I spend a lot of time pedaling an electric generator and washing clothes. But I spend even more time
teeter tottering. And people say some pretty interesting things while riding my teeter totter.
Above is a sampling. Click on the big HD in the left hand corner for details on that enterprise.
But if you arrived here hoping to find some information on pedal-powered electricity generation, this is the right place.
Building A Green Life:
Make a cleaning kit of non-toxic, earth-friendly cleaning products at this hands-on workshop. Jason Bing of Recycle Ann Arbor will show you how. Supplies will be provided and everyone leaves with a kit to take home.
SUDS on the River:
Enjoy the Huron River, while tasting locally-brewed beers courtesy of Arbor Brewing, Jolly Pumpkin, Grizzly Peak, and Wolverine. Right on the river at the home of Paul Courant and Marta Manildi, there'll be SUDS, food galore, and the best new music from Ann Arbor's Great Lakes Myth Society. Event Details
Tickets must be purchased in advance by calling Margaret Smith at 734-769-5123 x 19 or sending email to msmith@hrwc.org. Membership not required, but if you're looking for a reason to join the HRWC, this is it. There's a substantial discount for HRWC members!
The mission of the Council is to inspire attitudes, behaviors, and economies that protect, rehabilitate, and sustain the Huron River system.
Follow online the steady stream of our Huron River and watershed events, and we think you'll eventually find yourself joining us for one!
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Organizational Engineering Institute
Find out what Homeless Dave discovered on the Teeter-Totter. How you process information determines what you can and cannot do. It sets what you are good at and maybe not so good at.
As a celebration of our Teeter-Totter ride, we are offering a free basic analysis to any reader who asks for it. You can see what you will get by clicking here.
Thinking about a Teeter-Totter ride with Homeless Dave? Want to know how you might mesh with him? Here is your chance to find out for free.
The 24-question instrument takes about 5 minutes to finish. Here is a sample item.
In downtown Ann Arbor on the corner of Ashley and Liberty, Old Town Tavern features a casual, relaxed atmosphere, full menu specializing in homemade soups and sandwiches, Southwestern entrees, daily specials and the best burgers in Ann Arbor!
The Old Town is a great place to hear live music in Ann Arbor--every Sunday night from 8:00pm to 10:00pm. Sunday Music at the Old Town features diverse local talent.
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Roos Roast Coffee
John Roos roasts every batch of coffee by hand, and bags it up in a block-printed bag with his own hand-crafted designs. So inside and out, every bag is a work of art. If you want to buy coffee and get free bicycle delivery in Ann Arbor, John Roos is your man.
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Books by Chance
Too many books?
We'll take'em all. Sell what we can. Send you a check. And donate the rest.
This page provides documentation of the electricity-generating module of a pedal power station that does two things: (i) spins a washing machine tub to extract water from hand-washed clothes (ii) generates electricity.
The 2-minute video here shows moving pictures of both modules at work. Documentation of the laundry spinning module is on a separate page.
Neither the laundry spinning nor the pedal-powered electricity projects are meant as 'proof of concept' demonstrations for educational purposes. Rather, they reflect a regular routine of living that I've found works out pretty well for me.
DIY Power Station: Overview
DIY Power Station: Electrical Parts and Sources
Diode (in this case a 25A, 50V Full-Wave Bridge Rectifier)
as of January 2008 available from RadioShack for $3.29
Ultra Capacitor (BPAK0058-E015-B1)
as of January 2008 available from Tecate Group for
$185.00
Battery (marine deep cycle)
as of January 2008 available from BatteriesPlus for
$59.99
Watt Meter (WattsUp) as of January 2008 available from
PowerWerx for
$59.95
DC motor (E200 Razor scooter motor) as of January 2008 available from RazoRama for
$35.95
Considerations for Pedal-Powered Electricity: a Pessimist's View
Pedaling a machine to generate a power output of 100 Watts continuously for an hour is a tough workout, even for people who consider themselves fit.
A modern, energy-efficient, family-sized refrigerator will use at least 365 kW per year.
Pedaling an hour every day at 100 Watts for a year (an insanely optimistic goal) would yield 36.5 kW, or only 10 percent of the electricity required to run a refrigerator.
Pedaling an indoor stationary unit indoors for an hour (without using electricity to run a fan, or power a TV) can be excruciatingly unpleasant, because sweat will pour off your body in rivulets, and you will experience unimaginable, mind-numbing boredom.
Turning pedals to generate electricity as a regular part of your daily routine may earn you no end of derision and scorn, even from people who know and love you.
Considerations for Pedal-Powered Electricity: an Optimist's View
Routine generation of electricity through your own physical effort will reflexively result in 'pedaling hours' as your mental metric for evaluating electricity usage, and that will translate into greater mindfulness, hence reduction in electricity use.
A routine physical workout has health benefits independent of the amount of electricty generated.
Peace of mind results from knowing that in a power outage, you will still have the ability to power small household electronic devices like a laptop computer, a cell phone charger, a radio, a TV, etc. that will lessen the impact of such an outage.
