Author Topic: Need advice on 2nd windmill project (Read 6825 times)

Mkhrphillips · « **on:** February 09, 2012, 07:21:48 PM »

Hey Everyone, I came to this forum a few years ago for some good advice on my first windmill project. I am now working on my second windmill. I took a motor from a treadmill that we have not used in years. The motor is 8 pounds without the 2 pound flywheel. I'm hoping this will make a good windmill motor. Not sure if I should leave the flywheel on or not. I thought it might make it harder to start up in low winds. I'm also thinking of 2.5 feet long, 6" PVC pipe blades (3 of them). I would appreciate any advice & welcome you along the journey of my 2nd project.

Here is the motor:

Mkhrphillips · « **Reply #1 on:** February 10, 2012, 08:01:03 AM »

There is a fan on the back side of the motor, that draws the air through (the black thing). It spins when the blades spin. I hooked a meter up & get about 22 volts & 13 amps. My drill slowed down when measuring the amps. I plan on working on it this weekend, so I will have more pics for you on Sunday.

ghurd · « **Reply #2 on:** February 12, 2012, 01:30:59 PM »

Before deciding anything about the blades, need to get the RPM at 14V.
Connect it to the battery in a running car, measure the RPM, then start thinking about blades from there.
G-

Isaiah · « **Reply #3 on:** February 13, 2012, 06:37:10 PM »

Where did my post go on this subject?

I guess this forum need some maintenance.
Isaiah

Mkhrphillips · « **Reply #4 on:** February 13, 2012, 08:03:03 PM »

I accomplished some more this weekend. But I think the design will need to be changed. When I tested it in the wind, I was only getting about 7 volts. Therefore, something will need to change. I may need to gear the motor or have a different design for the blades. I had a basic idea of the design when I started, but I created things on the fly. If I do go the route of gearing the motor, I will use the small belt from the treadmill. If I go the route of changing the blade design, I was looking into some blades called Raptor. Please let me know if you guys have any ideas. Here are some pics from the weekend.

Mkhrphillips · « **Reply #5 on:** February 13, 2012, 08:05:39 PM »

and more pics.

Isaiah · « **Reply #6 on:** February 13, 2012, 09:21:36 PM »

I'm sorry about the above comment ,
I was confused as the subject is posted on two different forums!
Here is what is posted on the other forum!

What are the volt and rpm rating of this motor?
if you take the rpm divided by the volts x 15 this will give you the cut in speed of the motor for charging a 12 volt battery.
if you hook the motor up with a rectifier and battery for testing , if the battery is at full charge it will look like the cut in is a bit higher than these figures and if your battery is discharged the cut in figures will be pretty much as calculated.

you want to look for something with 2000 rpm or lower and more volts and amps the better

URL=http://www.motherearthnews.com/Renewable-Energy/1973-11- 01/The-Plowboy-Interview.aspx>The Plowboy Interview[/URL>
Isaiah

Mkhrphillips · « **Reply #7 on:** February 13, 2012, 09:53:47 PM »

Hey Isaiah, I don't have the tools to measure the RPMs. When I hooked the motor to my Dewalt 18 volt cordless drill, it displayed 22 volts. My next step is to connect it to a 12 volt battery, to get an idea of the speed.

jlt · « **Reply #8 on:** February 15, 2012, 12:50:48 PM »

The problem with using treadmill motors, they need a lot of rpm to get the voltage up but need a high torque blade to get them to start turning.

I have used a two blade prop on one and it made 12v very easy but took about 12mph to get started. I solved The starting problem by using a electric fan blade from a car. It was plastic 16 " with about 10 blades. Bolted it in front of the wood blade.
This started a lot sooner and the top output was about the same

I will look to see if I can find a picture.

Mkhrphillips · « **Reply #9 on:** February 15, 2012, 05:10:22 PM »

Thanks jlt. It is a good idea. I think I will try the 2 blade solution first and if that don't work then I will use the treadmill belt to make the motor spin faster.

Mkhrphillips · « **Reply #10 on:** February 17, 2012, 08:15:24 AM »

Well, I have an update. I think I have an average RPM speed of the motor. There is a label on my cordless that shows 1500 RPM. With a fully charged battery, the motor gives 24.5 volts (no blades attached). I then removed 1 blade from the hub & the motor displayed 9.2 volts with 2 blades (using drill). Since I don't think this will work, I think my next step is to ratio the motor using the belt from the treadmill. I will work on it this weekend, so I will let you know how things go on Monday.

Mkhrphillips · « **Reply #11 on:** February 20, 2012, 05:36:13 PM »

I think I finally got it. I used the belt to make the motor spin faster. I tested it and received about 20 volts in the wind. I think I managed to almost triple the output. With the drill (no blades), I was able to get 60 volts. Until I think of a different cover, I will use a plastic bucket to keep it out of the rain & sun. Next thing will be a tower. Here are some pics from the weekend.

SparWeb · « **Reply #12 on:** February 26, 2012, 01:00:57 PM »

Hi,
Good thing you yourself say that the bucket is temporary. I fear your tail will be blanketed by turbulence from the bucket, and then if it does furl, the arm will hit the bucket and push it into the blades. I'd say try it anyway, but just for the sake of showing that you are getting the amps you need. It will shake around a lot too.
Is the pulley fastened or bonded to the wood?
Is it easy to turn the blades by hand?
Good luck.

Mkhrphillips · « **Reply #13 on:** February 27, 2012, 08:37:29 AM »

Hey SparWeb, I made sure the tail does not hit the bucket, when furling. The bucket is bolted to the motor system. Therefore, it cannot get into the blades. The round piece of wood is wedged into the pulley. The pulley has thin grooves on the inside, to grip the wood. the blades turn very easy by hand. I am currently making the base for the 30 foot tower.

I tested it on a 14 foot tower (for my other windmill) and the tail needs to be heavier/taller because the blades do not want to stay towards the wind.

I will post some more weekend pics, this evening. I am writing this on my iPhone and not able to add attachments.

Mkhrphillips · « **Reply #14 on:** February 27, 2012, 07:08:10 PM »

I am currently making the base for the 30 foot tower. Hopefully, the town does not get after me about the windmill & the height. Here is the progress so far. I managed to test the 5 foot windmill on a 14 foot tower (for my other windmill) and noticed a furling problem right away. The tail seems to be too light for the job. I added an old window weight (clipped on) and that seemed to keep it towards the wind better.

Mkhrphillips · « **Reply #15 on:** March 05, 2012, 06:28:47 PM »

I got the tower base all welded up. As far as the guy wires, I welded strap buckles (to hold plywood together) onto the poles. Since the tower will be 30 feet, I welded the first set of four 27 feet high and the second set of four at 13.5 feet high. Also, I created some strange looking anchors (4 stakes screwed together). They worked on my other tower, so I decided to try it again.
Throughout this windmill building process, I was also working on a dump controller. After scouring the web and not wanting to spend a few hundred dollars, I ended up buying a kit from ghurd in 2010. I did not have the ability to use it until now (built our house in 2010). When I tried to put the kit to use, I noticed immediately it was not behaving correctly. Instead of buying another unit, I decided to contact ghurd to see if he had any ideas. Let me tell you, I felt very confident when I received a kind/positive email back from ghurd. Even though I bought it 2 years ago, he guaranteed that we would get it up and running. After trying a few suggestions from him, the problem (2 bad mosfets) was discovered and I was back in business. He went above and beyond by sending me 3 new mosfets free of charge. Bottom-line, if you need an inexpensive/reliable dump controller, get it from ghurd. I was very impressed with his customer relations. Here are some pics from the progress so far.

SparWeb · « **Reply #16 on:** March 07, 2012, 01:04:24 AM »

Yup that's a Ghurd controller kit! Glad you got it working (with Mr. G. in your corner you can be sure to get it working).

Thirty feet tall is getting into the serious tower range. You might want to consider something more permanent than wooden stakes. Steel screw-in anchors? A dollop of concrete?

Mkhrphillips · « **Reply #17 on:** March 17, 2012, 10:15:31 AM »

It is up & running, on its final resting point. I made the tail a little bigger & longer. I also did a test run of the tower, before I put the windmill on. I will let it fly a few weeks, to see how it behaves.

ghurd · « **Reply #18 on:** March 17, 2012, 09:51:02 PM »

Quote from: Mkhrphillips on March 05, 2012, 06:28:47 PM

Bottom-line, if you need an inexpensive/reliable dump controller, get it from ghurd. I was very impressed with his customer relations.

I should give that public relations guy a raise.
G-

Mkhrphillips · « **Reply #19 on:** April 02, 2012, 04:21:15 PM »

This is not right. Shouldn't that be spinning, instead of being a perching post? I also added a pic of both windmills together.

Bruce S · « **Reply #20 on:** April 02, 2012, 05:35:50 PM »

OKAY which one of the winds gods did you tick off

?
That's like pouring salt on a wound .
If those are balanced, why didn't it move when it landed?

Mkhrphillips · « **Reply #21 on:** April 03, 2012, 07:46:33 AM »

My guess would be, the bird is too light to turn the blades, which are transmissioned (1 to 3) to the motor.

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Author Topic: Need advice on 2nd windmill project (Read 6825 times)