thanks for the advice ungrounded lr. i was planning on putting some small plate stock gussets on it to reinforce the tail boom joint. plus it is welded very heavily. the upper furling stopper hits on the motor frame , rather than the yaw tube... this should reduce some of the leverage. i agree that the boom stock is heavy pipe and plan on using 1/8" aluminum sheeting i've got around for the tail. this should be lighter than plywood, and hopefully last longer.
this mill is going out at my cabin where i cannot be all the time, so i want it to furl earlier than later. i will not erect it til i have mounted it to the front of my truck (connected to batteries that need charging) and have a pretty good idea of the furling moment. if the pipe does infact need to be smaller/lighter than i will proceed along those lines with an additional brace. i'm really hoping that it can stay as is.
what are your thoughts on a wind genny that is unattended for 95% of the time? i was planning on lowering the tower over the winter months as i can't get up there because of too much snow. during the summer would you short it while away? or let it run the dump load all the time? was also thinking about running a few lights 24/7 to ease the dump loading? any thoughts? it makes me very nervous to be away for a month at a time with it spinning. it also makes me nervous to have it shorted for a month too. any thoughts on this would be much appreciated! and i really don't want to build a mechanical brake, but guessing this is what you are going to suggest.
thanks!