Low-cost & simple wind turbines

[JF]

Dear Friends

I have read with much interest certain imputs following

from Mr Mwmwm's submission from 7 May 2007 - likewise I

note the renewed interest in rewinding & also the placement

of magnets in slanting/skewed in relation to the armature.

All discussions concerning lower-cost and simpler wind

machines are as Mr Mwmwm states very relevant to all &

especially to our friends & colleagues in so-called

developing countries - where axcess to magnets & epoxy

are difficult [to say the least].

Mr Mwmwm suggest the use of mineral-water [Kola] plastic

bottles - others have suggested an anemometer-type design

Kindly do a Google search for "How to build your own wind

meter" - Ruben Margolin - "Whole Earth Magazine" -

# Winter 2001.

As Mr Paul Gipe very correctly suggests - concerning wind

turbines:

1. : "They must be reliable"
   
2. : "They must be cost-effective - efficiency is important
   
   

but it is not the sole criteria for judging the performance

of a wind machine.

The truck-radiator fan has been suggested - The best I know

is from "The Penryn Windmill Book" by Patrick Arnoldi from

Canada. I have previously posted an illustration of this

design with elongated oil-barrel extensions.

However for considering energy - what are your possible

types or sources of material available:

I am very impressed with the power potential of the Cretan

sail windmill design with wooden bearings after both field

studies and experimental construction.

I have previously indicated several good litterature sources

concerning these models - an additional couple of very simple

designs are as follows:

Much good work in this field was done in the USA during the

1960's to the early 1980's - by: Tyrone Cashman, Earle

Barubart, Gary Hirshberg & Marcus M. Sherman:

"Water pumping windmill that works"

"A windmill in India - Madurai"

"An urban & rural demonstration of a wind-powered water-pump -

[DOE Project  # DE-FG41-79R110051 / MA-79-016 August 13 1982.

DOE/RI/10051 - - TI]".

A very simple Cretan model for battery charging was developed

in 1978 in Denmark by a group of students for a colleague from

Serbia. This design utilized a simple right-angle bevil-driven

to a long vertical shaft driving a bicycle-frame-type chain &

belt speed-increasing transmission to an alternator. Copies of

a translation of this design & production booklet can be made

available upon request to those who are specially interested.

Extra suggestions concerning transmissions may be found in the

above-mentioned "Penryn Windmill Book"

Other Approaches:    

1:  Magnets - According to certain thinking from generator

specialists in The Netherlands - a series of slanting 2-3 degrees

sleeves or slots should be milled in the armature and a series

of oblong magnets be slid-in, pressed & glued into place in

these slots.

2. :  Rewinding strategy -
   
2. A: Hugh Piggott in his book - "Brakedrum Windmill Plans" -
   
   

Picoturbine Press USA 2000 - suggests the placing of extra coils

outside the laminated core of an existing motor & placing magnets

on the inside of a rear-wheel brake-drum unit.

However these above strategies require the purchase of expensive

& difficult to obtain magnets.

2. B: Friends in Germany approach this problem by -
   
2. B1: Rewinding - standard Bosch etc alternator -
   
   

"Windkraft-Ja-Bitte"

2B2: Transmission systems - using redundant vehicle wheels

[rims & rubber tyres] -

"Windkraft-Echt-Stark", or by utilizing

components from old washing-machines - see also

"Windkraft-Echt-Stark" & especially in

"Windkraft-Langsamlaufer-Windrad" -

the last model utilizes the very good slow-speed standard

washing machine motors from Italy, together with ultra-simple

flat-bladed paddle-type blades & the normal "big-wheel"

standard-type washing-machine transmissionsystems.

2B3: Likewise note the toothed-belt drive system from "Wind fur

Haus und Hof"

All these very low-cost more-than fully illustrated bookslets &

also very highly recommended for all non-German readers are

obtainable from: http://www.oekobuch.de

One can always consider a simple industrial-type small gearbox

mated to an alternator or generator.

[The book - "Motors as Generators" Nigel Smith - ITDG -

London UK - ISBN: 1 85339 286 3 - can be useful here]

Tractor-frame strategy:    

The elegant Hugh Piggott design - essential for understanding of

much of wind turbine design & praxis - with all systems mounted

on a single pivoting unit - balanced with a yawing tail - do have

the disadvantage of difficult adabtability to other technological

approaches. I have previously mentioned the most interesting work

by Everet Russell "Home Power Magazine # 79 - Oct/Nov 2000.

A welded tractor-frame allows the easy mounting of different

generators, gearbox, disk-brake systems, tail vane & possible

high-wind over-speed side-vane shutoff safety vane systems.

This tractor-frame approach was the path followed by blacksmiths

& school teachers in Denmark at the start of thw 1970's

Not only magnets, epoxy, etc as previously mentioned can be a

great problem - especially in a so-called developing country

situation - but as also previously mentioned from several sides -

suitable wood is likewise often near-unobtainable. A search of my

files on the board will find descriptions of experiments made by

my friend & I - with regard to poor-quality wood lamination for

blades [the two-bladed design from "Wind fur Haus und Hoff" is

very suitable for this construction.

Likewise there is aleays the possibility of plastic guttering or

drainpipe for rotor blades. Both Mr Wooferhound & I have contributed

on this issue - & I have also mentioned the use of small PMG

radiator-fans from Italian & French cars.

With greetings & best wishes to all - JF    

         

[luv2weld]

I must have missed something.

[TomW]

Uh, it might help if you provide an actual link to any stories you are referring to. Like Ralph, I got lost after the first sentence.

Maybe you can clarify some stuff? citing dead tree resources is not very good online as many in your intended audience will not have access to them and certainly will not have the book in hand while reading online.

The one link you did provide is non English and I certainly cannot read it, nor can many of our users.

I might suggest to rewrite this with more attention to providing useful information and not assuming we already know what you are on about.

Cheers.

TomW

[Nando]

A long "dissertation" but where is the usefulness of it, if one can not follow the thread of it.

You touched many point but non can be analyzed since no links or logic references.

Please re-write it with good links to follow and in English, since this is an English speaking group.

Nando

[JF]

Dear Mr Luv2weld, Mr TomW & Mr Nando & other friends

Many thanks for your correct comments, - I do apologize for not having adequately stressed that my remarks were solely intended as comments & suggestions to a

previous submission from Mr Mwmwm - & therefore were not in any way intended to

stand alone as an independent article.

In your comments to my submission - you rightly mention the question of links. Unfortunately many web links do not cover material that was published "years-ago" during the days of paper. Thereby causing much continued re-inventing the wheel.

The former chief diesel engine designer from HINO trucks in Japan has indeed

written in a book published in the USA - "The Romance of Engines" - that much of

the design process consists in study of previous solutions - now only to be found

in technological collections or museums.

I do regret that certain sources that I consider to be of very significant

inspiration in the field of low-cost construction of wind technology are only to

be found in German - and are therefore regretably are not as widespread as they deserve to be.    

However as you request certain digital sources - may I suggest the following:

1: http://www.nive.dk - here one can find the wind-turbine pioneer Ian Jordan

from The very active peoples' energy office in NW Jutland

2: http://www.folkecenter.dk

The very recommended historical DVD-video's - clearly illustrating the simple

Danish technological approach:

A:  "Out of the Blue" - obtainable from - http://www.windpower.dk [with Danish, English, German, French & Spanish speak]

B:  "Windpower - a Danish Story" - [with English sub-titles] - available from

- http://www.tvindkraft.dk  - contact Britta - info@tvindkraft.dk

Mainly intended for friends & colleagues in "so-called developing countries"

our good friend & colleague - Alex from Harare in Zimbabwe - Africa

• has much good material available for download by serious workers:
  
• http://www.cd3wd.com
  
  

an index will be found at:

http://www.cd3wd.com/CD3WD_40/CD3WD/index.htm

With greetings & best wishes to all - JF  

[JF]

Dear Mr Luv2weld, Mr TomW & Mr Nando & other friends

Many thanks for your correct comments, - I do apologize for not having adequately

stressed that my remarks were solely intended as comments & suggestions to a

previous submission from Mr Mwmwm - & therefore were not in any way intended to

stand alone as an independent article

In your comments to my submission - you rightly mention the question of "links".

Unfortunately many web-links do not cover material that was published "years-ago"

during the days of paper - thereby causing much continued re-inventing the wheel.

The former chief diesel engine designer of HINO trucks from Japan - has indeed written in his book analyzing the design process and published in the USA under

the title "The Romance of Engines" - that much of the design process consists in study of previous approaches to solutions - now only to be found in obscure technological collections or in museums.

I do regret that certain sources that my colleagues & I consider to be of very significant inspiration in the field of low-cost construction of wind technology

are only to be found in German - & therefore regretably are not as widespread as

they deserve to be.

However as you request certain digital sources - may I suggest the following:

1. :http://www.poullacour.dk
   
2. :http://www.elmus.dk
   
3. :http://www.vindhistorie.dk
   
4. :http://www.risoe.dk
   
5. :http://dkvind.dk
   
6. :http://www.nive.dk - here one can find the wind turbine pioneer Ian Jordan
   
   

from the very active - peoples' energy office in NW Jutland

7:http://www.folkecenter.dk

The very recommended historical DVD-videos - clearly illustrating the simple

Danish technological approach:

A: "Out of the Blue" - [with Danish, English, German, French & Spanish speak]obtainable from http://www.windpower.dk

B: "Windpower - A Danish Story" - [with English sub-titles] - obtainable from

http://www.tvindkraft.dk - contact Britta - info.nospam@tvindkraft.nospam.dk

Mainly intended for friends & colleagues in "so-called developing countries"

- our good friend & colleague Alex from Harare in Zimbabwe - Africa - has much

good material available for download by serious workers:

http://www.cd3wd.com

An index to this material will be found at:

http://www.cd3wd.com/CD3WD_40/CD3WD/index.htm

With greetings & best wishes to all - JF