500 An Induction Motor As A Generator Without Altering The Motor

If you want to have a look at those special videos become a member and join by clicking this link / @thinkingandtinkering
I have seen quite a few of these but most of them require you to drill out the rotor and glue in magnets - that is just not really necessary - you can make an induction motor into a generator really very easily

[@joehigdon9847]

I live in NE Alabama and back in the 90s we had an ice storm that knocked our electricity out. I had a Chevette car with a diesel motor and I had a 120 hp 3 phase motor. We mounted a wheel with a tire to the induction motor and jacked the car up and placed the tire that was mounted to the 3 phase motor against one of the rear tires on the Chevette. The motor was a 460 volt 3 phase motor so I only used 2 of the three wires and ran the output through a transformer to get 240 volts. Then I added a large bank of oil filled capacitors. I adjusted the speed of the Chevette engine to give me 60 hertz. I connected the system to my home and we had electricity all night...only had to add more diesel fuel the next morning...worked great! The trick to using an induction motor as an alternator is to exceed the rated RPM of the motor and add enough capacitors. This was before I had a smart phone to video the system....TRUE STORY!

[@victoryfirst2878]

This is just a super channel for the electrically minded people. You, Robert have such a great way of teaching the subject matter at hand that your method should be used in schools all over the world. Getting to the point in a straight way is priceless. Keep up the great work fella and God bless.

[@brianspencer6397]

'Motors as Generators in Micro-Hydro Power' by Nigel Smith is probably available thru your local library, and gives a comprehensive guide to setting up an induction generator, selection of capacitors for induction generators, with a good description of the process to get the motor characteristics to calculate the capacitance, and a number of sample calculations to guide you in the (not overly difficult) process. The capacitor is used to cancel out the reactive (inductive) current that the motor draws, apparently. This reactive current is relatively constant over the range of power outputs from the motor. A fair approximation of the required value can be found by (a) measuring the current drawn by the motor at no load, preferably with the cooling ducts blocked, to reduce the actual work being done by the motor. That current is mainly magnetising (inductive) current, with only a small 'true power' current driving the reduced windage, bearing friction, and low iron and copper resistive losses. (Some of the measured current is still driving resistive losses in the motor, but at no load, and with the cooling duct blocked, these losses are minimised, and most of the current will be reactive.) Then, (b) determine the reactance of the motor to draw that current. XL = V / I. That gives the approximate reactance the capacitor needs to have to compensate for the motor reactance. (c) The capacitance can now be found from C(uF) = 10^6 / (2 x pi x f x Xc). Example: a 1kW single phase motor draws 2.3A from a 230V supply at no-load. The motor reactance is approximately (230 / 2.3) ohms = 100 ohms. The capacitor that will also have approximately 100 ohms reactance at 50 Hz is.... (10^6 / (2 x pi x 50 x 100) = 31.8uF. That's the starting point for setting up the capacitor; it /will/ require a slightly larger capacitance to hit the 'sweet spot' for best operation. For 3 phase machines, refer to Nigel Smith's book. The principle is the same, but the capacitors may be connected in either star or delta, and the capacitances and voltage ratings are different for each of those cases. The capacitor is not a motor-starting type - these are rated for intermittent operation only, and often less than the motor voltage. (That's another story, though.) A polyester or other 'motor-run' capacitor is required, and should be rated at a higher voltage that the output voltage of the machine in operation. (Switching off a large load can cause a 50% surge in output volts in some machines!)

[@scottstewart6624]

Ah, that’s the book I didn’t know I was looking for! Thanks!

[@eleventeenmachine5991]

Figures. I ask the question not 2 minutes before scrolling through the comments. I'm looking to turn a 3 phase washing machine motor into a wind turbine generator.

[@BensWorkshop]

Many thanks for the tip. The book is available at Abe Books.

[@nacanielitabua3143]

Thanks. Been looking for a long time to get a material like this.

[@JjMn1000]

yes...

[@jamesgourley9725]

Seriously i appriciate this vid. Even if you do not know the math. I only need to know the components. Your awesome

[@NorthCust]

That was a great explanation - I picked up a couple of washing machine motors form a scrappy today and whilst I was familiar with the bushed type (which i got working), I was confused by the other one which appeared to have no brushes but spun a lot smoother. Thankfully I thought "I know who's probably done a video on this" and wasn't disappointed. Going hunting for an old microwave tomorrow for some big capacitors to make it work as shown. Thank you so much for your videos, brilliantly explained, especially in the context of wind turbines (which is why I'm digging into this subject).

[@g0fvt]

For what it is worth microwave oven capacitors are high voltage small capacity, you might find more suitable ones in other appliances. Power factor correction capacitors and motor start capacitors come to mind.

@@g0fvt Quoting Brian Spencer's excellent comment: "The capacitor is not a motor-starting type - these are rated for intermittent operation only, and often less than the motor voltage. (That's another story, though.) A polyester or other 'motor-run' capacitor is required, and should be rated at a higher voltage that the output voltage of the machine in operation. "

[@g0fvt]

@ power factor correction capacitors such as used in flourescant light fittings will likely work fine, they are rated adequately. They tend to be about 4uF so a few in parallel would be needed.

[@YathishShamaraj]

But I want to know where we get the out out from, if the mains are connected to the other capacitor 😮

[@brianpacker4824]

Videos like this is what made KZbin so great. Thank you for making this video.

[@tinkmarshino]

I have heard folks say your mad.. or your a hustler.. But frankly I don't think they are smart enough to see what it is you are doing.. I find your videos refreshing and straight forward.. I think in this day when a lie is now the truth and the truth in now the lie.. people do not know how to listen and see straight.. You make me think.. you force my mind to actually see what is before me and wonder at the amazing things we have all taken for granted. Not just to flip a switch and expect the light to come one but actually question what makes the light come on and can I do something like it with out all this rigmarole. To explore as we all did as kids our world and see what it real is all about.. thanks Robert.. you make me feel young again..

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

mad - possibly.....but cheers mate

[@IrelandLover]

Nice answer 👌.

[@tinkmarshino]

@@IrelandLover Thank you my brother.

[@IrelandLover]

@@tinkmarshino Sorry, I meant Robert.

[@tinkmarshino]

@@IrelandLover No prob.. have a great week my friend.

[@utilka5415]

Im currently in ukraine trying to create backup generator from whatever junk we have at hand we dont have drill for metal nor magnets nor good glue and oh boy god bless you for this video we actualy do have some old stand fans here at junk piles and we can actualy find capasitors i will still need quite some time to figure details out im a newbe when it comes to electronics but you my friend, is the one bringing hope to ukrainian refugies in the middle of the war

[@esahg5421]

stay strong stay safe, doesn't matter who is giving what orders don't do stupid sh!t, greetings from Cape Town South Africa

[@AA-69]

Why is No one suggesting PEACE TALKS ?... Is it because you are making so much money for the west in the form of AID and WEAPONS ?.. I PRESUME THE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE KNOW THAT THEY WILL BE REQUIRED TO PAY THESE BACK IN THE FUTURE ?... as we say, THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH !!!!

[@franciscoferreira-eh1yu]

i hope you managed do do it and is fine by now

[@MichaelMiller-xn3lo]

Robert, you have a gift for teaching and the same desire for knowledge that many of us do. Keep up the great work mate

[@kreynolds1123]

While the mains freqency in many parts of the world is 50hz, in the US it is 60hz. A permanent magnet motor, is a synchronous type motor with its synchronous speed depending on the number of pairs of poles in the field coils. In the US a synchronous motor will spin at (60hz aka cycles a second) × (60 seconds a minute)/(number of poles/2). So in the US, with 2 poles making a pair in the stator, the synchronous speed is 3600 rpm. 2 pole pairs (4 poles) = 1800 rpm. 4 pole pairs = 900 rpm. In say the UK that would be 50hz ×60 seconds/(2/2)=3000 rpm. 50×60/(4/2)=1500, and 50×60/(8/2)=750 rpm respectively. Now induction motors are asynchronous type motors and they require a difference in rotating speed between the synchronous speed of the rotating magnetic field in the electromagnetic field coils, and the rotating speed of the rotor. Induction motors are generally rated at about 5% slower than synchronous, in the US (3600rpm becomes 3420rpm, 1800rpm become 1710rpm). Too much slip (over 5%) causes excessive heating in the rotor and field coils. Grid excitation: If you pluged an asynchronous induction motor into the wall and spin it faster than its synchronous speed, then instead of drawing power from the grid, it will generate electrical power pumping that power into the grid. Because of the induced currents inside the rotor cause heat in the rotor, you should not go any faster than about 5% faster slip than synchronous with the grid. For exampke, in the UK with 1 pole pair field winding motor 50×60/(2/2) × (slip factor 1.05)=3150rpm. Self excited inductlion motors store "reactive power" in the capacitors with the inductance and capacitance acting as a resonate capacitor inductor tank circuit. The resonate freqency (aka syncronouse speed) of the tank circuit in the most simplist terms, is a function of capacitor and inductance 1/(2×pi×sqr(L×C)). Adding resistance in the coils and load complicate the formula. Now it will continue to generate power as long as you dont try to pull too much power. Causing it to loose its self excitation. I don't have an equation for that.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

awesome mate - thanks for taking the time to post all of that - made a lot of sense to me

[@kreynolds1123]

@Reno Simpson which motor? I described 2 types, and then broke down two different ways an induction motor's field coils can be excited. There are quite a generators on youtube with some being fundamentally different than others. Furthermore they can also range from being just click bate to hoax scams.

[@AndreaDingbatt]

@@kreynolds1123 So true, and thank you so much for taking the time and effort to explain them in detail!! 🤯(mind blown!) I cannot even begin to tell you how much, I appreciate your kindness in doing this, you are a star!! ✨⭐🌠✨✨🌟 Namaste 🙏Andrea, Jasper and George the Pigeon. XxX.

[@chriskwakernaat2328]

yup, i've been watching german feedback to grid (bhkw) video's on youtube , and they spin up the diesel/gas engine on 380 volts, turn on the ignition, then over rev the induction motor to get it to deliver power back to the grid.,thereby reversing the power meter.

[@seekingthelight6401]

I love watching your videos Rob. When it comes to electronics my mind goes like Homer Simpsons. I think I'd have to start with basic circuits and take it from there lol. Still there's something relaxing about watching a man who loves what he's doing and humble enough to listen to advice. We never stop learning. God bless mate 👍🏻

[@asulwer]

if someone ever figures out how to keep someone alive forever you should be first on that list. what you provide to society is extremely useful

[@paulbrouyere1735]

Thank you for bringing this up. I came to the same conclusions when I was studying for my exams in electromechanical machines, but because I had to study on, I completely forgot what it was that I had found. Good work, spot on! Love your series about universal and induction motors. Very well suited for wind energy. Also stepper motors. Great explanation and very visual

[@jtpinion4294]

Hello. Very clever but so simple dunno why I'd never thought of that. Been trying to figure out how to do this for a while. I wish I'd seen this video before I pulled all the windings out of the stator and got loads of magnets. Oops. Very enjoyable as always to watch your videos. Thanks. John.

[@jimmurphy5355]

The motor you took from the drill is not an induction motor. It is a "universal" AC/DC brushed motor. By definition, induction motors induce current in the rotor windings by varying flux. The don't have brushes. They can't run on DC. The drill motor will run nicely on DC.

[@G1ZQCArtwork]

They actually induce a VOLTAGE at a limited current, you can't get current out of anything, without first detecting a voltage present.

[@hhocourierpcengineer]

The induction motor is the one he converted at the end not the universal motor he talked about at the begining which he explained was a universal motor, but its hard to find stuff on induction motors with outer rotors like the ones that drive ac fans on industrial ac units.

[@Z3n1tHL0rD]

Have wanted to build a peddle driven induction motor generator for a while, I found out previously that there is a sweet spot at a certain rpm for producing optimum power , would be great to exercise and produce a fair amount of power at the same time, gearing would need to be precise of course, love your videos, always learn something new :)

[@nevyngould1744]

I have learned so much from you it's unreal. Thank you. All so useful for providing my shed with power without running it from the mains cable from the house. One request, diagrams, flash them up for a couple of seconds at end of video and i can freeze frame and screenshot.

[@bikerfirefarter7280]

That's a good idea. I wish more 'tubers did that, too few seem to do it.

[@johnjax3111]

Totally agree, I have all the parts necessary to make this now, but I can’t figure out the wiring. @robertmurraysmith, do you have a diagram you could share with us?

[@dcawkwell]

Here is an example of how to calculate the capacitance needed I got this example of wiki. It goes up if you need to draw a load from the generator. As an example, consider the use of a 10 hp, 1760 r/min, 440 V, three-phase induction motor as an asynchronous generator. The full-load current of the motor is 10 A and the full-load power factor is 0.8. Required capacitance per phase if capacitors are connected in delta: Apparent power S = √3 E I = 1.73 × 440 × 10 = 7612 VA Active power P = S cos θ = 7612 × 0.8 = 6090 W Reactive power Q = {\displaystyle {\sqrt {S^{2}-P^{2}}}}{\sqrt {S^{2}-P^{2}}} = 4567 VAR For a machine to run as an asynchronous generator, capacitor bank must supply minimum 4567 / 3 phases = 1523 VAR per phase. Voltage per capacitor is 440 V because capacitors are connected in delta. Capacitive current Ic = Q/E = 1523/440 = 3.46 A Capacitive reactance per phase Xc = E/Ic = 127 Ω Minimum capacitance per phase: C = 1 / (2*π*f*Xc) = 1 / (2 * 3.141 * 60 * 127) = 21 microfarads. If the load also absorbs reactive power, capacitor bank must be increased in size to compensate. Prime mover speed should be used to generate frequency of 60 Hz: Typically, slip should be similar to full-load value when machine is running as motor, but negative (generator operation): if Ns = 1800, one can choose N=Ns+40 rpm Required prime mover speed N = 1800 + 40 = 1840 rpm.

[@brianspencer6397]

@@just_saw_dust Yes, 10^6 is 10 to the 6th power - 1,000,000. It converts Farads (the base unit) to miocrofarads (the common unit.)

[@matchoufouch]

thanks !

[@lukebyrne9913]

What a brilliant display of technology. Thank you, pulling out the spare single phase induction motor now.

[@jorgennilsson4915]

Thank you very much for explaining how the induction motor works, and how to use it as a generator. I've been trying to understand it all day but now I think the light finally came on.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

glad it worked for you mate - cheers

[@gyro5d]

@@ThinkingandTinkering ; Is your induction motor running on negative feedback spikes, from Counterspace?

[@itzdragonlover1800]

Si alguien contruye este sistema aquí en los Estados Unidos y queda fuera de red energía es legal pregunto

[@thejollygrimreaper]

I did this a while ago when i was stuck for a generator, i used a stationary petrol engine and hooked it up to a 3kw 240v ac squirrel cage motor and simply set the motor speed until i got about 200v , i was able to run just about everything off it, the main issue was though was when a relatively heavy load stopped drawing power the governor on the motor didn't keep up and you got this surge in speed hence why i ran it around 200v, so when the voltage did spike it only went up around 240v to 260v so still fairly safe for most of the stuff i was running , when i first started it up before i got tuning it i was able to generate up to the 1000v mark as for the capacitors i pretty much didn't have to change anything

[@travishanson166]

Need a load cell or an electronic switch that cuts throttle when voltage changes by a particular amount or rpm trigger. I have a coleman generator that only has 1 speed, and it's only happy when it's got a load on. Sounds like its going to come apart every time the air compressor shuts off. Need a voltage limiting device that only comes on when there is net wattage available. Think a light bulb that goes dim when a fan comes on, then bright when the fan turns off. The draw would be 0 if load is used elsewhere, but up to a few hundred watts when load drops off. Maybe just a 250 watt incandescent bulb would do the job without fancy electronics. I'm contemplating an $8 arduino and an automotive relay with a lock solenoid to sense either rpm or voltage delta to cut throttle to idle on the colman. Otherwise it's around $200 to adapt a throttle control off a Honda. I'll be using the coleman again today, I plan to try the light bulb idea to see if it will keep it sounding healthy. If I had a tach I could ignore the sound, provided it was running at rated speed.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

tha is awesome mate - did you do a vid of the set up?

[@preciousplasticph]

one of those cheapo computer voltage regulators should do the trick.. here in the Philippines they are quite cheap

[@immrnoidall]

Inverter generator. i think they use some type of electric clutch and the governor. something like that inside there.

[@PeterMilanovski]

@@travishanson166 probably a simple solution would be to add a bunch of diode's in series so that they turn on at a specific voltage, the diodes will remain off until the voltage goes over what you want it to and begin to conduct to a light bulb or two to keep a load on it.. it's automatic and it's cheap! Just size the diode's for the voltage and current that they are going to be working with, add up each of the voltage drop from each diode till you get to where you want to be at, if you don't want to light things up, you can always use a high powered resistor to dial in how much load you need to keep it stable. The light is great for testing as you can see when the diode's are turning on but once you have it worked out, swap out the light for a resistor in a similar resistance.. I know it's not as cool as using a microcontroller but it should work and it doesn't need power to operate! Hope this helps 🙂

[@genereddington1686]

just a ps for anybody starting to experiment with motors as generators , Take a tip and start with the ones found in the heater box or the radiator fan . They come with nice magnets and decent bearings . They will always generate and help teach about what you can get out of these devices. . Old battery drills also are a good way of learning with lots of fun bits.Even a bike dynamo with a diode will make a fun wind project spinning out in the wind running 3or for very bright LED'S or through a circuit charging phones for free . I my self like the hub dynamos we used to find made in the middle of some front wheels as they make wonderful wind projects for free small amounts of power so get looking . I;m wondering weather to start a channel?

[@elmultimediaschoolofartscu3924]

I Love ❤️ this man. Wishing 🙏 you 😃👍. Love from Africa 🌍

[@agritech802]

I'm loving your videos Robert, I've passed on your channel to our local makerspace to give them some ideas on teaching children interested in STEM

[@solarhope]

Very enjoyable Rob.Took me back to my days studying city and guilds electrical principles :-)

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

v cool mate lol

[@elliotmapp-best9990]

Thank you Sir, you've answered questions I've been contemplating for a very long time... very exceptional...!!!

[@kilokilos]

Thanks for this, it is not possible to look at all the videos at the time I did not know that I needed this. Now I do and this might well be the solution to my wind generator project.

[@eformance]

Those brushed drill motors are called Universal AC/DC motors because they will run off either AC or DC. They run faster than synchronous speed, so I wouldn't strictly classify them induction motors. What they really are is a series DC motor. I consider an induction motor one where the armature's magnetic field is excited via induced current.

[@ShafaqIftikhar-pw9ld]

Super video Robert. Thankyou for the upload!!!!!!

[@steffybael1245]

i was given the equipment from an old DRY CLEANING BUSINESS. the big dryer drum's bearing base was over 1 inch thick and over 4 foot diameter and had gussets too, the shaft was 2 inches thick or thicker. lots of 3 phase motors 220 volt and made in ITALY ! was planning to use to build a very large VAWT as i had 20 acres in montana that had one edge of the property on the edge of a very tall bluff. but got sick and ended up selling the property and scrapping out much of the equipment. here in south dakota we have a strong wind most of the time. i can get metal 55 gallon barrels for free from a business, and i still have lots of the 3 phase motors, and other scrap metals. it would be great if i could use the 3 phase 220 volt motors to make a VAWT that puts out enough DC VOLTAGE to keep a battery bank charged, maybe even hook several VAWT's in to a combiner some how. i live next to a smelly ass cattle confinement operation so nobody would complain about noise etc... as a scrapper i get lots of stuff that could be used all sorts of ways to build generators, but having the proper place to store it all is the problem!

[@lirnerpublishingnotes]

Okay, thanks for the good value, Robert M .Smith. great job.

[@travistobias]

Another great video, the way you teach its a lot of fun to learn. Thank you

[@ChristnThms]

If you combine this with the magnetic reduction gear you go over in another video, you have both the capability to accomplish speed control and also multiple speeds.

[@dinosaur0073]

Very interesting....but that should be top secret and you give it all to us....hhhhh...very valuable information for me..thank you very much and God bless you...

[@shigatsuningen]

I would love to see you do a collaboration with Jeremy Fielding over at the Fielding channel on this concept. He could possibly do all the required calculations too.

[@Ujwal5555]

anyone here from GreatScott?

[@bradennunn4851]

Me

[@BensWorkshop]

Might be.....

[@nicgreen4234]

From here, to there, and back to here, glad I didn’t buy any magnets!

[@Johann52005]

Yeah he did totally wreck his nice new motor

[@BensWorkshop]

@@Johann52005 absolutely. I've bought the book with the capacitor calculations and can get a motor from a scrapyard.

[@toddcott9510]

This type of video will get people thinking. Even if they don't fully understand it.

[@dragonrln]

Very interesting and fun tutorial on induction motors and generators. Thank you.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@shaggajones135]

Thanks for all the information you provide, but as someone who has just came along your videos. I’m new to all this and what I’d like to see if possible is a close up of which wires you are connecting together as l found it hard to absorb all the information without seeing which wire goes to where along with why?

[@rikardlalic7275]

I can recall the 1981 great comedy, Only fools and horses with David Jason and Nycholas Lindhurst in the main roles. Really amusing indeed

[@kolinevans9127]

Great video, incidentally this is how the Tesla vehicle can regenerate energy, also this is a Tesla invention of course, the rotor is a shorted inductor which will universally oppose any inductive force on it hence it will rotate after being in motion or with {as stated the 90deg alternate winding or start C with a centrifuge switch.} Thanks for sharing . One for the historic record.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate and you spot on the machine is equally as good in either direction - another reason for it's popularity

[@scamper_van8470]

forgot to say: IGNORANCE IS A BLESSING FOR FOOLS/IDIPTS!!!

[@etherealrose2139]

Not really but good try.

[@dt-tv4fs]

i was only disappointed not seeing the motor/generator get up to speed. . .otherwise excellent

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

yeah you are right I should have done that - cheers

[@andrewyek]

@@ThinkingandTinkering do that pls. andrew

[@OKFrax-ys2op]

@@ThinkingandTinkering part 2 : )

[@daleeasternbrat816]

I work on generators and diesel power generators and engines . A motor start assist for underpowered installations: a flywheel coupled to a gearbox to an induction motor. The system idles at 60 Hz . 1800 RPM. 1500 for 50 Hz. Gives a LOT of motor starting amps! Used to be common in industry. I still find them sometimes.Thanks for posting!

[@itzdragonlover1800]

Cuánta es la capacidad en amperaje de un alternador de camión diesel

[@ktm42080]

Very interesting! I agree, it would be interesting to see it hooked up to something to bring it up to speed. You are correct, 60 hertz is what we have in the States.

[@DeliciousDeBlair]

I'm saddened and somewhat amazed how many of these videos youtube is not letting me find until they are really rather out of date. While I watch your videos 'religiously', you may notice that many of my comments are way younger than the release date. I only just now found this one through the logarithm which is interfering with them coming to me the same day you put them up.

[@AndreaDingbatt]

@Delicious DeBlair It's all down to the YT algorithms, and also, I have found that sometimes we need to "unsub, then resubscribe," to ensure that we are notified of an upload!! (* Unsub then Sub within a few moments!) I'm not sure why this is, but I hope this helps!! A lot of my friends have also had the same issues, ~in fact I was told how to sort it out, by a pal of mine! Quick note, make sure that you hit the All Uploads bell thingy, that way you get notified as soon as a new video is uploaded... (* &, shamefully, Yes, I had to be told about this as well... 🤦🏻‍♀️) Anyways, I do hope that this does help you, and my "unsolicited-advice" isn't in any way offensive, as I intend only to help!! 💞 Kindest Regards, Andrea, Jasper and George the Pigeon. XxX.

[@joe-yl6io]

I love your videos. Keep them comings.

[@55sunturbine30]

Thank you for your enjoyable and informative videos! A small critique of this video, the black shirt sweater makes it difficult to view the parts you are discussing. Keep them coming!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate - i change to a blue shirt in summer - i am one of those guys that hates to think about his dress so i always wear the same outfit - it drives my wife mad lol

[@georgialloyd6368]

God your doing great things.creating interests for kids adults alike. Keep going this world needs more and more people like yourself. Thanks

[@KMikeSavoy]

Your video is playing at 4:00, and as I watch, I wanted to say that I learned how to magnetize the rotor by coiling a thick Guage electric cable through the holes that are put within the much larger ones. Once you have it ran through correctly, you just add an electric charge to the cable, and then remove the cable and the rotor maintains the magnetic field. I'll share the link to the video I watched. I tried it myself on an old blower motor that came out of a evaporative cooler. I wanted to turn the blower into a wind generator. I'll bring back the link shortly after I finish the video.

[@EZEMPIRE_LABORLINKED]

Edward's EZ Equilibrium Rotation Law "In a closed system, rotational equilibrium is achieved when the sum of torques acting on the system about any axis is zero. This principle applies universally across physical systems, maintaining re lance and stability in rotational motion." This law states that in any closed system, the rotational equilibrium is maintained when the total torque (the rotational force) acting on the system around any chosen axis is balanced, ensuring steady rotational motion without acceleration or deceleration.

[@randalfriesen4515]

Hello. I am not very electrical savy but I was wondering if a person could use the mag from a lawnmower and use a windmill to spin it and then collect the current and store it or use it to power devices? From experience one can get quite a shock from it. lol

[@rickwebster3525]

Greetings from Alabama just needed to say that I love all of your videos absolutely great job on explaining everything brother!!!!!!

[@philiprowney]

I remember my old Electrical principles module from '86. The rotor is known as a 'Squirrel cage' rotor, It relies on induced eddy currents. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squirrel-cage_rotor

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

awesome mate - cheers

[@petersack5074]

To all: For more understanding: Remember, this saying . ELI the ICE man. Where E= voltage L= coil/inductor I = current. In an inductive circuit, then = voltage LEADS current. ICE where I=current C=in a capacitive circuit E= voltage. so.......CURRENT leads VOLTAGE, in a capacitor circuit. This, should clear the idea, of 'how' a 'start' capacitor, gets the rotation going. The centrifugal switch, inside/on the motor, will switch off that starter winding, when after about the first half-second, of spin up, or so.

[@dremaboy777]

Yes, that was of much interest. And... very... empowering. Indeed.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate - glad you liked it

[@AntonioMaggetio]

Good info. Ive now halted using magnets on an old beefy ac powertool motor.

[@jeffreyrood8755]

That's really awesome. I've got to look more at this.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

You should! lol

[@genereddington1686]

Tip of the day when playing with ready made motors you will need to know .some motors have allouy windings looking like copper wire . even coated the same colour . What you will find is when you try to energize and parts such as the stata or rota com it will fail . in most cases the armature will have copper wire but fields are made of allouy .metals , what the chinese do is attach 2inches of copper wire to the ends of there cleaner and washer motors with crimps hid in insulation , so if you grab the motor and clean of some insulation it shows to be copper ,. In truth this is done because of heat and currents traveling across the connections . when the com spins and brush gear make contact frequencies of 216hz will be made per second while the motor pulses on and off .The faster the spin the higher the frequency the less current drawn .When under load brush motors draw more current as they slow under load .So the crafty sods attach real copper to the fields . Now when you try feeding the motor with a voltage to create a magnetic field all you get back is just a few volts .. so take off the brushes and remove the bearings for future projects and bin it , Some washer motors have the same set up and want make a bean , so don;t wast time and check first for copper .

[@rogerrabbit7469]

I tried to use an induction motor as a belt pulled generator from a stationary bike. It was rated 1800 rpm and I was able to pedal it pass that speed to induce voltage but here is where the problem came into play..when attached to a load...like a fan or light bulb...the current( or voltage ) dropped and it became very hard to pedal.(I consider myself in decent shape) why is this.? When I use a 90 volt DC motor there is no drop in power

[@genereddington1686]

@@rogerrabbit7469 That load needs current and it take real muscle to generate so the load took energy. ...You can convert load into horse power . roughly 750 watts becomes one horse power . 100 watts will be .75 horse now using a bulb will be a high current resistive load were as another motor is an inductive load as the voltage races through the coils the current lags behind . Making it less of a load till the motor is given work to do . -so no load the motor you put on the output had no load so it would take less current ?

[@JohnBoen]

Okay. Now I understand why the alternator requires an input current to produce voltage. Hadn't made that connection before. Thanks.

[@mwm2929]

Car alternators use induction type rotors and are able to generate quite efficiently just by connecting a capacitor to the field windings. Around a hundred amps out and at a regulated voltage if you use a battery. The only current limiting factor is the field current so you can use a supercapacitor pack around 100F to get the amps up rather quickly. These things are cheaper and smaller since their incorporation into the RC vehicle market.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

this is basically a car alternator mate for sure

[@mikeguitar9769]

I thought car alternators had brushes. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternator And RC airplanes use brushless synchronous AC motors with a permanent magnet rotor. These are different than induction motors.

[@mwm2929]

@@mikeguitar9769 You are correct. The low current field windings are powered through the brushes. I guess these things are a bit different than any other household motor that can be easily acquired. I haven't changed brushes on one in so long I forgot they were there! It was just so easy to throw out the old and buy a new one. Times may be changing back to doing these type of repairs soon..

[@Kiyarose3999]

Very interesting, but a bit too complicated for me, be good to see a very basic diagram of the set up, especially how and where the Cap is placed. I’ve got a few of those Microwave Caps and Induction motors. So I would like try it out, just a thought, is it not possible to magnetise the rotor?

[@diamondfox6272]

A diagram would be awesome 😅

[@flaplaya]

Pretty amazing. No hocus pocus here, I'd love to see a 3 phase motor do this and see the 3 phase output on an O-Scope.

[@petersack5074]

0-scope ? you mean an osk ill oscopy ...../ what we called them, in tech school.....

[@D34THaturplace]

Amazing this is very handy well done working that out

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@aquastar6462]

Hi very helpful video, thanks. How exactly do you wire the capacitors for a single phase induction motor? Do you add them on to the existing 8 mF capacitor or wire them directly where the 2 power leads go in? My motors power box has 6 terminals. 2 for power, 2 for a resistor and 2 for an existing capacitor

[@SyedaLone-u4y]

Induction moters are used as generator in places where speed/rpm is variable because it can output canstant frequency independent of rpm and depends on input frequency given at the start using a soft stater, but moter should operate at super-syncronus rpm to generate power

[@evrstuff]

Something to think about If you face a square coil to approaching magnet as the magnet passes either of the 4 sides of the coil it produces electricity but the other three sides are a waste but if you have 4 magnets passing all 4 sides you will provide full saturation of the coil world that not be the nearest maximum output of the coil?

[@therealjammit]

If you power down the generator while connected to a load the initial magnetization of the core will be zero. If that happens disconnect the load and don't spin the generator (static) and temporarily apply a "AA" battery to it. The battery will leave a residual magnetic field that will be a starting magnetic field when you spin the generator up. To help prevent demagnetizing the field put two silicon diodes in anti parallel (anode of one to the cathode of two, and the cathode of one to the anode of two) and put the diodes in series with one of the load wires. The diodes will disconnect the load when the voltage drops down to either plus or minus 0.6v and leave a tiny bit of residual magnetic flux in the generator core. The small 0.6 drop won't be a serious loss at 120/220 volts AC. The generator works better with more capacitance. You can use polarized capacitors but you have to take another step before hooking them up. You take two of the same capacitance and hook their negatives together. The negatives are insulated and not used. The remaining two positive leads are used as if they aren't polarized and can be used on AC. The capacitance rating is halved but you now have a non-polarized capacitor.

[@terryharris3393]

A capacitor start motor is a type of split phase induction motor because the auxiliary winding is fed from the single phase input voltage through a capacitor which produces a current almost 90 deg out of phase with the main winding. The effect is to increase torque when the motor is started. The auxiliary winding is disconnected by a centrifugal switch when the motor comes up to speed. Is it too much to ask that your explanations are accurate?

[@imtiazkannir8010]

Sir I are a book of knowledge thank you for the information

[@BushImports]

That's sort of amazing, it sounds like it's a lot better deal without magnets. Could it be made to be self powering?

[@Teknopottu]

Self exiting was the reason why the capacitors were connected, to amplify the tiny amount of residual magnetism.

[@JHowardG]

Realizing this is years later, but any chance you have a simple sketch of the circuit? inputs/outputs of the motor? Thanks! and very helpful!

[@murraymadness4674]

It seems this would be perfect for a vertical wind generator, as the speed of the blades is self-limiting, so if you match the inductive generator speed to the blades, it will operate at peak efficiency.

[@cooliocrib4409]

You sir are amazing 👏 thank you

[@XxXx-dk3wb]

Hope you get an invite from TedTalk. That would be Terrific.

[@joe.nassimian]

Great video on this under appreciated generator, I almost clicked away when I saw you misidentified your first induction motor that's actually a universal motor. There are induction motors with wound rotors, but they don't rely on commutation when running at nominal speeds. Am I missing something?

[@Bsw1968]

Thanks for the information. Would it be possible to post a wiring diagram just so newbs like me could have a visual reference on hand.

[@simonpike9568]

I just watched the video, how can you determine the watt output of the squirrel motor conversion to generator

[@veracity91]

my capacitor has 7 connections on top.. cylinder... how do i know what wires to hook up to what pin on the capacitor? GREAT CHANNEL BUD

[@shortbuslife3440]

Holy cow thankyou Robert I have been playing with a 3 phase motor wondering about this very thing and found even spinning it with a cordless drill at 900rpm (motor rated at 950rpm) I could only get about a 3v ac peak and was wondering if you would be able to come up with a solution, strangely I was looking at these for a design of VAWT wind turbine using a centrifugal fan to turn the motor. I added a rectifier hoping to see a result in DC but unfortunately saw no more than maybe 1v (this was over a week ago so can't remember all details) but clearly I wasn't running the motor at a high enough speed. I am also wondering whether combining this with a moped variable ratio style gearbox woul;d enable the motor to maintain speed with reduced effect of turbine speed.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

when it is at low speed mate you get these tiny voltages - when you get close to where it wants to run you will see a sudden spike in voltage - it's then you can put a load on - i am sue you know - but i thought i should mention you will need a 3 phase rectifier - super easy to build though

[@shortbuslife3440]

@@ThinkingandTinkering yer I bought 3 bridge rectifiers as was going to try with a few different motors and wanted some spares and just assumed the motor would work the same as a motorcycle alternator effectively and once I have a high DC voltage I can then put it into a charge controller. On the single phase motor I take it you are wiring the capacitor across the starter coil and then drawing off of the running coil? This is how I've wired just need to go get a mains drill from storage to test. I am a little unsure how to wire the 3 phase motor at the moment with the 3 seperate brown wires and 3 bridged blue (could be unlinked and may give higher voltage) I was thinking of just placing a capaitor between 1 of the blue and brown wires but I'm unsure as ohmage is same on all 3 coils.

[@kreynolds1123]

Wind speeds are variable which poses a challenge for DIW induction generators for wind power. Basiclly you need either a mechanical continously variable transmission to speed up the generator under low wind speeds and slow it down under high wind speeds, or you need to electronically switch in and out reactive capacitance as turbine generator rpm changes, so as to adjust resonate frequency of the capacitors and field coils.

[@kreynolds1123]

@@shortbuslife3440 This is how to wire in capacitors with 3 phase delta wiring. images.app.goo.gl/xsvtsPc2Ao2WuV8c7 Your load can be a 3 phase bridge rectifier, or three single phase bridge rectifyers with the + of each connected and the - of each connected.

[@shortbuslife3440]

@@kreynolds1123 Thanks that was something I wondered with the bridge rectifiers but have little experience with. As for the speed control this is why I was saying about using a cvt gearbox from a moped as this would be a low cost solution, obviously not the whole gearbox though, but using the same kind of parts as they're readily available and can be fine tuned without huge manufacturing expense.

[@4gauge10]

Excellent video Robert.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

glad you liked it mate

[@keithbill310]

Fascinating stuff...

[@BensWorkshop]

The motor out of the drill isn't an induction motor. It is a brushed AC motor. Apart from that, quite interesting.

[@gazzaka]

That is fascinating... ty !

[@WEYHARRY1]

Great video, great explanation

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@martinwinkelgrund4895]

I really enjoy your videos, very helpful! I could use your advise regarding the induction motor. I tried to use it as generator, 2hp single phase with 2x200mq capacitors alteady inbuild. I got only 50v output

[@Merlin3189]

Don't worry about that. It's the power output you want. AC can easily be transformed to other voltages - by a transformer (the clue is in the name!) What RM-S always forgets to mention is the power, which is the rate of useful work it can do. 50 V at 1 A is 50 W and that can be transformed to 250 V at 0.2 A which is still 50 W and is useful. If your generator got 250 V, but only 4 mA, that might sound better, but is only 1 W of useful power. His emergency battery with 0.3 V at 40 mA is 0.012 W and of dubious value even for charging a phone. Just think how your phone discharges even if you don't make or receive any calls: mine might last 48 hours like that. Lets be generous and say it could do 100 hours on a charge, if I don't use it. My phone requires about 5 W hours for a full charge, so 0.012 W will take about 400 hours! But it's not useless! I can make dozens of calls a day on a full charge, so 5 - 10 hours charging might just give me a single call, provided the phone was off the rest of the time.

[@ArbitraryOnslaught]

I have a small motor hooked up to some leds and when I spin it, I can keep the lights shining. But when I attach a small battery to recharge it, the opposite happens it thieves the energy from the cell. I kinda estimated it generated 3v

[@boydmcree9085]

Thank you

[@brianmcnish1835]

You have come back to my world. Although my Ioniq uses a permanent magnet (synchronous 3-phase motor) it provides excellent motor and regen for braking in the functioning of the motion of the vehicle with of course recapture of energy to the batteries. Mechanical braking is almost unnecessary,.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

Awesome and hanks for sharing mate

[@JSabh]

Hi Rob, I was wondering why you didn't use a three bridge rectifier? Super easy to connect three wires from the motor and the other to your load. Cheers mate.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

no real reason mate - i did exactly that in another video and I like to different things in different videos

[@SakkieGB]

Just as a thought experiment.... How would a Multi Stage Tesla Turbine with some form of gearbox, let say 3 to 1, interact with something like this. In theory, you get very high revolutions out of a Tesla turbine. Not sure how much torque this might require from the turbine, but the power output should be quite good because of the speeds that you can reach with a multi stage turbine.

[@JjMn1000]

it was pretty helpful. my thing im using as a generator is a 14 pole 60 hertz ceiling fan motor(80 ohms which i assume is 8 poles and also 60 ohms which maybe 6 poles). I have a 15uf capacitor in parallel to the 80 ohm winding. it is i believe a capacitor start motor. i got the capacitor from an old generator(very very old). the fan works but by spinning it by hand(to generate), i can only get like 300 millivolts and barely any current output(i have a stepper motor as generator and it can generate like 30vac). Please suggest something i can do to improve results.

[@brianbaird4573]

You are likely using the wrong capacitor value. You have to experiment. And don't forget about what he said. You MUST get it to rotate substantially over synchronous speed. I don't know the speed of the ceiling fan. The blades keep the motor from ever reaching true synchronous speed. Take off the blades and run the fan. Use a tach to check RPM. Now spin your generator faster than that, by a little bit. You will know when you reach the right speed because the generator will start loading down it's prime mover, whatever that is. Maybe a wind turbine, bike pedals, or hand crank with a belt.

[@marcfruchtman9473]

Very interesting. Thanks.

[@doctormcgoveran2194]

I love your channel, you are just the old guy three million doors down... a few things.. when the wind is blowing and the rotor is turning free wheeling, it extracts no energy from the air. If you load it the more it slows down the more energy you are extracting.....when you put iron in a coil you lose a little bit of energy to flip the iron back and forth, but there is a gain because the iron is more permeable to the field than the air in the coil. In the case of your perimeter of the circle idea, the greater voltage is generated when the magnetic lines of force move faster.If You go the axle to extra you have the mechanical problems you mentioned and you have a speed and gearing problem. When you decide between series and parallel in the coils, try to have just enough voltage and more current. it the source is a higher voltage than the load like a car alternator at high way speeds the extra voltage is blown off as heat. thats why a car alternator has fins all over it.

[@hunnybunnysheavymetalmusic6542]

Does one need to put one capacitor on each of the field windings? I was not clear which wires the capacitors were supposed to be connected to.

[@jonc2276]

I would like to learn more about this because I have a squirrel cage and motor that I’ve been wanting to turn into a generator. But I can’t find any information on how to do it

[@OverlandOne]

Nikola tesla invented the A.C. Induction Motor and, something I learned last night that I did not know, this is why the designers of the Tesla electric car named it after him because they are also using an A.C. Induction Motor to propel their cars. I always figured they just used a D.C. motor. (I watched an interview with the two designers of the car and they explained this)

[@matthewtrevathan3919]

Any chance you have a wiring diagram? I'm trying to convert a 115V dryer motor into a generator and I can't figure out how to get it wired up. There are 6 pins. No colors. I'm planning on spinning the motor/generator with my bike so I can exercise and charge things at the same time :).

[@sham1234567891]

Hi Robert. Hope you are doing fine and out of reach of covid attack in your bunker. I would very much appreciate if you could describe in drawing the hook up of the induction motor with capacitors. I can't figure out how to connect the capacitors. Thanks a lot Robert. Regards.

[@dkdyker]

Brilliant, thanks this will save me money. Great job! Will these be able to self run if a flywheel and small motor to keep up the start RPM?

[@conductiveinkalternative918]

Thanks for sharing. That mite be why my sear's generator doesn't work. Because a cap went bad.

[@ArbitraryOnslaught]

More information then any class iv taken.