I don't understand why comments were disabled on this Newbies story ?
He is asking Newbie questions. Lets be more helpful. . .
"" I wouldn't mind making my own electricity and saving some money.""
Most people don't understand that it costs more money to make your own power. You have to spend so much money on Generators, Solar, Batteries, Inverters, Wiring, Towers and Panel Mounts. It takes time to put it all together, by the time you get all of this working right and using the power reliably, you will be replacing the batteries and rebuilding your wind genny. Your cost per watt will be double (or more) what the utilities charge you.
Conservation is the thing to start with. If you are going to make your own power then start saving energy because when you are finally using the power from your Batteries you will have to do this anyway if you are gonna have enough power to use for real. If you are Grid connected then you will be making your power as a hobby, not to save money.
"" I run lights, a computer, stereo amplifier, and a small refrigerator in the pole barn. I also run an air-compressor, but don't expect to run such a large tool from the scale of my project. I don't run this stuff every day, mostly on the weekends. I am hoping I can generate and store enough power during the week to get me through the weekends. I am estimating that my mill will have a 6 foot diameter swept area.""
6 feet for the props is kinda small. If you don't use power during the week and have enough batteries you may be able to have enough power for your refrigerator, computer and Stereo over the weekend. but probably not to run the Frig during the rest of the week. You don't mention Solar power which will help you through times of No Wind.
""* I don't know what kind, size I need, or where to buy rare-earth magnets.
- I don't totally understand stator construction, Star/Delta configuration, and the phase concept. If I have 12 coils and twelve magnets equally spaced, wiring every fourth coil together. Is this a single phase wired in a delta circuit?
- I don't know anything about making windmill blades. My plan is to get my generator making electricity on the workbench. I will work on building my frame, furling system and blades next.""
You are at the right place to by Magnets, Click the Wondermagnets.com link at the top of this page. I also like eBay for magnets. Do your search on "Neodymium" and you will get great results.
You will need to get a better understanding about 3 phase power. Your '12 mags 12 coils question is incorrect. Search for '3 phase on this forum and you will get plenty to read through.
""* I believe that "You Can't Do It Wrong" Sure you can have failure. I am not trying to build the world's most efficient wind machine. I would like to fly something that I built myself. It may not be the best design, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.
* I believe that with some help, I can succeed in my goals listed above.""
Good luck, and don't let the Editors on this forum discourage you from asking more questions. We are really helpful around here, really . . .
