How to Pedal the way to Energy Independence

Did you know you can wash your clothes, make a margarita, clear your driveway with a pedal powered snow plow, as well as many other energy saving ideas. All that; and keep in tip top shape as well.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Stationary Bicycle
• Flywheel
• generator
• belt & pulley
• Simple Machine
• the diode
• fuse
• battery
• inverter

1. 
    
   courtesy homelessdave.com

   With this energy problem, people are thinking up many alternatives to this problem. Depending on how serious we are, the simple machine is a sure way to make your own human power. If we took all the power generated in the gyms across America, on stationary bikes alone, Imagine all that energy!

2. 
    
   diagram of washer

   This concept has been around for quite sometime. I loved riding my bicycle when I was a kid. I use to buy really neat accessories for my Schwinn. Including Battery operated turn signals, a generator headlight, banana seat and sissy bar. Any money I earned, most of it, went into new items for my main form of transportation. The bike can be a stationary bicycle.

3. 
    
   http://www.mos.org/

   If we are serious about alternative energy, A simple machine can be on of the answers. This part will vary depending on your project, but the idea is to use one or more belts and pulleys to turn the mechanism that would otherwise be turned with electrical power.

4. You need the belt to connect the spinning wheel of the bicycle (actual flywheel) to the generator via the pulley. Depending on your configuration, some machine work may be necessary to fit the belt properly. Once the wheel is ready, simply run the belt along the wheel groove and connect it to the pulley attached to the generator, no slack in the belt, make sure it is snug.

5. 
    
   photo Matthew Rhodes

   Once you get the spinning action going, we now are producing an electromagnetic current. You must select the right generator for the job, or you can destroy the electronic device you are trying to run. Typically a permanent magnet DC motor that produces 24 volts at 600 rpms is a safe bet. As long as the diode and fuse are wired in series.

6. 
    

   The diode will go between the generator and the battery, with only the fuse between it and the battery. Because a motor is a two-way device, something must be in place to keep the current from going back the way it came. There's a negative and positive; make sure you connect them correctly. + to + and - to -. You can get diodes cheap at Radio Shack.

7. 
    

   The "Fuse" will protect your device from getting too much power and ruining it. The fuse should be 25 amps, and should be connected between the positive terminal of the battery, and the positive terminal of the diode.

8. 
    
   deep cycle marine battery

   The battery will store your built up energy, and it must be wired in series as well. (Check Links for more detailed info). One you get your battery parameters figured our, all you must do is connect the positive terminal from the generator-diode-fuse to the positive terminal of the battery, and the negative terminal to the negative terminal

9. 
    
   Inverter

   Lastly you have to have the Inverter to change Direct Current (DC), to Alternating Current, or (AC). Connect the device's plug to an alternator socket and the alternator leads to the battery's positive and negative terminals. As always, be sure to connect positive to positive and negative to negative. Now you have your power and your workout!

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure you research your project well before starting.
• Remember to have the correct elements of power, series wiring and so on.
• You could burn up your machine if any of your current is crossed.

Resources

• BicyclePower
• homelessdave
• TreeHugger
• Windstream
• Globalideas
• Econvergence
• pedalpower

[xopinkdiamondz]

on 6/1/2009 That's pretty cool! 5*