Alternate Energy MENU: HOME » Reconstruction » Recovery » Renewal » Energy Types Alternate Energy Table of Contents: Overview: On Alternate Energy. The problems of producing your own. Electricity: Make your own We have built many of our own generators. Here we tell you how to do it - using wind, water, bicycles and other means. Bikes: Not just for riding Bikes are a very much overlooked energy source. They can be used to operate all sorts of machines and they can be used to generate electricity. Smokemobile: Woodgas Detailed plans for running your tractor, truck, car or bus on wood. This is a tried and proven method used in Europe during the Second World War when there was a gasoline shortage. Much improved design since then. There is also a copy of the old method available in .pdf (for which you need a pdf reader) Biofuel: Grow it on the farm Biofuels are used as a substitute for diesel. They can be grown and processed on the farm. They do not require a still. Stills: Make your own fuel from potatoes, corn, etc. These are a bit trickier and at the present generally illegal, or at the very minimum you can get into a lot of legal hassle. Solar: Using the sun for energy. While it is impractical to home build solar cells for generating electricity, solar is great for cooking and file:///C:/CDROMs/SCDR-2/Prophecykeepers/POST-...R-WAR/b_recovery/3_alternate_energy/energy.htm (1 of 2) [9/12/2004 4:00:35 PM] Alternate Energy other applications like heating water. Click here to return to the Individual Agriculural Recovery After Nuclear Holocaust The Problem of Producing Your Own There are many problems in developing and installing independent power systems. For one thing the government is not helpful. To say the least. It is not just our project that finds these hurdles but many others have been stopped also. In the second previous century our local water courses were used for power but in the last hundred years everything possible has been done to prevent their use, including dynamiting what was the main local power producing dam. The government centralized production for economies of scale and did not want competition. Then during the depression when costs were such that the farmers could not afford the electricity from the monopoly the farmers again started a generator at the dam and this is when the system was taken back over by the government and the dam dynamited. With all the surplus rotting potatoes in the area we might also make a still and produce fuel for our diesel generators. But, presently, there is a $100,000 annual fine for doing so. We will simply have to wait for a more propitious time. Click here to return to the Table of Contents MENU: HOME » Reconstruction » Recovery » Renewal » Energy Types file:///C:/CDROMs/SCDR-2/Prophecykeepers/POST-...R-WAR/b_recovery/3_alternate_energy/energy.htm (2 of 2) [9/12/2004 4:00:35 PM] Electricity MENU: HOME » Reconstruction » Recovery » Renewal » Energy Types Electricity Make Your Own Table of Contents: Overview: On Making Your Own Electricity. An overview of the efficiency of different methods of electrical energy generation and the key to comprehending just how much power you are making. Bike: Pedal Power DON'T plan to hook it up to a car generator. You just can't pedal fast enough. Here are several designs. We have built ten pedal power generators for use in the Ark Two shelter. You will see a picture of me actually pedaling one of them and lighting ten 12v florescent trouble lights. Nice trick. Good for exercise. But worse than the old galley ship oars for effort. And I don't know where you are going to get that many slaves. Still there are some applications for bike generators and key to their success are the low RPM generators that I discuss next. Low RPM: How to make low RPM generators! The difficulty with most generators is that you have to turn them too fast before they start generating power. These generators are neat because they put out power at low rpm and so will work with a bicycle, a low head water source, or lower wind power. Lawnmower: Turn your lawnmower into a generator Yep, turn your old gas lawnmower into a generator. This is also where you can use a car generator / alternator. Now if you can just find some gasoline to run the lawnmower. Wind: If you have a good windy location. We have built eight of these wind powered electrical generators. In fact at this writing we are still making the blades. Can't put them up, however, because the neighbors think the sound of the wind on the blades might be too noisy. Have gone to lots of other sites and looked at ones that others have built. Waterpower: You should be so lucky file:///C:/CDROMs/SCDR-2/Prophecykeepers/POST-NUCL...ery/3_alternate_energy/electricity/electricity.htm (1 of 4) [9/12/2004 4:00:40 PM] Electricity Same problem with waterpower today. We have designed systems for our two generation sites and would like to put them in the water - but the government won't let us. It is not just us - lots of people presently run into that problem, but anyway you can look at our system and we will discuss some aspects of water power. We are very fortunate to have two good water sources and although we can't use them today - things may be different when the time comes. Motors: Running it backwards Surprise! Surprise! Yep motors take electricity to run - BUT if you run them BACKWARDS, they put out electricity. The trick is to find something that will run them backwards. Wind or water can do it- for example. Diesel: Lets not forget the big guys. Probably the best we have got - if we can keep them running for parts and such - and can get or make fuel for them. Batteries: Saving energy for future use. Usually a key component with alternative energy systems is battery storage. Because the alternative energy systems often do not generate high volume it is usually essential to store energy generated during low usage periods for use during high usage periods. Overview Making Your Own Electricity The Relative Efficiency of Methods What Watts? One measure that you want to have clearly in your mind when you start considering electrical generating systems is that of watts. Just take a few minutes to this through if it is not something with which you are already familiar. It is easiest to think in terms of light bulbs. A one hundred watt light bulb uses uses 100 watts of electricty per hour. A thousand watt generator would puts out a thousand watts in an hour and would therefore light 10 of these light bulbs. A four thousand (which is to say a 4K) generator would light 40 of them. Keep that in mind as you read through the following descriptions. Alternative Sources of Electricity file:///C:/CDROMs/SCDR-2/Prophecykeepers/POST-NUCL...ery/3_alternate_energy/electricity/electricity.htm (2 of 4) [9/12/2004 4:00:40 PM] Electricity There are numbers of ways of building your own electrical generators. Let me explain briefly my concepts about power generation, in order of effiiciency. a. The most efficient way to get electric power, is to buy it from the power company. Economies of scale make them by far the lowest cost source. The only reasons to have your own power generation are (1) you are too far from the grid (2) you need a back-up in case the grid is down (3) you are very dedicated to some other purpose such as survival, conservation, or innovation. These latter are definitely going to cost you money. b. The second most efficient way to get electric power, for most people, will likely be to have a diesel or gasoline generator. A diesel combined with a battery storage unit can be relatively efficient in providing reliable power but it takes considerably more commitment than simply paying a bill to the electric company each month. The cost of putting in a substantial system for full off grid use will run between 20K and 40K. We have two diesel generators at the Ark. One is a 75KW and the other a 25KW. With the cost of diesel fuel and maintenace it costs about ten times as much to generate power with them as to buy it from the power company. Still they are main emergency mainstay. The 75KW will light about 750 (100 watt) light bulbs. Do the math. 75KW means 75,000 watts which divided by 100 watts per bulb gives us 750 bulbs which can be lit. In practice, we of course do lots of other things other than light bulbs. We run water and sewage pumps, big air fans, stoves and microwaves, and charge batteries, whenever we are running it. c. The third most efficient way is with water power. In fact this might be the preferred way but most people will not have an adequate water source. The operative words are HEAD and FLOW. Head is the height that the water falls from and 100 feet is considered reasonable. The higher the better. Flow, the amount of water, is the other factor. Low head systems have been problematical but some people feel they have found a solution. I am no exception. I think the solution is low RPM (Revolutions Per Minute) generators with nozzles on the driving waterwheel to efficiently direct the water force. Unfortunately, the government won't let me try out my theory - but I have everything together ready to try when circumstances change. A useful system for complete household use is probably going to cost over 40K to install. A system on our big falls might produce 40KW and this would be 24 hours per day - without any additional cost of fuel. So yes, because we have such an excellent water source, it would pay for itself. However, when you add in the cost of trying to battle the government to put it in - then in becomes useless. d. The fourth most efficient way to generate electricity is with wind. Wind is much less efficient than water because in most places it does not blow that constantly. Our little wind generators will produce about 400+ watts each (think in terms of four 100 watt bulbs) and since I am planning to put up 8 of them I will get in the neighborhood of what we would get from our one little 5KW gasoline generator. Most people would not have room for such a windmill farm such as we do, and fortuitously located on the highest hill around. Still the installation of the eight windmills will be around 15K to 20K. You can buy a good 5KW generator for one tenth the price - so you can see what I mean by putting this down as the file:///C:/CDROMs/SCDR-2/Prophecykeepers/POST-NUCL...ery/3_alternate_energy/electricity/electricity.htm (3 of 4) [9/12/2004 4:00:40 PM] Electricity fourth most (actually less) efficient way of generating electricity. But if the power company isn't working and you can't get gasoline then this may be the way to go. e. The fifth most efficient way is with solar cells. This technology has come a long, long way in the last few years but still remains so inefficient that it would take over 100 years for a system to pay for itself, and in fact it undoubtedly never would if you included what the investment would earn elsewhere in interest and take into consideration that the system will physically depreciate before that length of time. One great draw back to solar cells is that the sun only shines half the day, and because of annual position of the earth and blockage by clouds, in many places your are lucky to get power 20% of the time. Unless you are out in space with sunlight 24/7 or have some very low power need at a remote location - forget it. f. There are a great many other ways to generate electricity. Waves, thermal heat, animal power (the bicycles), chemical methods, nuclear, hydrogen generators, steam boilers, a great variety of fuels and so on and on. But none of these, and most of the above, are not practical for most individuals. Completely forget the many cons that are going around about getting free electricity from machines being suppressed by the oil companies, the government, and giant corporations. I have looked into these extensively for many years - and there is nothing to them as great as the stories sound. If there were a cheaper way to generate electricity the Japanese or the Russians or the Chinese would do it and no US companies would be able to stop them. Engineers in other countries are not dummies and would greatly love to have the electrical power in order to keep up with American productivity. Click here to return to the Table of Contents MENU: HOME » Reconstruction » Recovery » Renewal » Energy Types file:///C:/CDROMs/SCDR-2/Prophecykeepers/POST-NUCL...ery/3_alternate_energy/electricity/electricity.htm (4 of 4) [9/12/2004 4:00:40 PM] Low RPM Generators MENU: HOME » Reconstruction » Recovery » Renewal » Energy Types Low RPM Generators This is the main page on this site regarding the construction of generators. While many of the examples are regarding wind driven generators, the principles regarding the generators themselves apply equally to other motive sources. Anyone contemplating building a low rpm generator should look through all the sources on this page. Those persons specifically building a wind generator should also look at our "WIND" page which has on it many things specific to wind generators such as towers, blades, tails and testing them. Comparison of Generators and Alternators Most generators and alternators (like off of a car) need to revolve at around 1800 rpm (that is they have to make 1800 revolutions per minute in order to generate power) and it is often difficult to get a third of that speed with most homemade wind, water or other sources. Overview: Comparison of Alternators and Generators SEALED: Comparison of Alternators and Generators This is the SEALED mirrored version of this site that won't be opened until after The Great Catastrophe. Low RPM Generators and Alternators Since the difficulty with most generators is that you have to turn them too fast before they start generating power these low RPM ones are neat because they put out power at low rpm and so will work with a bicycle, a low head water source, or lower wind power. The low RPM generators will start generating power at around 100 rpm and remain efficient up to about 600 rpm. Their "sweet spot" is often around 400 rpm but it will vary from generator to generator. SEALED: Wooden Low RPM Alternators (SEALED) This is a SEALED mirrored site that won't be opened until after The Great Catastrophe. This and the link following give more information about building wooden generators. Much of the information is available through the open links. SEALED: Alternator from Scratch (SEALED) file:///C:/CDROMs/SCDR-2/Prophecykeepers/POST-NU...energy/electricity/all_low_rpm\low_rpm_index.htm (1 of 5) [9/12/2004 4:00:41 PM] Low RPM Generators This is a SEALED mirrored site that won't be opened until after The Great Catastrophe. The reason that they are mirrored here is that hopefully this way the information will be available later - even if the open links no longer are. Special plans are being made to protect to protect these pages and to distribute them afterwards. Brakedrum Generators and Alternators Brakedrum: Use the brakedrum off an old pickup truck to make a low RPM generator! Although the literature says these brakedrum generators are easy to make, we made ten of them and found it a considerable challenge. Nevertheless, they all worked reliably and are very durable. SEALED: brakedrum_update This is the SEALED mirrored version of this site that won't be opened until after The Great Catastrophe. Front Disk Generators and Alternators There seems to be a trend away from brakedrums to disks. Talking with Hugh Piggot, he tells me that he is writing a new book on this subject. Disk 1: Forcefield Low RPM Disk Alternator SEALED: Forcefield Low RPM Disk Alternator This is the SEALED mirrored version of this site that won't be opened until after The Great Catastrophe. Disk 2: Making a Volvo Front Brake Disk into a Generator More details from the same source - on the same idea. SEALED: Making a Volvo Front Brake Disk into a Generator This is the SEALED mirrored version of this site that won't be opened until after The Great Catastrophe. Wooden Generators and Alternators Some wind generator designs can be put together very quickly. You can carve less elegant blade designs in an hour or two. Some motors can be used as generators. People have gone out and stuck their wind file:///C:/CDROMs/SCDR-2/Prophecykeepers/POST-NU...energy/electricity/all_low_rpm\low_rpm_index.htm (2 of 5) [9/12/2004 4:00:41 PM] Low RPM Generators generators up on top of a hydro pole that is not being used. Hopefully the need is only temporary anyhow, until a more permanent source of electricty is re-established. These may not produce so much electricity as a metal based generator and may be not as durable but they may be more accessible for one of the main components. Simplest: Wood Axe This one is particularly fast to build. Even if you don't build it you should study this one because the pictures and explanation by Force Field are so excellent. SEALED: Wood Axe (SEALED) This is this SEALED mirrored site that won't be opened until after The Great Catastrophe. This and the two sealed links following give more information about building wooden generators. Much of the information is available through other open links. SEALED: Homebrew Windgenerator (SEALED) This is a SEALED mirrored site that won't be opened until after The Great Catastrophe. Much of the information is available through other open links. Wooden 2: all the plans and information for another wooden one BUT these are 9 pages of plans mirrored in .pdf format from Home Power Issue #88 are ones that you can download and print off NOW. Wooden 3: A key set of plans to study These are 49 mirrored pages of plans in .pdf format are ones that you can download and print off NOW. While you may not build this unit - you should definitely study these plans from Hugh Piggot because they give you details on many subjects such as how to build a coiler, the winding of a coil and how to wire the coils together. SEALED: Additional Info on Coils (SEALED) file:///C:/CDROMs/SCDR-2/Prophecykeepers/POST-NU...energy/electricity/all_low_rpm\low_rpm_index.htm (3 of 5) [9/12/2004 4:00:41 PM] Low RPM Generators This is a SEALED mirrored site that won't be opened until after The Great Catastrophe. Much of the information is available through other open links. On-line Info: Lots of info on build it yourself windmills This is a link to Hugh Piggot's website. Hugh lives in Scotland. This is probably the world's most authoritative source for build it yourself windmills. For those who look into it ahead of time they can get Hugh's book. We also have a .pdf file from Hugh (available on our low rpm generators page) - that gives LOTS of details. On-line Info: North American Source for Hugh's info. This is a link to Bob Budd's website. Bob has built lots of Hugh Piggot's brakedrum windmills, and he has put out a superb video on how to do it. I have watched the video many, many times with many people and have talked with Bob tens of times, and have gone to visit him and see his windmills in the process of our building ten generators ourselves. Other Generators and Alternators Microwave Oven: Making a Microwave Oven into a Generator This is a particularly neat idea and there are lots of neat ideas at the Windstuff Now site. SEALED: Making a Microwave Oven into a Generator This is the SEALED mirrored version of this site that won't be opened until after The Great Catastrophe. Testing Experiment: Testing your theories Here are some experiments done by another individual developing a low rpm generator. It is an example of the kind of approach that you may wish to take. Sealed: Testing your theories Same as above but sealed until after the Holocaust. MENU: HOME » Reconstruction » Recovery » Renewal » Energy Types file:///C:/CDROMs/SCDR-2/Prophecykeepers/POST-NU...energy/electricity/all_low_rpm\low_rpm_index.htm (4 of 5) [9/12/2004 4:00:41 PM] Low RPM Generators file:///C:/CDROMs/SCDR-2/Prophecykeepers/POST-NU...energy/electricity/all_low_rpm\low_rpm_index.htm (5 of 5) [9/12/2004 4:00:41 PM] Lawnmower MENU: HOME » Reconstruction » Recovery » Renewal » Energy Types Discover How To Easily Build a Portable Low Budget Power Generator " Using an old Lawn Mower and materials you can pick up locally and cheap" This is from another webpage which says that it is copyrighted but the links to Gemini didn't work and I will be happy to link them if I can find the source but a search on the Internet didn't turn it up. Here's an easy and inexpensive way to build your own personal power generator. It's a handy little back up system to protect your family from black outs, storms, Y2K, etc. Or, maybe you simply want to get away from it all for a while. It's always nice to know that you can produce your own power whenever and wherever you are. The following is a step by step tutorial. It shows you the parts you will need, the cost and the best places to get them. We then assemble the whole unit and wire it up, yes, we even include the wiring diagrams. The nice part about this unit is that the generator is built right into the lawn mower deck. You can even strap 2 or 3 batteries on the deck and steer the whole thing wherever you want to go. Aside from showing you how to build the "Low Budget Power Generator", we are also going to show you how to easily expand your system by using a couple of extra items that will let you maximize your power producing potential. We kept the explanations as clear as possible so that you can keep your time and labor to a minimum. Quite frankly, we wanted to have some fun putting these systems together and hopefully you will too. file:///C:/CDROMs/SCDR-2/Prophecykeepers/POST-NU...gy/electricity/lawnmower/generator/generator.htm (1 of 7) [9/12/2004 4:00:47 PM] Lawnmower We'll be the first ones to admit, these homemade units do have their limitations and they aren't pretty, but they are practical. If you want pretty, go out and spend a pile of your hard earned money on a generator. If you can find one. We have come up with 4 different ways to build these homemade generators depending on your preference of items, or the availability of parts in your area. We will use the complete lawn mower version for this tutorial. First off let's discuss using the vertical shaft lawn mower engine, complete with the mower deck, handle and the works. It's a great idea to build this generator on its own mower deck because you then have an instant transportation system built in. We'll also show you a neat little device you can use to help your generator operate under heavy loads a lot smoother. Mount this on the handle next to your throttle and you will have full control of your generator right at your finger tips. The Basic Parts You Will Need The Motor file:///C:/CDROMs/SCDR-2/Prophecykeepers/POST-NU...gy/electricity/lawnmower/generator/generator.htm (2 of 7) [9/12/2004 4:00:47 PM] Lawnmower To drive our project we are going to use what is probably the most common lawn mower engine around, the Briggs & Stratton vertical shaft four-stroke gas engine, in the 3 to 3.5 horsepower range. You will have to remove the cutting blade and replace it with a drive pulley. It's important that the motor shaft extend at least 1 ¼" out of the bottom of the motor, as you will want your pulley to clear any obstacles like the motor mounting bolts. Take a good look at the motor shaft, in most cases you have a 9/16" mounting bolt holding the cutting blade to a hub that's attached to the end of the motor shaft. The hub has a 3/16" key built in it to match the slot on the motor shaft, which is normally 7/8" in diameter. Make sure the motor shaft is keyed so that your pulley can be fastened securely. This will be the easiest set up you can find. If you run into a motor with a shaft that has only a threaded end and no key way, then walk away from this type of set up as it's way to much work and aggravation to attach a pulley to this type of shaft. The Alternator Automotive alternators are little power producing jewels that will be the heart of our systems. When driven by a lawn mower engine, we can produce a steady supply of quick, cheap and reliable power whenever we want. You can purchase alternators from Auto wreckers rebuilt or as is with a warranty for about $ 25. While shopping around for all the different makes of alternators, Ford, Chrysler etc. We found the GM alternator the most favorable for our systems. There are two types of GM alternators, one with a built in voltage regulator and the other with an external voltage regulator. Use only a GM style alternator with a Built in Voltage Regulator, as they are easier to wire up and work with. We had three main goals in mind when we built our generators. Build em' cheap, safe and simple. file:///C:/CDROMs/SCDR-2/Prophecykeepers/POST-NU...gy/electricity/lawnmower/generator/generator.htm (3 of 7) [9/12/2004 4:00:47 PM] Lawnmower We built our projects using two different alternators with a 40 and 65 amp output. You may also run into different size casings of GM alternators, we stuck with the most common sized casing which measures slightly over 6 ½ " at the mounting hole openings. Your alternator should come with a two-wire molded connector/harness that plugs into the casing. You need this connector to hook up your alternator properly later on. Make sure you have it when you purchase or salvage your alternator. If not, you can pick one up at an automotive supply shop for a couple of dollars (more on this later). The Power Inverter The inverter is an electronic device that converts low voltage DC (direct current) electricity from a power source into a standard 120 volt AC (alternating current) that we use in our homes. The power generated from our alternator is a low voltage DC usually around 14 volts. In order to maximize our power capabilities we are going to add an inverter to the system. Inverters are sized by the amount of wattage they can output. In the case of an emergency you will no doubt want to power some 120volt AC devices in and around your home. You will need to decide what you think is absolutely necessary to run during a power interruption and then calculate how much wattage (power) each device consumes. You can do this by finding the manufactures rating plate on the appliance you wish to operate. Take the amperage rating of the device and multiply this by the household voltage. Example: An appliance drawing 5 amps of current multiplied by the household voltage. (5 amps x 120 volts = 600 watts). Inverters start as small as 50 watts, and an average household would use an inverter anywhere between 2500 to 4000 watts for "normal everyday operation". Their price tags start at about $40 to approximately $1000 to $2000 for the average home. So the choice is up to you as to which size inverter is right for you. Just remember, your planning for an emergency. If you use good power management you can keep your power consumption to lower levels. Batteries file:///C:/CDROMs/SCDR-2/Prophecykeepers/POST-NU...gy/electricity/lawnmower/generator/generator.htm (4 of 7) [9/12/2004 4:00:47 PM]