Wind Generator

[Nightjar]

Lost interest in this project, would have to be a pick up in Perth.
All the necessary parts are included including the 360 rotation wiring.
Anyone interested bring a scotch/rum that you think is a appropriate donation.

 

[aussiefarmer]

My great grandfather built a wind battery charger from a harley frame and old dc generator of a old truck.

 

[Flatlander]

allways interested doing this stuff but how many projects do u have

 

[Mike678]

My wind generator , now in Sydney . That was the set up in N.W. Q'land . Carbon fiber blades from the USA. For that area , needed another 3 blades . Not enough wind to produce a charge .

That solar panel was 15 kg. a willy willy came and lifted it off the drums ! Little damage and was then tied down .

 

[Jaros]

How much wind would have been needed to produce charge.

 

[Mike678]

I think I got my blades from Missouri Wind and Solar . On their web site there was a lot of facts and figures . Some places in the USA are very windy .

https://windandsolar.com

 

[Mike678]

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2341230...NSNInveQLX1Rjla7g%3D|ampid:PL_CLK|clp:2047675

Any body got one of these ?

 

[xracer550]

Good Day , This is what I came up with , Will run 6v lights in my shed with about a 10-15 mph wind (sorry I don't know Km's)
made out of old tredmill motor & 2 VW rear trailing arms / bearings , one has all the brakes & stuff.

 

[numpty]

:Y: looks good too :Y:

 

[Simmo]

Study that pic a bit and I can see another Phil Box!!!! ;-)

 

[Moneybox]

Study that pic a bit and I can see another Phil Box!!!! ;-)

Hey don't involve me, I've only thought about it. It should compliment solar power beautifully. We either have sunshine or wind although days like today we have both

 

[RuddyCrazy]

I've done 2 motor conversions in the past, the first one was new stock 2hp 3 phase motor with 8 off 2x1x1/2 Neo magnets in the offset config and I made a 3 metre blade set out of oregon where they lasted about 7 years before the wind rain etc too kit's toll.

The second one was 4Kw 3 phase motor where i stripped out all the old wire and re-wired 4 in hand 1mm wire and the rotor I machined up and put 88 neo magnets 16x13 round N50 grade. This one hasn't taken to the air yet but on 2 occasions where I done a test in my old flat belt lathe set in 5:1 back gear. When it hit 240 rpm which is the cutin speed I made it too I saw a brief flash of 89 amps on my current meter before the VFD complained of over current. This test was carried out by putting 2 off 12 volt truck batteries in series for 24 volts and I used a 100 amp rectifier and put my clamp meter on the positive wire. Both times the same thing happened where at cutin 89-92 amps was shown then the VFD cut out.

So I went back to my wind genny which is a F&P washing machine motor 1mm wire and just wired it up in delta with no re-wiring needed. Then I got some 400 volt 460uf caps and soldered them back to back to make them non polarized and with 3 sets I put them on each phase before the rectifier. Now without the caps when it cuts in about 4-7 amps is produced now with the caps in series the current at cutin jumps to 11-15 amps.

The only draw back with my 4kw conversion is the best place to put it is ontop of the hill 270 metres away and with the serious current involved 3 off wire as thick as your thumb are needed for the wire run then rectified at the shed beside the house.

The natural beauty of motor conversion is they are bullet proof and won't burn out as they can only produce the amps that the copper wire can carry then after that the faster the rotation is reactance kicks and the current goes down.

Cheers Bryan

 

[Simmo]

So why do washing machine motors burn out???!

 

[RuddyCrazy]

So why do washing machine motors burn out???!

If read my post properly you would know I was talking about the motor conversions and on the other note the F&P washing machine motor isn't a standard motor as the type goes and is a multi pole one with a magnet outer ring that excites the voltage.

with this F&P I had up for a total of close to 8 years has never burnt out but has gone thru 3 blade sets which all flew apart from the force of the wind and twice I have broken amp gauges as in a storm the wind genny just keeps on putting out and one weekend of wild weather fully charged my 24 volt 735AH forklift battery which provides my shed power.

As we live off the grid and have done now for 2 decades wind generation is a part of my mix for charging, now if we do get long periods of no sun and no wind I just fire up my 16hp listeriod engine and charge the battery and while it's running take advantage of the 5Kw and do a heap of welding which is how my jaw crusher came to life one winters weekend.

Cheers Bryan

 

[Nightjar]

Built this one back in the early 90's. Had the tail set up like a windmill so it swung out of strong winds.
Direct drive, pulley drive & through a Fenner gearbox could not get reliable charge to the shack 50 metres away.
In one word- Failure

 

[Mackka]

One heck of a try mate, well done.
Mackka

 

[RuddyCrazy]

Guy's when I make my next set of blades I'll do a write up on here showing the ways it's done, now 3 blades is the norm for small wind generators and they must be balanced until they are true as if they are out they will vibrate the tower to pieces.

 

[Mike678]

You can buy carbon fiber blades on E-bay . They are pretty cheap now . A few years ago , I paid $50 + each .

They are in the garage , I could sell them with the mounting plate . In Sydney .

 

[RuddyCrazy]

Guy's in the morning when I'm up at my shed I reckon have that link to an online blade calc that been on the web pretty well since the creation of the web, now could just put fence planks up as blade and yes if the wind is strong enough they will turn but as charging a battery forget it.

Ok a quick web search found this

http://www.alton-moore.net/wind_calculations.html

For a wind generator to work at it's full potential it needs clean air so a clear line of site for 30-50 metres and let say for a 2.4 metre blade set they do need to running at 250 rpm before cutin as far below that there just isn't enough torque with the blades.

Those multi blade sets are primarily used for water pumping as with many blades they provide the torque but as far as using them for battery charging on a serious note forget it.

now if guy's want a wind genny to charge a battery on prospecting trips a few things do need to be done.

The tower base needs to be rock solid and ramming down a couple of star pickets so only a inch or so is out of the ground only if the ground is solid so forget sandy areas as this won't work.

4 guy wires need to be put up so at 4 points 0 90 180 270 degrees where the 2 side guy wires will act as the strain when when raising and one must use what is called a gin pole where at 90 degrees to the base a pipe/ length of steel is used to alter the angle of the pull rope. Now in a pinch one can use a step ladder for the same task with one guy holding the ladder firm.

For base mounts on the guy wire again star pickets can be used and hammered in on a angle going away from the tower base.

Now for alternators to charge batteries DC motors will only output about 75% of the plate rating at 1000 rpm so forget them.

The F&P washing machine motor has been used for decades and just keeps working, now there is a forum that is based around this motor and it's the backshed.com off memory. Now there is also what one calls a dual axial flux generator where 2 opposing plates hold neo magnets with the stator in the middle which is a series of coils potted in fiberglass etc, the coils can be configured for any application but be aware in gale force wind they will burn out if they go over speeding.

I have been researching and making wind generators for 2 decades and I can offer advice for guy's that want one for charging.

Cheers Bryan

 

[user 12139]

my wind generator has now been in action for over 60 years, it just needs a couple cans of baked beans every now and again and its up and running like a charm