Fieldlines.com || Finally fried

Front Page - [Homebrewed Electricity-- (wind) (solar) (hydro) (steam) (controls) (storage) (mechanical)] - Classifieds - Site News
Everything - Newbies - [Remote Living-- (housing) (heat) (light) (water)] - Reviews - Diaries - Our Products

Finally fried
By Hank, Section Wind Posted on Tue Feb 19, 2008 at 10:55:09 PM MST
Stator fried and ?

Well after 3 years of dedicated performance my windmill looks like it bit the dust.
This past Dec. while hunting at the camp the my wind mill stopped. After a very windy night it just sat there seeking the wind but not rotating. In higher winds it would spin a bit but made a grinding noise.
Well I lowered it and couldn't find any problems, it spun freely but the stator looked a bit dis-colored.
Well figuring gremlins were at play I raised it again and lo and behold all was well, well at least for awhile then again grinding and stop it did.
Seems when it cools off it runs but not for long.
My furling was never all that good so I suspect the stator is fried.
Not to worry a new stator was built just finishing up on a new propeller and when the weather warms up a bit I'll have it rebuilt in no time.
This time I'll be doing a better/more informed job of matching the alternator with the prop. This last one was a bit mismatched.
At any rate I have this Excel spread sheet that will allow you to sort of match props with alternator outputs. The inputs are blade dia. ,TSR, stator resistance, battery voltage and it calculates output, losses etc and graphs them against the propeller output (at least a good approximation)
I'm sure there are similar tools out there but if anyone is interested here it is.If it doesn't post you can find it in my files.
Haven't been on the board for about a year, good to see the oldtimers still here.
SPreadsheet file
Hank; You can't display a spreadsheet file in a page. I made it a link so folks can download it. Glad to see you back on board, Hank! TW

Finally fried | 4 comments (4 topical)

Re: Finally fried (3.00 / 0) (#1)
by elvin1949 on Tue Feb 19, 2008 at 07:30:00 PM MST

Hank
Check the bearings,sounds like they are DRY.
later
Elvin

Re: Finally fried (3.00 / 0) (#2)
by Hank on Tue Feb 19, 2008 at 08:12:57 PM MST

Hi Tom,
Been a long time and thanks for correcting my post. It seems I forgot how to post spread sheets.

Elvin,
That's what I initially thought as well, but when I lowered it the bearings felt fine. The stator was a bit swelled up signs of charring also it appeared that one of the magnets looked as it was cracked.

But since it felt smooth I raised it again.

Since this mill was a bit mismatched I had plans to rebuild it anyway just needed some motivation. As posted earlier I'll bring it down and disassemble it once the weather clears a bit then I'll know for sure what the problem is.

This one is set up for 12 volts, the new one will be set up for a 24 volt system.

Purchased two full sine wave 24 volt inverters from e-bay for peanuts all I will need now is a 24 volt alternator to set up on my diesel for backup/emergency power and to rewire my PV panels.

Thanks,
Hank

[ Parent ]

Re: Finally fried (3.00 / 0) (#4)
by elvin1949 on Thu Feb 21, 2008 at 04:46:55 AM MST

Hank
I am sure that you have several problems,BUT
I still think that when you open it up you will find dry bearings. [ makes a grinding noise and stop's turning ]
A damaged mag also points to possible bearing damage. You should clean_adjust_and_lube bearings
two times a year.
When you get it down and open ,look at the bearing races and bearing rollers. If they are blue_black_are gaulded that is what CAUSED your problem.Sorry about harping on this but being a mechanic these are the kind of things i look for.
A dry bearing will turn when cold but lock up when it gets hot. SORRY WILL NOT SAY ANYTHING MORE about this.
later
Elvin

[ Parent ]

Re: Finally fried (3.00 / 0) (#3)
by ZooT on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:01:54 AM MST

It's probably warping as it heats up.
Inconsistancies in the density of the material from which the stator is constructed could cause it to twist and warp from thermal expansion in a somewhat unpredicatble manner.....

I've though about that a bit in the past.....but it seemed to me to be just another dumb question that I probably shouldn't ask......

Finally fried | 4 comments (4 topical)

Menu

· create account
· How to use the board
· FAQs
· search the board
· Google search the board

Login

Make a new account

Username:

Password:

Total Views

189 Scoop users have viewed this posting.

Related Links

· SPreadshee t file
· Also by Hank

You must be a registered user to post here. It's easy and free, and the link is on the upper right side of your page.
All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective companies. Postings are owned by the poster, but may be deleted or moved at the ADMIN's sole discretion. The Rest © 2009 Forcefield.
You can Email the board ADMIN here. PLEASE include the username you signed up with!