general and partially naive questions of generating electricity

[Anthony Tomah]

Quick question for those who may have some knowledge on the subject. I've
been doing very basic research about all the comments of my previous post
concerning waterwheels, magnet strength, etc. and still have some questions.
I've always been one to enjoy experiments but on my own, they never really
seem to materialize. With that in mind, are there any groups/individuals in
the Rhode Island area who dabble in the field of home power generation?
Also, when creating a homemade generator and all things being equal, does
the gauge of the copper wire make a difference in the amount of electric
current that runs through it? Are there any standard rules when it comes to
generating electricity such as, "to generate 500 watts of power, you need
1750 rpm's(or whatever rpm the motor requires) and 16 gauge copper wire with
50 pounds of permanent magnet at an 80% efficiency," or are there many
permutations to create such a 500 watt scenario? Like, if you increased the
magnet(s), whether in quantity, strength, or weight and also increased the
wire gauge to, say, 14 gauge, would it balance itself out?

Thanks again for all those who responded to my last question.

Tony

 

[John]

Quick question for those who may have some knowledge on the subject. I've
been doing very basic research about all the comments of my previous post
concerning waterwheels, magnet strength, etc. and still have some
questions.
I've always been one to enjoy experiments but on my own, they never really
seem to materialize. With that in mind, are there any groups/individuals
in the Rhode Island area who dabble in the field of home power generation?
Also, when creating a homemade generator and all things being equal, does
the gauge of the copper wire make a difference in the amount of electric
current that runs through it? Are there any standard rules when it comes
to generating electricity such as, "to generate 500 watts of power, you
need 1750 rpm's(or whatever rpm the motor requires) and 16 gauge copper
wire with 50 pounds of permanent magnet at an 80% efficiency," or are
there many permutations to create such a 500 watt scenario? Like, if you
increased the magnet(s), whether in quantity, strength, or weight and also
increased the wire gauge to, say, 14 gauge, would it balance itself out?

Thanks again for all those who responded to my last question.

Tony

The more current that you put through a wire the bigger it needs to be.
The circuits in my house were wired as follows:
15 amp breaker - 14 GA wire
20 amp breaker - 12 GA wire
30 amp breaker - 10 GA wire
The breakers by the way are protecting the wire from overheating.
They are not protecting the appliances that are connected to the circuit.
Ground fault breakers and arc suppression breakers are a different
category.

Are you generating AC or DC?
If it's AC, then the generator speed will be 1800 RPM or 3600 RPM
depending on the number of poles in the generator. The speed has
to be held very constant under varying loads or you won't end up
with a 60 hz power supply.

I seriously doubt that you can build a generator with the required
speed controls cheaper than you can purchase one. The Guardian
7KW automatic switchover generator is about $2000.00. It runs
on natural gas or propane gas. Installation and fuel supply are in
addition to that price.

 

[Eeyore]

Quick question for those who may have some knowledge on the subject. I've
been doing very basic research about all the comments of my previous post
concerning waterwheels, magnet strength, etc. and still have some questions.
I've always been one to enjoy experiments but on my own, they never really
seem to materialize. With that in mind, are there any groups/individuals in
the Rhode Island area who dabble in the field of home power generation?
Also, when creating a homemade generator and all things being equal, does
the gauge of the copper wire make a difference in the amount of electric
current that runs through it? Are there any standard rules when it comes to
generating electricity such as, "to generate 500 watts of power, you need
1750 rpm's(or whatever rpm the motor requires) and 16 gauge copper wire with
50 pounds of permanent magnet at an 80% efficiency," or are there many
permutations to create such a 500 watt scenario? Like, if you increased the
magnet(s), whether in quantity, strength, or weight and also increased the
wire gauge to, say, 14 gauge, would it balance itself out?

I suggest you take a basic course in electrical engineering.

Graham

 

[Saul]

You need to buy a book pal


"> been doing very basic research about all the comments of my previous post