Cheap home made generator

Fort, good info and warning on the mower-powered genny. I had been thinking of trying it, as I have two old mowers for engine use. BUT..... since I have 'retired' my Toyota Tercel, I have been thinking seriously of using it's 4-cyl 3E-E motor with that big 10KW head for a 'whole-house' genny, mounted on a concrete slab. Will also buy a smaller genny for camping use.

 

Now that's cool!

If you were in NC, you'd have to do it the good ol' boy way (by law).
That is, you leave the toyota up on blocks, with high grass growing around it and jury rig the axle to generator head with a motorcycle chain. Make sure the toyota has a good coat of primer before even attempting.
Do not forget the suicide cord.

 

Hey, we ARE bubbas down here - of course she's up on blocks!

 

I'm getting the orbitrac or a room exercise bike...plus DC motor, plus car alternator. I wouldn't feel comfortable with roaring generator in the back yard...this is silent, effective, and you plus get the benefit of exercising. And no need of fuel stocking. I'll be also buying some ordinary bikes with some carry boxes on them...

 

Does anyone know where some good diagrams are. I have very recently moved back to the farm I grew up on and being so isolated I need this. Your articles are so good I copy and pasted them in word. Thanks in advance. BBL

 

As I drive a forklift at work I feel I should mention, that a Forklift battery has added weight in it so they generally weigh about 4,000 pounds!

 

Humans survived for millenia without power. Look into how they did it, and save yourself a lot of hassle, expense, and risk. The toolmaking, etc, better have already been done when shtf. After a year or so, and order is restored (or nearly everyone is dead, the tools will be lying there, waiting to be picked up. Learn how to press oils out of peanuts and soybeans, and run diesel generators on such fuels, as the Chinese do today. Where are all the steel knives, axes, saws, hammers, etc supposed to go if shtf? Even if they are in fires, the handles can be replaced, the tool will still be functional. So all you will need to do is move around and gather them up. So many will be dead that lots of stuff will be available, no cost.

 

Not all shtf scenarios end in mass dead. Read the thread about Argentina.

 

Sure, we can 'survive' without power. But with a little ingenuity, one can have power and THRIVE. No need to go back to the stoneage.

 

blueprint or link to plans has disappeared

I tried viewing the thread in different ways, but I couldn't find the link to the plans. Only the discussion (very helpful but baseless without a reference.)

BTW - this is a GREAT site! Thank you to all those who have contributed this info.

 

The problem is that using a car altenator with a gas engine from say a lawn mower, is that you will waste much more gas then you will get power. You can buy a cheap gennie for about the same cost and get far more use from it. Already makes ac and some also make dc

 

I'm afraid anybody who thinks they can run a bicycle generator AND do all the work necessary to keep themselves fed and secure during a SHTF scenario is vastly over-rating themselves. Not to mention "doesn't require fuel" is a fallacy. The fuel your body requires goes up greatly trying to do that kind of exercise, and if food isn't plentiful, you don't have the energy, literally. In medieval times, people mostly spent the winter in bed, huddled together, lethargic and accomplishing little. Read "A World Lit Only By Fire" for some perspective.

 

Ordinary cars only have small output alternators. Police cars/ambulances/trucks have 100+ amp ones because of higher electrical demands. When a bud was building his cabin he used ordinary light bulbs run off his car battery. Even when he went to sleep with the "lights on" his car still cranked the next morning.

 

Regulator

I would think a voltage regulator could be of help to block excess voltage.

 

cars with power windows and such have higher wattages, you can also add a zener diode as a voltage limiter

 

Haven't seen anyone talk about the batteries. Batteries should NEVER be taken down past 50%. If you do, you have just brought the life down by half. Rule of thumb is 60%. So if your set up works out that you have one battery and it will go below 50% by time recharge takes place, you need 2 batteries.