[RE-wrenches] Off Grid Battery Charging

Sat Mar 25 07:21:39 PDT 2023

That quantifies it. With 746 W being 1 horsepower, a top cyclist can
produce a bit less than 1 horsepower for several minutes before
exhaustion. 

This demonstrates how much power a solar array produces. A moderate
array produces more power than is expended in a bicycle race with a team
of seasoned athletes, even more power than a team of work horses. 

Thanks, 

Drake 

_Drake Chamberlin_ 

_Athens Electric LLC_ 

_Ohio Electrical Contractor's License 44810_ 

_CO Master Electrician's License 4526_ 

_NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional_

---

On 2023-03-23 18:19, Kienan Maxfield via RE-wrenches wrote:

> On the topic of producing energy by pedaling... 
> 
> Olympic Cyclist Vs. Toaster: Can He Power It? [1] 
> youtube.com [1] 
> 
> Cheers, 
> Kienan 
> 
> Green-Go Solar Distribution LLC 
> 
> Maxfield Solar LLC (installation and consulting company) 
> 
> maxfieldsolar at hotmail.com [2] 
> 
> (801) 631-5584(Cell) 
> 
> www.distribution.solar 
> 
>> On Mar 16, 2023, at 4:50 PM, jay via RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
> 
> HI Brad, 
> 
> I was just about to hit send on those exact wattages, yes completely agree. 
> 
> As a sort of joke,  the self discharge of the batteries is probably more than what she could make in a day. 
> 
> Jay 
> 
> On Mar 16, 2023, at 4:29 PM, Bradley Bassett via RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote: 
> 
> I tried this back in the 1970's with an exercise bike and a high efficiency generator (still have this if anyone wants it). If I pushed hard I could get it up to 200W, but only sustain about 100W. The only time I used it is when my battery was depleted and I wanted to watch TV. I had a 12VDC 5" B&W TV (so cute), so I would pedal like crazy during the commercials and it would just make it to the next commercial. It was way too loud to do it while watching. I eventually got a generator setup from Backwoods. 
> 
> Brad 
> 
> On Thu, Mar 16, 2023 at 3:11 PM Ray Walters via RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote: As I recall from pushing the "wayback" button, Backwoods and Real Goods 
> used to sell something like that in the 90s.  I would only see a 
> pyschological benefit, based on the system size. I recall that the 
> charge rate was less than 50 watts, so its really not going to be worth 
> wiring into the system.  Maybe she could do what several folks have 
> done: power a TV while you pedal.  Anyway, here is device that might do 
> it:   https://www.econvergence.net/ [3]
> 
> Ray Walters
> Remote Solar
> 
> On 3/16/2023 3:58 PM, Larry Brown via RE-wrenches wrote:
>> Wrenches
>> 
>> I have a client that we did an off grid system for about 4 years ago
>> The system is performing well
>> The client would like to keep charged her batteries in the winter with her stationary bicycle operating a small generator
>> Right now she uses a grid connection that was available and she turns on a breaker if needed to charge the batteries in the winter through the inverter
>> When the batteries are fully charged she turns the breaker back off
>> No need for any back up other times of year
>> That is the only use of the grid
>> 
>> Her request was to be off grid
>> This set up eliminated the need for her to have a generator for winter low light conditions
>> So far all is working as designed
>> But there is talk of adding a gas generator so that if the grid is down, there is a back up available
>> 
>> The system has 16- AGM Concorde SunXtener Batteries configured in 2 strings of 8 batteries per string
>> They are PVX 3050T 6 volt batteries operating at 48VDC
>> They are charged from the PV Array by 2- Schneider Conext MPPT 80 600 Charge Controllers
>> The system has a Schneider Conext XW+ 5548 Single Inverter
>> 
>> Any thoughts or ideas of what equipment can be matched with a stationary bicycle that might give a trickle charge to the battery bank
>> Anyone ever played with setting this up?
>> She wants to try this out and see what is possible
>> Get some winter exercise and perhaps keep the batteries as close to full without using the grid or a back up gas generator
>> 
>> All suggestions welcome
>> 
>> Thanks
>> Larry
>> 
>> Larry Brown
>> Sun Mountain
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
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Links:
------
[1] https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S4O5voOCqAQ
[2] https://maxfieldsolar@hotmail.com/
[3] https://www.econvergence.net/
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