Captain Rainmaker
Active Member
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:
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?
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
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 12 V DC Hobby Motor / Generator - 50 Watt - 770 Frame Size - 11,000 RPM at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
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?
