Build A Generator From A Lawnmower This project is only to get you started thinking. There are ideas out there like this one to make alternative sources of energy. Think what might be possible and see where it will take you. I found this article from our friends at Epicenter where there are a lot more ideas waiting for you. A Generator From A Lawnmower The first step is to remove the motor from the lawn mower base. Typically, there are 3 or 4 bolts holding the motor to the base, but before you remove them, you will need to remove the mower blade and the shaft coupler that holds the blade on the motor shaft. Getting the blade and the coupling off is a bit of a pain. Removing the blade is not nearly as difficult, but still requires a bit of ingenuity to figure out a way to “jam” the blade so it won’t rotate while you remove the bolt which holds it in place on the motor shaft. We found that we had to use a “pulley puller”, to remove the shaft coupler after the mower blade was removed. A “pulley puller” which can be rented or purchased at most auto parts stores. Removing the coupler is difficult to impossible without use of this tool. You will also find that it’s a bit of a pain to work under the mower to remove the blade, especially if there is still oil in the motor or gas in the tank. We found that some oil leaked when we tipped the motor over and the mower smoked like crazy for a few minutes when we started it. The ideal way to approach motor and blade removal is to elevate the mower on some type of platform and not to tip the motor at all. We ended up using a fork lift to hold the mower up in the air for the blade removal as shown in this photo. The next hassle will be in finding the required pulley. Our research indicated that nearly all the motors used in vertical shaft lawn mowers have a 7/8″ shaft, and a 3/16″ or 1/4″ key way. However, horizontal shaft motors under about 7 HP use a 3/4″ shaft. The 3/4″ pulleys can be found at most hardware stores, but the 7/8″ pulleys are impossible to find. What we had to do was to set up an account with a company that supplies Heating and Air Conditioning Systems, Motors, Blowers and Components to be able to order the correct pulleys. We will be making the correct pulleys available for purchase to folks who can’t find them locally. Another catch is that a 3/16″ key way is not standard on cast iron pulleys. What we found was that a 1/4″ key way is the norm because most high horse power AC motors use a 1/4″ size key way. A pulley with a 3/16″ key way is not typically available in a 7/8″ shaft diameter configuration. It is possible to use a pulley with a 1/4″ key way on a motor that has a 3/16″ key way provided that the set screw is on top of the key on the motor shaft and NOT on the shaft itself. If close attention is paid to this detail the pulley will stay in place without vibrating or loosening. As expected, the biggest problem is figuring out how to bolt everything together. In our first attempts, we tried to figure out an easy way to reuse the lawn mower base, and somehow build something that could be attached simply to the base (so that a belt could be run to the pulley on the alternator). That proved to be an impossible task for various reasons. All the bases we looked at on the most common mowers were constructed a bit differently, so whatever would work on one mower would not fit the base for another brand of mower. In some cases, (especially with side discharge mowers) a pulley could actually be run out the discharge shoot. Some mowers did not have the required clearance, or had extra sheet metal that directed the cut grass in such a way that the metal would need to be cut in order to be able to run the belt out from under the mower. So, what we ended up concentrating on was coming up with a universal base that just about any motor could fit on. Yes, there were some complications there, too. Some motors have the head on one side and the tank on the other and some have them set 90 degrees apart. So, our base had to allow for rotating the motor by about 30 degrees, and allow positioning the motor in any of the 90 degree quadrants. That allowed the motor to be in any position with clearance for the alternator and a method for hooking up the belt. We also wanted to allow the alternator position to be adjusted allowing for several belt sizes to be used. The bracket also has an integral belt adjustment slot which allows the alternator position to be adjusted, which also serves to tension the belt. What can this generator be used for? The basic generator (gas powered motor, alternator and battery only) can be used as a 12 volt power source. This is extremely useful for charging battery banks in RVs, campers or in out buildings. The big advantage to this generator as a charging system is the high current output of the alternator, and thus, the reduced charge time over using solar cells, or AC battery chargers. The other big advantage to using this unit to charge batteries over merely charging them with a car, is that this generator uses much less gas to do the job (which is critical in an emergency). Some HAM radio folk use 12 volt equipment that can be powered from the battery until it is low in charge, and then crank up the generator to recharge the battery. The high output of this unit also makes it useful for car lots or fleets for jump starting cars.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 22:05:21 +0000
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