Suggestion for a new poll

[Hilltopgrange]

There has been a lot of talk of late about VAWTS compared to HAWTS. It would be very interesting to see how many folks have actually built a VAWT, did it fly or did it fail and most importantly did it produce power

Maybe this has already been covered and I missed it.

Russell

[wdyasq]

VAWT's fall in the same category as bigfoot, UFOs. smart blonds, honest politicians and efficient government. Everybody talks about them, some claim to have seen one or know one. However, producing one that can be seen, tested and have your picture taken with it seems to be impossible.

I may be kidding about one of the things I mentioned being non-attainable. But, it is only a guess as to which one.

Ron

[Hilltopgrange]

Hi Ron I totally agree with you , I have yet to see one that actually produces any power.

It seems they are as rare as hens teeth, Its hard to understand why so many folks are so  convinced they are somehow "better" than a hawt and easier to build!

 I am convinced smart blondes do exist, though I have yet to meet one but I did see one on youtube so they must be out there!

Russell

[zap]

Are you sure the carpet matchs the drapes???

[wooferhound]

This Challenge was put up in 2007 and nobody has claimed it . . .

http://www.fieldlines.com/story/2007/10/10/52711/090

I have been thinking about changing the Poll Question recently, I believe that the answers for this question will be hugely one-sided but I'll change it and we will see.

[zap]

The Lenz certainly worked and Ed (windstuff) seemed pleased with it.

It's been quite a while since Ed's posted anything... He probably got bought out by "big oil".

[CmeBREW]

Here's my 'Lil Bigfoot'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-NcM_FGz3o&feature=related

Of course, thats a 12v batt (full charged almost 13V) and an Ammeter on top.

It was a 10-15mph type wind day and it was doing 2-10 watts. It did 70 watts briefly in a giant wind gust.  Not much, but it is only 6SF which is about like a tiny 3ft mill.  In fact, I had my small 3ft Hawt beside this same size Vawt, and while watching both Ammeters for weeks, they seem to charge about the same. The Hawt seems to do a little more though.  

LOCATION is the most important thing. This is not that good of a location for any mill, but I like hiding it out back. So it means MUCH less Power (WH) per windy day.

But it gives me some lighting each day.

I hope to replace it with a new design (same basic "S" Savonious type) that is 3 times bigger for 3 times the power.

I think I am the only one on Youtube (or anywhere else) who proves what my Vawt does with an Ammeter on top of Batt showing the cord going to the Vawt.

Vawts DO work but how many can lift the heavy thing up where the good flowing wind is?? Not many.  And ground level is horrible compared to 40ft in the air for ANY windmill. Even the best Hawt in the world would SUCK in WH at a location as in this Video!

 

[taylorp035]

I think the poll should have the power outputs of your VAWTS, probably starting at 0.1 watts then 1,5,10,25,50.....

Considering the 10-20% efficiency and the very small windswept area and the TSR of 1......  But I have seen at least 5 different VAWTS that work that produce at least 10 watts, but none of them really ever get past 100 watts.

My personal VAWTS have flown and spun very well in super low windspeeds, but the problem of making one big enough and a proper generator is the tricky part.  I would fit in with the 0.1 watts category.  If HAWTS weren't so easy to build and be successful with, I would make a vawt that was larger.

[tanner0441]

Hi

A quick observation. I have now been reading this site for about 2years and can't remember any articles where a VAWT has had a stator burn out.

Reliability or what??

I go for what....

Brian'

[DamonHD]

The cynic in me suggests that it's because not one VAWT mentioned here has developed enough power to burn out a stator!  B^>

Rgds

Damon

[Hilltopgrange]

Hi Woof  thanks! It will be interesting to see the figures

I suspect many vawts have been planned and designed but never got off the drawing board, a few will have been built but very few will be producing any power.

Don't get me wrong I have many many designs myself for all sorts of projects that are still on paper and will never be built! Such is life!

I think the fact the prize was never claimed says it all.

Russell

[Hilltopgrange]

Nice to see one that actually produces some power although not the low wind power house that most seem to think.

It would have worked well here (Northern Ireland) last night, we had 70mph winds with horizontal rain, in fact it would have produced more than my 3 hawts. I admitted defeat at 40mph and shut them down lol

Good luck with it!

Russell

[gizmo]

I think the negative attitude towards VAWT's shows a lot of ignorance by some members of this board.

VAWT's do work, the efficiency of some designs is not that far behind a HAWT, and can even out perform a HAWT in some locations.

But VAWT's are much more difficult to make than HAWT's, especially when you scale them up. They are also really heavy compared to a similar power HAWT. I built a few Lenz type windmills, all worked very well, but it wasn't until I started building a big one that it soon become apparent scaling up VAWT's is no easy job.

http://www.thebackshed.com/Windmill/articles/Lenz2.asp

There is nothing wrong with building a VAWT, and in the typical suburban backyard they make a lot of sense for a 50 watt or less windmill. But from a financial and practical point of view, a HAWT scales up much better if you want to make some serious power.

Glenn

[gizmo]

And I might add, maybe the negative attitude towards VAWT's is the reason members like Ed, who have built very good VAWT's, dont bother posting anymore.

[Shadow]

A guy I know is currently building towers for three of these vawts that will be installed in the Lethbridge Alberta area.They are rated at 6000 watt so will be interesting to see how accurate they are. But apparently as Vawts go they are right up there. .. Come to think of it I seen that on a rectal thermometer advertisement, 'Were not number one but were right up there'.

http://www.ropatec.com/ing_maxi_vertical.php?lin=3

[Volvo farmer]

Well... Are you saying that if finances and practicality are not important, then a VAWT should be a consideration? Because I TOTALLY agree with that!

50 watts is 50 watts man. 50 watts is better than zero watts, especially when finances and practicality are overlooked! :-)

[gizmo]

Well, sort of. Many of us would consider a 50 watt windmill a garden ornament, a fun weekend project, and cheap to build, be it VAWT or HAWT. But to others, a 50 watt garden ornament will do just fine. If their only usable location is their back yard, and they have turbulent winds, then a VAWT will work just fine.

Its when they try to scale up that the problems in VAWT's start to show up. If you want more power, you need clean wind and a HAWT. A VAWT can be scaled up too, but it will cost you heaps, the engineering is a nitemare and its just not good sense. I have had a mix of VAWT's and HAWT's, the VAWT's are fun and at times work better than the small HAWT's, but I would never build a big VAWT again.

It depends on what you want from your windmills. If its a hobby, and the fun is in building the windmill as well as watching it spin and make power, and you dont expect much power, then a VAWT can be just as rewarding as a HAWT. But if you want to build a serious windmill, a HAWT is the sensible way to go.

Glenn

[electrondady1]

i monitor this site for new information but i don't post about verticals
 here.
alot of old foum members, including windstuff ed ,who are interested in building vertical mills post on another forum that is just about vertical mills.

i don't think you can blame us.
 the atmosphere is kind of poisonus towards anyone that makes the mistake of mentioning an interest.