Author Topic: 12.5 " alternator project  (Read 1145 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

02coyote

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 8
12.5 " alternator project
« on: May 17, 2005, 10:46:17 PM »
I am in the process of building an alternator for a wind generator, and am using Toyota 4 runner discs, just over 12.5" in dia.  It looks like the 1x2x.5 magnets will fit 16 per rotor with 1' between them at the closest, and should have room for 12 coils.  I am thinking of 16g wire, 48v, any ideas of the number of winds?  Other comments?  Blade size?..  I have a nice heafty taper pole from traffic signals that should handle any reasonable sized blades.  see also my post on helicopter blades!!

Feel free to E-mail me at wtimbroo@yahoo.com  Thanks
« Last Edit: May 17, 2005, 10:46:17 PM by (unknown) »

MrResistor

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 1
Re: 12.5 " alternator project
« Reply #1 on: May 18, 2005, 11:23:31 AM »
This one sounds almost exactly like the one I'm building. 16 mags/12 coils, #16 wire and the same size magnets except mine is on a 12" magnet rotor. I'm also using 3 wires instead of just one. The measured resistance is .2 with the ohm scale set to 200.


TomW on irc gave me some good advice for measuring the actual DC output, unfortunately my situation conspired against me and I haven't gotten to actually do it yet (broken appliances and machinery needing fixing...grrr). Wild AC is notoriously hard to to measure but I saw .6 volt and 7 amps at 100 RPM (approximate). I'm building for a 200 RPM cutin speed at 24 volts. This particular coil had 3 legs of 30 turns which would equal 90 turns of single wire. I did some completely unscientific in my head guesstimation and figure I'll need about 24 turns. This is all "off the cuff" of course and when I get set up a bit better I'll be testing properly to get it exactly right.


You've got a bit more space than I do so if I had to guess I'd say around a 120 turns would get you in the ballpark. Your output will be slightly higher because your magnets will have more speed due to the extra 1/2 inch on your rotors. The only way to know for sure is to rectify and put a load on a test coil otherwise it's just guesswork.


Blades will depend on your wind conditions where you live. I have high winds here (10-15 mph average) and if it's blowing at all it's more like 20-25 mph. It also seems to me like I hear a lot about stalling with the 10 foot blades on this size gennie so I'm going with 12 footers with the typical tsr of 6 or 7 to be able to utilize our not uncommon 30+ mph winds. This is another reason I went with 3 legs and ultra low resistance.


Sorry I can't offer you any real figures just yet but I've been lurking for over a year as well as reading and searching the board religously. There's lotsa relevant info here, just search and you will find.


If I'm just blowing hot air here I'm sure someone will correct me or I'll correct myself when I get to the point of real and actual measurements....:=)

« Last Edit: May 18, 2005, 11:23:31 AM by MrResistor »

02coyote

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 8
Re: 12.5 " alternator project
« Reply #2 on: May 18, 2005, 01:21:47 PM »
Thanks for the input, you may want to look at the blades I have, posted under "helicopter blades"  I may use 2 blades at 12-14'??



« Last Edit: May 18, 2005, 01:21:47 PM by 02coyote »