Author:Imetomi ThomasMy name is Thomas and I am 15 so going now to high school. I wanna show you new ideas with my instructables. Hope you like it.
Intro: Device Charging with a Multi-turbine (on faucet, wind, bike, while sporting and etc.)I love every green energy gadgets and devices but they are specialized only for one electricity generator like a solar cell or a wind turbine. the wind turbine chargers arebig and they can't be used as a hydroturbine. I tried to make a waterproof multiturbine that can be powered by wind or by any flowing material like water. So I designedthis very small charger that can be installed on a faucet, on a bike, or in a river (or everywhere you want). Works well under your downspout or on your arm whilerunning. It charges a 3000 mAh Li-Ion battery but can be connected directly to your phone. Before we start you need to know that this instructable completes my solarcharger instructable but can be used separately too. The most of the parts that I used are salvaged from somewhere so this was a really cheap project. So I'll describeyou where I got my parts in the next step. Oh and I'll make a new design for this gadget because don't like how now is looking. I hurried to complete until the ending dateof the Make energy contest. So gather materials!
Step 1: Tools, Parts and SalvagingTools that you need:
glue gun1.multimeter2.cutting tools3.rotary tool4.electrical tape5.solder and soldering6.
Parts and Salvaging:
for the multi-turbine you'll need a small motora 5v step up circuita small propeller for the motorand a 20mm PVC tube from a hardwere store
The motor and the propeller are salvaged from my old RC Helicopter but you can find also in any phones without the propeller. You can make a propeller from a plasticsheet (costs about $1). The 5v voltage step up is bought from the ebay.
for the power bank you'll need a 3.7v battery with a capacity between 3000-2000mAha USB lithium charger circuita switchand a 5v step up circuitUse a box for the power bank, I hurried and I haven't at home!
So the batteries that you can see on the pictures are salvaged from old phones (950mAh, 1000mAh and 1020mAh). The lithium charger is from the same RC Heli. Nevercharge lithium batteries without a charger circuit they can explode! If your partlist is complete let's go crafting!
Step 2: Soldering-TurbineThis will be very easy. If you have enough space for your full circuit don't cut the USB jack. I needed to cut and soldered back with a wire later you'll see why I made this.Be careful with the polarities! My motor polarity has been revesred. So simply solder the two wires of the DC motor to the 5v step up somehow like on the images.If yourcircuit is done go craft in a PVC tube.
Step 3: Building the TurbineFirst cut 2 small pices from the plastic sheet.1.See on the second image.2.Than glue to the bottom of the motor.3.Cut 4 lines on the PVC for the plastic pieces and insert the motor in.4.After this remove this Red LED from the circuit (see on 7th image).5.Finally glue the circuit and the USB jack on the PVC.6.
Step 4: Waterproofing and TestingGet your glue gun and some electrical tape than make the full device waterproof. Won't happens nothing if some water flows inside, but this is the safest way. If you wanttest it with your faucet. Fix onder it than plug your phone in and the charging begins. The multi-turbine now is done. Install on your bike or on your arm, and when youmove starts charging any device. Even tablets! The output voltage will be 5 volts and the current about 300mA. Charges slower than a wallplug but it works! If you wantgo build the power bank!
Step 5: Solder and Build the Power BankGlue the salvaged batteries together than silder them in paralell. Paralell means that connect every positive to the positive and every negative to the negative output.After this use your USB charger and charge up this battery pack just like on the 3rd image. Use your glue gun agian and make complete the power bank. Test it on yourphone than make this waterproof too.
About the circuit:
Don't charge your phone while charging the power bank from a wallplug. You can charge while cycling or while moving, but from the wallplug the current is too high.
When you don't use turn off the circuit.
Be careful with Li-ion batteries never short them. May cause fire!!!
Step 7: The Last TestsInstall the discharged power bank on your faucet and when you use the faucet the multi-turbine will generate electricity. Or put on your arm with a belt (not like me withtape) and when you run the charging begins. But you can charge up your battery pack also from a wallpug or from computer. On the last image is charged upwirh a 5vregulated solar cell.
If you liked it share, write your opinion and vote on me. In my next instructable I'll present you a very especial soldering station so follow me if you want to see! Oh andsorry for my potential grammar errors.
How I built anelectricityproducing windturbine bymdavis19
12 volt DC solarset-up bywiscdoledino
Build a 1S or 3.7Volt Lithium IonBattery Pack byNoblenutria
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Comments
43 comments Add Comment
Errol1951 says: Mar 7, 2015. 10:28 PM REPLYgreat idea could you mount it in a funnel to increase wind velocity and use it as a wind generator
KROKKENOSTER says: Mar 7, 2015. 4:11 AM REPLYLooking at the pics the biggest problem from my point of view is the "huge"space between the turbine and the pipe. Everything in Nature uses the easier wayand the largest portion of the prop driver passes by and do no work.I remember an article in the sixties in some journal that the guy built his own designedplanes and just by putting the prop in a housing, he could use a 60 horsepower engine and with the prop open he needed a larger prop and 120 horse motor.
versos-tk says: Feb 28, 2015. 1:38 PM REPLYHow energy efficient is this, I mean, it can waste a lot of water.
JoshuaZimmerman says: Mar 2, 2015. 3:04 PM REPLYHmm... even if you were getting 20mA off a small motor like that... it would take AT LEAST 100 hours of water movement to charge up a 2,000mAhbattery.
You also typically need 3,000mAh to charge up a cell phone. So the question is, what's easier, running water for 150+ hours, or using another powersource.
Also keep in mind that the kind of USB boosting circuit being used in this project sacrifices amperage for voltage, so you'll be getting an even SMALLERamount of amperage than what the motor is outputting.
This is why small scale wind projects are so difficult to do. It's very difficult to generate enough amperage to be useful. One idea would be to add in gearsto your setup to get the motor to spin faster, or get a larger motor.
So while this project TECHNICALLY WORKS, it will not work in a useful way. It'd be like hooking up a postage stamp sized solar cell to a cell phone; ittechnically works but not in a way that we can use it.
Imetomi says: Mar 2, 2015. 9:09 PM REPLYThese DC heli motors generates much more current than 20mA. When I'm cycling curreng is 118.7mA and on the faucet was 90-120mA. This isenough to charge up a power bank. Slowly but it works. If you don't believe buy a motor like this and try it.
JoshuaZimmerman says: Mar 3, 2015. 12:38 PM REPLYOk, so, lets do the math again. Lets assume you're getting a consistent 100mA from the turbine (and we'll discount the loss of amperage from thecircuit). That would still take a AT LEAST 20 hours of water flow to charge up your batteries, only to get 2/3rd a phone charge. I like the idea, butit's not overly practical and I worry about your use of Lithium batteries.
Also watch out, the DC to DC Circuit you're using puts out under 500mA and many newer phones need more than that. (I used to use those inprojects I sell, but I switched because of how annoying they were.)
Imetomi says: Mar 4, 2015. 5:59 AM REPLYI'm cycling very often (to shool or in the wild) and sometimes my phone discharges. In this case I can use this device to charge it up. Maybethis isn't the best Li-ion pack but I charged and discharged them up more 15 times, and worked fine. But you can try also with an old CPU fanthat has a higher current. And the solar panels (that you or anybody uses for his projects) haven't a much higher amperage, aside from thehigh wattage panels.
dasimpson1981 says: Mar 4, 2015. 2:26 PM REPLYcpu fans need to be modified as they are basicly a pulse motor run by a hall effect senser
Jehu_McSpooran says: Mar 5, 2015. 7:17 PM REPLYNo, not all CPU fans are brushless. Quite a few are ordinary DC motors that can run backwards as generators. I found that out oncewhen cleaning my PC with an air compressor. The LEDs on the fan lit up. I don't use an air compressor anymore
dasimpson1981 says: Mar 7, 2015. 3:44 AM REPLYi have neever come across a brushed one in all the years i been doing pc's
jsawyer13 says: Mar 5, 2015. 9:49 AM REPLYYou're on the money math wise and I agree, this circuit is inefficient. However, it's a good springboard for 'generating' ideas on how to do itbetter. As an emergency charger, with some improvement I think this could be great. Using the tinfoil in my kit or a plastic bottle/jug to make afunnel I could catch rainwater an charge enough to make a 911 call possibly (albeit would take a LOT of rain). Or even hole the tube between mylips while trying to make shelter or fire and get generate via by breathing. Lots of different ways.
dasimpson1981 says: Mar 4, 2015. 2:29 PM REPLYyou might get a little more power if you used a bridge rectifier taking the ac voltage from the motor and producing dc
dougstrickland says: Mar 6, 2015. 11:30 AM REPLYFor me, this kind of idea forms a building block for future needs. For example using it as a water turbine.. sure, running a faucet for 10 or 20 hours iswasteful, but what if you were lost with a dead phone and came upon a stream or waterfall... 20 hours would make little difference if you can ping atower and be rescued.
Same goes for any adaptation of something that under *normal* circumstances seems like too much work. There are cases where understandinghow things *can* work helps you out.
graydog111 says: Mar 5, 2015. 9:06 AM REPLYI agree with JoshuaZimmerman whole heartedly, BUT this site seems to me to be a place to explore new ideas; not whether they are the bestsolution or not. iImetomi's idea might spark someone else's imagination to think outside the box.
Mig Welder says: Mar 5, 2015. 7:57 AM REPLYI think the idea is that it takes advantage of otherwise wasted kinetic energy of the water. So, the water wouldn't be run continuously just to chargesomething. Rather, it'd charge when someone was washing their hands or filling a pot w/ water or whatever.
An interesting concept to be sure.
Imetomi says: Mar 1, 2015. 10:44 AM REPLYNo, use the turbine when you really use your faucet example washing. Originally was designed for a bike... Than came the idea to make it multi powered.
WildOne1985 says: Mar 1, 2015. 1:59 AM REPLYIt's not efficient at all. Charging a phone directly from the mains costs about $1 a year - if you use it a lot (power hungry smartphone). I'd put this buildunder - in case of emergency.
omikeo says: Mar 6, 2015. 5:10 AM REPLYi'm trying to make one for my bike that either uses rushing wind or will be driven from sidewall tire friction, it was orig. gonna be for just my mp3 player i ridewith but your idea prompts me to make it a little more universal, thanks, mike
MRCAB1 says: Mar 5, 2015. 8:34 PM REPLYWould this work with a rechargeable 9-volt?
Imetomi says: Mar 5, 2015. 9:48 PM REPLYThis version not, but with a Joule Thief charger would work. I'll make an instructable about a DIY 9v that can be recharged from a USB port.
Alderin says: Mar 5, 2015. 10:12 AM REPLYYou have some great ideas! I love the use of the little motor as a generator, and the size and shape of the combination of battery and turbine made me thinkthat, possibly, you could charge your phone by breathing. :-) (Would want to put a bridge rectifier on the motor output so direction wouldn't matter, though.)
One note though: You shouldn't mix batteries of different ages and manufacturers in parallel, they will tend to all charge and discharge to the specs of the worstone, and if one fails, the others will deplete themselves trying to charge it to balance the voltages. One failed cell could cause the others to completely depleteand overheat. For discharge use, you could have three diodes preventing this battery-to-battery charge balancing, but that doesn't allow the single chargercircuit you have to charge. I know there are multi-cell lithium charger circuits that might make this work better.
(A small note on English: I applaud you for being able to get your ideas across. But I have an editor brain: 'then' is for timing ("do this, then do that"), and 'than'is for comparing ("this is bigger than that") )
Overall you've done an excellent job! Well done and thank you for posting!
Imetomi says: Mar 5, 2015. 11:12 AM REPLYThank you the little "grammar snapshot" and the comment! :D
dbess says: Mar 5, 2015. 9:53 AM REPLYLove it! thank you for the time you took in making this instructable! this is what I love about instructables , this is the kind of instructable that's shows how tomake something with repurposed items and have a functional finished product. To those of you who are being negative ..stop being negative and start takingthis idea and improving upon it..if you think it can be better build it then post it..
Ecospirit says: Mar 5, 2015. 8:24 AM REPLYGreat Instructable that really highlights what I love about this website. It teaches you how to take inexpensive used items and repurpose them into somethingelse while learning along the way. I was disappointed by the numerous comments pointing out inefficiencies with the project and felt they were missing thepoint of the project and the website as a whole. This project has value as a science DIY project alone and I encourage commenters to explore thepossibilities more than being critical. The output power is small and it will take several hours to charge something, where could this be useful? I paddled theNoatak River in Alaska (North of the Artic Circle) a couple years ago and despite the long summer days it was cloudy enough that our solar charger wasunable to recharge our electronic devices on several days. We were paddling several hundred miles on a river, a device like this attached to the boats withminimal drag could work 24 hours a day. Great Instructable, keep it up!
Imetomi says: Mar 5, 2015. 8:47 AM REPLYThank you very much!
ardrhi says: Mar 5, 2015. 6:02 AM REPLYMy only suggestion would be to invest in some small project boxes. The "wrapped with duct tape" thing is okay for a quick prototype, but should NEVER beyour final version. Jury-rigged devices work like jury-rigged devices -- on a wing and a prayer! Do it right the first time, plan it out, measure twice, cut once,and put it in a proper case.
The motor as a turbine is an interesting idea, but most motors of that sort are NOT waterproof, and you can't just pot them in hot glue and expect it to bewaterproof. Get a sealed waterproof motor from the beginning.
You can get a decent device like this with a waterproof turbine from Alibaba for about $13.
A non-waterproof motor such as a toy motor might work, but the lifespan of a device not intended to be submerged will be much, much lower if it works at all.It's a good idea, though. If I used a non-waterproof hobby motor, I'd take the motor out of inline with the water flow and connect it with a linkage to theturbine, so it wasn't constantly in the water. With a properly sealed linkage, you could put the motor in a waterproof box attached to the turbine housing...butthat's what those devices above essentially are.
Imetomi says: Mar 5, 2015. 6:22 AM REPLYThank you for the links and I'll put in a project box.
jpatel32 says: Mar 4, 2015. 8:48 PM REPLYhow to create current controller. ..
Imetomi says: Mar 4, 2015. 9:08 PM REPLYFor this project or for something else? I'll send you a message soon.
jpatel32 says: Mar 4, 2015. 8:47 PM REPLYgreat. ..
Arthak says: Mar 4, 2015. 4:26 PM REPLYthanks for this super great instructable
Grisling says: Feb 28, 2015. 11:26 AM REPLYnice instructable, god you mention the hazzards og lithium batteries. however it is also hazardous to charge 3 cells with a charging circuit designed for only 1cell, because it doesn't balance the voltage of each cell individually during charging.
Imetomi says: Feb 28, 2015. 12:00 PM REPLYBefore the first charging they were discharged so the voltage increased equable. Than you!
Grisling says: Feb 28, 2015. 12:12 PM REPLYSince the 3 cell are not the same capacity equal charging is not guaranteed. You most likely will not have any issues, but there is a potential dangerthat one or more cell can fail.
dasimpson1981 says: Feb 28, 2015. 2:56 PM REPLYeach cell in parallel will become the capacity of the lowest cell so if you have 850 950 and 1000mah batterys in parellel you will have 3x 850 as this iswhat will be detected for charge
The_Black_Hole says: Mar 4, 2015. 12:40 AM REPLYso would that mean he has a battery pack of 3 cells that charge to a total of 850? (in your example I mean). or that each of the three cellswould charge to 850, bringing the pack up to a total of 2550?
dasimpson1981 says: Mar 4, 2015. 2:24 PM REPLYeach would hold 850 giving a total of 2550 when i used my pack of varying sizes it did exactly that
Imetomi says: Mar 4, 2015. 5:40 AM REPLYIn his example the total capacity is 2550mAh.
dasimpson1981 says: Feb 28, 2015. 3:00 PM REPLYall that will happen is the lowest capacity cell will shut off and then the next largest cell with charge and so on
dasimpson1981 says: Feb 28, 2015. 2:59 PM REPLYalso each one of these cells has a protection circuit so will not over charge or over discharge
dasimpson1981 says: Feb 28, 2015. 2:55 PM REPLYcells in parallel dont need balancing only in series
Ben Thomas says: Mar 3, 2015. 12:07 PM REPLYGreat Instructable! I had no idea a USB turbine could be done so easily. I would probably just use an off-the-shelf battery backup since I have a couplealready.(Is that vulgar to say on Instructables? :-D )
I see this being super useful in the correct situation. Clipped to the outside of a car window (we have to fight for the charger in my car), camping by a stream orother bug-out situations. In an off-the-grid situation a water wheel attachment and a drip bucket work (with some manual lifting).
