6/02/09

My Bedini Motor/Generator/Fan Replication-

My replication is based on the Bedini Fan instructional videos found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDS9qk-Nw4M

And additional information here:

http://d1190995.domaincentral.com.au/

Other Bedini replications can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=bedini+motor&aq=f

Mine is not exactly the same as the one in the video.

My fan is a larger 6” fan that I already had on the shelf.

It has a motor that is at least twice the size as the case fan in the video.

My Diodes are 1N5406s from Radio Shack instead of the ECG125s in the video.

My Potentiometer is a 5K ohm instead of the 1K ohm because Radio Shack didn’t have a 1K ohm.

The conversion of the motor was actually easier because of its larger size.

Here are my project and test pictures-

http://www.rodscontracts.ws/images/projects/PulsedMotor/fan/

Once assembled and wired correctly the motor/generator/fan runs quite well.

In fact what was once a very worn out fan from a junk pile now has new life with a motor that runs much faster and moves allot more air and uses allot less current than its original rating. WAS 2.26 amps. NOW: 0.34amps (while also charging a battery.)

But I do suspect allot of inefficiency due to many factors including wrong diodes, motor windings allot heavier than a typical Bedini, ring magnet versus individual pole magnets, etc.

Have also had a problem with the 5K ohm, .25 watt, potentiometer not handling the load of the larger motor and inefficient design. And had to resort to simply using a resistor I had on hand while waiting for a stronger potentiometer of correct value.

SO, my test will be performed WITHOUT the ability to FINE TUNE the system.

Batteries: In order to put the legendary battery restoration characteristics to a REAL test. I started with a very small “source” battery rated at 1.3AH. Then I went to the local hardware store core pile and picked out my “charge” battery candidate for restoration.

It is one of the cheapest, crappiest, batteries you can buy: A 6 month lawn and garden battery rated at around 20AH which typically lasts 1-2 seasons then has to be replaced because the plates literally start falling apart.

This battery is around 4 years old, completely dead, and according to the hardware store, is only good as a core that has to be recycled.

Initial testing revealed that standing voltage was only about 1 volt. And when I tried to connect two different automatic battery chargers, the chargers would immediately indicate: “Fully charged” This due to the fact that plates are so bad the resistance is almost infinite. So there is nothing for the charger to do because it actually looks like an open circuit to the charger.

In other words: THIS BATTERY IS TOTAL JUNK!

So I connect my Bedini fan and start running…. Of course, due to the lack of a functional potentiometer, I am unable to fine tune for best performance.

But within just a few minutes; there was already an improvement! Standing voltage came up significantly.

Within about two hours the battery is already holding a charge!

After about three hours things were still improving but, due to the larger fan and all the inefficiencies, drawing about .3Amps, the source battery was starting to weaken.

At that point I removed the Bedini fan and connected the standard trickle charger which is actually working now.

And, 8 hours later, the “junk” battery is almost fully charged!

At the time I write this I do not know if the battery will ever be completely charged because this particular battery literally IS a piece of crap built with the absolute cheapest materials and construction practices possible and sells new for around $40.00.

But I am still very impressed. It does now provide plenty of power for lighting needs.

And, with the use of the Bedini motor/generator, can NOW be used as the SOURCE battery to recharge the previous source battery while, at the same, providing a nice breeze at my desk.

06/05/09 Update-

After installing the new potentiometer and running the system for another eight hours, the junk battery did improve some more. After all said and done, it had a standing voltage of 12.75v. Which is very good and will likely drop down to around 12.4v on the shelf.

And still tends to drop to around 11.90v with a 1 amp load for 20 minutes. This due to the battery having more than just sulfation issues. It must have some internal plate shorts or the electrolyte is diluted. It was totally full of fluid when I got it. Which is not where the fluid level should be when discharged.

But still pretty dam good for a total piece of crap from a junk pile!

Next project: A true monopole motor!

I think I will try a 3 or 6 coil depending on cost and how they fit around the diameter of my rotor. Will probably start with just a single coil to get it running but leave room for expansion.