Bicycle Powered Generator http://users.erols.com/mshaver/bikegen.

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Bicycle Powered Generator

I skim a few Usenet newsgroups daily, among
them misc.survivalism and
alt.energy.homepower. Frequently posters on
these two groups will inquire about generating
electricity using a stationary bike coupled to
some sort of generator. Most replies are to the
effect that while it's possible to do this, the
amount of power output by such a rig when
pedaled by the average person wouldn't be
worth the effort. I wasn't convinced that this
idea was a lost cause. I decided to build one and
see how well it worked.

Because bikes are made in a range of sizes to

match their rider's stature I wanted to build the
generator as an accessory which could be
driven by any ordinary bicycle. I used to work in a bicycle shop when I was 13 and remember seeing the
owner, Mr. Hank, ride his track bike on a set of rollers. While I was looking through bike accessory catalogs
for rollers that I could adapt to my purposes I came across another similar device called a training stand.
While rollers require a lot of skill to ride because there is nothing but the gyroscopic force of the spinning
wheels and the rider's balance to hold you upright, a training stand clamps on the rear axle of the bike and
keeps you vertical.

To make a long story short I bought the

most versatile training stand I could find
and then did extensive modifications to
the roller assembly. Originally the ball
bearings were pressed into the bore of the
roller at the outer ends. The roller
assembly spun on a stationary axle fixed
to the frame. The end of the roller,
opposite the integral three pound
flywheel, drove the hub of a centrifugal
clutch. The shoes of the clutch engaged a
stationary drum which provided
resistance increasing with speed. I had to
make a new axle which is locked to the
roller and move the bearings to machined
aluminum plates outboard of the steel
frame. The plates are made to a standard
NEMA 42 size and provide the mounting surface for a permanent magnet DC motor that is driven as a
generator through a flexible coupling. The other end of the axle exits from the bearing through an identical
plate and is available for PTO use. You can see a black sprocket on that end of the axle in the pictures. I also
had to weld in a brace to stiffen up the frame to allow carrying the extra weight of the generator. I'm pleased
with the result. Even under heavy load it runs cool and relatively friction free. The part of the frame that
clamps to the rear axle of the bike pivots with respect to the ground so that the rider's entire weight forces the
tire into contact with the roller reducing slippage to a minimum. The black object under the front wheel is a
contoured plastic block that levels the bike to avoid the feeling of riding downhill.

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I have done quite a few tests to see how much output

power could be produced and what practical applications
there were. See the tables below for a list of those tests
and the results. In summary I think the most practical
application of the bicycle powered generator would be
battery charging. This application presents a constant
load to the rider which allows them to select a single gear
ratio which lets them pedal at their optimal cadence.
Another practical application is running small appliances
and tools which use universal series wound motors or
permanent magnet DC motors. All of the motorized items
in the table below have universal series wound motors
and would run on DC even though their nameplates all
said "120 Volts AC Only". Induction type motors such as
those found in washing machines and shaded pole motors
which are used in clocks really are AC only and won't
work at all. I couldn't get my variable speed drill to work,
probably because the speed control electronics are
incompatible with DC. Good candidates are appliances or
tools that can perform their functions with 300 watts of
input power or less and which present a narrow range of loads such as the mixer and electric drill. Although
producing heat with electricity is usually a bad idea, I think that small soldering irons might also work well
since they are almost all are under 100 watts and most are less than 50 watts. Since there is no voltage
regulation at all, connecting the generator output directly to the power input jack of battery powered TVs,
radios, and similar devices will probably destroy the sensitive electronics. Use the generator to charge the
batteries, and power the electronics from the batteries. Since the generator is capable of outputting several
amps it may be best to charge only batteries that can accept a charging rate in this range, and then building an
efficient switchmode regulator to charge smaller cells and batteries off of the large battery. The final, and as
yet unexplored, application is hitching mechanical loads such as a water pump or grain grinder to the PTO
end of the axle using roller chain. I expect a lot more useful work out of this arrangement as it avoids the
inefficient conversion of the rider's mechanical energy into electricity and then back to mechanical energy via
electric motors. Using 27" tire diameter on the bike and a 10 MPH "road speed" the roller will turn at about
2600 RPM. The sprocket shown is the smallest I could find at 9 teeth for 1/2" pitch #41 chain, so you would
need to figure from there what size sprocket you need on the load to give the desired load RPM. One
suggestion that came up during testing was to drive a heavy flywheel to dampen out electrical load variations,
but that was never tried.

Electrical Tests:
Load Output Comments
Spinning it as fast as possible in the highest gear that the test bike had
Open Circuit 230 Volts DC
and measuring the output with a DMM.
Generator output shorted by the DMM on the 20A DC scale. This
measurement doesn't mean much because it took a lot of torque to
Short Circuit 4 to 5 Amps DC turn the generator against a short circuit. It was hard to get consistent
readings due to the speed fluctuations from the low rate of pedaling
that could be achieved.
2 Ohm
5.5 to 6 Volts DC This test had the same problem as the short circuit current test, the
Wirewound
(15 to 18 Watts) load impedance was too low to allow the rider to pedal effectively.
Resistor

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100 Volts DC (150

65 Ohm
Watts) Continuous, The continuous figure is what the rider felt he could keep up for 15 to
Wirewound
130 Volts DC (260 30 minutes. The peak value was a few second burst of speed.
Resistor
Watts) Peak
The difference between this test and the previous one could be
100 Volts DC (100 variability of effort on the part of the rider, perhaps as a result of
100 Ohm
Watts) Continuous, fatigue. Another possibility is impedance mismatch between the
Wirewound
150 Volts DC (225 source (generator) and load. The generator has a very low output
Resistor
Watts) Peak impedance and the ideal load would be the lowest resistance that will
still allow the rider to pedal at an effective rate.
Practical tests:
Load (Nameplate
Results Comments
Data)
Able to push a continuous 4 to 6 amps into a 12 Volt automobile battery. The
best setup was to put a rectifier diode in series with the generator output.
This stopped the battery current from driving the generator backwards and
Battery Charging Great enabled the rider to start pedaling without any initial resistance. It was then
possible to take up the charging current load gradually as the generator
output exceeded the battery voltage plus the forward voltage drop across the
diode.
Moderate pedaling effort was required to run this appliance up to operating
speed. I loaded the motor by trying to slow the rotation of the beaters by
Waring Multispeed
Good hand. There was plenty of available torque to use the mixer in its typical
Handmixer
applications. I'm certain that similar appliances such as blenders and food
processors would work just as well.
Black & Decker Lots of 1/4" holes were drilled through a 2" thick piece of framing lumber
3/8" Drill Model with a standard high speed twist drill and I'm sure that larger holes would be
Fair
7104 Type 1 (2.9 possible. The only special consideration was to ensure a steady feed rate
Amps 1200 RPM) while drilling to avoid load fluctuations.
Considerable pedaling effort was required to get the saw up to operating
speed and it bogged down to a standstill when a cut through a 2 x 4 was
Black & Decker
tried. We might have been able to cut 1/4" plywood or luan. I think the
7-1/4" Circular Saw
problem is that the motor in this tool is designed for maximum power output
Model 7308 Type Poor
regardless of conversion efficiency. I'm sure a person has enough power to
5(1-1/2 HP 9 Amps
saw a board, after all, I can do it with a hand saw using only the muscles in
1200 RPM)
one arm! I would like to try this test with a saw designed to run efficiently on
DC such as the battery operated ones made by DeWalt.
McCulloch This tool's motor has the same characteristics as the circular saw. It was
ElectraMac impossible to get it up to full speed, and the blade merely bounced off the
Chainsaw Model Useless surface of the log and stalled when any meaningful cutting force was applied.
EM14ES (2 HP The nameplate claimed 2 horsepower and the motor's size was perhaps 3" in
11Amps) diameter and 6" long.

Acknowledgements:

During my "what if" phase of research on the internet I was directed to David Butcher's Pedal Generator page
which provided me with the proof of concept I needed to justify building my own version of a bicycle
powered generator. I think my results correlate well with his.

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I would also like to thank my long time friend Mike who spent several hours with his Paramount mountain
bike clamped in my contraption pedaling diligently while I measured and fiddled around. For reference he is
in his mid 50's, in good physical health, a non-smoker and semi-regular recreational cyclist, so you can scale
your own expectations accordingly.

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