hamster power

Status
Not open for further replies.

I didn't mean that it doesn't work, I was thinking more in terms of efficiency. With modern bearings light weight materials and efficient motors, can the bucket of water be brought up out of the well with 50%, 25 or even 10% of the joule equivalents of energy (whether it is corn to feed the donkey vs coal used to make electricity as the energy source?).
 
Thanks Nigel. I have Kodi and StremIO, so I can watch any TV or movie from the past or present on my PC on the big screen.
 
... or better yet, converting incoming sunlight to electricity via solar panels to charge a battery to run a motor to pump the water, vs sunlight to grow the corn, to harvest the corn, to feed the donkey to pump the water.
 
gophert said:
I didn't mean that it doesn't work, I was thinking more in terms of efficiency.
Click to expand...

Efficiency doesn't really matter, it does the job, and it saves humans powering it

Likewise with antique water wheels and wind mills, they might be technically inefficient, but they are effective, and that's all that matters.
 
gophert said:
... or better yet, converting incoming sunlight to electricity via solar panels to charge a battery to run a motor to pump the water, vs sunlight to grow the corn, to harvest the corn, to feed the donkey to pump the water.
Click to expand...

Where did you get your solar panels and electric pumps, back before the USA was created?

Plus when times are BAD, you can eat the donkey!.
 
Nigel Goodwin said:
Where did you get your solar panels and electric pumps, back before the USA was created?

Plus when times are BAD, you can eat the donkey!.
Click to expand...

actually for that very reason i initally wanted to use rabbits... but their backs dont like the wheels either.
 
so if my 2lbs rat runs the 11 inch wheel at about 60rpm average ... but since I am attaching then generator to the center of the wheel i will want to match my rpms

so maybe this motor?
https://www.robotshop.com/ca/en/dfrobot-6v-180-rpm-micro-dc-geared-motor-with-back-shaft.html

also according to google i use a avg of 12kwh per day ,. which is about 500watts per hour for 24hrs and that motor is about 18watts @180rpm, so 6watts@60rpm
so if my rats ran 24/7 then 90 of those motors would do the trick?

am i correct in my assumptions?
 
Last edited:
Dr_Doggy said:
also according to google i use a avg of 12kwh per day ,. which is about 500watts per hour for 24hrs...
Click to expand...
No, you need 500 watt-hours each hour.

That is 500 watts continuously for an hour.

I did some math because you are limited by the mass of the rat(s) x acceleration of gravity x change in height of the center of mass of the rats divided by the change in time.

This is for a climbing rat - essentially climbing the vertical section of the wheel to achieve maximum torque on the wheel.
At the vertical section of the wheel, the 90 rats (2lbs each (0.9kg)) will need to climb at a rate equivalent to 41 rpm. That is more like climbing than running if they have to stay at the point of the wheel at the same level as the axle.

Now, If we assume the animals are essentially running, and staying about 5° from bottom dead center of the wheel, the 90 rats will need to run about 11mph (470rpm on an 11.5" wheel.
 
500 watts continuously .. exactly 90 continuous running wheels
the rats spend alot of the time at the 90deg position and on the YT vids they were clearing 60rpm, so ya 50rpm avg

but how much torque is that on the center point?
i cant have too much resistance on the motor or it will stall the rat.. or not let him stop!

if i could find the perfect little motor for each wheel I think i can get the rest together easy enough, but which motor? ()

in my mind:
i would imagine i want to match the max rpm's best i could but then i need to match the motor power
to keep the wheel loose i will step the weight down 80% , so the wheel can stop easy for him, so 0.2KG * 9.8 = 2newtons of force

the example motor listed above has a stall torque of 11.11 oz-in OR 0.80 kg*cm

so 0.2kg rat * 11cm radius = 2.2kg*cm on the rat side?

so does that mean i would want a motor similar to the example one but with about 3 x the stall torque value?
 
Note that a rat "runs to exhaustion" at about 1 mile at 5 mph. A rat run to exhaustion will need almost a full 24-hours to recover. They sleep almost the whole 24-hours and only wake up enough time to drink for a bit. Note that the run to exhaustion is on a flat surface on a motor-powered treadmill. So less than 15 minutes and not really producing any "work" for 5280 feet. If you make them climb a vertical surface, I suspect they will run to exhaustion in a much shorter period. You'll need a lot of rats.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…