Chinchillas generating electricity

[JohhnyBishop]

Hi All,
Due to the fact that the globalists are ramping up energy prices through the world (at least in the countries under their strict control US, Canada, UK, EU, Australia, NZ, Japan). As far as I know electricity for residential properties in Mexico is free.
Anyway I have two boys who cover miles of distance on the running wheel and these are not small rodents like mice or hamsters that wouldn't generate much power anyway.
Have you come across any commercial or DYI solutions to make them generate power efficiently.
Rather than going after solar power, HVAC, Lithium batteries from China (stick to acid batteries for now) or whatever tech the globalists are pushing I would want to harness the chinchilla energy instead.
I am sure 3 chinchillas could provide enough electricity to at least power on lights.
Let me know.

 

[JohhnyBishop]

Anyone?
It's a lot of kilowatts going to waste every day.
I have to start measuring the number of revolutions of the running wheel there is in 24h but I am sure chinchilla males do 5 miles at least.

 

[Binki]

Just found your post: I have been asking myself a similar question about all the energy wasted in treadmills. My lazy rescue boy woudl not touch a running wheel with bargepole but in principle if connected to a dynamo & battery, energetic runners at a wheel could well power their own small radio (if they like to have music). However because they live in metal cages, wouldn't one worry about something going wrong and coming home to find shocked chins looking like angry porcupines?. For peace of mind perhaps it may be more convenient getting gym bunnies to generate some power while getting buff...

 

[JohhnyBishop]

I mean my females are conservative. I think in the wild (I think currently there is not a single chinchilla in the wild) females are territorial and less mobile but males have to cover long distances to visit all their concubines. They do ran a lot and because these are not small rodents there would be definitely enough energy to power a radio or even a small TV with Chinchilla TV on it.

 

[Binki]

There still are some chins surviving in a reserve in the north of Chile (there are vids in YouTube, some confusing degus and vizcachas with chins, obviously no Specsavers in the area.) We know that there are some chins around because in 2020 a herd of 25 was found living on top of 3.5 million ounces of extractable gold; because they are protected the mining company had to come up with a plan to relocate them (link below in case you are interested) but if I were one of the chins I would not be holding my breath.

Chins are powerful runners. so no doubt they potentially could charge a battery and watch a Chin TV channel. I would not have any luck with that. My boy must be French: his main interest is food and then more food. Spent a fortune in a flying saucer, he looked at it & gave a Gallic shrug as if saying 'jogging, moi? Pourquoi? One cannot beat a logic like that.

The Chinchillas and the Gold Mine

 

[Pixie66]

Thank you for this interesting question. I have never heard of anybody connecting their chins to a dynamo system, but I quickly checked how much power you can expect from them. Using a (humen) bike dynamo as an upper limit, this website estimated it by 3W, less than a slow iPhone charger draws. The same website also mentions the power varies by speed, and I estimate with all the respect to my very active chins they are slower than a road bike.
On a different note, I read between the lines of your posts that your chins don't like wheels like the "flying saucer"; mine had the same reaction; I tried for some time with no sucsess. However, they love their chin spin so I recomend tring it even though it is expansive. I have lost a chin about 25 years ago to a leg injury caused by a freek accident on his running wheel, so I would also add that I think chin spin is the safest wheel I have ever seen.

 

[JohhnyBishop]

There still are some chins surviving in a reserve in the north of Chile (there are vids in YouTube, some confusing degus and vizcachas with chins, obviously no Specsavers in the area.) We know that there are some chins around because in 2020 a herd of 25 was found living on top of 3.5 million ounces of extractable gold; because they are protected the mining company had to come up with a plan to relocate them (link below in case you are interested) but if I were one of the chins I would not be holding my breath.

Chins are powerful runners. so no doubt they potentially could charge a battery and watch a Chin TV channel. I would not have any luck with that. My boy must be French: his main interest is food and then more food. Spent a fortune in a flying saucer, he looked at it & gave a Gallic shrug as if saying 'jogging, moi? Pourquoi? One cannot beat a logic like that.

The Chinchillas and the Gold Mine

I just cannot imagine chinchillas staying in these "protected" enclosures for long. Mine climb 1.6m high enclosure then run away.

 

[JohhnyBishop]

Thank you for this interesting question. I have never heard of anybody connecting their chins to a dynamo system, but I quickly checked how much power you can expect from them. Using a (humen) bike dynamo as an upper limit, this website estimated it by 3W, less than a slow iPhone charger draws. The same website also mentions the power varies by speed, and I estimate with all the respect to my very active chins they are slower than a road bike.
On a different note, I read between the lines of your posts that your chins don't like wheels like the "flying saucer"; mine had the same reaction; I tried for some time with no sucsess. However, they love their chin spin so I recomend tring it even though it is expansive. I have lost a chin about 25 years ago to a leg injury caused by a freek accident on his running wheel, so I would also add that I think chin spin is the safest wheel I have ever seen.

In my case they still run on a flying saucer but since I move them from cage to cage I think they prefer TicTac wheel (a UK substitute for chin spin). Females are ok with a flying saucer but boys like to run at much higher speed.

 

[Binki]

Females are ok with a flying saucer but boys like to run at much higher speed.

How did you get the boys to try the wheel? Before getting the spinner I borrowed a wheel from a friend to see whether my boy was interested. After a few days gathering dust in the cage, I tried to tempt him with, what else, food, and I swear I could hear the wheels of his French mind turning saying 'Oh, be quiet, would you? don't you see I am trying to solve the riddle Voltaire sent to Frederick the Great about dinning at Sans Souci? So chastised, I quietly wrapped the wheel and returned it to its owner but could borrow it again if there are any other ways to get him tempted.

 

[JohhnyBishop]

How did you get the boys to try the wheel? Before getting the spinner I borrowed a wheel from a friend to see whether my boy was interested. After a few days gathering dust in the cage, I tried to tempt him with, what else, food, and I swear I could hear the wheels of his French mind turning saying 'Oh, be quiet, would you? don't you see I am trying to solve the riddle Voltaire sent to Frederick the Great about dinning at Sans Souci? So chastised, I quietly wrapped the wheel and returned it to its owner but could borrow it again if there are any other ways to get him tempted.

I didn't do anything they just work it out. It took them maybe an hour. Maybe it's because it was more than one chinchilla. It could also be due to the age. Maybe chins who never ran on a wheel in their teenage years care less about novelties.
My 2yr old male at times also looks like he is doing some existential thinking. As rodents chins don't look like they have simple personalities.

 

[Spoof]

I messed around with this in college back in the 2000's and had a few prototypes following the hamster powered nightlight instructions. I ran into a couple of issues - chins have a LOT of torque and therefore have the ability to run a much more powerful magnet set than any other animal of that size. They also run so much they destroy consumer grade bearings pretty quickly, none of my attempts lasted more than a month between the dust and the wear and tear as at that time and budget lazy susan bearings were the go-to. If I were to attempt the project today I would probably pick up the engine off of a smaller wind turbine that can handle a lot of starting and stopping and also higher revolution speeds. It is certainly possible and if you have multiples in a cage they could probably generate quite a bit more than you'd think.

 

[JohhnyBishop]

I messed around with this in college back in the 2000's and had a few prototypes following the hamster powered nightlight instructions. I ran into a couple of issues - chins have a LOT of torque and therefore have the ability to run a much more powerful magnet set than any other animal of that size. They also run so much they destroy consumer grade bearings pretty quickly, none of my attempts lasted more than a month between the dust and the wear and tear as at that time and budget lazy susan bearings were the go-to. If I were to attempt the project today I would probably pick up the engine off of a smaller wind turbine that can handle a lot of starting and stopping and also higher revolution speeds. It is certainly possible and if you have multiples in a cage they could probably generate quite a bit more than you'd think.

thanks for coming back. Now we know that someone has attempted it and that these little Pokémons require a proper setup.
Do you have any pictures of that?
Harnessing chinchilla power is like dealing with s serious power source. Chins are explosive. They want to accelerate from 0 to their max speed in an instant that is why they jump inside the wheel to literally jump start it to desired speed. I mean it depends what time because they do go for short strolls during the day but in the evening when agitated they run fast. I think if there is more than one male in the cage they behave like men at the gym.
One of my females has this thing on the saucer that she likes to spin it fast then jump off, watch it spin then again jump on to accelerate even faster and jump off. I think the sound of a spinning saurcer is rewarding to her.
You can see that the "consumer" equipment is below their capabilities and/or expectations.

 

[Binki]

Maybe chins who never ran on a wheel in their teenage years care less about novelties

Makes an awful lot of sense; if someone did not do wheelies with a BMX as a teenager til will not start when planning a career at Coulter's

the engine off of a smaller wind turbine that can handle a lot of starting and stopping and also higher revolution speeds.

Makes an awful lot of sense too; in fact that was the image I got in my mind when you mentioned electricity (having seen them on roofs in countries without rural electrification) because being designed for outdoor use it could cope with some dust too. But since it is for chins [erjas you need model able to stand hurricane speeds.

 

[Jawramik]

After a few days gathering dust in the cage, I tried to tempt him with, what else, food,

My chin literally took MONTHS to start using her wheel. I had a friend make me an absolutely beautiful wooden wheel, and I felt awful because 3+ months in, my chin hadn't touched it, even when I tried to lure her on it with treats and dust (she'd grab the treats, but get startled and jump off the wheel as soon as it moved). All that work my friend put into this wheel I begged her to make for us, and the little stinker refused to use it! Then one day I came downstairs to find my chin running away on it, like she'd been born on that wheel. Since then, she uses it all the time.

I totally understand not wanting to spend the money on a pricy item when you don't even know if your chin will use it, but you might ask your friend for a more extended loan, if the friend is willing. It might just take him a while to figure out that he likes it.

Regarding the original topic of this thread, I think it's a great idea! Might as well find a useful way to harness all that energy, since the chins are going to run anyway!

 

[JohhnyBishop]

Check this out
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squirrel-cage_rotor
LOL
They literally called this way an electric motor.
So whoever came up with this electric motor had or seen a squirrel or chinchilla in action (he saw a chinchilla but didn't know what is it called).
These engines are as good as chinchillas running that's why folks it is so important to harness the chinchilla power.

 

[Binki]

I totally understand not wanting to spend the money on a pricy item when you don't even know if your chin will use it, but you might ask your friend for a more extended loan, if the friend is willing. It might just take him a while to figure out that he likes it.

Many thanks: that is good to know. JohhnyBishop directed me to an UK maker of metal wheels that are much more reasonably priced than the US made ones I saw for sale, probably because, mad as it sounds, in anything from the US these days, 60% of the cost is postage + customs.

My boy gets a good work out at playtime (then sleeps like a log) but I still think a wheel will be fun and now that I know it may take a while he will get a big blue one for his gotcha day.

 

[Chinmin]

What a neat idea. I had a hamster and he had a wheel like that. It would be good to use all that energy for a good reason.