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Possible motor conversion? (with 5 pics)


By nanotech, Section Wind
Posted on Sun Jul 16, 2006 at 02:25:55 AM MST
Could I get some expert opinions in here please?

First off, please let me apologise for the crappy, out of focus pictures.  It seems my photography skills rank right up there with my ability to decide on a RE subject to work and run with.....  :)

My neighbor has given me an old winch that was no longer working (switch assembly borken), but the motor was working good.

Not sure on the motor's ratings, but it's definately not all that big.  115VAC 1/5 hp I think.  The winch was only something like 200 or 400 pound capacity.

But I was thinking this thing might make an interesting conversion if possible.

Here's a pic of the casing with the end cap removed.  Notice the big 24:1 reduction gear on the other end!!  

Here's a pic of the 24 slot stator...

And another

And here's a pic of the rotor (still needing machining for the magnets, of course)

The slots in the stator are exactly 1/2 the size of my 3/8" X 3/8" round magnets, in other words one magnet covers two slots exactly.

Now for the questions for the experts:

First, is there any more info you might need about it that I could provide?
Second, will I be able to make best use of this thing as it sits, or am I going to have to rewind it?
Third, is the gear reducer (or multiplier in my case) going to be any good to me if I put a large blade on it and used torque to give me high RPM's, or will the extra drag of the gears negate any benefits of the higher RPM's over the magnets (I am in a VERY low average wind area, so BIG props on small gennies are a good thing.  Small props just don't gather enough wind to do much around here).

Possible motor conversion? (with 5 pics) | 8 comments (8 topical)

Re: Possible motor conversion? (with 5 pics) (3.00 / 0) (#1)
by TomW on Sat Jul 15, 2006 at 10:27:02 PM MST

nano;

I would like to read this post but by posting such large pictures it has become over 2 screens wide so it makes it a PITA to read on laptops.

Oh well maybe the editor will fix it.

Nice pictures tho.

Cheers.

TomW

The Truth is the Truth, even if no one believes it; and a lie is a lie even if everyone believes it




Re: Possible motor conversion? (with 5 pics) (3.00 / 0) (#4)
by nanotech on Sun Jul 16, 2006 at 02:49:53 AM MST

Resizing them now.  I thought 800X600 was a good size......

Guess I'll scale them down to 640X480 then.
__________________________________________
My ship finally came in, but it was the Kobayashi Maru!
[ Parent ]



Re: Possible motor conversion? (with 5 pics) (3.00 / 0) (#2)
by Countryboy on Sun Jul 16, 2006 at 12:09:38 AM MST

Hi nano,
  You didn't tell how many poles it is.  The more poles the better.

How many of these round magnets are you going to put on a pole?  I'm guessing that you will be able to use 4, or possibly 5 of these magnets to form a pole.  I'm guessing that you could have 4, or possibly squeeze 6 poles on the rotor.  Going with the max of 6 poles and 5 mags to a pole, you're only looking at a max of 1.2 cubic inch of magnets total.  Using zubbly's rule of thumb of 140-150 watts per cubic inch of magnets, you are only looking at a max of 170-180 watts output.

Forget the 24:1 gear reducer.  I don't care how low your windspeeds are.  That kind of gear ratio is simply going to be massive inefficiencies.

Secondly, look at the shaft diameter.  It's a small diameter, high rpm shaft.  It's not designed to handle the stresses large diameter blades would put on it.

IMHO, I'd tell you to flush this idea and not waste time thinking about anything less than a 1/2 horsepower motor.  It'll be a major PITA, and you're still only looking at 170-180 watts max output.  I believe you would be further ahead to focus your efforts on a better motor.



Re: Possible motor conversion? (with 5 pics) (3.00 / 0) (#3)
by Flux on Sun Jul 16, 2006 at 02:14:55 AM MST

Pictures and text stay on screen on my browser, Not sure what causes the trouble, I have had trouble when othters have not.

I go with Countryboy on the motor.

For decent results in a very poor wind area I would go for a dual rotor, but if you want a motor conversion choose something bigger and with a shaft to take your large prop. 24:1 gearbox "impossible".
Flux

[ Parent ]



Re: Possible motor conversion? (with 5 pics) (3.00 / 0) (#5)
by nanotech on Sun Jul 16, 2006 at 03:00:31 AM MST

Hrm, ok.  Not a good candidate.

Especially seeing as I only have 14 of those little magnets.....

I was thinking that the winch drum would have been good to mount the blades to as it was intended for heavy duty use.  And also the higher RPM's through the gearbox would have increased the magnets' efficiency.  But I guess improving next to nothing a little still wouldn't be much, huh?  :)

Well.  I came, I asked, I got my answer.  Time to go find something else to make a project out of!!  :)
__________________________________________
My ship finally came in, but it was the Kobayashi Maru!



Re: Possible motor conversion? (with 5 pics) (3.00 / 0) (#6)
by zubbly on Sun Jul 16, 2006 at 06:38:25 AM MST

hi Nanotech!

in short, don't bother with it. more trouble than it would be worth.

on the brighter side, i think it would be worth trying to fix the switch so it still operates as a winch. looks like a great little unit.

zubbly



Re: Possible motor conversion? (with 5 pics) (3.00 / 0) (#7)
by Gog on Mon Jul 17, 2006 at 05:04:01 AM MST

It looks like a good candidate for a water wheel though.
Gear it up 3 to 1 on a 4ft dia by 2 ft overshot ....

[ Parent ]


Re: Possible motor conversion? (with 5 pics) (3.00 / 0) (#8)
by Bobbyb on Mon Jul 17, 2006 at 12:44:44 PM MST

Hi nano take a look at this
http://www.fieldlines.com/story/2006/7/12/19417/4766
So u can just wait and c :D




Possible motor conversion? (with 5 pics) | 8 comments (8 topical)
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