How to charge my laptop using bicycle generator?

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taylerzy

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Dec 11, 2011
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Hello,

I'm trying to figure out how to charge my laptop, during power outages, using a bicycle generator. This generator should be able to attach to my existing bicycle (making it stationary) and charge the laptop, usually using DC power.

I plan to use a:
Lenovo SL510 (Type 2847 20v --- 3.25A/4.5A) / Lenovo 65w 20V AC Adapter


■ Will I need an AC to DC inverter in order to do this (as opposed to a different power adapter for my laptop), and if so which one?
■ Which bicycle generator would you suggest for running my laptop?
■ If I was to charge the laptop past the maximum amount while using a bicycle generator, what would occur?

Also, I'm interested to know how you guys have ran a laptop or PC in the past during a power outage, if at all? Sorry if this isn't the right section to post this. I saw a question pertaining to this subject in the Vista forum section in my searches.
 
Solution
Someone Somewhere
Your laptop has a 65W SMPS, which is about 0.09hp. From memory you can get about 100W out of a human, which is about what you'd end up using taking efficiency into account. You won't use the full 65W all the time though, only on an empty battery and maxing out compute power. Probably about 15-20W most of the time.

The idea is to use a car battery to store the energy; you charge it with the bike, connected to a car alternator which is perfectly designed for charging car batteries, for some strange reason (sarcasm). You then attach the inner part of the plug on the cigarette socket to the + terminal, and the outer to the - terminal.

You could use a float charger instead, and rely on it as essentially a very large laptop battery, or a...
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Someone Somewhere

Someone Somewhere

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Sep 23, 2012
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12V car battery, car alternator, voltmeter on the battery (stop pedaling when it gets to 13.8V), fuses (because 100A+ isn't fun), and a car charger for your laptop.

Or that same battery, car charger, and get a DC plugpack and charge it up.

Feeding it directly into the laptop is a bad idea, because your laptop likes a constant power source, and moving your legs at exactly the right speed is tricky.
 
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Saga Lout

Saga Lout

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Mar 31, 2010
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Could you pedal hard enough? I use a diesel generator but a power surge power socket is a must and, I emphasise a MUST for reasons Someone Somewhere set out!! You could use an inverter to smooth out the power I suppose - it used to work on my narrowboat.
 
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Someone Somewhere

Someone Somewhere

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Sep 23, 2012
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No, if you power it from a car charger it doesn't need an inverter, because it's taking it from a DC source.

If you used a normal charger, you would need an inverter.

Connecting it directly to a synchronous generator is a stupid idea, unless you have a massive amount of load averaging and momentum, like you find in a national grid situation.
 
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T

taylerzy

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That sounds like it might work, but could you please expand on exactly how that would be done? I already have a laptop car charger that I can use; I just still don't understand how I would go about doing this in conjunction with a bicycle.



I'm not positive, but I believe that you actually could power a laptop using a bicycle. According to howstuffworks, 0.27 horsepower would have to be generated for a PC and only 0.02 horsepower on a bicycle.

Even if I couldn't pedal long enough to use the laptop for a long period of time, it would at least be nice to have the option to run my laptop if necessary.

 
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Someone Somewhere

Someone Somewhere

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Sep 23, 2012
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Your laptop has a 65W SMPS, which is about 0.09hp. From memory you can get about 100W out of a human, which is about what you'd end up using taking efficiency into account. You won't use the full 65W all the time though, only on an empty battery and maxing out compute power. Probably about 15-20W most of the time.

The idea is to use a car battery to store the energy; you charge it with the bike, connected to a car alternator which is perfectly designed for charging car batteries, for some strange reason (sarcasm). You then attach the inner part of the plug on the cigarette socket to the + terminal, and the outer to the - terminal.

You could use a float charger instead, and rely on it as essentially a very large laptop battery, or a UPS with a big battery.

I strongly suggest getting a fuse and putting it between the + terminal and everything you connect there; I've seen what 100A does to thin copper wire and it's not nice.
 
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