Hello all!
I'm new to the forum, and while I'll introduce myself elsewhere, I do have a question that needs answering.
I'm constructing a compressed air engine. This works the same as a single-piston reciprocating steam engine would, except it runs on air. The mechanics of the engine, however, aren't important.
The engine would be powered by a small electric leaf blower. I found a fair-priced leaf blower online, which is the **broken link removed**. It weighs less than two pounds, produces 160 mph winds on full speed and operates on 7-amps.
This will provide air to the engine (I'll worry about throttles and such later). On the drive shaft of the engine is a larger gear, which is connected to a smaller gear... I'm thinking of a 5 to 1 gear ratio. The smaller gear will be connected to a DC motor or more likely an alternator. As I'm sure all of you know, this will produce electricity when spun. From there (I may begin to sound repetitive), wires are hooked up to both terminals, with a blocking diode on the positive wire. This will lead to a **broken link removed**.
Another set of wires will be connected to the terminals, and the other wires will lead to one of those devices (the name would be much appreciated) where there are two terminals for both positive and negative wires, but at the other end of this device is an outlet for a standard plug, which in this case would be the plug of the aforementioned leaf blower.
Basically, I'm trying to construct a device where the battery powers the leaf blower, which powers the engine, and have the engine gradually re-charge or supply energy to the same battery (while this wouldn't be an infinite cycle, I'm guessing that it would give the battery a longer life).
Are there any improvements needed to run this device at the specifications given (and if I need different parts, please do tell me)? And I'm missing anything, any information would be very helpful. Also, any information on the installation of a blocking diode would also be helpful.
Thank you,
-Beau Brown