Thursday Wheeze.

[bizzard]

Everyone's thirsty for more and more electrical power on their boats, so to help quench this thirst here's a cheap method which should give tremendous satisfaction during both the making and using of it.

Wind power. Avoid those highly expensive and noisy dirty great wind generators that you can buy by making your own from one of the old bicycle front wheel dynamo hubbed wheels which may still be found at boot sales, scrap heaps, old bike shops, and in ditches.

Once you've found your lovely wheel, treasure it, don't let it out of your sight until you get home they're in pretty short supply these days.

To rig up your coveted wheel for electrical power generation you can either de-spoke it and make a nice rotor- propeller cut out of a bit of thin sheet aluminium twisting the blades to a favourable pitch (needs experimentation later for maximum power) of a diameter as big as possible and screwing them to the hub, or you can retain the spokes and rim which would act as a flywheel to stabilize the speed and help to keep the momentum up. Spokes are fitted at sort of alternate intervals to each side of the hub so it will be easy to attach aluminium or cardboard rotor blades at the appropriate pitch to these.

When fixed up, however you've fixed the rotor blades, a little wind test can be carried out by taking it outside and running up and down the high street with it held high noting how it whizzes round and the faster you run the faster it whizzes, very satisfying indeed.,

Ok, Now to fix this wonderful dynamo to your boat. Its best to mount it to the top of a broomstick by drilling a hole, poking the dynamos hub wheel spindle through it securing it with a nut and washer (oil the bearings). Test it again to make sure it spins all lovely and freely. The bottom end of the stick can be plopped into a round shaped socket fixed to your foredeck, roof or anywhere. The round shaped broomstick and socket is important, this enables you to twiddle it about to take the best advantage of the wind direction.

Right, now your mounted all there is to do is to wire it up to trickle charge your batteries, any old length of twin flex will do for this attached to the two terminals on the dynamo. fix the other ends to your battery posts.

There is a slight draw back as these bicycle hub dynamos were all 6v but it should still put out a massive current of about ''1/10th of an amp'' or so which should be enough to keep your battery a little stimulated. Failing this it would power a couple of navigation lights with 6v bulbs in em at night and the whirling propeller will frighten away nasty Gnats and Midges. They also look very pretty whirling around upon your boat if you paint colourful designs and whirls on the propeller blades. You'll be the envy of all the other boaters.

You know it makes sense, Bizzard.

 

[Sade]

Just reminds me of Frank Zappa....Dynamo Hum hahahaa!

[peterboat]

Just taking my fold up bike to pieces I am sure it will be more useful as a gennie than it ever was as a bike!!

 

Peter

[sassan]

I'm planning something similar, for after I've built my solar panel.

 

Some magnets, some magnet wire coils, some diodes and a regulator should be enough on the electrical side. Then much as you describe on the turbine side.

 

We winter in Bristol harbour where the wind gets huge, so hopefully we can get some good power from it!

[HappyBunny]

A most excellent wheeze .... but not sure if I can dedicate my broomstick to full time power generation ....