Constant Electric Regen

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miked826

miked826

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I need 264 Watts to power my Lithium battery charger. If I mount this 35 Amp, 8 pound, $80 alternator, it will output a maximum of 420 Watts. Enough to power my charger and charge my batteries while I'm rolling. How fast it will need to spin and how effective it will be is still a mystery to me. Only 1 way to find out though. LOL

I already have Brake Regen but it's obviously only good while braking. I want Constant Regen
or as close as I can come to it. Brake Regen is only good for about a 25% recharge on my bike.



 
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paul

paul

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i will be real interested in your results. i didn't realize alternators were so heavy. extra weight will be more then worth it though
 
miked826

miked826

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paul said:
i will be real interested in your results. i didn't realize alternators were so heavy. extra weight will be more then worth it though
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Compared to the cost, weight, and size of Lithium battery packs it should be well worth it.........I'm thinking. The cost and weight of multiple Lithium battery packs is what drives the cost of electric bikes through the roof. As high as $10,000 on ebay. That's just ridiculous and it's mostly due to the Lithium wattage. I'm trying to keep that cost as low as I possibly can.

The single biggest cost of an electric bike is easily the battery packs. My bike cost $750 and the 48V 13Ah Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt battery pack cost the same as my entire bike cost.
 
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miked826

miked826

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I have a 12V Lithium motorcycle battery mounted above the front wheel. The alternator will charge that and the inverter running of that battery will power the charger to charge my 48V Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt battery pack. My bike is well north of 100 lbs. now so what's another 8 gonna do? The nightmare part will be actually mounting it and where to mount it.
 
miked826

miked826

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WightBoy said:
Kinda hard to tell the size by the pic but maybe modify it and friction drive it off the front wheel.
Click to expand...
It's a 35 Amp Yanmar Marine alternator and the dimensions are hopefully small but I don't know. I just know I need to spin it as fast as I possibly can, for maximum RPM's. I'd have to lose my rear fender and mount it just rear of my chain ring for rear wheel contact but it would be do-able. That could possibly be the easiest and least obtrusive method.
 
bairdco

bairdco

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i was running a sturmey archer front dyno/drum brake hub (the xfdd 70mm model) on my 2 stroke and it states it's a 6v, 3w power output.

it actually puts out 10v at a fast pedaling speed, according to sturmey. just enough so it doesn't blow all your lights.

i hooked up a voltmeter to it, and at 45mph it cranked out almost 50 volts!

i had to wire in a small voltage regulator so it wouldn't burn out my lights everyday.

i'm not an electric guy, and never checked the wattage, but i was wondering how well it would charge a basic electric bike while riding.

would be awesome if you could achieve perpetual motion... :)
 
WightBoy

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miked826 said:
It's a 35 Amp Yanmar Marine alternator and the dimensions are hopefully small but I don't know. I just know I need to spin it as fast as I possibly can, for maximum RPM's. I'd have to lose my rear fender and mount it just rear of my chain ring for rear wheel contact but it would be do-able. That could possibly be the easiest and least obtrusive method.
Click to expand...
Just thinking outside the box for a moment and don't know if this would be at all possible. If there were enough room between the front forks, one could maybe mount a sprocket or pulley on the front hub and run a chain or belt to the alternator thus providing a number of different combinations/ratios to get desired rpm out of the alternator. I guess this could also be accomplished via the rear wheel too by mounting two engine side sprockets (again, assuming there is room). With the friction idea, you could also utilize custom rollers to achieve desired rpm. Its too bad that the HS engine w/ alternator is so darn wide or that would be another option.
 
miked826

miked826

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WightBoy said:
Just thinking outside the box for a moment and don't know if this would be at all possible. If there were enough room between the front forks, one could maybe mount a sprocket or pulley on the front hub and run a chain or belt to the alternator thus providing a number of different combinations/ratios to get desired rpm out of the alternator. I guess this could also be accomplished via the rear wheel too by mounting two engine side sprockets (again, assuming there is room). With the friction idea, you could also utilize custom rollers to achieve desired rpm. Its too bad that the HS engine w/ alternator is so darn wide or that would be another option.
Click to expand...
Yep. Everything is riding on the dimensions of the alternator. I was thinking about a front wheel friction mount as well.

Not sure about the wattage output on the HS alternator but I think it may fall short of the 264 watts I need but that would be ideal for sure.
 
miked826

miked826

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WightBoy said:
Just thinking outside the box for a moment and don't know if this would be at all possible. If there were enough room between the front forks, one could maybe mount a sprocket or pulley on the front hub and run a chain or belt to the alternator thus providing a number of different combinations/ratios to get desired rpm out of the alternator. I guess this could also be accomplished via the rear wheel too by mounting two engine side sprockets (again, assuming there is room). With the friction idea, you could also utilize custom rollers to achieve desired rpm. Its too bad that the HS engine w/ alternator is so darn wide or that would be another option.
Click to expand...
I'm only guessing that the lower the amp rating on the alternator means it would be physically smaller than a high amp rated alternator. I would need at least a 25 amp rated alternator which would give me 300 watts. So if anybody knows of a smaller alternator out there than the Yanmar then I'd like a link to it.
 
miked826

miked826

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bairdco said:
i was running a sturmey archer front dyno/drum brake hub (the xfdd 70mm model) on my 2 stroke and it states it's a 6v, 3w power output.

it actually puts out 10v at a fast pedaling speed, according to sturmey. just enough so it doesn't blow all your lights.

i hooked up a voltmeter to it, and at 45mph it cranked out almost 50 volts!

i had to wire in a small voltage regulator so it wouldn't burn out my lights everyday.

i'm not an electric guy, and never checked the wattage, but i was wondering how well it would charge a basic electric bike while riding.

would be awesome if you could achieve perpetual motion... :)
Click to expand...
Perpetual Motion is exactly what I'm trying to get as close as I can to. I'd be happy just to get somewhat close it. Multiple battery packs to extend the range of electric bikes takes up too much room and simply weighs and costs way too much. It just doesn't make much sense to me to go that route.

I know my batteries will eventually die even no matter what type of alternator I install or how fast it spins. I just want to extend the range of what I have as far technologically possible without adding additional batteries.
 
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miked826

miked826

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WightBoy said:
Wayne Z did a lighting system using a Kubota dynamo. Here is the link to the thread, I don't know specs on it but he might. http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=40432&highlight=kubota+alternator
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Never see anything like that before. It has some kind of friction bell housing that contacts the wheel? I think it's a tractor alternator and they are dirt cheap. I don't see that exact one though.

http://www.jackssmallengines.com/Alternator/Kubota/Tractors-Compact/A

http://www.jackssmallengines.com/alternator/Kubota/a
 
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miked826

miked826

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WightBoy

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I think the one he used is from a b7100 Kubota tractor and it is normally driven off the tractor belt. If one isn't enough, you could run 2 for the price of them. Kubota used to have a 40 amp dynamo kit but I don't know if they do still. The farm boys are talking about running lights and stereo systems on the tractors with these things though.
 
miked826

miked826

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WightBoy said:
oh, I see that site has all the different amp alternators. You sir may have found the end of a rainbow.
Click to expand...
It beats buying a bunch of Lithium battery packs, weighing down your bike and going broke in the process.

If I can double or triple the range of my battery pack then I'll be over that rainbow. LOL
 
miked826

miked826

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WightBoy said:
I think the one he used is from a b7100 Kubota tractor and it is normally driven off the tractor belt. If one isn't enough, you could run 2 for the price of them. Kubota used to have a 40 amp dynamo kit but I don't know if they do still. The farm boys are talking about running lights and stereo systems on the tractors with these things though.
Click to expand...
All I need is 25 amps to keep my 12V battery charged and then my 6" x 3" x 2" battery charger will charge my 48V battery pack while I'm riding. It looks good on paper anyway.....hopefully it will actually work.
 
miked826

miked826

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WightBoy said:
I think the one he used is from a b7100 Kubota tractor and it is normally driven off the tractor belt. If one isn't enough, you could run 2 for the price of them. Kubota used to have a 40 amp dynamo kit but I don't know if they do still. The farm boys are talking about running lights and stereo systems on the tractors with these things though.
Click to expand...
7 lbs. of goodness for $68. It can't possibly be that big then.... I'm hoping.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/L2550DTGST-L2550F-L2550GST-Alternator-Kubota-Tractor-/271159538668?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3f225e33ec&vxp=mtr
 
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