newbie Posted September 8, 2003 Share Posted September 8, 2003 I have a bet going with my brother going on now for about 5 years. As you can tell I am an extreme procrastinator. The bet is that I can make a small windmill to generate enough electricity to power a light bulb (possibly a 60-100 watt household bulb). He is willing to pay for whatever I needed to make it plus $100 bucks. So I am familiar with electric side of this project but I am a complete idiot when it comes to anything mechanical which will entail some of the building part. I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction to get something done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deamonstar Posted September 8, 2003 Share Posted September 8, 2003 just guessing here but... you will probably need an automobile alternator for your generator, a garden windmill to turn it, some pulleys, some belts, a good sized capacitor, a low wattage light bulb (no more than 40 watts), and of course a good stiff breeze. there was no mention as to the duration that the bulb is to stay lit... so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YT2095 Posted September 9, 2003 Share Posted September 9, 2003 Electric wheelchair motors work great too, and they come pre geared you can get a good few amps out of them with just a pair of mole grips clamped to the shaft and turning it by hand! then get a cheap 120v or 240v inverter, as Deamonstar said, low wattage and the duration wasn`t specified a few AA batteries in a cheap camera flash unit can easily over power and blow a domestic light bulb I see the Fan arangement as being your biggest obstical (it would be for me anyway). but light and strong maybe something reinforced both materialy and structural sounds the order of the day there. Hope ya win ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie Posted September 9, 2003 Author Share Posted September 9, 2003 Thanks for the ideas, but there are a couple rules I forgot to mention. (Sorry) 1. Everything has to be built by me, no pre-existing mechanical or electrical components. 2. Can only be powered by the mill itself, no batteries or external power. Since a generator is pretty simple, I was thinking of using a household electric fan to turn the blades on the mill to light the bulb. The duration would be as long as the blades on the mill are spinning the light should be on. My trouble is I have never done this sort of thing and I am not sure an electric fan blowing on my mill will generate enough power to light a bulb. I live in Florida were we don't get allot of wind; this is why I chose to use a household fan to give me some air. If this is not possible my brother did okay a battery that could be used as the blades turn it will charge the battery until I can power on the light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kedas Posted September 11, 2003 Share Posted September 11, 2003 You mean you have to build your own alternator ? Well, magnets and wire and start building (the wire or the magnet has to move) An elektric fan is an electrical component. Fans are mechanical components. you have to specify how far you can go. (I quess components are allowed but no devices) otherwise it's going to be sticks and leaves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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