Extreme Ironing on a Bicycle
by Ross Mernyk
Most photos you can click to enlarge


I'm a Sports Celebrity!

Live Guess-My-Sport piece on talkSPORT radio UK A fluff piece done live 7/20/2015 at 240am UK time. Part of talkSPORT's program Extra Time, produced by Ross Belamy, hosted by Russel Hargreaves, with news reader Simon Watts. No rehearsal, all improvised, 8 minutes of fun!

Live interview of me on talkSPORT radio UK A fluff piece done live 4/23/2012 at 5am UK time. Part of talkSPORT's program Extra Time, hosted by Mike Boville. No rehearsal, all improvised, 3 minutes of fun! Click the logos to hear my interviews. Click here for their website. Audio MP3

The Videos

Extreme Ironing on a Bicycle Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NYC, USA 2/04/2009 2:27 min, 17.8 MB 640x480, 30 fps WMV, 1000 Kbps

Extreme Ironing on a Bicycle (long version) Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NY 2/04/2009 8:33 min, 61.5 MB 640x480, 30 fps WMV, 1000 Kbps

The Story

So a buddy of mine Matthew Muñoz was a member of the Extreme Ironing facebook group, which led me to the website Extreme Ironing. I figured I already have alot of power on my bike from my Bike Lights setup, so I decided I want to do Extreme Ironing while riding my bike, with a fully powered iron.

I know there are low power travel irons out there, but they look small & wimpy, and I feel they defeat the purpose of Extreme Ironing, which of course has no purpose in the first place. There are also 12 volt irons out there for your Winnebago, but I figured I'd rather spend the $100 on a power inverter I could use for other things, than for a 12 volt iron I'd use just once for a "project".

So I bought a power inverter (see below) which takes 12 volts DC in, and puts out 120 volts AC. Since my iron is appx 1200 watts, that's roughly 10 amps from a 120 volt line (volts * amps = watts). But that's also roughly 100 amps from the 12 volt DC battery (ignoring inefficiency). OK, my powerful bike battery is 11 amp-hours, and should be able to run the iron through the inverter for maybe 4 minutes, Right?  Wrong. The inverter shut down (to protect the battery from damage) in 1 second. The battery didn't have the "cranking power".

So I yanked the car battery out of my car. 30 pounds, 50 amp hours, and 300 amp cold cranking power. That battery should be able to run the iron through the inverter for maybe 20 minutes, Right?  Wrong. The inverter shut down in 60 seconds. You see, that 50 amp hour rating of my car battery, is only valid when you drain it slowly. Ever try to start your car, and it just won't start? Remember how after a minute or so the rar-rar-rar of your starter motor gets slower and slower?

Well, putting 5 car batteries on my bicycle would weigh 150 pounds and cost $1000, so that ain't happening. The solution? I bought a gasoline powered generator. It weighs 55 pounds, and can deliver 1500 watts continuously for 4 hours. Right?  Right. Hell, I could iron my entire wardrobe in that time. I briefly considered putting wheels on the generator, or towing it behind my bike in a cart or wagon, but again I felt that would defeat the purpose. The entire ironing rig had to be mounted on the bike. Here's how I did it...


Overall Rig

• Weight (pounds): Bike=36, Lights=13, Generator+gas+oil+mount=60, Board+mount=18, Iron+water+starch=5, Toolkit=3, Total=135
  
• Cost (dollars): Bike=500, Lights=300, Generator+gas+oil+mount=270, Board+mount=60, Iron+water+starch=27, IroningTotal=$357
  
• Size (inches): Length=76, Width=46, Height=40
  
• Very hard to control, especially one-handed

Ironing Board

• Ikea Stryka - wooden, full size, with iron rest
  
• 47x16 inches, 13 pounds
  
• $25 at Ikea

Cleats

• Cleats from two Ikea Vika Curry table legs
  
• $10 for two legs at Ikea (do not use legs, just use cleats)
  
• Matching metric bolts were 70 cents each at Pintchik

L Brackets

• KV 208 WH 500 shelf bracket - 500mm (20 inch)
  
• actual size 19½x13x1¼ inches, 2.3 pounds each
  
• $20 for two at Pintchik

Rod

• Threaded rod 36 inches by ¾ inch, threads not needed
  
• $16 at Pintchik

Chain

• Welded link chain - each link is 1⁵/₈ inch by ¹¹/₁₆ inch, overall length 43 inches, 1 pound - from Home Depot
  
• Carabiner - 3 inch by 1¾ inch - from EMS

Misc Mounting Stuff

• Old inner tube cut up to protect frame from hose clamps & brackets & threaded rod (thanks Dixon's bike shop)
  
• Hose clamps mount L brackets to frame and rear rack
  
• Hose clamps mount threaded rod to frame
  
• Hose clamps mount generator to threaded rod
  
• Chain and carabiner hook outer frame of generator to seat rail

Run Time Note

• The bike's lighting system is independant of the bike's ironing system
  
• With a full 1.3 galllons of gas in the tank, the generator will run the iron for 4 hours

Iron

• Black & Decker F310K
  
• Standard 120 volt 1100 watt household steam iron, 3 pounds
  
• $25 appx anywhere

Generator

• Sportsman GEN154 - gasoline generator
  
• 2000 watt peak, 1500 watt continuous, 52 pounds, 2.4 horsepower, 78 dB, 4 cycle, 80cc, 1.3 gallon, 18x14x14 inches
  
• $225 at CSNwelder.com
  
• The photos show 2 hoseclamps attaching the generator to the threaded rod, but I actually used 2 pair of hoseclamps (side by side) for strength
  
• WARNING - The generator has an engine, sparks, and gasoline. That means there's a risk of fire and explosion. And that means you could be dismembered or killed or drenched in burning gasoline. Generators are not designed to be used this way. I have maximized stability in my generator mounting design, and am a very strong rider, but am still taking a risk.
  
• If you fall or your bike bangs something, or for any reason you believe the generator may not be functioning properly, hit it's off switch immediately and then get away from the bike. Explosions can be delayed, so don't think you're safe just because you waited a few minutes

Power Inverter

• Obsolete design (not used)
  
• Cobra CPI 1575 - dc to ac converter
  
• 1500 watts continuous, 3000 watts peak, 6 pounds
  
• $113 at Amazon.com

Battery

• Obsolete design (not used)
  
• Panasonic 50D20L - yes I took my car battery out of my Mazda
  
• The Cobra CPI 1575 power inverter shuts down when your battery drops below 9½ volts to avoid damaging your battery
  
• With the Black & Decker F310K iron on, thus 100 amps draining from the Panasonic 50D20L car battery, the inverter shut down in 60 seconds!

Wire

• Obsolete design (not used)
  
• Lynx LCSB412 Post Terminal Battery Cable - 12 inch, 4 guage
  
• I hacksawed off the inverter end lug, but used the battery terminal end
  
• $10 for two at Pep Boys

Power Note

• Obsolete design issue
  
• (power)=(volts)*(amps) ---> (power)/(volts)=(amps)
  
• My iron takes appx 1200 watts ---> (1200 watts) / (120volts) = (10 amps)
  
• But on the input side of the power inverter my iron requires (1200 watts) / (12 volts) = (100 amps) !
  
• I have approximated the above values, and omitted the inefficiency rating of the power inverter
  
• Most regular wire cannot handle 100 amps without heating up and starting a FIRE
  
• The connection from the car battery to the power inverter must be short & thick. I used 12 inch 4 guage cables (smaller numbers are thicker wire) (see "Wire" above)

Email: website@rossmernyk.com
Updated: July 26, 2015