Uses for Discarded Servo Motors

Good work.

A friend of mine has a small piece of land in the hills by a small stream. There is no electricity on that area so he developed his own system. He put a small waterwheel into the stream which drives an old car alternator (max 200 W) with a belt. It charges a 12 V 120 Ah lorry battery all the week so when he goes out he has a fully-loaded battery and it's more than enough for a long weekend. For lighting he uses 12 V luminescent bulbs and in addition he has a 12 V car fridge. The system has been working since 1982 without any problem. In winter sometimes he has to break the ice off from the wheel but that's all.

Not servo motors but stepper motors. It rotates by use of a Savonius wind turbine. Using the 5W energy to charge a 12v 7ah gel battery for advertising purposes in Cape Town South Africa. Its a "green sign" initiative for off grid signage illumination. The light source is LED tech.

Hi,

I've been thinking about this but wondered how long the bearings would last.

Are you using direct drive or a gear box to mount the propeller blade ?

The blade is supported on its own shaft, to allow for loading I used one thrust bearing and one roller bearing. Then I use a cog belt to change the ratio between the blade and the motor.