Converting PC Fans To Mini Generators
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- Опубликовано: 19 авг 2024
- If you want to have a look at those special videos become a member and join by clicking this link / @thinkingandtinkering . THe latest one shows how to imrpove the efficiency of a wind generator.
What I love about watching Robert's videos is that he makes things accessible to everyone in a real-world environment . More to the point, though, it doesn't always work perfectly first time. I have always believed that you learn FAR more from a mistake than you ever will if it goes right, first time, every time.
cheers mate - failures just show you what doesn't work so you can try something else
Please use more close up shots because us older people have a hard time seeing what you are doing
David Greenfield
Only if he learns to focus the camera.
Please use a camera with autofocus
Robert, I think you're great. I really enjoy your videos. As far as the larger fan motor not operating very well, just think about it backwards. If 12v will operate all the fans at, lets say 300 rpm, then you will get much more air movement out of the larger fan. Consequentially, it will also take more air movement, across the larger fans, to produce the same amount of voltage. In addition, producing and collapsing the magnetic field on thinner wire, produces higher voltages, than thicker wire. The larger fan may have thicker wire on it, say 30-36 awg, as opposed to the 40-50 awg on the smaller fans. Keep up the great work.
I’ve always assumed this was possible. It makes me wanna mess around with them and see what happens if you do weird things with them.
i agree - and I think it is that which matters - I think if you mess around with stuff - then you discover - if you just sit and say - oh no because this that or the other - well you discover nothing - go and mess about mate - cheers
When removing spring clips ( C-clips and the like ) remove inside a bucket to contain the clip from flying away!
A grocery bag or pillowcase would work also.
Add the proper circuit and you have a modified Bedini SSG for charging batteries, but you use one of those coils as the Exciter and collect from the remaining coils for charging. Easy enough to find with a quick Google search. There are Several RUclips videos to explain the process as well. Also listed in Patrick Kelley's Practical Guide to Free Energy Devices, about 1200 pages of various devices related to Free Energy. PDF file, free & easy to locate. Good way to usefully occupy some of that free time many have recently acquired.
I didn't choose the terminology, the term Free Energy has existed for at least 40 years. The technology dates back to Tesla himself.
nice info mate thans for posting - i know Kelly's book - it is awesome
Your "big beefy" fan looks to be an older Server fan,
Usually designed to be higher RPM at the same 12v and a disregard for noise,
so when used as a gen, would need a much higher wind speed to achieve the same voltage as the others, just as you observed :)
Great video!
Those little fan are my favorite work shop toy ..when I go to the recycle center I always hunting down old PC
lol can relate to the frustrating sighs at 4:30 and 4:48, maybe a piece of plastic or metal can be fashioned to slide under and wedge or lift.
Another use for cpu fan motors. Remove fins, attach magents, use as a magnetic stirrer.
Use a larger cpu fan motor that can deal with more viscous liquids.
Computer power supply can provide 3.3v, 5v, or 12v. For different speed.
Computer fans are single voltage.
You might be able to get one to work with the 3.3 and 5 volt, but I doubt you'll get one to work with all three voltages.
@@scotttovey ive had cpu fans work with 5v just fine, though more slowly. Im not sure about 3.3v. I have not tried. I have tried with 18v although I didn't try to run it for long.
nice mate - cheers
@@kreynolds1123
Hmm, perhaps the design is so simple that voltage is irrelevant, making the primary concern too much amperage and heat.
😎👍
@@scotttovey Too many amps and not enough heat dissipation were my concern with 18v. I may just sacrifice a cpu fan to see. Five volts on the other hand is not going to draw too much current, unless maybe if you cause it to spin far too slow.
If Mr.Science was still alive,he would be watching this channel Robert.
This was really interesting and I always learn something new.
Now,if you were to build a voltage doubler circuit,then run that through some 500 farad super-caps,you could build one helluva generator with those tiny fans.🤓👍
cheers mate - thanks for taking the time to say that and i like the suggestion
While you are taking apart the computer's PSU have a look at the circuit board. Many of them have bridge rectifiers built it. They have to be extracted and desoldered but they are there and free if you are using scrap. I also like to take the larger capacitors out if they are still in good condition. Switches, wires, wire harnesses and even the occasional coil can easily be repurposed from these power supplies. Just make sure the capacitors have been discharged before you mess with the boards.
I love your enthusiasm for learning, now I know this is ions ago and you know you only need one or two diodes to get DC
Love the video been watching your videos along time. Audio quality has came along way. Projects like this would be cool to have a second camera view but editing and such would be more hassle. Either way keep up the videos I'm real interested to see where graphene goes
You know oddly enough I was thinking the same thing mate - picture in picture would be good - i'll have to givee it a go i think - cheers
Alternator went out on my car...that's what brought me here lol....I need these to output at least 16Amps @12v....that's enough to replace an alternator on a car...2 or 3 batteries in series would make up for the car having aux power while not moving....it's either this or solar panels
Massive collection..... for me, understatement of the year.
Me as well, no doubt in excess of 2000 LOL sad isn't it?
lol - it's almost like they breed lol
i am sorry mate but i am killing myself laughing - the do indeed collect lol
I ought to have had some waterproof versions of these fitted in my drainpipes last year....
Philipe Jones check out QUINT BUILDS videos on the subject? I had a similar idea myself, but the amount of power generated is so small ...
There's a lot of experiments and interest in using inexpensive CPU and other cooling fans to generate electricity...most focus on using wind power but unless you live in a very windy part of the world or high altitude having a constant strong wind on your fans is not achievable so you can't achieve maximum output efficiency which is around 3V DC for a 12V CPU fan with a fairly strong constant wind..
One idea which interests me in using fans for electricity generating is this...
Building a wall of small 12V CPU fans interconnected and connecting to cheap inexpensive small solar panels combined with wind to power the wall of fans to generate a considerable amount of electricty and current.
And then to maximise the output from the wall of fans, building a second wall of fans close to the first wall. That way, in theory the wind generated from the first wall of fans, powers the second wall. Although the second wall of fans would probably not run at peak output efficiency, it could still maybe provide 30-50% or more electricity than the first wall, even without solar.
I wonder if such an idea is feasible? If it is, it would be fairly low-cost to do and highly scaleable!
I just cooked the electronics on a squirrel cage PC fan by accidentally connecting it to a solar panel in reverse polarity and leaving it in full sun for a minute, the magic smoke was starting to escape; it should still make a good generator!
That was a jolly good show ole chap, jolly good indeed, and I love watching your videos.
The best solotion for a PC fan is make a lamp, I think! A transparent tube a old filament edison lamp and a windstriming fan to the floor from near the ceiling and the room heat get back to warm up once more!
I really enjoy your Productions and appreciate the time that you share with us
Attach it to a mouse running wheel and the led. The mouse can have some fun switching on the light when it's bored.
or you could just watching it - difficult to say who would have the most fun lol
Each diode in the bridge rectifier will consume .7 of a volt, So the 4 diodes will consume .28 of a volt for your efficientency ratings approximately 1/3 rd of a volt.. pluss the resistors and the capacitances you will need to add a capacitor for stability. The resistance is the wire diameter and length and any further resistance to establish the correct voltage "if required".
Yes, improve your focus on closeups. A closeup stable camera mount would help considerably to stop shaking. Good ideals though.
would have been nice with some voltage and amp meassurements
And if you got one of my previous posts the coil core can have a iron core for better results just coat The core in a ceramic or a graphite/ carbon layer to reduce the eddy current interference. It adds about 30% reduction to your induction resistance, the coating. Well that's what the studies say..
Finally, something I have lying around the house.
I get power generation from simply hooking my multimeter directly to the red and black wires on the fan and spinning the fan. No internal modifications or re-wiring required. Is there another reason why we need to open the fan up and clip connections? Earnest question from a relative noob. Thanks.
Some fans have build in diode to prevent it "pushing back" power when the device is shut down and the fan is still spinning. I think Robert mentioned in some comment that not all fans have these but I did not quite get if it is more efficient to rewire fans. I have 6" 48VDC industrial fan and, when spun, it easily creates +12 volts and couple of dozen milliamps.
@@Teknopottu If I remember correctly, a diode wasn't the reason he gave for what he did. It had something to do with cutting out part of the coil windings(I think). Too lazy to go back and review the video again but I'm pretty sure. I have a large collection of computer type fans from a variety of devices(computers, battery chargers, inverters, etc.) and I've checked them all. They all generate power as is. But who knows? Maybe UK fans have different designs? Doesnt seem likely but like I said; who knows? No one but you has offered me any other explanation lol
@@Teknopottu PS: That industrial fan sounds awesome. A near ready made wind generator once some better blades are installed. I had something like that years back and tossed it. Totally regret doing so now.
@@somuchsillynoise9149 I was interested in the same thing, why gut the fan when it produces power. Reviewed the video and Robert just bypassed the fan components and soldered directly on coils, on other fan (I think) he removed the coil from the components and used it as is. So, I think the point was there is diodes in some fans but still I'm not sure if direct connect on coils is more effective. If not, why open them up in the first place. Quite infuriating.
@@Teknopottu guess it leaves things up to us to figure and decide about ;) I'm putting the PC fan stuff aside for now though in preference to a super capacitor jump starting box. I've collected the mats and will make it later this winter when snowbound boredom kicks in. Itll have a hand crank generator incorporated into it for charging purposes. Itll take a few minutes to fully charge(and a little cranking effort) but it's mostly for fun and personal proof of concept. The handcrank genny puts out a couple of amps at 14 to 15 volts or so. It just amazes me though how easy and accessible "clean" energy already is. How much more so would it be if we stopped subsidizing the fossil fuel industry and put that same money into R&D for clean/renewable energy sources?
Never thought about everytime i vacuum swept out a computer fan and it whizzed around at a million miles, it was probably shorting out the motherboard if there was no protection. if you can short one with 1 touch of static, then imagine 12v going the wrong way
Before modifying they tend not to produce any current past the boards built in. Hence why he had to take these apart to mske them useful the opposite way.
*Uses mains-powered c. 20 Watt fan motor to generate enough electricity to light a 20 mW LED.* Nice principle though. Thanks Robert.
Who was the spark in your life that inspired your great curiosity and wonder? Hope you someday release that video (unless I missed it, if so please refer me to that video). Great video Rob! 😊👍
Perfect!
Stepper Motors are really good aswell... because you can connect 1 2 3 or 4 coils depending on the wind...or water.... or whatever .... AND you can set the 4 coils for series or parallel.... or Both... very versatile low Rpm permanent magnet generators.
But I love the simplicity of your design here..... Perfek! :o)
Another brilliant video . It seems that the smaller ,lower input power fans produce more energy at slower RPM.The smallest fan produced more light
yes i saw that too - it seems they have a minimum speed - maybe to do with inertia do you think?
I am new to electricity. I am fascinated with learning how to generate my own electricity. How much electricity this little generator produces? Thank you very much for sharing this video. God bless you.
It could probably produce more in ideal circumstances. But from what I seen it looking like it is probably 3.6-3.8v @20ma. 0.72-0.76w. So not much at all. They are meant to spin at high speeds which means they need really fast wind to get power back out.
Or
You actually don't need to remove it, just put the fan near the vacuum cleaner it will spin it at very high rpm and give you some current, so always keep one in case of emergency
Once again very informative rob 👍 good man
cheers - thanks for the post
Imagine an artificial "tree" with many "branches" leading to hundreds and hundreds of these fans as "leaves" to catch the breeze, all wired back to a charger and battery bank. Could actually be a neat piece of functional art.
cool idea - go for it
Okie dokie, a whole new definition of gently.
one for which your mother didn't prepare you lol - you should see how I treat other stuff!
@@ThinkingandTinkering Honestly though, your understanding of materials and science is amazing and your videos are indispensable. I operate an industrial power supply repair shop so a tool for grabbing coils without damaging them is important. I tried those over the counter plier booties and they work fine for larger windings. For small coils I use plastic dip on the plier tip.
No offense, but I like my design better. But I don't know why you took the fans apart. I used 8, identical, 2 wire axial fans, 3 inch diameter. Wired them in parallel. Ran all-thread through the mounting holes of the fan bodys with 3 stacked washers between each (for spacing) bolted together like a "wind tunnel". Wired them to a very small, 12v battery for voltage stabilization. Glued a large, powerful, magnet to the bottom of the "tunnel". Added a long wire to the "total output" (after the battery) and added a 12v car power outlet to the other end of the wire, with a standard car USB charger plugged into it. On the highway (75 MPH in Texas) I can stick it to the roof (outside of vehicle) with the wire running into the window and charge my phone. Yes it would be easier to fix the power outlet in my car, but where's the fun in that? Lol
sounds awesome mate
I have several hundred of these, possibly even thousands from dumpster-diven computers. I was thinking of making a wind wall by assembling all of them in a fence-shaped formation on my property.
Would you show an up close picture of the rectifier diode configuration please? Thank you!
The big one probably needs more turns on the coils?
It was set up for high voltage so it probably has to spin at higher speed, just to get to its sweet spot for a little voltage to come out...??? Great idea though! :-)
On the contrary, higher voltage fans and motors need less rounds per minute to generate usable voltage.
Ooooh Knipex, you must be a gazillionair.
huh? lol
@@ThinkingandTinkering Knipex pliers are not cheap.
That might be just what I need for a air-movement detector for my laser-cutter vent. The extraction fan has failed before now and one of these in the outflow should give enough voltage for an indicator.
good luck with it! cheers
you are nothing short of BRILLIANT!
I wish I was your neighbor!
wow - cheers mate
Interesting but the video needed to have been done in close up on the bench.
meh, just positive negative. I like the format
@@TheSlobinHood meh. So it's got to be 100% positive or 100% negative???
@@Lesfac meh
I would be very interested to see how the "bedini fan motor" works with your supercaps..;)
bedini works best with a cap on the input, so the primary coil gets a more abrupt current flow.
oh - interesting suggestion - cheers mate
A selection bolted onto your roof bars would technically make your car a hybrid 🤣🤣
lol - i suppose it would
No, the increased drag would use more fuel than the electricity produced.
@@MrCarlRobinson 🤣🤣=sarcasm
You can boost the power by adding a hyperbolic cone to the rear trailing side.
I must ask; what wind generator that you made gave you the highest watt output with the least amount of wind ?
Another fantastic insightful video, thanks. Would have been interesting to know what kind of current these can generate, or just some comments about potential practical usage. I presume because you didn't give this it was just a fun experiment.
It being an AC generator would be awesome actually! What type of output could a person expect to get from it and I have been farting around with a brushed magnet vacuum motor that simply spinning by hand creates a spark when you touch the wires together and will power a 12v light easily being spun with a drill now would that thing be spitting out that low off a voltage or would it get 110v if I was to get it spinning much faster
You made that look way easier than it is..Cool vid!
Could you test an idea I had?
So take 10-15 12v pc fan motors and attach them all by stacking them horizontally thus making a short tower that stands upright. Run in motor in tower in some series/parallel configuration and run 4 seperate towers in parallel
Maybe best to 3d print new, wider blades
excellent, i love fannying about with stuff like this, and little solar projects too......cool.
lol - awesome cheers mate
OpenSourceLowTech made a water turbine with a hover board wheel motor that was < $50 and puts out 200 watts. I'm guessing you've run across that though.
ok, - now make a bigger wind turbine, include gearbox; - drive mini generator and give useful current around the garden... - what sort of off-load ac voltages do you get off of those? ...I had been thinking of getting mini alternators but this has given me ideas ... I see lots of little wind turbines dotted about the ranch, - each of them randomly contributing current via their own independent rectifier ... I see arduino devices working as power management ...with even a web gui that can be accessed over wifi...
all works in progress mate
the way you wiggle those pliers ... do you do dentistry?
Really does remind me of my dentist. Well, when I had insurance and a dentist
I have found just leaving them stock they work fine, I just connect the 12v + and -, and leave the 5v rail alone.
Need more pictures and things describing and showing what they are you know a lot of people goes better by seeing
Thank you, Robert.
But how much voltage produce from that mini generator? plus you have to be lucky for wind that day....
OK, it's a better thing than nothing.
Hi sir what about an AC generator? Is this also possible
AH-HA! In your FACE, energy companies! I'm going to buy a load of PC fans and a few hundred hairdryers, and light my house with LEDs! No more electricity bills!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣another great video, thanks for the wonderful knowledge you share unselfishly to the world😁✌️❤️🤘
Just bought 10 140mm fans. Would you believe they are glued together and not push fit!
Nice work, fun experiment!
Thank you! Cheers!
Interesting, got quite a few lying about, might have a go, have to convert the voltage up a bit.
u dont have to edit them cuz they already generate by default i found that out when i was a kid playing with air and pc fans
so now if you series parallel a truck load of these together in a hurricane you'll get enough power to maybe charge a cell phone lol
lol - i doubt it mate - but hey you could try lol
And I was just gonna use them for the grill to feed the fire when I need to raise the temperature
Wouldn't a pulley remover work more easily to pull the coils?
Question is the whirlybird generator on the roof?. When this was recorded.
A grid of these would be interesting as panels for an installation. gotta figure the output.
i like that - like RAID? - a redundant array of inexpensive fans?
@@ThinkingandTinkering Good point also! Routine maintenance could be checking all fans with a digital tachometer and replacing any that were lower than a certain RPM (indicating bearing failure). In the mean time, the power would continue to be generated seamlessly.
I've spun fans and found they give an output without taking them apart first. Didn't check if they would light an LED so is there something I'm missing?
I've always been taught a DC motor in reverse was a generator. Whenever I tried it worked. I don't really understand the extra steps. The board on any fan is likely there for speed, temp, is it possible to simply junk the board?
I’m trying to back engineer a two wire pc fan that was used in a bediniproject some years ago. It has two coils, four wires and I’ve every combination but I can’t get the motor to run. The motor kicks a bit but does not spin. Try as I may I can’t find a schematic how two wire fans have their coils wound. Can’t you help me please?
Thanks for sharing your knowledge !
hello how is a person able to compare motors as to determine which is better for converting to a wind turbine ? thank you
Wouldn't it be possible to put a bunch of mini fan/generators lined up inside the water pipes in a home and the use of water would generate?
What if you put magnets on all the tips of the propellers and a couple large one on the outside 🤔
@4:04 needs to be made into a GIF
Great video thanks
Apply heat to them first, they come off super easy.
Need closeups and voltage plus wattage test... LEDS don't take sqwat to turn on
Mine appears to be built into the board and I can't get either the board or the coils out without risking breaking it, not sure what I'm doing wrong.
Curious, can the outs for the motors all be combined first, THEN run through the rectifier or is a rectifier absolutely essential on each and every motor? I have around 100 of them I want to wire together.
Just a question. Do you have to convert it to dc to light up a led? dont u lose energy by doing that?
I tried to do this with my 12 cm, 12V fan and it produces only 6 V at quite a high speed. Judging from the blower's power that was facing it during testing and the noise it made at that speed, it looks like it was near its max RPM (around 1500).
Can somebody explain how is this happening?
Does it have to do with the 2 main coils having a common wire (that links to pin 1 of the IC) and if so, what is the explanation.
I feel like not seeing the forest from the tree but cannot figure it out by myself.
Do you recon a feller could repurpose the guts out of and old dvd player into a thorium salt reactor?
Now put a generator on the bottom and one on the top and join with a vertical cylindrical fan. Make ten of these and put them in the garden and show us how much usable free energy we would harness. Oh yeah.
How much energy it need to make enough energy to run led??
Heat is your friend to remove the coils
Make a big flat board wit 10 of these generators inside. Hook them all up to one battery somehow. put it al on a rig that is able to turn with the wind. Put your make on your flat roof. Maybe you built a 30 volts generator???
Robert,
We love your site. We are wondering if you can answer a question. Is there away to use current to test washed go to find out how many layers your graphene has? Or how can you test it?
More close ups please Robert
Thanks
have you tried playing with 3 phase DC server fans? The kind that have strong PMs and cog when you turn them?
thankyou Robert
glad you liked it mate
LEDs are basically Diodes too ...
Having a bit of fun are you 😀
yep lol