Title: FYI...OWS Generators Source:
Me URL Source:http://None Published:Nov 2, 2011 Author:war Post Date:2011-11-02 12:18:17 by war Keywords:None Views:7493 Comments:13
Walking up from South Ferry this AM I noticed that the OWS people were using bikes to generate power.
A few weeks ago Keegan Stephan, a bike mechanic and member of environmental group Time's Up! brought with him to the Occupy Wall Street protests a device he built over a year ago to power his refrigerator. The bicycle-powered dynamo was intended to serve as an example of pollution-free energy, but proved to be a great resource to the camped-in protesters at Zucotti park when the FDNY confiscated the gasoline-powered generators they were using to charge cell phones and other devices. The protesters also benefited from members of the Occupy Boston protests who donated three additional bikes to be converted to generators.
According to Stephan his stationary Schwinn can generate enough power to last up to 100 hours after just six hours of pedaling.
Me: I'm impressed by their spunk and innovative ways.
According to Stephan his stationary Schwinn can generate enough power to last up to 100 hours after just six hours of pedaling.
Me: I'm impressed by their spunk and innovative ways.
I'm impressed by his spunk and innovative ways also,but not by his claim because it is meaningless. "Generate enough power..." to do what? Charge a cell phone? After 6 hours of pedaling a bike to charge a battery?
Ain't nothing new about this,Fred. The US military (for one) have been using hand and foot cranked generators to power radios since at least WW-2.
Still,I doubt this guy knows that,so it's not taking anything away from his ingenuity and it does show he's thinking.
Each bike charges batteries capable of running for up to 100 hours. The only real downside is the significant amount of physical exertion it takes to power them. It can take up to two hours of uninterrupted pedaling to reach 12.5 volts. To fully charge a battery could take up to 6 hours of pedaling. The fully charged batteries are brought into the Occupy Wall Street encampment and used to power laptops, cellphones, and all media and communication around protests.
