Using a bicycle generator to recharge a battery bank

the switch goes between the small plug in wires twisted together and the +

the switch does NOT interrupt the white heavy main + leads, they should always be live

Try attaching the small plug wires to the main + lead if you want to try to bypass the exciter. That small plug does the exciting. The big white Live wires must remain live, and the ground must remain grounded, with good connections

Every time you stop peddling or slow down, you will need to excite again, so I learned that alternators are not optimal

Mine will put out 13+ v but it's hard to peddal with a double wound alternator and no magnets, I've seen people use treadmill motors and electric scooter motors and they are much easier to pedal

If I do this, nothing is interrupted by the switch, it doesn't make any difference whether the circuit is connected or not. They seem to be connected within the alternator.

I wanted to break the circuit, becasue I get a reading when everything is stationary, from the battery, so I'll never know if I'm producing electricity or not.

I've sadly just realised I think an alternator was always the wrong thing for me anyway, I want to actually produce electricity from wave power, which will be very irregular. I wanted to base it on a bike generator because there seem to be lots of them, and:
- the bike provides a nice, portable stand and mount for the various parts
- it has good gears/cogs
-the cogs are ratcheteed, so can only move one way, which i need because the waves moves back and forth.

But the alternator seems to be comploicated with the exciting.

It would be easiest for me to either get a motor online, or a car part (seeing as I already have the belt for it now!).

Are there any motors in a car set up that would work... atbest the work with a low rpm??
It doesn't matter if it requires a lot of power to turn, there will be plenty of power to turn the wheel. I'll have the opposite problem, too low rpm.

Any advice would be great!

the interruption does nothing

its the connection that makes excitement work by magnetizing windings

but yeah magnet motors and one way diodes make easier peddaling without needing any excitement

Ok, I'll try to find a motor.

I think I just killed a hand drill by spinning it, that was stupid. I guess they have a lock to stop them going backwards, and overpowering that is stupid.

From looking around the internet, clearly I need a low rpm (eg. 600rpm?... what's 'low'?), high voltage motor, and there are some suggestions, but mainly of specific north american motors that have been around. I'd love to find something from a car, because it would fit with the belt I already have that fits on my bike, so my gearing questions are sorted. Also, I can just go to a small car repair/scrap yard that I've found that will sell me a part. Is there a motor in a car that might be suitable? I think I read that a fan motor is too fast. Starter motor? I don't know a lot about cars, so keep the langauge simple if you reply please!!

Many thanks.

I like electric scooter motors. The inexpensive brushed type are available for about $20-us., or free from a salvaged scooter. Pretty low rpm for peak volts. You can get them in 24 volt which will work for 12v if spun the correct speed. The shafts accept sprockets and free-wheels and such of various sizes. A tape reel motor would be good and cheap salvage.

good idea frank

ive learned that the automotive alternator is hard to peddal lol, and not optimal.   ive new ideas since ive built this bike and recently a VAWT turbine, my new idea is running magnets on the bicycle rim, and copper coils on the frame, the idea came from generating power with zero resistance on my vawt prototype, the alternator would never work on a VAWT because of the drag and mechanical loss via drive belt etc.   running a magnet past a COPER coil with no iron core is common in DIY VAWT turbines, and its genius and simple.   all the best things in life are simple right?  however before i had the dragless vawt generator idea for the bike, i had considered using a DC treadmill motor and a one-way diode resistor for less drag and generating power with the exercise bike.  

Ive also heard of folks using the scooter motors and apparently the 24v ones make 12v easily.

AND i picked up another discarded exercise bike almost identical to this first on i made, so now i have two, one is yet to be modified but will be slightly different using either a permenant magnet motor or magnets and coils.

John Smithe wrote:So, I'm fairly new to this. I've been researching for a couple of years, but haven't made the move off grid, yet.
I'm looking into a bicycle generator system, and .... clip

I run a generator charging 30 amps 8 hours a day to charge batteries. You are putting out about  5 amps at best if you don't stop it will take you about  48 hours to take care of what I use in 24 hours.  

This is the second doomsday exercise bike I've created.  Its considerably easier to pedal and makes far more voltage than my first model which uses an auto alternator.  

This model utilizes a homemade PMA which I made from a handful of magnets and an old cieling fan motor.   This doomsday bike makes raw AC power , unlike the first one with the automotive alternator which is converted to DC for automotive use.  

I demonstrate powering a 40x2 watt light directly from the newest exercise bike generator, requiring no batteries or inverters or any expensive devices to power things like the 80 watt light, or a cellphone charger.  

I'm far more satisfied with this model compared to my first model, because this one is far easier to pedal, however I'm unsure if it makes the same amount of AMPS.  The first model utilized a 60 amp auto alternator where as this newer model utilizes a homemade PMA.

Here's a link to a video of my second and improved doomsday exercise bike build/fabrication  :)