[Lab] Introduction and question

[Richard Guy Briggs]

On Thu, Aug 25, 2011 at 02:43:23AM +0000, tonyelwood at telus.blackberry.net wrote:
> Hello Sam,
> 
> I just happen to have a variety of motors right now for a short time
> but I will get more free motors in the future. I havnt tried to
> generate electricity with them besides hooking up my meter and giving
> them a spin out of curiosity. Ill try to snag an alternator out of a
> stairmaster next chance I get. Would that be more efficient than a
> brushed motor? 

Maybe, maybe not.  The stairmaster is trying to waste energy, so I can't
imagine they would make much effort to make them efficient.  Car engine
alternators are notoriously inefficient, but ubiquitous, so I've heard
of people using them for bicycle power generating stations.

> Treadmill motors in north america are 90-120V, 15-25A. Can't remember
> the rpm ratings. Don't know how that would translate when used as a
> generator. 

A standard household 120V 15A circuit is 2 to 2.5 horsepower, so this is
in the same ballpark.

I don't know the technology, so I don't know how well they would work
for generators.  Certainly worth a try.

> -Tony
>  
> Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Sam Roesch <samroesch at gmail.com>
> Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2011 17:50:31 
> To: <tonyelwood at telus.blackberry.net>
> Cc: <Lab at artengine.ca>
> Subject: Re: [Lab] Introduction and question
> 
> I've seen treadmill motors be used for wind turbine generators. It was
> featured in Make Magazine volume 5, link to the project page here:
> http://makeprojects.com/Project/Make-a-Wind-Generator/9/1
> 
> It calls for a "Treadmill motor<http://makeprojects.com/Item/Treadmill_motor>
> , 260 volts DC, 5 amps, with a 6" threaded flywheel" and certainly seems
> like the hardest part to source for the project.
> 
> I would certainly be interested in one of these motors, however I'm in
> Kingston, so it would probably be a little while before I could take it off
> your hands.
> 
> Does the ModLab have a scrap bin? When I visited Kwartzlab they had a shelf
> with tote bins filled with goodies, such as the linear actuators you
> mentioned, among other things.
> 
> Sam
> 
> On Wed, Aug 24, 2011 at 5:29 PM, <tonyelwood at telus.blackberry.net> wrote:
> 
> > Hello builders and thinkers,
> >
> >    My name is Tony Elwood. I've been following the mailing list for a few
> > weeks, eavesdropping on all the interesting craziness you people have been
> > up to. I have been building and inventing things since I was a kid and had a
> > box of wires, batteries and lightbulbs.
> >
> > Just getting back into it now playing around with a chipkit uno arduino
> > based on microchips 32 bit chip. I built a shield out of treadmill parts to
> > drive an 8x8 led matrix. Amazingly it works.
> >
> > I do service for a fitness company and we are cleaning out stock of
> > obsolete parts. Does anyone have a use for treadmill drive or incline
> > motors. We have a big pile that will be scrapped. Many of them are brand
> > new. I may be able to get some for free. The drive motors are dc, 1.5-3 HP.
> > The linear actuators are slow but high torque gearbox ac motors with
> > wormwheel shafts on them.
> >
> > Let me know if anyone is interested.
> >
> > Hope to attend a lab soon and meet you all.
> > -Tony
> >
> > Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry
> > _______________________________________________
> > Lab mailing list
> > Lab at artengine.ca
> > http://artengine.ca/mailman/listinfo/lab
> >
> 

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	slainte mhath, RGB

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