# turning a generator into a turbine



## stephen5000 (Aug 4, 2011)

Hi all

I picked up a cheap generator 110v/220v outlets and was wondering if there was anyway of removing the engine component and replacing it with another (free)source of power such as windturbine power to excite the whole process instead of it being dependant on the petrol engine!?

its a honda engine apparently capable of around 4kw of juice and other than its an ec2500 cx i dont now much about it!

I brought it cheap because the previous owner was slow!!and didnt realise it was not producing power because one of the two brushes was snapped off and the other was most likly too small!
I have a guy making a replacement set of brushes and if that gets the spark back into the sockets then i am looking for other source methods bar the petrol combustion side of the magic!!

would the componants work connected to a windturbine so the blades produce the spinning motion?

maybe im off in lar lar land but it seems like a nice setup for a tranfusion into a turbine or am i going to have problems(too little power/too much)

would i have to reconfigure the windings in the stator etc etc??

any help id happiley take folks

many thanks

steve


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## Turtle (Dec 10, 2009)

Well, I am certainly no electrical engineer.... or mechanical engineer... or even the sort of engineer who drives trains.....

I suppose, in theory, all you need is a way to spin the armature enough to generate electricity. I have no idea how much torque you might need, but one assumes that it would be possible to multiply whatever manual power you are putting in to it through a series of gears. I'm sure some geek could give you the ratios needed to measure what speed it would have to turn in order to generate the necessary power, and from there it would be a matter of measuring how fast your impeller would have to turn. Then, find what gear ratio you would need to make those two numbers work.

Now, with all of that said.... It may be more reliable (and ultimately cheaper) to just buy a wind turbine. If you are jerry-rigging a hodge-podge of mechanisms together, how much can you really trust it, as opposed to a system which is designed for that purpose? I'm not saying that you shouldn't try it, just some food for thought.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

you can hook it to a turbine BUT it is designed to operate at a specific speed, likley 3600 rpm, so you would need a complicated drive system to make it work. a heavy duty automotive alternator with a battery and inverter would be way easier, and keep the honda for back up or sell it to offset the costs.


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

Instead of trying to make it work on a wind turbine, you could consider hooking it to a water-wheel (if that is possible) that has a steady flow - a transmission to bring the armature up to the required speed and then you should be good.

Wind is very sporadic in most places - here where I live it goes from 0 to 120km/h (80mph) - right now it is calm, very calm outside. A few days ago I was riding my motorbike through tornado winds to get home. Found out why my bike was leanin' at 45° to the ground when I got home - three seperate tornado's touched down that day ... :gaah:


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## Turtle (Dec 10, 2009)

NaeKid said:


> Instead of trying to make it work on a wind turbine, you could consider hooking it to a water-wheel (if that is possible) that has a steady flow - a transmission to bring the armature up to the required speed and then you should be good.
> 
> Wind is very sporadic in most places - here where I live it goes from 0 to 120km/h (80mph) - right now it is calm, very calm outside. A few days ago I was riding my motorbike through tornado winds to get home. Found out why my bike was leanin' at 45° to the ground when I got home - three seperate tornado's touched down that day ... :gaah:


Oooh, good call. Much more dependable source.


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## Nadja (Jan 12, 2011)

Since I do have a wind generator, I can tell you that you are not going to get it to work. Most wind gennie's have to turn at least 150mph before they even cut in. Once they cut in , then they will only produce 1 -2 amps unless the wind kicks up. Wind gennies are never a good source for total power, as they are too variable according to the wind. Speed on the other hand, on your generator is critical to operate at correct voltage and Htz. Anything more then a + or - of about 2 hertz from 60 htz will destoy motors , like in refers etc.


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## ZoomZoom (Dec 18, 2009)

Welcome to the forum.

I wouldn't suggest trying to come up with an alternate power source either, for the reasons already mentioned. I can't think of an alternate source that could even be created for a reasonable price compared to just feeding it petrol.


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## stephen5000 (Aug 4, 2011)

Well it seems the brushes are not the problem

i am not getting any power still and i see no spark around the brushes during testing so im left with two possibilitys..

the spark unit
or the gaps in the big round bit inside the field as i know the brush tracks are clean and a1.

Thanks for the input guys about the windturbine and thats taken onboard !
with regards to the water system ,i have a small highland stream beside the house that runs all the time but i dont consider it strong enough to provide the right input to produce good output!(i have considered rigging a smalltime motor system to run my garage lights from it but i was preocupied with a vawt system to catch the wind that rushes through a windtrap area past my house(above garage)to run backup systems of my house or store in batterys..

i live below a very large hill leading to a mountain and the wind rushes through an area alittle like water through a trench and the rest is disturbed by the hillaround 5-7.8 wind speed estimates)

was looking at building a vawt ontop of the garage roof to trap the wind in this funnel area and using rubber mounts for vibrations and wall supports as strengh..

the genny i will most liky keep intact(when fixed)and add it into the house via a tranfer switch system in the fuse box..

its amazing how we are all dependant on flicking a switch for power untill its out and then its back to an era we are just not prepared for anymore(bar having candles/gas camping cookers etc)


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f16/mini-hydro-anyone-donig-472/index2.html

the commutator probably needs undercut

check the brush ring for carbon tracking with a megger


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

First, automotive alternators are EXTREMELY difficult to make work WELL as a wind energy source. Some have make successful water turbines, though.

The best wind turbine is one you make yourself. A Scot named Hugh Piggott designed an "axial flux" design which has been VERY successful in many locations arond the world.

I searched his named and came up with numerous hits:

Hugh Piggott's home page

Calendar | Event detail :: Hugh Piggott Workshop 2011

Notes on Building and Testing Hugh Piggott's Axial Flux Wind Generator

Wind Power Workshop by Hugh Piggott

The Welcome to OTHERPOWER.COM website has numerous guides and tips for construction, and has parts available.


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## labotomi (Feb 14, 2010)

A 5.3hp motor would be required to run a 4KW generator IF it were 100% efficient which isn't possible in the real world.

A wind or water system would have to be massive to produce that kind of power.

You would also need a way to control speed of the turbine as the output frequency of the generator would have to be maintained at 50Hz (UK). A higher frequency output is bad enough but a lower frequency output will quickly destroy any electrical motors being fed.



If the generator has not been used in a long time, it may have lost it's residual magnetism for the rotor field. You could try running the generator and plugging in an electric drill, squeeze the trigger on the drill and the chuck a quick twist. This should generate a little bit of power back to the generator to excite the generator field windings. After this the generator should start producing power again so be careful not to get caught by the drill.

If it works, let it run for a while and it should build up enough magnetism to not require this procedure in the future.

Good luck


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