create my own power: is it probable?

The basic idea is to hook an exercise bike up to some sort of turbine generator. I'm really not sure if this would be efficient in any way shape or form. Another problem is the storage medium. I'de like to be able to store the energy for prolonged periods. Basically I need a battery with an ac plug, but that can come right off the turbine at the same time. Thats all mechanical issues, the real problem is efficiency. Higher geared bicycles, magnets, specialized generators, theres tons of tweaks that could increase the output. Ive seen a few things online and the best ive seen was 100 watt hours per hour. I'm sure it could be better.

Well first swap out that Bike and get a Whisper Wind Turbine, you'll get more out of it(unless you want to get in shape and be productive at the same time then do both) but the Storage Medium is the problem. Li-Ion batteries are still relatively expensive and are only usefull for 800 cycles(recharges), I would wait a few years as some promising new techs are coming out soon, like Microbial Fuel-Cells for one. Maybe even Superconducting Batteries. That would be the holy grail for energy storage methinks(correct me if I'm wrong though). Lossless storage /drool, as well as Lossless transmission.

entropy+:
Absolutely, this would work, it's been done before. It wouldn't generate a lot of power, though. 100 watts is about how much power a bright tungsten light bulb uses. If you want to store the energy, that would take some sort of battery or capacitor. I'm not really sure what the best choice here is, but there are probably some designs out there somewhere in books or on the internet.

sardiion2000:
Superconductors are any material that has virtually zero resistance. (even superconductors don't have zero resistance, but they are very close) That would mean you would have very close to lossless transmission. It would also mean you would generate almost zero heat. Unfortunately, pretty much all the superconductors we have today run at uber-cold temperatures, like -200 C or below. There is some major progress in some ceramics that become superconducting at 'only' about -120 C or so. If we could get room-temp superconductors, that would revolutionize electronics in a huge way.

Make a cycle into a freewheel.

Yeah, you just need a perfectly engineered, 2 ton kevlar composite wheel about 8 feet high that can withstand 2000 times the force of gravity, and about 300 gears.

It should run for about 4 or 5 days before you have to get back on the bike for another 12 hours.

When I was itty bitty I strapped an old-style telephone ringer generator (the crank, it was a 90+VAC) to a exercise bike using a roller blade wheel, which gave me a 110 source if/when I could go fast enough.

Instead of getting 110 right away, you could pulley up a car alternator. Using the proper sized pulleys/wheels/gears whatever you chose to use, you could keep a few car batteries charged. Just run your inverters off the car batteries, or use stuff that runs on DC.

And in the event of end-of-the-world-still-gotta-have-tv type schenarios, car batteries should be anything if not plentiful.

Car batteries...

Thanks, man. I'll remember that.

Whislt the ideas above are good, the poster asked this:

Basically I need a battery with an ac plug,

You can't have an AC battery, the current provided by them are DC. So whatever you want to do, either you need a generator for AC power, or you need stuff that runs off DC.

Originally posted by stumason


Whislt the ideas above are good, the poster asked this:

Basically I need a battery with an ac plug,

You can't have an AC battery, the current provided by them are DC. So whatever you want to do, either you need a generator for AC power, or you need stuff that runs off DC.

Invent a battery with an AC plug, then. An AC battery.

That wouldn't work.

Just need an inverter... it's a component that contains transformers and switching circuitry to step the 12VDC up to 110VAC (eh usually its more like 90-105). You dont get a true 60Hz sine wave tho, it's a little square.

Inverters are available commercially rated anywhere from 30 to 3000watts. > and higher.


[edit on 15-5-2005 by apc]

Invent a battery with an AC plug, then. An AC battery.

That wouldn't work.

Your right, it wouldn't work. The current comes out of a battery in DC due to it not actually generating anything. Instead it is a storage medium for energy, and when connected to a circuit, the current will flow from one side of the battery to the other (which way is open for interpretation as far as I understand it) through the circuit.

To get AC, you need a generator. This pumps out AC as the poles on the magnet in the generator keep changing places as it rotates, creating a wave which constantly changes the direction of current.

Big auto stores sell battery + inverter packs with big jumper cables. You don't need an AC generator, just a permanent magnet DC motor, the right gearing, a battery and inverter.

Don't use an AC generator, it probably won't output 60Hz much of the time. Also, don't connect the generator up directly to anything over 100W input, it will be like going up a big hill.

An alternator will work as long as its good and outputs DC (internal diodes). Make sure its spinning at 3-5K RPM.