Trailer mounted powerr station (long)

[esc]

About 10 years ago I built my first trailer mounted windmill tower.  It was made from 2 pieces of pipe in a telescoping configuration, topped with an Air 403, that could be extended and raised with a winch.  It was mounted on a converted catamaran trailer that I was using to haul jet skis at the time.  Here is a picture:

I no longer have that trailer...but I do have a 20' trailer that, until Ike, was the home for a 17' Hobie Catamaran.  Ike did a pretty thorough job on the Cat, but the trailer escaped relatively unscathed.  You can see a after Ike picture of the trailer here:

http://www.methware.com/beach

My plan starts by retrofitting the 20' trailer to hold a 10' Walker Bay.  For those of you who are not familiar with it, the Walker Bay is a 10' rowing Dingy with a Sail Kit and a mount for a 3HP outboard.  I frequently use it with a trolling motor and a 25 Amp Hour deep cycle battery.

The design of the trailer is as follows:

It has a 6' long tongue followed by a 4' triangular section and a 10 foot rectangular section that makes up the back half.  The widest part of the triangular section and the rectangular section are about 5" wide.  In addition there are 2 8' bars extending from the front and rear of the rectangular section which were used to support the catamaran hulls.

Finally the interesting (and relevant to this community) part of the plan:  I intend to add a 21' guyed pipe tower for the Air 403, a 40 watt solar panel, a lawnmower powered alternator and a battery box with an undetermined number of deep cycle batteries.  The selection of power generating equipment is dictated by what I already have laying around.  So far the only actual expense was $60.00 (+tax) for the 21' 1.5" schedule 40 pipe.

My 2 primary concerns right now have to do with the tower and the Air 403.  They are how to mount the tower so that it will not interfere with the boat when down (and hopefully up), and how to transport the Air when the tower is down.

Here you can see how my previous trailer mounted windmill traveled:

This was fine for the jet skies because I did not launch them off of the trailer, but I want to be able to launch the Walker Bay directly from the trailer so having the Air hanging off the back of the trailer would mean dunking it in sea water on a regular basis.  So that it out.

My other concern is the mounting of the tower.  I envision a 1.5" x 6' pipe mounted sideways across the front of the rectangular trailer section, with a 2" sleeve that can slide back and forth and rotate.  That sleeve will have another 2" sleeve welded to it at 90 degrees.  The 21' 1.5" pipe will slide through the top sleeve (front to rear), allowing the 21' pipe to slide 10 feet forward, to the front of the trailer, when traveling.  Once arriving on location, the boat is removed.  The 21' pipe is pulled back 10', until it hits a stop in the end of the pipe, and locked in place with a trailer hitch pin.  It is then raised with the winch on the front of the trailer.

I plan to use 5 guy wires; 2 in the back 8' apart, 2 directly beside the tower 8' apart and one in front.  The front(1) and rear(2) guy wires will be 10' from the base of the tower.  The side guy wires will be 4' to either side.  So 4 of the 5 wires will attach to the supports that used to hold the catamaran and the 5th will be on the front of the tongue.  The 2 wires in back (as opposed to 1) should allow the boat to be put back on the trailer once the tower is up.

OK, this is really long so I will continue later.

[esc]

Here is a new picture of the trailer I plan to use for this project:

I will be relocating the various rollers for the Walker Bay, which will leave the old Cat support bars bare.  You can also see the 21' 1.5" pipe hanging off the back.

[richhagen]

I'm pretty sure I would stubbornly get my mill back up in the air after a devastating storm like you had just as an act of defiance.  Are you going to be able to rebuild, or have you found out yet?  It is kind of amazing that the trailer did not get damaged more in the midst of all of that destruction. Since your dingy is going to take up most of the body of the trailer, you will have an interesting puzzle to get the tower mounted.  Just kicking around ideas, perhaps you could weld a frame over the top such that the dingy fits beneath.  Then you could have a two section tower on top as well as space to mount the panels.  Mount the batteries such that they will not get submerged, but as low as possible for balance. Good luck with the project.  Rich  

[esc]

That is a good description of how I feel.  I will be allowed to rebuild...if I can come up with some money.  At this point it looks like power will be restored by December and water some time in the spring.

The trailer got wedged under one of the two only remaining beams that spanned pilings.  The upright that used to hold the mast caught on it and wedged the trailer in to a position where it could not wash away.  Between that, and the fact that I found my windmill at all, at least my luck wasn't ALL bad.

I toyed with the idea of a frame over the boat...but I really want to use a single piece of pipe for the tower.  With what I have in mind, the tower pipe will lay down flat, under the boat...but I still will have to remove the Air from the tower for transport...which I'm not to fond of.

If I could figure out a way to use the Catamaran mast support, on the front of the trailer, I could leave the windmill on the pipe and it would be up out of harms way when traveling.  But that would mean pulling the whole rig down off the trailer (cumbersome), spinning it around and seating it on a footing. It would also make the wiring more difficult.  I want to make it as easy as possible to set up.

As far as the panel, I thinking about mounting it to the top of the battery box.  That way I can remove the top and position it for best power, but when it place it will still get enough sun to keep the batteries topped off.  BTW, I am planning on 2 boxes over the triangular section of the trailer, with room between for the pipe when down.  One will hold batteries and electronics, the other will be storage...or maybe that is where I'll put the gas generator.

I'll try to post some pictures of the panel and lawn mower generator soon, so you can see what I have to work with.

[esc]

OK after thinking about it for a while, maybe I better understand what you were saying.

What if I had a "stub" tower 5' high, with a pivot point on top of that.   The tower could lay back on to a rear support (like you suggested), then slide forward on to the mast support for transport.  The Air could stay on the top up above the boat.  The wires would come out of the top pipe section just above the pivot point, so they would not get pinched in the pivot.

Doing this I would lose most of the "Gin Pole" effect of the original mast support (with high mounted winch), but I would gain the ability to raise the tower without removing the boat.  It would also prevent the stowed tower pipe from interfering with my battery box in front.

[Airstream]

Seeing your project made me think of these, I believe these are being surplussed from the I-35 bridge collapse that happened in Minneapolis. I hope you get some ideas!

Equipped with: 2 - 123 watt solar panels, with tilt option. Solar Panels are Sharp, Solar Module ND-L3E1U, 12 - 6 volt deep cycle Trojan batteries. 4 Jacks. Complete trailer tail light wiring. 2000lb Axle. 2 Manual Winches. Sunwize Stecca Solar Regulator. IOTA Battery Charger. 7' x 14'. Also had a 30ft mast that ~was~ equipped with either a camera, a light or some type of sensor.

[esc]

Those are sweet!

Do you know what they are going for?

[Airstream]

These things are nearby me here in Twin Cities. I'd love to say I could deliver one to you for $2000 purchase price, 5% commission and fuel & tolls since I've never seen the Gulf Coast at all...

Since we are talking maybes, I would also love to say I do need two more Sharp 123W panels here to finish making up a 48V array and I'd buy the trailer up here, rob the panels off it and deliver it there for bunches less than $2000... Also they claim to be willing to negotiate purchase price if multiple units are bought - maybe they would negotiate with cash in hand on one unit too, but with my luck you wouldn't like the color and refuse delivery once I got there! : )

I doubt the batteries have been well maintained - it would require a day testing the units they have left, panels, battery electrolyte Sp Gravity, charger function etc...

[esc]

$2000 doesn't sounds like  a bad deal...

If I had the $2000 to spare right now, I would take you up on that.  I might almost go to pick one up myself.  But it isn't going to happen this month.

Here are a couple of pictures of the other components that I plan on using:

The 40 watt Photowatt panel.  It is approx. 1' by 4'.

The home made lawn mower generator.  This was inspired by theepicentrer.com plan.  But I built it out of some scrap U section, which provides a built in belt guard.  The engine is a 3HP 148cc Briggs and Stratton. I used a 2" pulley that is about the same size ass the one on the alternator.  I re-used 2 wheels from the donor lawn mower.  I intended to put a rubber suspension stop on the other side but have not gotten around to it yet so it bounces around a little when running on concrete.

I cut the holes with a plasma cutter.  First I cut the top off of the old lawn mower frame and used it for a template for the motor hole.  There is about 8" of travel for the alternator, so I can use a variety of belt lengths.

I hope to get some gauges hooked up one of these days so that I will have more than anecdotal evidence as to the output of the various components.  Probably some cheap automotive amp and volt meters.

[esc]

I wonder...what if we each bought one, would they give enough of a discount for you to deliver mine for $2000.00 total?  I'm just day dreaming...

[Airstream]

I will try and get out there this week.

[esc]

Here is a picture of the trailer with the Walker bay on it.  I also have the 21' pipe on top, in roughly the location that I intend it to travel.  I still need to construct a rear support that will hold the top of the tower and the Air 403 while traveling.

The Mast support that is holding the pipe in front rises 5' above the trailer frame.

Now I have to make a decision about how the tower will be mounted and supported.  There are two options that I have thought of so far:

#1 Leave front support more or less where it is, maybe a foot or two farther back.  Pipe will pivot at top of front support and will have guy wires attached to tongue (6' away) and front cross bar (6' back and 8 feet wide).  This will give a total of 3 guy wires.  They will be positioned MUCH closer to the tower base than I had originally planned, but it will make for a very simple mechanism. I hope that the strength of the Cat's mast support will make up for the small guy wire base.

#2 Move Front support to just in front of boat, at the very back of the Triangular section.  Rig a collar and pivot on the top of the support so that when traveling the pipe can be slid forward, then slide back when it is time to raise it.  Go with 5 guy wires in the locations mentioned previously.  This will be a much more complicated mechanism and the pipe will not be as well supported when traveling, but it will have better support when erected.  This configuration will also place the mast support right where I had intended to put the battery box.

In either case a winch will be used to pull the bottom of the pipe down and back when the tower is raised.  Once it reaches the full upright position, the bottom of the pipe will seat in a cradle, where it will be pinned in place.  Then the front guy wire will be attached to the trailer tongue.

I prefer option #1, for several reasons: Easier to construct, better traveling geometry and will not interfere with preferred battery box location.  It will also be a much simpler guy wire arrangement with only 3 wires.  It will all be in front of the boat and will not interfere with the boat in any way.  

The only draw back in the smaller guy wire base.

Any opinions?

[wooferhound]

So, If you guy your genny and mast to the trailer, what will you guy the trailer to ?

In other words, How will you keep the trailer from tipping over ?

[esc]

I'm hoping that the truck will help hold it down.

If that doesn't turn out to be the case I will probably look into some of those auger looking things that can be screwed into the sand.  The ones that are 8" wide and 3 feet long should be able to hold a lot of force when sunk into hard packed sand.  I would sink them directly below the 8' lateral support that holds the two rearward guy wires.   I could do two more on the back 8' crossbar if I need to.

Also the prevailing winds on the beach here often blow in the same direction for days at a time, so proper orientation of the trailer will help.

If I set it up where my house used to be, I can secure the trailer to the remaining pilings.

[esc]

Went and bought some wire today at harbor freight.  I found a 4mm galvanized wire that was almost twice as strong (2420 lbs) and 1/3 the price of the stainless steel wire.  I figure there is no  point spending the extra money on the stainless steel when everything else will be galvanized anyway.  Now I just need to get some eye bolts, turn buckles and few other odds and ends and I'll be ready to slap the thing together.

BTW, I also found some REALLY CHEAP volt and amp gauges.  $5.99 each, made in India.  I don't expect them to be particularly accurate, but they will at least give me an ides as to which direction the amps are flowing.  I also plan to make some reference marks with a good multi meter on the Volt Gauge.  If not accurate, I hope it will at least be consistent.

[esc]

The blades and o-ring for the Air 403 came in over the weekend.  I expect to to a test fit in the next couple of days.

I also found a source for 1 or 2 (a month) 75 gallon plastic barrels.  I'm told that were originally used to hold soap and are now being thrown in a dumpster.  I'm going to go get one today and have a look.  A barrel or water might be handy out at the beach, if the trailer can handle the weight.  I'm also thinking about a rain water collection system based on these...but I better go have a look at them before I get to far ahead of myself.

[esc]

Made some more progress today:

Created a brace to hold the top/back of the pipe tower when in the down position.  I made it out of 3 sections of 1" pipe, 2 90 degree fittings and 2 "floor" flanges.

Welded up a crude hinge for the pipe tower.  Once I am convinced that it will work properly I'll reinforce it.

Then welded some attachments for the guy wires, near the top of the tower.

I also mounted some eye bolts for the bottom of the guy wires.  I used 3 extra nuts on each eye bolt so that tightening it up would not crush the box section.

Soon I will attach the guy wires and lift the tower.

[esc]

Put the tower up for the first time today.

You can not see it very well, but 2 of the guy wires are in place and 1 ratchet strap is temporarily taking the place of the 3rd guy wire.  I used straps to measure the length I needed before cutting the galvanized cable.

All the guy wires are now complete as well as the wench mechanism for raising and lowering the tower.  Now I need to get started on the battery/electronics box.

[esc]

I brought the trailer home last night.  I still need to finish some wiring this morning,but I want to get the Air 403 up in the air today.  20 to 30 mph winds are predicted.

[esc]

Put the windmill in the air yesterday and it would not even turn to face the wind!

Today I put a level on the trailer and through adjustment of the anchor straps and front wheel, I managed to get it much straighter.  The windmill will now turn to face the wind, but the blades have yet to budge.

I suspect that part of the problem may be the new bearings needing to be broken in.  The wind is also very light, calm gusting to 5-8 mph.  But 10 to 20 was predicted for today and tomorrow, so hopefully it will start to turn soon.

[esc]

Here are a couple of pictures...

[esc]

Just a quick note in case anyone is following this.  Although beside my garage is about as bad a wind site as you can image for a 22' tower (surrounded on 3 sides by 40' trees), last Saturday, the wind was blowing from the one direction where it has a clear view.

It was easily spinning up and open voltage was easily pegging the 16v meter on my battery tester.  Applying the 100 amp test load would stop the thing is a couple of seconds.

So it seems to be working very well.  In another coupe of weeks I should have the chance to take it to the beach and us it in it's intended environment.