Hackett’s Bike Generator Keeps the Juice Flowing During Blackouts

Having witnessed the effects of Superstorm Sandy on the New York power grid, Hackett built this easy bike generator to stave off the next power outage. It consists of a permanent-magnet DC motor with its spindle positioned against the wheel of a stationary bike–his is propped up on a metal framework he built himself. The motor is hooked up to a deep-cycle marine battery. He built a charging circuit based off Mike Davis’ 555 Charge Controller and put it in a 3D-printed enclosure with an Adafruit voltage meter. Finally, a voltage inverter converts the DC output by the generator into 110VAC that your household appliances use.