| I had told Zubbly and Mech last week that I would post some pics of a small axial alternator I had built. This is my first post, I hope the pictures turn out, if not, I included links to their current locations on the server.
It is downright primitive compared to some of the designs I've seen here, but I'm still pretty proud of it since I came up with it from scratch. This first prototype I built was simply 16 coils of magnet around bolts, mounted in a box, with 16 ceramic magnets mounted on a disk. I built it before I was aware of this site, it has losses from eddy currents, I'm sure, and it cogs significantly, but it works. Currently, all coils are wired in series, this way, it generates a useful voltage (13V) at under 60 rpm, although not much current. I had tried 4 sets of 4 coils in parallel and two sets of 8 coils in parallel, and although they appeared to put out more current, they required much higher rpm's. In low winds,which I suspect are the most common, there would be no productivity.
I rigged it up for a temporary installation by mounting it on a small tower made of rebar and an inch and a quarter galvanized coupling. I used double sealed bearings around a threaded tube for the joint.
I fit those within an inch and a quarter copper coupling. It didn't fit perfectly,so I put a couple of layers of electrical tape around the outside of the bearings to snug them up. I used a piece of inch and a quarter tube to hold the bearings in the fitting, holding it in place with screws drilled through the fitting and tube sothat the wind couldn't pull the machine off of the tower. I checked on the turbine recently and found that there was a little play at the bearing where it mounts to the tower. I'll haveto find something a little better for future designs.
I weighted this on a two story roof, added a small metal turbine modeled after an ornamental windmill, and tied it in with a pre-existing 12 volt solar system. This connects to a Trace C-12 Load controller.
This charges a 12V. Deep Cycle Battery,
which keeps a couple of white led lights on in my laundry room and a small utility closet. Excess power generated is wasted right now. At present, I leave these lights on all of the time. This fixture has 70 or so leds, I think, I would have to open it up and count them as I can't remember - its been up there more than a couple of years now. They are mounted on a pcb, three in series with a 120 ohm resistor. Probably not as efficient as a flourescent, but they are maintenance free.
I'm currently working on a smaller design built with more durable components that I can fit into a smaller tube rather than a box. I was shooting for a two inch diameter tube, and a 48 volt system, but have had difficulty generating the voltage and power at lower rpm's. I may try and design something to fit into a 4 inch pvc tube. I have a 4 story building in Chicago that I can mount them on, but they would have to be not so obtrusive,hence, several small machines vs. one larger one. Below is a picture of an experimental 3 phase stator that I have been working on for a dual rotor axial type machine. I will have to greatly increase the number of turns of wire for this design to work.
This gives you a rough Idea what I'm up to, so any advice, suggestions, critisism is appreciated.
Just trying to have fun. Rich |
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