Magic Pie / Smart Pie as Generator

[MrBulp]

hi guys,

anyone have try to make Magic Pie / Smart Pie as electric generator or dynamo?

may I know your setting especially the power inverter that you use to make it more stable & no power dropout during pedalling..

this is my screenshot.. I do have cheap non sine wave 12V power inverter attach to Magic Pie 5 thats been set to 24V..

[RooGM]

Sorry I can't help but I too would love to use my magic Pie as a power generator when I'm not riding it, particularly in the winter.  It can already charge my bike's battery via regenerative braking so it must be fairly easy to output this into other things like rechargeable power banks and such.  I have the K-Tor pedel generator at home but it puts out a steady 20 watts at 110v.  I wonder if I could produce a much higher wattage at 36v by pedalling on my Magic Pie 4.  I just don't want to damage the Magic Pie by trying this.  Is it as simple as taking the output from the connector that goes to the battery?  And just pedalling with the regen brake permanently on?  I will keep an eye on this thread.

[MrBulp]

Hi RooGM,

this is my setup actually.. just put Power inverter (without battery), cycle & attach any electrical devices...

for acoustics 1 man show, the power output thru inverter is about 20watt maximum as the singer didnt really shout or sing higher notes...

[RooGM]

That's very cool!

I have been using this as my pedal generator.  It has all the electronics built in and it's quite easy to pedal.  The circuitry allows for a range of pedalling speeds while keeping the output voltage constant, as humans cannot really pedal at a perfect consistent RPM.  It produces 120V DC at 20 watts and has a standard universal outlet socket.  Even though it's DC and not AC, many devices will run on 120V DC, such as electronic device chargers, CFL bulbs and LED lamps.  It's easy to pedal too, giving very little resistance.  I would love to be able to produce more power by pedal though and I know our legs are capable of producing much more than 20 watts.  What kind of power can you produce on your setup if you pedal hard?

[MrBulp]

nice device... but actually Magic Pie can produce more than 1500watt if you can pedal it..

well I can pedal up to 400watt (i think) since this EDGE monitor speaker being rated 400watt!

but its need to have at least 1 Lead Acid Battery for dummy in order to get consistent power supply from Magic Pie.. for below 20watt no need battery at all..

once id try to power up grinder.. rated 800watt.. success for only few seconds.. haha

[OCD]

You should join endless-sphere.com if you want more info and input. Best of luck! 

[MrBulp]

RooGM..

i have found the sollutions.. which is.. buy the 24v Power Inverter & set Magic Pie 5 to 24v.. thats it.. you will get stable power when reach the minimal power source (have to cycle about 20++kmh) to get around 80watts that can powered 2 desk fan..

[RooGM]

Hey that's great!  80 watts is a very useful output.  You could charge a lot of electronic devices at once with that output.  I like to charge as many of my devices (phone, camera, flashlight, usb power bank) as I can with my portable solar panels and sometimes with the K-Tor pedal generator but the K-tor is not that comfy to sit at for long periods, whereas a bike-based generator would be.  With the Magic pie a daily workout could charge up everything in one go and in a much shorter time than with solar.  20kmh with the drag of the big Magic Pie would be a tough workout though.

[MrBulp]

id already success test the conventional normal way to create generator using Magic Pie 5 hub... take out the controller & connect the 3 wires to Bridge Rectifier (35a 400v) then connect to inverter...

more power can get, I think with this method compare to connect inverter to Magic Pie internal controller..

[Ecobully]

There is video on the internet that shows someone using an older model GM hub motor sourced very inexpensively to accomplish power generation. It should be pretty good and efficient with these large motors as opposed to smaller ones. I think geared hub motors my provide even more generation with their reduction gears in addition to those on your bike.

Please remember that you will want to add a series of capacitors to smooth out your power delivery. This is useful so that you will have power still delivered to your inverter for a short period of time even if you do not pedal--depends on the number of capacitors you enable. Like a buffer.

@Mr. Bulp, that's pretty creative thinking. I hope you manage to make good use of it!

[Bikemad]

Take out the controller & connect the 3 wires to Bridge Rectifier (35a 400v) then connect to inverter...

A single three phase regulator would have made the wiring a lot easier:

(Click on image for more information)



And you would only need 5 wires/connectors instead of twelve, and just one regulator instead of three.

Although, your way does have some benefits - it doubles the current capability of each rectifier to 70 Amps and almost trebles the heat dissipation! 

I think your original suggestion of using a 12v battery as a buffer would be far more beneficial than using capacitors, as you could simply charge it up by pedalling while the inverter was not being used and it would hold the stored energy a lot longer than capacitors would.

Alan
 

[MrBulp]

hi Alan,

well.. I cant get yet that 3 phase bridge rectifier in 1 piece as you show there locally.. will update when I can get it..

id manage to cycle to support 170watts of power, a combination of empty blender & two desk fan.. in 24v its harder to maintain cycle 20kmh with the heavy resistant! haha

by the way.. great photo editing there Alan!

[Ecobully]

As Alan stated, a couple of 12V SLA batteries (in series) would be a great buffer and work well for storing some unused energy that is generated by your makeshift dynamo.

[RooGM]

I thought I'd give this a try and bought a 24V inverter.  The problem is my Magic Pie puts out 48v+ even when set to 24v in the software.  Is there something wrong with my Pie?  How are you getting yours to limit the voltage to 24v?  My power inverter shuts off when overvoltage is detected (28-32v).  I should add that I can get a 24v output if I have a multimeter hooked up and be careful with how much I'm pedalling but I don't think that's how you are doing it.  Shouldn't I just be able to pedal as hard as I am comfortable with and expect the voltage to stay close to 24v?

[MrBulp]

hi RooGM

have you success to settle your Magic Pie problem?

well.. last time when I still have my Magic Pie 4 Controller set at 48volt.. I hook it directly to 12volt 800watt (no sine wave stabilizer) sometimes I can get the "kick"... sometimes I cant.. what I do is I change the gear ratio of my racing bicycle.. sometimes I cycle very fast sometimes slow since I not yet have Magic Pie 4 display meter...

with Magic Pie 5... id just set it to 24v within app thru bluetooth thats after id upgrade / flash the firmware to the latest version (you can get it thru Golden Motor Canada)..

let the power switch on & change gear ratio until there is "kick"... well when you feel harden (resistant) then maintain the cycle speed & gear ratio that you use..

if your inverter have 2 led indicator 1 for power (usually green) will turn on no matter how strong you cycle & 1 more for power source (red led) this is the warning light for overvoltage & if the "battery" is full or not (you have to maintain cycle speed to make this led red light warning turn off)