Hey Scott, I do understand the breezy fundamentals and if I lived in an area
with higher average wind speed, I'd build one to spec and want nothing more.
Since I live in a marginal wind zone, I'm interested in tweaking the design
to take more advantage of lower wind speeds. To get more power from a
breezy design at lower wind speeds would be as simple as fitting it with
a larger set of blades and an appropriate ratio gearbox. This solves
one problem and creates another, since the blades would collect more wind
energy than the generator could handle in moderate winds requiring the brake
to be set shutting down the turbine where it would otherwise keep on producing
power.....bummer. Then it occured to me that shifting between different
gear ratios could be a solution worth considering. Basically the faster the
wind blows, the slower the turbine blades would turn, regulating power input
from the blades. Then I figured if I were to go to that much more effort,
it wouldn't take much more to switch between 2 different generators. One for
lighter winds, and one for heavier winds allowing much more electricity to be
generated when the winds are generous. To keep the design in my comfort zone
I need it to be as simple and cheap to build as possible while still meeting
my minimal requirements. So for the shifting between ratios,(and generators)
I'd prefer to go with multiple v-belts and belt tensioners actuated
by compressed air cylinders. Yup, more complex, but since I'd likely be
building my own PLC controller anyway, it wouldn't take much more effort to
program it to control the extra features.
I looked here on the board to see if you had posted a story about your
24 foot induction motor wind turbine and couldn't find one. Did you
ever post information about it? I'd be interested to learn more about it.
I'd be especially interested in your design for the active servo for turbine
direction feature.
If you ever check back on this thread, let me know.
BTW do you live in Michigan also?
Clint