Title: FYI...OWS Generators Source:
Me URL Source:http://None Published:Nov 2, 2011 Author:war Post Date:2011-11-02 12:18:17 by war Keywords:None Views:7710 Comments:13
Walking up from South Ferry this AM I noticed that the OWS people were using bikes to generate power.
A few weeks ago Keegan Stephan, a bike mechanic and member of environmental group Time's Up! brought with him to the Occupy Wall Street protests a device he built over a year ago to power his refrigerator. The bicycle-powered dynamo was intended to serve as an example of pollution-free energy, but proved to be a great resource to the camped-in protesters at Zucotti park when the FDNY confiscated the gasoline-powered generators they were using to charge cell phones and other devices. The protesters also benefited from members of the Occupy Boston protests who donated three additional bikes to be converted to generators.
According to Stephan his stationary Schwinn can generate enough power to last up to 100 hours after just six hours of pedaling.
Me: I'm impressed by their spunk and innovative ways.
According to Stephan his stationary Schwinn can generate enough power to last up to 100 hours after just six hours of pedaling.
Me: I'm impressed by their spunk and innovative ways.
I'm impressed by his spunk and innovative ways also,but not by his claim because it is meaningless. "Generate enough power..." to do what? Charge a cell phone? After 6 hours of pedaling a bike to charge a battery?
Ain't nothing new about this,Fred. The US military (for one) have been using hand and foot cranked generators to power radios since at least WW-2.
Still,I doubt this guy knows that,so it's not taking anything away from his ingenuity and it does show he's thinking.
He claims he uses the device to power his 'fridge. I wonder how long he pedals per day to do that.
I don't know,but I strongly suspect there is a battery involved to store the energy.
Chances are it doesn't take very long if he puts a couple of bags of ice inside the refrigerator before he starts. A good refrigerator with good seals doesn't run very often if the door isn't opened much. I've had mine keep milk and sodas cold for 3 days with no power.
Getting it cold would be the trick if you didn't use ice bags. Keeping it cold would be no big deal.
