Wiring a Rectifier/Regulator?

[MajorLord]

MajorLord...
Try using your Enter key often to break up text, your post is pretty much unreadable to me other than you are building an electric trike and want to power lights?

I have built a couple adult electric trikes with lights...

I used a big brick LI battery 36V 960AH, plenty of power for lights, lots of them.

I just bought an instrument box case the size I wanted to fit the back and stuffed everything in it.
Then cut holes for the charger to plug in and fan to vent.

Near as I can tell from you gigantic run on post is you want to re-generate electric power from the mechanical force already generated by electricity to run your lights?

I just find that silly.

Look, electric vehicles need to be charged, period.
You have power on-board and nothing ia going to re-gen will do squat on a trike, they aren't even safe to ride over ~25mph.
Just some tips, take 'em or leave 'em and best of luck ;-}

You did a great job on your electric Trike! (Enter)
My trike is powered by a 1.6 HP Honda gasoline Engine.(Enter)
The scooter motor will be used as a generator to reclaim the inertia of the trike during deceleration and convert it into electrical power for charging the battery briefly, at a high current rate. (Enter)
The scooter motor will also be used as a generator to charge the battery at low speeds whenever the axle is turning. (Enter)
The battery runs the lights (Enter)
Since the scooter motor is still a motor, even though I will be using it as a DC generator ( A task usually handled by a magneto or dynamo) It could potentially be used to run the trike in reverse.(Enter)
"(Enter)" or <CR> is generally used to break up whole paragraphs. (Enter)

 

[KCvale]

You did a great job on your electric Trike! (Enter)

Thanks, I made 3 of them, but they are just too darn bulky for my shop so I don't make them anymore.
Besides the elderly, there is not much call for a wide machine that becomes unstable after 20-25mph.

My trike is powered by a 1.6 HP Honda gasoline Engine.(Enter)
The scooter motor will be used as a generator to reclaim the inertia of the trike during deceleration and convert it into electrical power for charging the battery briefly, at a high current rate. (Enter)
The scooter motor will also be used as a generator to charge the battery at low speeds whenever the axle is turning. (Enter)

That will work though I wouldn't bother trying to get any useful Re-Gen braking power from it.
Then again, if you are hauling a load it may make for a nice extra brake with benefits ;-}

"(Enter)" or <CR> is generally used to break up whole paragraphs. (Enter)

That is true for print media, get as much ink down as possible in the smallest space.
We don't have that restriction here, we can break the text up as much as we want to in easy to read bits ;-}

 

[MajorLord]

I suppose at 6-3, and 220 pounds, I could be called a heavy load.... Since I live in a valley, I would only get value in all likelihood from regenerative braking for long down hill runs. I chose a small DC scooter motor because its cheap, small, and should generate enough power to run my lights in the few times I would be crazy enough to try to ride it at night. I chose an axle gear ratio close to the motor's to make it fit, and to not overload the engine in normal driving. My head and tails are LED's, so it should not demand a lot from the battery. The real iffy part is knowing if the slow turning motor will produce enough DC to charge the battery, or overcharge it. Live and learn! If all else fails, I will just rig it for shore charging.

I seriously considered doing this Bike as an electric. In California, Electric bikes are relatively regulation free ( You have to wear a bike helmet) The same bike with an engine requires registration ( one time) and you have to wear a DOT approved motorcycle helmet ( Like I am really going to do that on my old-guy, 14 MPH trike!) Lipo's are big, heavy, and expensive. The potential energy in a liter of gasoline is so much higher than a batteries weight, I did not want to tempt the laws of thermodynamics! I have had offers to buy the bike from strangers just seeing it, and one day soon I may take them up on that and build an all-electric for my grocery-getter.

 

[KCvale]

I suppose at 6-3, and 220 pounds, I could be called a heavy load....
I have had offers to buy the bike from strangers just seeing it, and one day soon I may take them up on that...

Funny, that's how I got started.
I built my first MB for store runs, and on my 3rd run a guy outside the store admiring it offered me $550 on the spot to take it.
I walked home with my grocery bag and ordered 2 more kits ;-}

...and build an all-electric for my grocery-getter.

Or gas getter for the gas bikes...

My first trike build and I had just got all the parts working but not the 'battery box' done, and we ran out of gas at the shop.
If you do go electric you might want to read this long topic http://kcsbikes.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=497
I document everything of my first E-trike build there.

 

[hardtai69]

owwww.

those lil 4wire RR units, as common on scooters, pitbikes etc...that is the weirdest description of how they work ive read, yet!

ac goes in via two wires, white and yellow.

dc comes out via the other two wires, black and red.

black is universal earth.

the battery is for starter motors, horns, etc.

lights run on AC happily. small bikes use current limited generators, that will produce a fairly constant power output despite changing rpm. they will always dim at idle to a certain degree.

some run lights from the battery, some dont. that lil RR unit is still common to em all!

the regulator requires a minimum of 4 volts more than its regulated output to regulate.

the ac supplied to the rectifier should be at least 20 volts. this is rectified to dc, then regulated to the standard 14.4 volts for charging lead acid batteries.

most bottle dynamos, in my experience, produce 6volts AC... maybe things have changed since then?


but. they are a current limited generator. they are designed to only produce so many volts at such a current at all rpm above a certain lower limit. this is to do with magnet strength, armature core thickness, and number of windings. they produce so much current, then there simply isnt enough magnetic field to produce anymore, no matter how fast you spin them. they wont produce any more WATTS than they are rated for.

only complete reenginering will fix them. change the magnets to windings and pump some current in there!

(interesting to stick a large neo on the casing in certain spots)


anyway, the standard 6vac ...that rectifies to about 7.2 volts DC... which quickly drops when any load is placed on the output... but ok for a 6v SLA.

you could try making a voltage doubler, which lowers the current available again...

regulators. one is a shunt type, one is switched.

the shunt has a standard bridge rectifier, delivering a standard DC voltage. that DC is regulated to a fixed voltage, while excess power is dumped into a "shunt" resistor, producing heat.

the bigger a load you run, the less heat they produce. brilliant cheap, common, effective.

a switched regulator uses a bridge rectifier made from FETs. normally, nothings on, theres no output at all. the FETs simply are switched on when required. as soon as the voltage/current reaches required level, FET is switched off again.

its called "pulse width modulation" or "duty cycle regulation" depending on the system.

voltage through an "open" circuit from generator doesnt produce heat.

there is no "dumping" of excess power.

unit runs cool to touch, despite change of load.

expensive

for what you guys are doing, a simple diode bridge, and a 7812 regulator, good for 1 amp...

Hello all i am in a fix. I built a motorcycle from scratch. Frame. girder front end . fendrs. and tank. It has disc brakes front and rear. and is based around a predator 212cc engine that has been hopped up to about 18 horsepower. I want to put headlights tail light, turn signals. and horn. and try to get it road legal. But I am electrically challenged. I need a wiring diagram with no starter circuit, and using a 12 volt dc generator i bought that will run off the drive chain. I would like it to have a battery. I am thinking of using a gell battery. and I need to know what regulator i should use also. Thank you.

 

[HeadSmess]

Hello all i am in a fix. I built a motorcycle from scratch. Frame. girder front end . fendrs. and tank. It has disc brakes front and rear. and is based around a predator 212cc engine that has been hopped up to about 18 horsepower. I want to put headlights tail light, turn signals. and horn. and try to get it road legal. But I am electrically challenged. I need a wiring diagram with no starter circuit, and using a 12 volt dc generator i bought that will run off the drive chain. I would like it to have a battery. I am thinking of using a gell battery. and I need to know what regulator i should use also. Thank you.

hijacking threads is a crime worthy of execution.

start your own thread, and add some detail, such as...what sort of DC generator?

forget the gel cells, use liion batteries, 18650 or whatever they are. get the ones with the protection circuits so you dont have to even consider regulators. 3 will give you 11.1 volts, good enough for a 12v system. they will charge with roughly 14 volts, what a decent generator should actually produce.

3 sets of these, wired 2parallel, 3 series will give you the 12v, with 5000mah. capable of dumping 40 amps.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2xSamsu...272604370616?_trksid=p2385738.m4383.l4275.c10

doesnt say if they are protected or not. make sure they ARE before buying. buy reputable brand names, not cheap chinese nonamers.