New motor driven tail furl

[iFred]

Just building a new furling method... This one uses a motor and gear from an automatic window from a car. cheap at the junk yard.

Here's the idea. Rather then moving the entire arm.. move just the tail section. This means that in a high wind condition I can decide to move the generator out of the wind entirely or just a bit (swing). My intention is to build a control circuit that will look at the incoming voltage, if the generator goes above a preset limit the it activates the motor and furls the generator out of the wind a small amount, it then checks again and so on until the generator is producing within a preset range, if the wind is just way to much then I can override it entirely and put the generator at full furl. The motors are DC, only two wires extra needed to be pulled with the mains. How do I know the position? This was tricky.. when the motor reaches the end the current increases and sends a signal to a circuit to turn off the power to the motor in the control circuit. Position is a relative thing and can even be timed.

In the striaght position

In the furled position

I am putting a tail on it today.

This one is going on my newest motor conversion.

[Norm]

  Cute iFred....Cute !!

               ( :>) Norm.

[drdongle]

I've had a similar idea, which I have called "dynamic furling". I plan to use a window wiper motor, as it has a built in ball joint that I can attach a linkage to.

I figured I could come up with a circuit that would dynamically adjust the tail to maintain a relatively constant output over a range of wind speed ( yet to be determined).

[seanchan00]

Hi iFred,

Looks great. Could you please share your circuit for the controls?

SeanChan>

[DanB]

Hi Fred - interesting thought.  If it were me, Id consider using the wiper motor pehaps as a 'manual' furling system (a sort of shut down for the machine that would fold up the tail boom) - that would work neat.  

What you have going there though seems a bit scary... what if something quits working correctly, the machine would overspeed then.  Its a clever idea, but I think it has disadvantages over the more passive systems we usually use.

I think the machine would overspeed anyhow, I would make a model of this (make a little one and fold the tail like you have it in teh drawing), I think it will turn the machine out of the wind only a little bit.  The 'flat' tail there will still want to hang downwind and I expect the machine will still see most of the wind and overspeed.  I think that in order for this to work, you need to fold up the whole tail.

[ghurd]

I think the tail will still be down wind too.

But, what if the motor turns the tail horizontal?

G-

[Flux]

I have to agree, I have used wiper motors to manually furl to prevent over charge or to shut down in severe storms, but I would never use it as a means of primary control.

I also doubt that just turning the tail fin will shut it down without an offset on the alternator. There is a considerable self seeking force from the prop that seems to be little realised or understood and this may totally defeat any attempt for the tail to shut it down.

Similarly turning the tail vane horizontal will not shut it down without some considerable help from some other source. Even down wind turbines can run for considerable periods up wind if they get caught out.

Flux

[tecker]

   If you had a vane to compare the wind direction to you could make it happen .

 You might be able to control more aspects of the genset .That wiper mech is a little

light duty .

[tecker]

  Oh I mean window mech or wiper too for that matter.