How to Build an Electricity Generator from Scrap and Spare Parts?

Hi:

If you want to build a simple generator from spare parts that are readily available, try this link to the epicenter. It provides simple instructions, diagrams, and pictures.

The Epicenter

Do a Google search for generators used in third world projects. There are all types of power generation methods discussed like wind or pedal powered jennies.

reply to post by Redwing48


link results in 403, must be membership access only page

Originally posted by xxcalbier
there are other ways to do this even more primitive yet with which all you need is a fire to heat and you can move water from lower to upper container and then use that water to turn a wheel but this post could go on with how many net ways you can do this .using nothing but one way valves pips and metal containers and a fire even a wood fire or a garbage fire .and with this rig you could move thousands of gallons a day easy

I love this idea. to move water between two ponds or storage areas, like a mini hydro-electric damn.
Any desire to get this into the form of a plan (drawing) with a parts list, calculations, diy build instructions etc?

My guess is the standard alternators and batteries in cars would be really really useful, but as one poster pointed out, getting 110V (or 240V in Europe,Asia,Australia etc) is not a case of simply wiring 10 or 20 of them together with speaker wire

Having instructions on how to do stuff like this, to keep a standard 110/220V fridge or water pump working rather than rampaging across the countryside looking for 12V DC appliances would be preferable

How does one make a DIY inverter from spare car parts?

Originally posted by RogerT
reply to post by Redwing48

 

link results in 403, must be membership access only page

Not sure what the problem is.. The link works for me, and I know of no registration requirements. Just go to Epicenter.com and do a search from there maybe under power.

Well, I do not think an inverter would handle a refrigerator anyway, I do not believe it would be able to handle the initial current draw during start up. Refrigerators are terribly inefficient and quite honestly you would be wasting your precious resources powering one. There are more conventional ways of keeping things cool such as wine cellars, etc.

For the most part, inverters are not going to power a major appliance, and even if they can handle the draw, it would be a terribly inefficient way to power them.

As for water pumps, well we can return to the automobile again, almost all the cars today have 12 V DC fuel pumps. Run water through them for enough time to clear the gasoline out of them, and you have yourself a water pump.

If you need to turn something with a motor, how about using the power steering pumps in automobiles, they are basically hydraulic pumps.

Originally posted by purplemer
reply to post by RogerT

 

The best thing you can do. Is do a course in it. learn it right.

I did a quick search for courses on "building electrical generators from spare parts" but didn't find anything in my local area ;0)

Did you have any specific course in mind that might fit the bill?

Originally posted by Dreamwatcher
Well, I do not think an inverter would handle a refrigerator anyway, I do not believe it would be able to handle the initial current draw during start up. Refrigerators are terribly inefficient and quite honestly you would be wasting your precious resources powering one. There are more conventional ways of keeping things cool such as wine cellars, etc.

For the most part, inverters are not going to power a major appliance, and even if they can handle the draw, it would be a terribly inefficient way to power them.

Maybe I'm mistaken, but don't many people power their house by connecting a solar array through an inverter and then sticking that into the house circuit instead of the mains line?

reply to post by RogerT


You are correct. However those type of inverters are specialty products that need to be professionally installed and are not cheap. They are not something you are going to either cobble together, or find laying around. More likely one would find one of the "portable" inverters which just do not have the capacity to run major appliances.

You can get a device to do just about anything you want with electricity, if you are willing to pay the price and obtain it before the SHTF.

I am talking from the viewpoint of the thread of putting something together after society falls apart, otherwise the OP could just invest in commercial solar panels and a generator big enough to power his home.

Thanks for clarifying.

One other agenda of the thread is to get a clear idea of what we might need to purchase NOW as a community and what can be cobbled together if and when needed.

Maybe a few decent commercial inverters is a good idea, if this is going to be one of the key pieces of the puzzle in getting a rudimentary power source to interface with contempory electronics.

reply to post by RogerT


You also need to consider the type of inverter you need.

The cheaper inverters basically "simulate" AC by turning the current on/off at around the 60hz (or 50 hz outside North America). This can cause problems with equipment that relies on the true sine-wave the household current more or less is.

You would need to spend more to get a better inverter that accurately generates a true AC sine-wave, if you want to power stuff that relies on that sine-wave (Mostly things that use AC for a timing purpose, and some AC motors are sensitive to have a true AC, rather than a simulated AC signal).

Also, if you are only looking to power electronics, there is really no need for an inverter with a little bit of study.

All the electronic devices in your house convert AC to DC and down step normally around 12 volts. A voltage regulator further refines the power to the exact voltage needed.

All that would be needed is to wire you 12 volt supply into the secondary side of the devices power supply and there will be no need for a inverter for these types of devices.

Just study power supplies a bit so you can recognize the primary and secondary side of a power supply, and learn to solder.

since the criteria here includes what to buy before a possible 'shtf' scenario, i
would stress that one will need to decide what appliances would be essential and
what would be deemed useless. it would not bode well within a community or single
dwelling that family a is running a dishwasher and washing machine when the rest of the community may
only wish a lighting circuit and possibly recharging for music players.
think about the appliances. toaster will be too much draw on any generating system.
electric kettle again too much draw.
after many years designing and installing stand-alone pv systems and instructing the owners of what
is acceptable and what is not, i have seen the results of abuse. burnt out inverters,
too much power usage with multiple appliances used at the same time.
if a system is built with total load taken into consideration ensuring that the
storage (batteries) and inverter systems are running below 40% at any given time,
the set-up should last many years.
thixotropic gel batteries are far better than lead type for draw as too much draw
from a lead battery will buckle the plates and degrade the capacity until it fails.
pure sine wave inverters are expensive whereas simulated inverters are good as long
as they are not pushed with too much electrical draw.
consider what is essential, what you want from the system and then sit down when
the load is equated into coin.
regards fakedirt.

I was watching "Stuck With Hackett", a new show on The Science Channel, and he actually made a generator using spare parts found around a suburban household. If you want to watch the episode, I found a version here.

He goes through a few different ways on how to generate electricity first using chemicals, then wind, and then mechanically through an engine, it's actually pretty interesting.

reply to post by Resonant


That was brilliant. Thanks so much for the link.

I have been in the Scrap metal industry for many years and according to me it's depends on just how you want to make it.