Leading Edge Tape

[watermanhfl]

After purchasing these beautiful 10' blades thru our sponsor I wanted to protect the leading edge.  The proper 3M tape was expensive and special order so I used Tyvek sealing tape.  This tape is available at normal building supply stores and has worked great right over top of the linseed oil.  After 1 full year there are no tears or rips.  Performance of blades is very good so not sure if tape helps that also.

For those who have noticed my other entries my cracked, overheated stator is still working well.  Opened up the gap a bit but still see 800 watts in good 20 mph wind before furling starts soon after. Tail is lighter now.

[Flux]

Not sure what your tape is or whether it has an equivalent over here, but it looks to be effective. The expensive 3M tape doesn't last for ever and unless you get it on perfectly it has bubbles under it in places and gradually it de laminates.

If your cheap tape lasts well and can be got off easily when it needs replacing then I think you have found a winner.

Flux

[coldspot]

watermanhfl-

 Looks Great !

 But may I ask, are the blades only

 protected with this on the outer half?

 The picture makes it look like only the outer

 half is taped off?

 Thanks

[kitestrings]

Watermanhfl,

Is there finish/clear-coating over the tape?  From the photo it is hard to tell.

I've had pretty good luck with the 3M tape, but invariably I get some bubbles as Flux mentioned.  Sometimes they can be filled with paint or filler.  I usually try to put an extra coat of paint around the leading edge, particularly covering the line along the tape edges.  It is surprising how a tiny loose piece will cause an audible one-per-rev noise.

I remember woking on some older mills - Winchargers for example - where they used a thin metal flashing.  Any thoughts on that?

-kitestrings

[wdyasq]

" where they used a thin metal flashing"

A real PITA to put on airplane props and usually had fasteners and a bonding agent. After years of outdoor storage the fasteners will allow moisture to penetrate wood and rot is possible if not inevitable.

Modern adhesives are no better than polysulfide, the 'old time' material. If duplicating today I would want to use 3M5200 or equivalent as the adhesive if I did not  want to mess with polysulfide.

Fasteners might not be needed at the slow speeds (relative) of a wind turbine. I would tend to use fiberglass cloth set in epoxy.

Ron

[watermanhfl]

Hi all,

The Tyvek tape is common here in USA for joining seams in Tyvek house wrap.  Tyvek is plastic breathable sheet which is applied under siding to keep moisture and drafts out.

The tape is applied over the original 3 coats of linseed oil and edges have stayed down fine.  It is applyed to front and back side of blades around leading edge.  Only applied to outer, fast moving section of blade where most likly to erode.

[Dozzer7]

JC Whitney sells a stainless tape that the helicopter loggers in Canada use for control of rain erosion on thier aluminum spar tail rotor blades. It is only applied to the outer 32 inches of the blade. Very thin and has a great adhesive. Wickedly sharpe edges where you cut the ends. We use 8663 3M polyurethane here in the states for the same purpose. The stainless out performs the poly greatly but we can't use it here for lack of a control spec. If I remember correctly it is only 8USD for a 2 inch wide roll.