Monday July 3 part 2

[DanB]

We spent most of the day yesterday building the tower.

Lots of good help showed up.  Pictured above Ward tightens a coupler.  We used a hi-lift jack to hold the end of the tubing so everything was nice and straight when we tightened things up.  Once each coupler was tightened and the new section of tubing was straight we tack welded the couplers to the tubing on each side.

Another picture of the assembly process.  The guy wires on each side worked out to be within a couple inches of each other - the anchors are very level with the pivot and the distances from pivot to the side anchors is within an inch of each other.

Once it was all put together and we figured the length on each cable/assembled all the guy wires we tested the winch.  It had no problem raising the tower but it couldn't raise all these people.  We did put over 600 pounds on the end though and nothing sagged or moved so Im optimistic that it'll be OK with the machine on there.

It did raise Adam OK.  I think perhaps it would have raised two folks but it was close and the motor had a hard time.  With on person... easy.  I may need a bigger sprocket on the winch - or... a bigger motor - or.. (if Im lucky) simply better wiring.  The winch motor is a long ways from my inverter and the wire is small.  I have a feeling that it'd work much better if I had good power to it.

Up she goes!  The guy wires are very slack when it's down (the tower pivot is about 6" behind the guy wire anchors).

I had the easy job sitting by the winch.  The cable spooled up on it perfectly - I was a bit concerned about that.  When raising it the first time I had someone on each side guy wire making sure nothing was getting too tight.

It took about 7 min for the winch to pull it up - nice and slow, no bouncing or vibration - all in all it was very uneventful!

There it is raised up.  We spent a couple hours getting the tension right on the cables and getting the tower adjusted.  It went as well as we could've hoped for - nothing sagged at all, it seemed very rigid.  I think it'll work fine with a bit of improvement on the winch.  Next step - lower it again, build the very top part that will fit the machine - and assemble the wind turbine on there.  The blades are finished - but I don't have them yet so no pictures of those today...

At the end of the day we had a barbecue and folks made a new fire pit near the tower/had a bit of camp fire!

[SmoggyTurnip]

Very exciting Dan!

What is the wall thickness in inches for 12 gauge?

Do you think it work for a 100' tower?

.

[DanB]

The tubing I have is right at .11" thick -  a bit under 1/8".

As rigid as it looks I think you could go 100' with it... (tempting to try!)

[Phssthpok]

I work with plate steel so I can't speak with certainty for pipe/tubing, but similar to wiregauge, the higher the number, the thinner the material.

Around our shop we use 11ga. and 1/8" designations interchageably, so.... 7/64(ish) for 12 ga.??

[SparWeb]

Ride the whole way up and beat Zubbly's "VIEW from up here" record!

[jmk]

 The last picture was neat. You can see the other mill. Way to cool! The problem I had at that stage was that the beer tasted so much better that I drank to much. It's funy how it goes down faster when you get excited about an accomplishment. Looks great! More filling!

[SmoggyTurnip]

Hmm - is it legal to drink beer while sitting on the end of a wind turbine tower?

.

[wooferhound]

I think it could have reaised all of those people,

but the weight of all that beer was what was holding it down.

[richhagen]

Well, Woof, I'm going with the theory that the force of all the magnets around there were holding it down, increasing the amount of lift required.  You know, on the next tower, they will probably have a hatch on the bottom and a service ladder on the inside of the pipe for maintenance, and of course a flashing red light to keep planes from hitting it.  Rich

[Murlin]

Beautiful country you guys have up there....I love all that greenage......I am pretty much in the flatlands here...

Nice job on the tower dude....If that works out well for you (and I think it will), I will follow in your footsteps.  Thanks for all the knowledge and pictures.

Murlin

[SmoggyTurnip]

Dan,

Where do you buy all your tower hardware, turn buckles, guy wire etc?

.

[DanB]

I get all mine locally - we're lucky to have an excellent hardware store (actually - specifically fasteners and cable) that stays well stocked and sells at reasonable prices. They always have all the stainless stuff I need - i don't think I've ever failed to get what I want there.  You just have to be patient - theres usually a line there at the counter.  Seems like most customers spend about $0.10 for one screw or one bolt. It would be cool if anyone had any good links for suppliers online though.

[solarengineer]

Dan, take a look at www.princessauto.com

Amazing work!!!

Jamie

[domeguy]

I'm in your area; would that be McGuckens?

[DanB]

Hi - no - I know of McGuckins (only been there once, its in Boulder I think).  I get my stuff for C&D Fasteners in Ft Collins.  It's a tiny place.

[Countryboy]

Dan,

  If your winch just doesn't have the gusto to raise the tower and genny both, there is another solution.

Think of a block and tackle set-up.  Have a pulley at the top of the tower.  Run the cable from the winch up to that top pulley, and attach the end of that cable to the winch anchor base, instead of the winch cable just running from the winch to the top of the tower.

The drawbacks are that you have to buy a longer cable that will reach from the winch to the top of the tower, and back to the winch, and it will take you twice as long to raise the tower.

It's an easy way to double your winch strength.

[terry5732]

How will you raise the gin pole to lower the tower?