And for those that weren't here at the time I'd like to remind you of another prize that http://www.fieldlines.com/story/2004/9/19/143433/440 still hasn't been claimed...

For building a rotor I need a few months.
I'm only not in building a decent alternator,a low rpm alternator is not what I'm after at the moment.I think this will be to expensive anyway.Can I participate if I can prove output without building an alt.Just with the dynamometer method?
Finding a person who can certificate the results and is thrusted by you might be a problem too.

 I live in a low wind area. Some rare days 5-10mph, and more often 2-4mph and not constant at all. It may take years to come up with 100 "good" wind days. See where I'm going? At what point and who will determine a winner?

 I'll add another $100 to the kitty "if" the whole thing is made from either found scrap or landfill bound material- all of it. Rotor, wire, magnets, bearings/hubs. Only thing that can be bought is hardware- nuts, bolts, washers and screws. Use your imagination. Wire can come from crt monitors, microwave transformers, or induction motor"unwinds". Magnets from hard drives, microwaves, old speakers etc. I'll make an exception for stator potting material, which can be purchased.

 Expect cheating. This is a contest with prize money. AND there are engineers involved. :-)

The contest starts today and expires January 1 2008. If you've got something up and running by then, you qualify and the 100 days can start anytime before January 1.

I'd like to disqualify Ed or anyone else who has built one already if it doesn't hurt their feelings.

100W instantaneous, though I'd like to see it sustained for a short period of time, perhaps five minutes? If the wind doesn't blow for ninety days, it doesn't have to make any power on those days. It has to be set up in the weather and still be operable at the end of 100 days.

Pictures and or video will be needed to claim the prize, I get to pick the outside observer.

Volvo Farmer

What will you do in case there might be 50 people showing up with working designs ... ???

You must have deep pockets :-)

I like the idea but think it should have been refined more on the rules but it is VF's baby. I doubt that I'll bother as my newest time line is rather slow(got a 2nd job and building a tower right now) and I am using Ed's design on blades so I would have to share and a mere C note would not even cover gas money already spent to get parts.

I am not trying to hijack VF's contest or thread so to some extent this offer hinges on his willingness to include it. If the contest gets going and there is much interest(5 or more entries) I would consider kicking in a second prize of a $100 US to the one who builds the most watts per sq yard or sq meter(they are close we can come up with a fudge factor) if you are willing to let others copy the design and we can come up with a good way to determine the efficiency. This helps even out the field so just sheer size does not get all the money. Any body got a way that would make this fair and easy to figure? I kind of think it would need the wind speed or a close estimate to help figure efficiency. Maybe for those with no anemometer a time and date of test with the noaa wind data for their area on that date. I would be willing to give this to Ed or anyone else and consider it the best $100 for research I have spent so far.

Too bad Ron told me that if I were to enter the contest and build a VAWT we wouldn't be friends anymore, otherwise I'd enter into the endeavour. I really value his friendship, you know.

Thank you for offering this fine challenge. I fear not for those who attempt the challenge, but the poor soul who has to verify it. Although the possibility of injury due to the machine self destructing may not be large, it is there. And, there are the expenses that will be incurred.

In light of this, I am offering one of the images of a dead United States politician with the $20 symbol next to it to the 'observer' you appoint. This is a one time offer and the selection of the observer is yours and yours alone.

I realize that it is not much compensation but, it is not much of a job and the observer should have a good time anyway. However, the observer need not be punished (too bad) just because he is the one selected to venture and verify the unbelievable.

Sincerely,

Maybe Charles Lindbergh won a prize, but all the passengers on a trans-Atlantic flight scheduled for tomorrow don't get the same prize money.

Practically impossible to prove. A cheater could snap a bunch of pics over a couple days from different angles and bring the turbine in and then post a pic a day to "prove" that it's still outside. Before the observer shows up they could set it back up.

The 100 days part is kind of silly anyway. If you're gonna go through the trouble and spend the money to do it of course it's going to last 100 days.

"THERE IS NO SIZE LIMIT!"

Then there's no reason it can't be done then, the only challenging part is the time limit. And for those of us that can't build for squat it's still practically impossible...not that it would be any easier for us to build a hawt.

"Only caveat is I need an outside observer to observe amps and volts so I don't get fleeced. If he can keep the hat on his head while measuring, I'll concede to 20 MPH winds."

I think you're setting yourself up here. Just because a lot of people put their vawts at ground level or not much higher doesn't mean everyone does/will. Does it still count as 20mph if the observer's hat doesn't leave his/her head and the 'mill is 60ft up?

The biggest part I have a problem with is the battery requirement. The prize doesn't even cover the cost of the battery so it's not as cool as it sounds at first blush. If you didn't require that (or sent one with the observer) then you're talkin'...then there's at least some chance of the winner breaking even or coming close, if there's a winner.

"I have to ask-
Does a "Jumbo" type count as a VAWT??
$0.02"

I am still wondering about this question?
Could I enter a "Jumbo" type?
(the maybe barrel halfs blades sideways to the ground, with a sheild from the wind when moving into the wind comes around)
{the type I'd like to play with soon}