How to test a DC motor for use as DC Generator "Shinn Fu" treadmill motor

[greenDIYscience]

were do they use ametek motors/ were can they be found cheep?

thanks for the great videos keep it up!

[trainbuilr]

Where did you buy that pelton wheel and how much

[PutchKash]

does all motors rotated by electricy can generat power if you rotat it ?

[PrimeTargetSecurity]

car radiator fans work good in moving water to catch all the speed with the motion of the flow. those spoon ones dont work great. they need to be used waterwheel style. think wind turbine half in the water, a brisk creek can generate alot of power with a multi setup of car fans

[o00o0o0o0o0o]

is Voltage per RPM more important than motor efficiency?

Let me ask this. Would you rather use:

A motor rated at 130 VDC rated at 75% motor efficiency

orrrrrrr

A motor rated at 24 VDC rated at 88% motor efficiency

Also, do you know anything about motor efficiency vs. generator efficiency?

Is it the same forwards and backwards (a motor with 88% efficiency also acts as a generator with 88% efficiency?)

[mrstevenos]

electric is our future even today - thank you for explaining voltage per rpm

[beveik]

here you go, genius from south america built his microhydro plant: ludens.cl/paradise/turbine/tur­bine.html

[viniciuslaur]

hello! Congratulations!

would you know if an old motor's treadmill  products less energy than a new one?

Thanks from Brazil!

[calvinthedestroyer]

Your fooling yourself! you have to look at the power output with an oscilloscope not just with a DC volt meter. You will see that the power coming from the "DC generator" is not clean.

You can gain more efficient power if you rectify the power coming out of a permanent magnet motor.

[purplemutantas]

@calvinthedestroyer That may be true, but most people don't have an oscilloscope. It wouldn't surprise me if many of the people watching this video have no idea what an oscilloscope is. A digital multimeter, people may already have, or they can pick one up for cheap.

A treadmill motor may not be ideal, but you can probably get one cheap off ebay. Keeping costs down will help get alternative energy into more peoples homes.

[nomocash]

What about using gearing for getting more RPMs

[AGDemo]

A++ Video Thanks!

[zzaf]

Hey, nice video, but I found this which was better: /watch?v=FYXnhMxqnJA

[robert0joe]

So if the motor spins faster will i get higher voltage, higher amps?

[wyattlisadana]

A permenant magnet alternator for wind has neodymium magnets in it. Check out pictures of the inside of one at missouriwindandsolar. They show the inside of their patriot pma. Thanks for the video. Very helpful.

[MrJetjoe]

I think that would be a perfict moter to use in a electric bike where you peadle the moter genrator and no batterys!!

[possenti]

Treadmill motors are a good choice for these types of applications. I've currently got one mounted to a stand that is powered by an unmodified bicycle. The key is testing them like you did in the video, and having permanent magnets in them. Alternators and motors with electromagnetic coils require power just to energize the magnets and usually need a rectifier to convert the current to DC. A+ on keeping it simple. Thanks for the vids!

[zuseable]

my post is just to say i realy like the way you set up your camera hands free and dead on target good work

[teksoup]

Not sure, about the amps or anything. Shinn Fu stopped making treadmills and other fitness equipment in 1999. They have only a few of these motors left. . .

[ghostrus1000]

I have one of these motors and i am going to build a Wind Generator with it. My only worry is...how many amps i am going to get at 700 rpm and at what wind speed? i see winds on a daily basis at over 25 mph and more most often at 40 mph. I also plan of using a 4.5 inch hub, but i need to know the correct length of blades to use.

[catskillwoodgas]

@ghostrus1000

You should expect ~5 amps at 25 mph using 32-36" blades

[MrPizzaman09]

@catskillwoodgas

Maybe on a 36" diameter it could work. Mine is 50" and it should put out an easy 20 amps.

[MrPizzaman09]

You want about 25-30 rpm/volt for a windmill. Your motor there is closer to 40-50 rpm/volt, which is too high. Nice explanations!

[catskillwoodgas]

@MrPizzaman09

But you can't beat the price! And if it gets people educated about about alternative energy, great.

[MrPizzaman09]

Right! My setup cost me about $32.42. And that includes buying the very large treadmill motor. Many people have them lying around.

[enticed2zeitgeist]

@MrPizzaman09 Why do you want 25-30 rpm/volt?

[MrPizzaman09]

@enticed2zeitgeist If your RPM/volt = kv is too high, your output voltage will be too low to charge a 12v battery. Output voltage = rpm / kv. For example, 12v = rpm/ 30 --> rpm = 360 rpm, which is really fast for a windmill. A lower kv rating would be better (easier for a beginner to make a succesful windmill).

[htomerif]

Keeping in mind that a good 100Amp alternator will give you the same power output that a 130V 10A treadmill motor will. Also its important to be able to vary the load coming from the generator to keep it in its power band, similar to solar cells, maximum power isnt found at maximum voltage or current output, but somewhere inbetween.

[catskillwoodgas]

Well a good PMA (Permanent Magnet Alternator) would be ideal. Your typical iron core belt driven alternator has low efficiency and high frictional losses.

[ncblu66]

@htomerif : i've done as much with alternators as possible, back emf puts a high load on the unit and she almost locks up and is hard to start in a low wind

[htomerif]

people need to understand the deadest simple rule of electronics P=I*V or power is voltage times current. comments about rpm's and voltage are meaningless without current. Most people making home windmills do use car alternators because theyre designed to generate power at varying RPM's and because you can pretty much plug them straight into an inverter. You also just HAVE to gear/belt it to a useable RPM range, and preferably use a battery for energy storage

[joewilder]

How about using a car starter?

[catskillwoodgas]

Well your typical car starter runs a thousands of rpm's at 12 volts, so the inverse would be about the same. Having to spin 2,000 rpm's to get 12 volts is less than idle for wind.

[AlienEnema]

Im suprised you dont have more comments. people dont know gold. I have a broken down 1200 watt gererator, ive stripped it for panel and altenator. im planning on using it in a windmill. heres the catch as you know.. i need to step it with a pully. but, it may still be used. i do not know what will happen to the effectiveness of the blades with the new stress of a large pully. inverter options are on the table.