Generate Electricity With Tumble Dryer Motor

[stephan2307]

Hi,

I always wanted to learn and experiment with generating electricity ( I am a total newbie at this sort of thing ). So when my tumble dryer broke, I took out the motor before I took it to the tip.

First thing I noticed was that the motor has 3 cables instead of the 2 for DC that I thought it would have. So I googled this and couldn't find anything specific on tumble dryer motors only on general motors and that I would need to build a rectifier.

So my question do I need to build a rectifier and if so how do I know what parts I will need to use?

Also I am pretty aware that if it is possible to generate electricity with this motor it probably isn't very efficient. Like I said I am only using this to learn and experiment.

Grateful for any help.

PS. If it helps my dryer was a BEKO DCU-8230

 

[Marvo]

Maybe you can post a photo or two of the motor but you may need to request assistance from the forum staff as you only have 1 posts and I think you need more before you get permissions. Only certain types of motor will generate electricity and nowadays there's a wide range of motors used in appliances and some aren't suitable.

If you seriously looking to generate electricity for actual use and saving money on you bill then this project is a non-starter but if you're doing it for entertainment and education purposes then I'm sure it will be worthwhile.

 

[stephan2307]

Yeah I know. This wouldn't be a serious project just one to learn, play and try.

I will see if I can get permission to post a link or upload images.

 

[Marvo]

You can also use an image hosting service like photobucket etc.

 

[OnOff]

Two excellent books that may assist are the Workshop Practice Series books 16 & 24.

 

[steptoe]

I may be able to help with the 3 wires,

I have a tumble dryer motor powering my cable stripper,

The 3rd wire will be to reverse the rotation most likely, one wire should be common, one wire will be clockwise, the other anticlockwise. 

HTH,  

 

[Richard-the-Ninth]

What actually "broke" on the TD? didn't stop rotating did it?

 

[stephan2307]

Maybe you can post a photo or two of the motor but you may need to request assistance from the forum staff as you only have 1 posts and I think you need more before you get permissions. Only certain types of motor will generate electricity and nowadays there's a wide range of motors used in appliances and some aren't suitable.

If you seriously looking to generate electricity for actual use and saving money on you bill then this project is a non-starter but if you're doing it for entertainment and education purposes then I'm sure it will be worthwhile.

I have now attached 3 pictures. Hope they help.

I may be able to help with the 3 wires,

I have a tumble dryer motor powering my cable stripper,

The 3rd wire will be to reverse the rotation most likely, one wire should be common, one wire will be clockwise, the other anticlockwise. 

HTH,  

I used my multimeter and tested any combination of the 3 wires and various settings on AC and DC and couldn't get any readings. Does this mean that the motor can't be used as generator?

What actually "broke" on the TD? didn't stop rotating did it?

No was still rotating fine.

 

[Marvo]

It looks like it's only meant to run in one direction, the profile of the two fwd curved fan blades will only work one way. I'd guess there's 3 wires because there's a capacitor that's associated with the motor. It's probably a standard split phase motor from what I can make out of the stator configuration. The capacitor may have been located remotely from the motor because of the heat but hopefully you took it out of the carcass before you scrapped it.

**Edit** If it is a split phase motor it won't work as a generator I'm afraid.

 

[stephan2307]

Yeah I do still have the capacitor. So nothing I can do to it to use it as a generator?