Idea: 12V eBay motor as generator for lights/accessories

[Captain Rainmaker]

So we all know these China Girls are rather pitiful at providing electrical power for running anything substantial. There are add-ons, like the 12-volt stator coil, but they're only marginally better, providing maybe 6 to 10 watts based on what I've read. This got me wondering if there's a better solution.

If you do a quick search on eBay for "12 volt motor," you'll see it is rife with various sizes of DC hobby motors, for about 20 bucks a pop. Like one of these:

12 V DC Hobby Motor / Generator - 50 Watt - 770 Frame Size - 11,000 RPM | eBay

Step up the speed from your wind or hydro turbine and put this compact generator to work. Electric DC motor / generator. Generator features an internal fan.

www.ebay.com

For those who don't know, spinning a DC motor makes it a generator. My thinking is one of these could potentially work really well for powering lights and stuff.

As for how to set it up, I have a couple ideas:
-Shave away some of the clutch cover and drive it from the main flywheel. It would keep generating even when stopped or idling, but could be a pain in the ass to fabricate.
-Put a chain sprocket on the shaft and drive it from the engine chain. It wouldn't generate at idle, but would probably be a lot easier to fab up than the first.
-Friction drive from a tire.

My money tree's looking a little bare, it being the end of the month and all, but I'll probably pick one up next paycheck just to tinker with since they're so cheap. Anyone ever tried something like this?

 

[Chainlube]

So we all know these China Girls are rather pitiful at providing electrical power for running anything substantial. There are add-ons, like the 12-volt stator coil, but they're only marginally better, providing maybe 6 to 10 watts based on what I've read. This got me wondering if there's a better solution.

If you do a quick search on eBay for "12 volt motor," you'll see it is rife with various sizes of DC hobby motors, for about 20 bucks a pop. Like one of these:

12 V DC Hobby Motor / Generator - 50 Watt - 770 Frame Size - 11,000 RPM | eBay

Step up the speed from your wind or hydro turbine and put this compact generator to work. Electric DC motor / generator. Generator features an internal fan.

www.ebay.com

For those who don't know, spinning a DC motor makes it a generator. My thinking is one of these could potentially work really well for powering lights and stuff.

As for how to set it up, I have a couple ideas:
-Shave away some of the clutch cover and drive it from the main flywheel. It would keep generating even when stopped or idling, but could be a pain in the ass to fabricate.
-Put a chain sprocket on the shaft and drive it from the engine chain. It wouldn't generate at idle, but would probably be a lot easier to fab up than the first.
-Friction drive from a tire.

My money tree's looking a little bare, it being the end of the month and all, but I'll probably pick one up next paycheck just to tinker with since they're so cheap. Anyone ever tried something like this?

Haven't tried it, but interested in the outcome.

 

[Frogslayer]

Basically a home made dynamo

 

[Captain Rainmaker]

Basically a home made dynamo

Essentially.

 

[Captain Rainmaker]

So I bought that DC motor and surprise surprise the 50W rating was complete bull. I put it in my vice and spun it with my drill at full whack and the best I got was 1.2 volts. Back to the drawing board.

 

[Frogslayer]

So I bought that DC motor and surprise surprise the 50W rating was complete bull. I put it in my vice and spun it with my drill at full whack and the best I got was 1.2 volts. Back to the drawing board.

damn. 1.2 volts? Did you have the meter set right? 1.2 is 1/10 12 volts.

 

[Captain Rainmaker]

damn. 1.2 volts? Did you have the meter set right? 1.2 is 1/10 12 volts.

Yes. I have a digital meter, so I know for sure it was 1.2 volts.

I also tried hooking up my headlight, just to see if it'd be any different under load. Same reading and not a single photon from the light.

 

[Chainlube]

Did you spin it at 11,000 rpm? That might be what it needs.

 

[yuckfoo]

I have a 12 volt "garden drill." The rechargeable battery is very small compared to an 18v drill's big, heavy, clunky battery. Perhaps that would be an simpler solution.

 

[Karl Snarl]

You're going to need to look into electrical theory. A 12v motor like that isn't going to output 12v untill it is spinning way over rated speed. You need to get one rated at like 50v or so.