Connecting my bicycle directly to a washing machine

[doctor]

Hi all,

Could someone please tell me if there are websites or pages out there on how
to use
my bicycle to power my washing machine?

 

[Steve Young]

Have you tried a backpack? It doesn't hold as much as a washing
machine, but a washing machine would be really hard to pull - not to
mention dangerous going downhilll.

yeah wouldn't take long to be rubbing metal on the brakes I wouldn't guess
))

 

[Gordon Richmond]

Having scavenged motors out of washing machines on a number of
occasions, I think I can say with confidence that few, if any, run
over 1/3 HP. Someone here will probably prove me wrong, though :>)

I think you could connect a bicycle (or exercise bike) to a washing
machine by using roller chain or belts. With enough ingenuity,
anything is possible.

It's getting hard to find wringer washers, and unless one has help, it
would be hard to put clothes through the wringer while pedalling.

I'd go with an automatic washer. If you have electricity, I'd leave
the timer and solenoid valves and solenoid gearshift all connected,
and simply use the bicycle power to replace the motor itself. If you
get tired, you can always take a breather and let the clothes soak.

If you have no electricity to run the timer, etc., you'd have to rig
up some mechanical controls to shift the washer's transmission from
"agitate" to "spin", and to likewise shift the pump from recirculate
to pump out.

It could be done, but you'd have to really want to do it.

Good luck,

Gordon Richmond

 

[NOONE]

you might be able to come up with some alternatives to powering an
exisiting washing machine which likely takes more power than you can
deliver.

Perhaps the OP wants to perform some biking excercise and thought it would
be nice to drive his/her washing machine while excercising, i.e. killing
two birds with a single stone. When he is done with the execercise, so does
the washing cycle.

 

[daestrom]

Hi all,

Could someone please tell me if there are websites or pages out there on how
to use
my bicycle to power my washing machine?

For complete details of this and other bicycle-related technologies, contact
"The Professor" c/o Gilligan's Island. I understand it's just a 'three-hour
tour' from Hawaii. ;-))

daestrom

 

[Pike]

I find that upper-body excersise is harder to get than lower, (I cycle
everywhere) so I myself would consider bolting a car steering wheel to the
agitator and then just haul away back and forth til' the water turns dark.
This is not as silly as it sounds since you were going to power it
continuously with your legs anyway and you won't be losing so much in the
friction of the belt drive. I could further suggest that you put a big
poster picture of a race track and you might make motor noises with your
mouth as you triumph over the energy conglomerates while building up your
biceps, pectorals and latterals. I have only recently stopped wearing the
next day's clothes into my evening shower- killing 2 birds with one stone.
Hope this helps.

 

[Steve Spence]

the "human powered" discussion group talks about projects like this and
others that are similar.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hpwd/

http://www.humboldt.edu/~ccat/leftnav/PedalPower/WashingMachine.html

 

[Peterthinking]

I don't know if you could do as good a job as a machine...

here is more than you would ever want to know about washing machine physics.
plug your human output into the equation and it's pretty sad.

http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mspincycle.html

this was found at the Straight Dope

http://www.straightdope.com/index.html

in the archive

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/index.html

if you ever had a question no one else could answer you can probably find it
here.Cecil knows all!...all hail Cecil.

Peter

 

[NRFPT]

"Peterthinking" <[email protected]> wrote in message

as good a job at.... what? the premise of my post is that the
machine cycle isn't necessary. The washer/dryer cycles are optimal
for converting clothing into lint. Great stuff, if you're in the
garment business....

In all future posts on this thread, let us state for the public
record, whether we are armchair thought experimenters, or whether we
(such as myself) have extensive actual experience in washing clothes
by hand.

Well, I''m a arm chair kinda guy with extensive experience watching people
do things like washing clothes by hand - for short periods of time [mind
you] - and only for academic reasons [banjo background]. I think the
bicycle thing is a great idea. I'd love to watch - for a minute or
two...... Just don't use that 1958 Schwinn or a large capacity washer......
You'll need at least 10 gears to get'r going with a ten pound load [that's
what my wife said anyway].

On a less serious note, if washers and dryers turn your clothes to lint
perhaps you should consider buying better clothes? Or wear them less often?
Just, damn well, not let them get dirty? [Or collect lint? I do!]

Just some thoughts.

******
From the Cusp of Alternative Power: Delegation.

 

[Peterthinking]

what do you do with lint?

Peter

"Peterthinking" <[email protected]> wrote in message

as good a job at.... what? the premise of my post is that the
machine cycle isn't necessary. The washer/dryer cycles are optimal
for converting clothing into lint. Great stuff, if you're in the
garment business....

In all future posts on this thread, let us state for the public
record, whether we are armchair thought experimenters, or whether we
(such as myself) have extensive actual experience in washing clothes
by hand.

Well, I''m a arm chair kinda guy with extensive experience watching people
do things like washing clothes by hand - for short periods of time [mind
you] - and only for academic reasons [banjo background]. I think the
bicycle thing is a great idea. I'd love to watch - for a minute or
two...... Just don't use that 1958 Schwinn or a large capacity washer......
You'll need at least 10 gears to get'r going with a ten pound load [that's
what my wife said anyway].

On a less serious note, if washers and dryers turn your clothes to lint
perhaps you should consider buying better clothes? Or wear them less often?
Just, damn well, not let them get dirty? [Or collect lint? I do!]

Just some thoughts.

******
From the Cusp of Alternative Power: Delegation.

 

[Steve Spence]

Actually it's for the folks who have no electricity, and would be washing
their clothes by hand is feces contaminated rivers if they didn't have this.
I have seen this firsthand.

 

[Steve Spence]

In the specific application I'm thinking of, see below:

--
Steve Spence
www.green-trust.org

"Steve Spence" <[email protected]> wrote in message

Right. That leaves me a couple of questions:
1. how does pedal washing get cleaner water into the picture?

use rain water instead of the river.

2. how is pedal power better than handwashing in a bowl? I ask because
it would appear at first sight that wiggling clothes about in a water
bowl would take less of that all important human energy than rotating
the container of water.

not enough agitation

3. For people this poor is it not more useful to use the bike parts to
make a bike?

they have plenty of bike parts that are not useful for actual riding.

4. Would it not be better to harness wind power to agitate clothes? It
would be simpler and much more energy efficient. I'm thinking of a
stick, piece of cloth and bit of string.

not enough wind in this location

I dont know the answers, thats what springs to mind for me.

every location/application/situation has differences. whats good/bad for one
may be different for someone else.

We discuss topics like these at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hpwd/
and
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/3rdworldenergy/