
if your going 3 phase you only need  one more coil  per phase.
  at that  rate of output your talking (9.8 volts per coil.)
almost 20 volts with both rotors in place
and something like 40 x1.74 x1.4-1.4= 96 volts dc  .
 i don't think so .
i think your getting maybe 1.5 volts per coil with half the mags at 60 rpm.


 





electrondady1

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Re: Converting power created from a homemade generator
« Reply #65 on: October 11, 2015, 09:56:27 PM »
1.5x2 rotors=3 volts per coil
3 x 2 coils =6 volts per phase.
6volts x 1.74 for 3 phase in star=10.44
10.44 x1.4 for rectification =14.6
14.6-1.4 voltage drop through the rectifiers =13.2 volts dc at 60 rpm


so if your actually getting .98 volts on the test coil...
« Last Edit: October 11, 2015, 10:06:48 PM by electrondady1 »