Magnetic Motor, Dc Motor

DevSign

Active Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2012
Messages
71
Hey all,

I am looking for a DC motor, it's for my wind turbine project :D

however, I can't seem to find any sources that sell these second hand, as in the USA they are all over ebay.
If you have a motor that outputs 12V and up, I would appreciate it if you can contact me.

Thanks,
Christopher.
 

Skywalker42

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2010
Messages
901
Hey all,

I am looking for a DC motor, it's for my wind turbine project :D

however, I can't seem to find any sources that sell these second hand, as in the USA they are all over ebay.
If you have a motor that outputs 12V and up, I would appreciate it if you can contact me.

Thanks,
Christopher.

Don't you mean... generator ?
 

bin3

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2005
Messages
976
Don't you mean... generator ?

A motor is a generator just going the other way. A generator could be a motor just going the other way ... you get the point.

A bit tricky getting hold of nice DC motors > 12V, basically you are looking for stepper motors, and they tend to be pretty expensive.

I vaguely recall people used to do this with old washing machine engines, tumble driers, even using the motor from a car's window washer or water pump.

Either way, there are a few options to play with: but I would probably go AC and then try to find a few old 12/24/220V AC motors and see what i can do with them. Obviously will need to change your circuits to benefit from AC not DC, or get somebody with more electronics knowledge than I ...

Old motor gate motors might work as well, i.e. Geminis / Centurions or the like. Might be able to pick these up second hand somewhere. These should be 12V+ DC motors.
 

wily me

Expert Member
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Dec 7, 2011
Messages
3,559
Don't you mean... generator ?

A dc motor is akin to a generator, you give it voltage and it will turn, you turn it and it will give a voltage, not as efficient but it works. Best is to make your own turbine "motor". ;)
 

Messugga

Honorary Master
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Sep 4, 2007
Messages
12,746
Washing machine motors. Have a look a them. I'm not sure as to the voltage they output, but I know they're somewhat popular under the wind turbine bunch in Oz.
 

wily me

Expert Member
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Dec 7, 2011
Messages
3,559
Washing machine motors. Have a look a them. I'm not sure as to the voltage they output, but I know they're somewhat popular under the wind turbine bunch in Oz.

Yep, the direct drive type is very sought after, yet expensive.
 

bin3

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2005
Messages
976
I am pretty sure he is NOT looking for a stepper motor.

Yea, I wouldn't know: All I know is that usually when I work with DC, I tend to work with steppers, but this is so far out of my line of expertise it's not even funny.

I tended to think that a stepper motor is just a very complicated DC motor, i.e. you have multiple voltages (steps), but in the end it's still just a motor running of DC.

And as mentioned (somewhere), anything I say can and probably is wrong ...
 

DevSign

Active Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2012
Messages
71
Thanks all, Yeah I really enjoyed reading up on using a washing machine motor....I'll definitely be looking into that.
 

Messugga

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Sep 4, 2007
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12,746
You can rewire the whole setup

Yup. Someone I worked with who plays around with this sort of thing fairly extensively, added additional magnets. His turbine produces quite a bit of juice when the wind blows, but since he lives in the not-so-windy Freestate, it's mostly idle. It was more of a fun proof of concept for him anyway.
 

Skywalker42

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2010
Messages
901
A dc motor is akin to a generator, you give it voltage and it will turn, you turn it and it will give a voltage, not as efficient but it works. Best is to make your own turbine "motor". ;)

I wasn't quite sure about it. I thought the must be slight differences in their wiring.

I read on this forum that: "...but good motors
tend to make terrible generators"

Here is an article on how to convert a DC motor to a generator.
 
Joined
May 9, 2012
Messages
10,388
Use a car alternator.

+1, seems the simplest solution.. If you get one with a built in rectifier it'll output DC or just attach a rectifier. Probably won't get much juice out of it unless you attach it to a gearbox to get it running between 2000 and 7000 rpm but that shouldn't be too hard.
 

dyanamo

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2007
Messages
942
Yeah alternator is best bet to provide a steady 12v. A bicycle chain principle should help it along as well.
 

AstroTurf

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May 13, 2010
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30,534
Thanks all, Yeah I really enjoyed reading up on using a washing machine motor....I'll definitely be looking into that.

I have an old washing machine and an old tumble dryer at home.

Both the motors still work.

I am in Pretoria, if you want, come get.
 
Last edited:

Swa

Honorary Master
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May 4, 2012
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31,217
Yea, I wouldn't know: All I know is that usually when I work with DC, I tend to work with steppers, but this is so far out of my line of expertise it's not even funny.

I tended to think that a stepper motor is just a very complicated DC motor, i.e. you have multiple voltages (steps), but in the end it's still just a motor running of DC.

And as mentioned (somewhere), anything I say can and probably is wrong ...
Stepper motors are motors that turn in steps as opposed to continually. When voltage is applied to one circuit it stays in one position but moves to another when voltage is applied to another circuit. They are used mainly to precision adjust the position of equipment.
 
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