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Windy Pictures
By DanB, Section Wind Posted on Tue Feb 15, 2005 at 03:33:28 PM MST
Gust of almost 60mph yesterday!

We had pretty strong winds Sunday night/Monday morning. Almost 60mph gusts, and sustained winds yesterday between 25 - 40mph. In those kinds of winds my 17' machine makes less that it would in lower winds... but it held up to it nicely and still produced more than enough power for our needs.

There's a picture I got from behind it yesterday during one of the calmer times.

There's a picture a few moments later of it almost completely furled up out of the wind. You can see the stop on the tail boom which will contact the yaw bearing to hopefully keep the tail out of the blades on this one.

Windy Pictures | 10 comments (10 topical)

Re: Windy Pictures (3.00 / 0) (#1)
by JeroenH on Tue Feb 15, 2005 at 08:42:39 AM MST

Wow... must be a pretty impressive sight!

It must feel really good seeing something this big you constructed yourself work well.

Re: Windy Pictures (3.00 / 0) (#2)
by ghurd on Tue Feb 15, 2005 at 09:04:55 AM MST

Kind of scary, being that big.
People here almost hide in their basements with 40mph winds.

It is a shame to have all that wind and not be able to use much of it.
Has anyone tried a 2-stage furling system? I think I just designed a simple one just looking at the pics! (2pcs of pipe, a pulley, and cable. A failure would just furl normaly)

G-
Ghurd.info

Re: Windy Pictures (3.00 / 0) (#6)
by DanB on Wed Feb 16, 2005 at 08:25:40 AM MST

The goal here is a low wind machine. By weighting the tail a bit more (or even changing the geometry a bit) I could keep it producing something closeer to 'full output' in these high winds, but I prefer to stay a bit more on the safe side for now.

Even furled up like this though - it is producing pretty nicely, around 750 watts I would guess.

[ Parent ]

Re: Windy Pictures (3.00 / 0) (#8)
by ADMIN on Wed Feb 16, 2005 at 07:35:31 PM MST

All of DanB's machines have 2-stage furling systems!
Stage 1 -- furled tail
Stage 2 -- tail falls off, smashes on ground. Machine turns safely out of the wind. Build new tail.

(Large Grin -- don't fire me, DanB)
DANF

[ Parent ]

Re: Windy Pictures (3.00 / 0) (#9)
by elvin1949 on Wed Feb 16, 2005 at 11:12:57 PM MST

Hi DanF
knew someone would add 2+2 soner or later.
Sorry DanB,i had to say that[halfassed coonass you know].
no i really do like your work,i am getting a good education here.
later
elvin1949

[ Parent ]

Re: Windy Pictures (3.00 / 0) (#3)
by Chiron on Tue Feb 15, 2005 at 09:13:26 AM MST

Congrats!

Looks to me like you have a very well designed turbine for your needs.

Furling early would be preferable to late I'd think and from the power curve data you've posted it looks like the low wind performance which seems to be a big concern with most people here is excelent.

Just a quick note on safety,

One of the Cardinal rules of safety on the big turbines is if there's any possibility of things falling from the blades or tower/nacelle stay upwind of the turbine or inside the tube at all times. Ice buildup on the blades is usualy the main concern here.

Not that I think your machine would fly apart but with a new machine I'd be cautious for a while. Maybe I've just gotten too cautious from working on the large turbines where the term "minor injury" doesn't apply.

Rule #1, nobody gets hurt

Chiron

I'll get off my soapbox now

Re: Windy Pictures (3.00 / 0) (#4)
by veewee77 on Tue Feb 15, 2005 at 12:20:58 PM MST

What kind of max amps was it pushing in those winds?

Doug

Re: Windy Pictures (3.00 / 0) (#5)
by SDO on Tue Feb 15, 2005 at 02:58:06 PM MST

hopefully the cold air around your parts is helping keep things nicely chilled. Wondering if during this summer we can expect problems as the ambient air temps rise and peak. I hope all goes well, and the puppy doesn't overheat. Looks fantastic, nice job!
---
Super Dave Osbourne, Man of a Million Shunts
"Not that I expect the current administration to do anything about it."

Re: Windy Pictures (3.00 / 0) (#7)
by Bach On on Wed Feb 16, 2005 at 12:40:29 PM MST

Dan,

I'm curious: what kind of noise level are you seeing (hearing) at higher speeds (and lower ones too)? That might be a concern for people who live a bit closer to densely populated civilization.

Nice work - as always!!!

I'm sure this will stimulate even more interest.

Bach On

- - I'm not superman, but I am very dense! -

Re: Windy Pictures (3.00 / 0) (#10)
by DanB on Thu Feb 17, 2005 at 06:02:14 AM MST

even in high winds its real quiet, the blades are almost completely silent. While the pictures look violent perhaps - its more camera trickery... the machine is below 200 rpm in both pictures. The loudest thing that happens with this machine is some kind of resonance between it and the tower I think. Between 8 - 10 amps it makes a fairly noticably 'humming' sound which i can hear from inside DanF's house perhaps 400' away. Not terribly loud - but it is the sort of thing folks could complain about I suppose.
Above 10 amps it gets fairly quiet with jjust the low frequency alternator 'growl'.

[ Parent ]

Windy Pictures | 10 comments (10 topical)

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