Cycle Power, Part II: Power your Home with a Bicycle Generator
(Page 2 of 3)
March/April 1981
By the Mother Earth News Editors
Wiring the system proved to be easier than we had anticipated. Since we couldn't find a pedaler who was capable of raising the output above 13.5 volts, we simply discarded the voltage regulator we'd initially added to the system. Just follow the accompanying schematic to wire your own unit. (The essential components amount to nothing more than a positive connection between the battery and the alternator, a wire connecting the negative terminals, and a field wire that can be switched on or off.)
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Though the basis of the circuit is quite simple, we did decide to offer you a couple of refinements which—while not absolutely necessary—are certainly convenient. First, we wired a very low-wattage bulb into the field circuit to indicate when field current is flowing. (Beware... leaving the switch on will discharge the battery through the field windings.) To prevent the bulb from being blown by surge when the circuit is shut off, the fixture is wired parallel to the field, through a dual pole, single throw (DPST) switch. Another optional item in our schematic is the car ammeter, the readings of which can be either an inspiration or a conveyor of bad news ... depending on your enthusiasm for pedaling.
CURRENT EVENTS
"Well," you're probably wondering, "can I generate all my household's electricity with a bicycle?" And the answer is yes, if you have many family members who are in excellent physical condition... and if you don't use much electricity. The maximum that our most experienced cyclist was able to produce was 16 amps at 13.5 volts—a little over 200 watts—but he could maintain that torrid pace for only a few minutes. A practical figure for continuous pedaling is 5 amps at 12.5 volts ... or about 60 watts.
