Another Modification

[Peppyy]

I have taken the testing to the next level.


Since it is seldom that I get any real wind


around here I decided to do the next best


thing.





My Ametek motor seems to only want to


gain about 1 volt per MPH of wind so I


decided to gear it up. Since I don't have


a machine shop I went with off the shelf


parts that could be easily modified.


Here is what I used.

1. - 4" plumbing test plug.
   
   
1. - 2" plumbing tast plug.
   
   
4. ' 1'2" allthread (Threaded rod).
   
   
2. - 1/4" black iron tees.
   
   
1. /2" nuts and washers.
   
   
   

I looked all over in a couple hardware stores


to find anything I might be able to use for


a 2 to 1 drive. That is where i came up with the


plumbing plugs.  They consist of  2 tapered plates


and a rubber ring, held together with a bolt.


The rubber is shaped kind of like a v-belt.

When the bolt is tightened, the rubber expands.


This allows it to seal on the inner wall of the pipe.


Rubber to rubber shouldn't slip very much.


This allows for some adjustment in the diameter


of the wheel.





Now I needed bearings and a shaft.


I wanted something strong enough to hold the


prop so I decided on 1/2" stock. Since I don't have


a welder, lathe or a drill press this had to be


threaded.





I wasn't worried about zero resistance so I just


wanted something strong and adjustable for now.


I decided to go metal on metal and spotted the


1/4" iron plumbing tees. These just happen to be


about the same inside diameter as the 1/2" rod.





(Did you know that even though the threads are


not the same you can screw 1/2-13 rod into a 1/4"


pipe fitting? About 5 turns and it is really tight.)





I used a 1/2" bit to drill through the tee's so the


shaft could turn inside and screwed an 8" piece


of allthread into the single opening on the Tee's.


I mounted these  fore and aft of the motor, offset


just enough so they wouldn't hit the motor shaft.





I mounted the smaller 2" plug in the motor shaft


and the larger 4" on the bearing shaft, allowing


several inches to extend out the front for


mounting the prop. I used double nuts and


washers either side of the Tee bearing to hold


the thrust if the shaft.





2 dimentional adjustment and fine tuning


proved to be a nice thing to have. I can turn


the shaft with my fingers pretty easily under


no load. I haven't oiled the bearing yet and I


still have a few things to finish before she goes


back up so comments are welcome as always.

[MelTx]

  Hello Peppyy  That look like a fine piece of- off the shelf- engineering.Are getting more power out of the Ametek? I have one that needs something like what you came up with.They will put out a lot of power but you have to trick them into it.All the best.          MelTx

[Peppyy]

Well, it's up. As usual during a launch it is a beautiful day. Clear, warm and Calm. I don't see any wind in the forecast intil later next week. It will be interesting to see what speed it starts turning and if I have gained or lost efficiency. I will have to bring her back down and shim my yaw bearing. I miss-calculated the clearence between the mill and the mount so one of the bolts hits.

I did learn that it isn't a good idea to carry it into a breeze by the shaft. That shaft turns lol.

[Jerry]

Hi Pep.

Nice work, I love to see projects like this. Hiker did something simular with threded rod. He coated the rod with epoxy at the point where it spins inside the bearing to keep the threads from digging into the metal.

Did you greaes it up to reduce the grinding? You could also use non threded rod and tapp the threded area needed. Tapp and die tools are not to expencive particurly if you just buy the size you need.

If this works out to have the ratio you need you might look into doing the same thing but with sealed bearings and shaft stock for longer life of the mechanizem?

Will the rubber parts slip when wet? Could build a watter sheild around them if they slip?

                          JK TAS Jerry

                         

[Peppyy]

Hi Jerry.

Haven't even lubed it yet. I did sand the threads in the bearing area so they weren't as sharp. I like the epoxy idea. If the $10 idea works out I will take your advice and use some real bearings. I almost bought a bearing grab bag on a site the other day. 30 assorted bearings up to 5/8" arbour for $20 but I figured I will just get the right ones if it works.

I am not as concerned about water making them slip as I am that they will ice up in cold weather. I think my biggest problem will be getting the torque I need from the Zubs. They seem to fly pretty fast but I don't know about the power. Time will tell.

[johnlm]

Thats a pretty clever idea.  It will be interesting to see how long the plug last.  I would suspect that they may need adjusted from time to time to keep the friction interface high enough to keep them from slipping.  Was it $10 for all the parts? Plugs, pipe fittings and allthread?  if so thats pretty cheap sounding.  Hope it works.

Johnlm

[Peppyy]

Hi John, Actually I had a couple of the parts already. The plugs were around

$3 and $5 and the tees were about $1 each. I was going to use 3/8" rod but I had 1/2" which was a better idea, and it fit the tees. I build by what the buget says, (Which is usually close to $0), and if I can't build it with a table saw, makita cordless and a hacksaw it has to wait. Can't wait for some wind. Might have to get the leaf blower out again

 I am going to visit my Dad soon and he has some great pine boards cut from his trees about 15 years ago. Some of it is very clear. Might have to try my hand at some carving. Now where did I put that old draw-shave I found burried in the garden?

[hiker]

heres my little  geared up alt...

just some old bike parts..

[Norm]

   One more modification, and it would be ideal,

if you could have arranged it so the driven

pulley would swing into the rotor pulley, given

the proper arc, it would engage just enough not

to slip...as the speed increases the Amtex has

more resistance, which makes it press harder....

all automatically...just the right amount of

pressure to keep it from slipping.

                  Nice set of blades!

                 ( :>) Norm.

 

[Peppyy]

Almost have some wind today, after all the ice and snow. I had to reach up

with a long pole and knock some ice off it. with the blades full of

snow and ice it's hard to tell anything. It seems to wait until around

8 mph to even think about turning but from there up the voltage jumps up.

In a couple of gusts, maybe 15mph, I have seen 24 volts.

12 mph seems to be around 14 - 15 volt area. Once it is  turning

it seems to take right off. More info when I get some steadier windspeeds.

[ghurd]

Metal on metal may be holding it back.

Bike parts may get you a bearing. Change the Ts to a larger horizontal size, drill the end(s)tap in the bearings.

Fancy teflon oil would help the metal on metal (?).

Just a thought.

G-

[Peppyy]

Finally some wind. Seems to be feast or famine lol.

Today is a first! The mill is actually doing some work. Looks like anything above 10mph will now be useable. When it started getting windy this morning I turned on my digital meter and watched the no-load get as high as 32 volts so I had to find something to charge.

A while back, big-lots had a nifty coleman powermate light/compressor/12v, accessory pack. Not a jumper pack. I am forever blowing up tires on my old tractors so I bought it. Turns out that the charge jack that you plug the walwart into must have a diode bridge built in, probably to eliminate the possibilty of reversing the polairity. Well guess what. That little bugger charges just fine off that little mill. I just have to keep an eye on it for now so it doesn't overcharge.

When I plug it in it brings the genny voltage down between 14 and 16vdc until the wind lets up and then there is no bleed back at all. The jack also disconnects the battery from everything else so I have to unplug it to test the unit. Might have to get a couple of those jacks and put them in my booster and jumper packs, without the disconnects.

I should also plan on getting some real bearings and such for the next rebuild session. Anybody got a 4 foot diameter plastic bucket lid?