How to make erg generator?

[kylep]

Anyone know how to make the erg produce actual power? I was thinking hooking it up to say a tv or radio so when you slack off, the tv or radio turns off,

[john_n]

To generate useful power from a Concept 2 erg, you would have to modify it so that instead of using the blades or fins which are on the flywheel to push against air for necessary resistance, you would substitute a generator or alternator somehow connected so that the rotation of the flywheel would drive that generator or alternator. You would need to connect the output of that alternator or generator to a voltage regulator and from there to a lead-acid (or some other, less common kind) of rechargeable battery. The battery that you charge that way, in order to power a tv or some other ordinary AC appliance, would need to have its stored energy supplied to the tv, etc, through a power inverter which would convert the low voltage DC electricity to standard AC voltage.

It would require a major re-design of the erg. But it would be possible. I'm sure there would be many people interested in such a design, for the same reason that many people are seeking alternatives to gasoline.

For the purpose of rowing and achieving the closest thing possible to the same drag-factor of a racing boat, the erg is set up so that the damper can be adjusted to allow more or less airflow over the flywheel fins. The energy you expend to push against the air is mostly wasted, but the good news on the energy front is that it is not totally wasted. In the newest Concept 2 rower with the PM4 monitor, some of your energy is delivered from the small generator connected to the flywheel and it is recycled and is used to keep the batteries charged.