A report on the BASE pedal power workshop 28th April in Totnes.

As a result of a demonstration of pedal power that we provided during an event in Totnes earlier in the year, we were invited to do a practical workshop for youth group in South Hams called BASE.

In the run up to the event, Merlin and Ben collected some of the materials that would be needed to build pedal powered system: a couple of exercise bikes and an old bicycle from the recycling centre, a variety of permanent magnet motors from breakers yards and a selection of fan belts.

The workshop had been advertised mostly by word of mouth. About eight people attended the workshop, not all of whom were teenagers. The venue for the workshop was the back yard of one of the organisers of the youth group. The weather was pretty unsettled and at one point we were all driven inside by rain but mostly it was fine. The workshop was videoed for later use by BASE or Affinity and various pamphlets and DIY guides were made available.

The two exercise bikes were fitted with belts and motors and with a few cable ties, poly prop and some adult sized mechano we had two working generators up and running. The most stable of these was then wired up via a voltage regulator to a small sound system and soon the garden was filled with the sounds of reggae. The working cycle generator and bits to build another were left with the group who hope to improve the design and build some more from scratch.

A lot was covered during the course of the day. We looked at how to test the performance of motors as generators using an electric drill and how to calculate the required rotational speeds and gearing needed to achieve satisfactory performance. However, due to lack of time and suitable equipment we only ltouched ightly on the use of car alternators and did not set up such a system. At future workshops we hope to complete a variety of different designs based on both DC motors and alternators.

The plans initially were for a two day workshop that would seek to complete a working system and end with some kind of event that utilised the gear that had been assembled. These plans were modified due to trouble finding a suitable venue and so it became a one day workshop. However there are plans to do a another later in the summer, possibly at the Sands School in Totnes.

If you are interested in attending any future workshops on pedal power, or would simply like to chat about it, contact Ben or Merlin at Steward Wood. 01647 440233

See also: Affinity out and about, Pedal Power at Steward Wood, DIY pedal power