alternator connector too recharge while riding . is it possible

fredie

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we have some ideas . i have been told there is a electric bike from asia. that recharges itself while riding. plus we might be able too use an alternator with a few mods too work from the front or rear wheel . any ideas out there:p
 
Can a setup be made that recharges while riding? Yes- while you pedal, that is. You lose more energy by trying to use electricity to make electricty than just conserving the energy in the batteries to propel you forward.

A practical system that can recharge discharged batteries rapidly when you pedal? That's another mattler- not yet, really. But you can put energy back in the batteries when you pedal.

Hybrid cars have several technologies to use as little energy as possible- what they do not do is attempt to recharge the batteries when running on electricity- except for regenerative braking.

No matter what anyone on the internet says about any technology- you can never get more energy out of system than is put in at some point (over time by nature as in fossil fuels, or by recharging in electricity)
 
Can a setup be made that recharges while riding? Yes- while you pedal, that is. You lose more energy by trying to use electricity to make electricty than just conserving the energy in the batteries to propel you forward.

A practical system that can recharge discharged batteries rapidly when you pedal? That's another mattler- not yet, really. But you can put energy back in the batteries when you pedal.

Hybrid cars have several technologies to use as little energy as possible- what they do not do is attempt to recharge the batteries when running on electricity- except for regenerative braking.

No matter what anyone on the internet says about any technology- you can never get more energy out of system than is put in at some point (over time by nature as in fossil fuels, or by recharging in electricity)

Hi HoughMade, Thanks for the info... I've been keeping my ears and eyes open about recharging batteries while you ride. Why is it that we can't do it on bikes? Remember I'm not a mechanic at all so my understanding is very limited. But I intend to learn all I can about the subject. I get tired of dead ends where someone tells me something can't be done (my next door neighbor just did this over building a 2 stroke muffler). So I want to know all I can about it.

Like I said, I'm dumb about this stuff, but why is it that a motorcycle can have lights with no problems but we have problems doing it with a mb? I hope this does not sound like I'm romping on you because I don't mean it to come out that way at all. Sorry if it sounds that way. I have just been reading and reading about a way to have good lights and recharge the battery at the same time. Why is that such a hard thing? (remember I'm dumb about this lol)
 
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You can easily have enough energy to charge batteries for lights.

I took his original post to be referring to powering the bike itself with electricity- that is another matter altogether.
 
You can easily have enough energy to charge batteries for lights.

I took his original post to be referring to powering the bike itself with electricity- that is another matter altogether.

Oh.... now I feel like a dummy lol... Thanks for clearing it up though. I have a question now. Can you explain what I need to do (in plain English) to make a light system that has a headlight and tail light where the battery is a 12v and is recharged (somehow). What do I need to do? Hope you don't mind me asking, but I would appreciate it. I'm really a dummy about it. What is it that charges the battery? I know:

battery works the headlight and tail light(s)
battery gets charged (somehow)


And thats the extent of my knowledge. You don't need to go into any great detail, just a basic idea of what I need to know.

I really appreciate it. Thanks!
 
A basic concept design, understandable to all and be able to build is what is needed. There is a diagram somewhere under a topic of bicycle lighting, but when I myself look at the diagram, it DOES make sense when you join the dots, but try geting the right terminology from tech speak to sale counter rep speak to purchase the parts is another matter.

But, im layman's term this would be my idea of a bicycle rechargable light system, after having tried a few myself may I add.

Dynamo would have to be the Sturmey Archer hub type.
But I would modify that dynamo if I was on the SA "think tank team".
( more on that later)

Basic Light Set
For this set up to keep it simple, for now a front and rear light set.

Rechargable Battery and compartment.

Wire, odds and ends, diodes, regulators and all those bits and pieces we know that work but cant "see" it work like a piston in a cylinder.


The idea is this.
Develop some patience and follow some easy to do DIY diagram and parts list that explains the EXACT part number and and where to connect the wires
from the Dynamo to the regulator,to the battery and from the battery to the light switches and from the light switches to the lights.
I personaly don't have a problem with connecting wires, it's what are the correct regulators, rechargable batteries, diodes and all those other menaingless but relatively important gizmos that are required to match the max. output of the dynamo at varying speeds.

All this stuff can be easily worked out by those who understand these minute details, while others undertsand engines the same as they that don't.
A bit of give and take and really cool bicycle lights system can be established.
 
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One needs an understanding of electric theory, volts and amps.

This correlates to water plumbing rather well.

Volts is pressure and amps is volume. When you demand a lot of volume pressure might drop.

The HT motor and most little motorbike motors cannot supply enough volts and/or amps to run high powered lights.

Batteries in vehicles generally get a "float" charge which is a subconscious operation, when the vehicle has power to spare. A "float" charge is generally 120% of the battery rating, so 7 volts would charge a 6v battery. Bumping up to 12v requires a relatively complex transformer, and when that bump happens half the amps are gone-- you can't make something from nothing!

The happy time motor dynamo makes "around" 6 volts at 1/2 amp. To run a 55 watt "bright enough" headlight bulb one needs, typically, 12 volts at 4.5 amps. (v x a = watts.)

So the end all run of this discussion is the HT motor doesn't make enough on its own, so one needs to look at external generators. There's a nice long thread somewhere where someone did find a nice 12 volt generator that runs off the chain.

A properly sized (in amps) generator would need a very small or none at all battery for storage. For occasional night riding one could use a smaller amp rated generator (as long as volts were the right amount) to charge a battery but then run at a deficit when the lights were on.

The simplest battery design would be around a 6 volt system, the problem there is finding bulbs that run on 6 volts. Stopped using them in cars in the mid 1950s. Maybe longer on bikes? But the bonus is you can find cool retro stuff on ebay etc.
 
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Thanks BoltsMissing... That helped a lot. I will have to do more digging on the subject. Like I don't know what a dynamo does. Is that the part that is responsible for the recharging? Sorry if this seems dumb... can't help it. I'm going to spend some time looking around for some of the keywords in your explanation. I REALLY appreciate your help on this... a little picture is starting to form in my head. Thanks!
 
Thomas edison popularized the term "dynamo", it is a generator. IDK if it is slightly different internally in design from a generator (brushes etc) but as bicycles were popular in the 1890s the term stuck. :)
 
One needs an understanding of electric theory, volts and amps.

This correlates to water plumbing rather well.

Volts is pressure and amps is volume. When you demand a lot of volume pressure might drop.

The HT motor and most little motorbike motors cannot supply enough volts and/or amps to run high powered lights.

Batteries in vehicles generally get a "float" charge which is a subconscious operation, when the vehicle has power to spare. A "float" charge is generally 120% of the battery rating, so 7 volts would charge a 6v battery. Bumping up to 12v requires a relatively complex transformer, and when that bump happens half the amps are gone-- you can't make something from nothing!

The happy time motor dynamo makes "around" 6 volts at 1/2 amp. To run a 55 watt "bright enough" headlight bulb one needs, typically, 12 volts at 4.5 amps. (v x a = watts.)

So the end all run of this discussion is the HT motor doesn't make enough on its own, so one needs to look at external generators. There's a nice long thread somewhere where someone did find a nice 12 volt generator that runs off the chain.

A properly sized (in amps) generator would need a very small or none at all battery for storage. For occasional night riding one could use a smaller amp rated generator (as long as volts were the right amount) to charge a battery but then run at a deficit when the lights were on.

The simplest battery design would be around a 6 volt system, the problem there is finding bulbs that run on 6 volts. Stopped using them in cars in the mid 1950s. Maybe longer on bikes? But the bonus is you can find cool retro stuff on ebay etc.

Hi eljefino, Thank you for your help. I think this might be the thread that you were talking about: http://www.motoredbikes.com/showthread.php?t=6581&highlight=lighting
I'm going to go back over and read it again. There are a lot of good thoughts there. it's just that a lot of it was over my head. I think the more I read the better I will get though, so I will keep on trying.

Thank you for your help... I sometimes think I don't know enough to be asking questions lol... but I do appreciate your answer a lot. I'm going to read that thread again and then come back and read your post and see if things make more sense.

thanks a lot!
 
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