Light Weight Wind Turbine Project - as I build it.

[tanner0441]

Hi

With those blades Chris, I think the top end of the mast would be at risk rather than the guys, if I remember he is well up on guy diameter, but down on mast diameter, and diameter offers more resistance to bending than wall thickness, within reason.

I have been 50ft up a 4 in dia guyd mast with pegs, and a 9 in dia with pegs and the difference, is definitely connected to sphincter control.

I would say to Steadfast look back at some of the posts on blade making, it is no where near as difficult as you think. I made a three foot dia three blade set first and after weighing the blades individually on a set of digital kitchen scales then balanced them on a push fit spindle and two bits of angle iron between two saw benches.

Brian

[Steadfast]

All I can say to all this is... Who wants to get paid? 
I do not have the time, or the plaining equipment to do it right.

If it is so simple, then it will be "easy money" for someone who has the time, experience and the equipment to do it right.

I am willing to pay for the work to get done, who wants to do it?
I formally ask Chris or Fabs to act as my quality control guys and to take applications.

[ChrisOlson]

I formally ask Chris or Fabs to act as my quality control guys and to take applications.

Well, we don't need quality control.  Anybody who has posted here can carve a set, probably.  And the poorest ones will probably beat the pants off your Falcon bent-tippers   
--
Chris

[fabricator]

Check out Menalos (Max) sticky, he made the whole process simpler.

[Steadfast]

I just got off the phone with the guy at "royal wind and solar" and he will have a pretty awesome announcement to make here in the next few hours...

Fabs... you are the man...
I would have not found this fellow if it was not for your suggestion...

[fabricator]

Chris has bought a lot of blades from Dave.

[Steadfast]

I just got off the phone with the guy at "royal wind and solar" and he will have a pretty awesome announcement to make here in the next few hours...

Fabs... you are the man...
I would have not found this fellow if it was not for your suggestion...

Right...I suppose Dave at Royal Wind and Solar became busy after our conversation... and it slipped his mind to announce his generous donation...

Dave and I had a great conversation about his wood blade designs and all the work he is doing on a resistance regulator. Dave then told me he has some extra 8ft span narrow "Windcharger" blades he didn't need And that he would be happy to cut them down to make them to a 7 ft span and then give them to me for the price of their postage!!!  WOW AGAIN!  Your generosity is amazing... All Dave asked me was that I fully document what the new bird flying his blades could do...

Dave also said that Chris' gift generator needed 7 ft blades not 6 ft to work in my area...  I suggested that he and Chris talk about this first to make sure before Dave makes the cut.
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[Royalwdg]

Sorry for the delay.  This is the soonest I could get back to my desk.  This smaller profile is very similar to the 222.  These blades I have experimentally cut are a product of meshing the knives deeper to get the smaller 5.25"cord length.  I don't know how they fly but my air foil program tells me that they have very similar lift and drag characteristics.  They are made to be 8' double ended blades for Wincharger 750 watt machine replacements.  I'll cut them in half( 4') and get three to you.  You will have plenty of material to play with.  Shorten the root first.  If you need more take it off the tip.  I think you should stay out to 7' diameter. You'll have no problem with rpm just so you get the rpm voltage you want. You can adjust your electrical load later.  On the 222 profile you are looking for a 60 mph tip speed for cut in (battery voltage).    Dave Moller

[ChrisOlson]

Hi Dave,

I'm supplying the generator for this project.  I think Steadfast wants to be making power at 6 mph.  So I'll set it up for 250 rpm cut-in @ 6 mph, which should be a little over TSR 9.8.

Can you do those narrow blades out to 10.6 feet in diameter?  I might like to try a set of those on one of my 3.2 meter MPPT turbines.  I hand carved a 12.5 foot set similar to what you describe with a 5.25" chord and 10 degree pitch as an experiment about a year ago.  I called it a "modified GOE222".  I tried them on a 12G turbine and they liked to run pretty fast - faster than the generator in the turbine would allow them run.

I'll give you a call.
--
Chris

[Steadfast]

I want to thank BOTH of you again for stepping in to help me out here...

I am thankful that you guys are collaborating together for me as well,
as my electrical education level can not keep up with your techie speak AT THIS TIME...

I am re-reading the homebrew book perhaps at this place in my education level,
I can put together and grasp much more of it then the first time...

Steadfast's project has turned into a demonstration.  These eBay sellers that pedal aluminum blades with bent tips and converted Delcos with 110V plugs hangin' out of 'em need to be showed where the bear craps in the woods.

First, Steadfast (assuming he gets his ReDelco) is going to show us how to trickle charge a cell phone battery with wind power.  Then, he's going toss up a different turbine with my generator and a set of DanB's blades on it and show us how to CHARGE a battery BANK with wind power.

All you have to do is set back with a 12-pack and watch.
--
Chris

As for the newly created contest between your "Piggot motor" heavier design
and my "Tony's Experimental PMA" light weight design: 
All I can say is "May the Best turbine win!"

I plan to fly both designs for a month to record and report the results here.
(I will need some help learning how to interpret my numbers.)

Because of your generosity, no matter what the results End Up being,
I will end up with an awesome turbine..... I win either way!!!

and the next turbine wanna-maker, poor slob (like me) who comes along and reads this, will also win!
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[Steadfast]

Sorry for the delay.  This is the soonest I could get back to my desk.  This smaller profile is very similar to the 222.  These blades I have experimentally cut are a product of meshing the knives deeper to get the smaller 5.25"cord length.  I don't know how they fly but my air foil program tells me that they have very similar lift and drag characteristics.  They are made to be 8' double ended blades for Wincharger 750 watt machine replacements.  I'll cut them in half( 4') and get three to you.  You will have plenty of material to play with.  Shorten the root first.  If you need more take it off the tip.  I think you should stay out to 7' diameter. You'll have no problem with rpm just so you get the rpm voltage you want. You can adjust your electrical load later.  On the 222 profile you are looking for a 60 mph tip speed for cut in (battery voltage).    Dave Moller

Hey Dave,
Don't forget to email me the your paypal info so I can pay for the postage...

[ChrisOlson]

I cut down that old turbine frame, and shortened the mainshaft and tube on it.  Then welded a couple mounting flanges to the tube so Steadfast can bolt it to whatever style head frame he wants to.  Sort of a bolt-on unit axial generator



I got some other projects to get done in the meantime, but I'll get this thing assembled and set up for the correct cut-in speed this weekend.  Then get 'er sent off to Steadfast so he can get this project underway.  I'm suspecting it might be his only turbine project if the ReDelco don't ever show up.
--
Chris

[windvision]

Well, I'm putting money on the Chris&Dave combo..............

[hiker]

i see the light at the end of the tunnle..... way to go on helping out the new guy!

[Steadfast]

Hey Chris....
For educational purposes and the simply show off.
when you run the output tests make sure you post picture or video here
Before you mail it off... 

What am I saying... how can it put anything out if I still need to wind its stators...
duh...

Take pictures of whatever your doing...

[midwoud1]

Steadfast.
Chris sent you a complete machine . you don't have to wind stator coils.
It's already made for the correct  cut-in .
Good luck.

- Rgds - Frans -

[Steadfast]

Say what?

He did?
How did I miss that detail?

Is that true Chris?

[fabricator]

You see that thing in the picture with all the wires on it? That's the stator.

[fabricator]

And BTW, he has terminals on all his starts and ends so you can change from Y to star to delta if you want to.

[Steadfast]

You see that thing in the picture with all the wires on it? That's the stator.

Are you sure? 
I thought that was an "Example" stator photo,
to show what he was talking about...

[ChrisOlson]

Say what?

He did?
How did I miss that detail?

Is that true Chris?

Yes.  You are not getting a put-it-together "kit".  I am sending you a unit axial generator, ready to run.  All you have to do is build a suitable head frame and bolt it on, hook up the wires and put blades on it.
--
Chris

[midwoud1]

  Examples to continue you can find in  ''Home Brew Windpower " and ''Hughs Recipe Book''
Mainshaft tilt 4 degrees. Offset mainshaft to mast . Angle tail-hinge . Tail and boomsize.
Tail weight . Frame sizes.
Or the veterans can help you with this.

- Frans -

[Steadfast]

Say what?

He did?
How did I miss that detail?

Is that true Chris?

Yes.  You are not getting a put-it-together "kit".  I am sending you a unit axial generator, ready to run.  All you have to do is build a suitable head frame and bolt it on, hook up the wires and put blades on it.
--
Chris

Chris,
Every time I turn around your generosity amazes me!
You didn't have to include the stator…But YOU DID… 
THANK YOU soooo much!

ok guys,
I plan to build a bird, to carry Chris' axial generator, which fallows the “Homebrew book” design
In every detail…. Scaled down to fit a 7ft blade span…

If there are any low wind area alterations I need to change from the original “Homebrew" design, (aluminum pipes instead of steel pipes…ect..) to keep the new bird Poised to grab my lighter breezes quickly, I need to hear those suggestions now.   

Otherwise, I will make this new bird to the book specs in every way, but scaled down.

[tanner0441]

Hi

I don't think there will be much of a contest with a purpose built axial alternator with predictable output and the red thing with suck it and see output. What I would do in your position is use the new found knowledge and build a better mast for the axial unit, fatter pipe, better guy fixings just below the blade swing, possibly two sets of guys, and if the powers that be say 40ft go for 40 ft.  Chose the best site you have and put it there. If you can see it from your house stick a bit of a spot light on little pole the see it in the dark.  I stood for hours watching mine and I bought it so far less exiting than one that was built for the job.

I even learned to tell when it was charging from the hiss the blades made, my solar does more but the only thing I look at is to see how much of the panel is masked by bird crap.

Brian

[ChrisOlson]

I got Steadfast's generator reworked for his project.  It hits 14 volts at about 250 rpm, which will work good with 7 foot Wincharger blades and should get him making power around 6 mph wind speed or so.  It ended up at about 33 lbs.

I'll get it out to you next week.

--
Chris

[fabricator]

LMAO

[Steadfast]

That video is pretty darn cool if you ask me...
I am kinda feeling bad for Tony at Huricain...
Chris has definently thrown down the gauntlet!

Both my Father in law and I are eagerly awaiting the chance to play with Chris' Axial Generator!
We also went on a little field trip to see another guys turbine my Father in law spotted off of a local Highway. It has a very strange duel magnent rotar, one shared stator, set up you guys might want to see. I started another topic called "Steadfast's Turbine Fieldtrip".

We had some small loose end tie ups and one interesting inovation we completed this weekend.
Here they are...

You guys HATED the Ghetto Hose Clamp attachment on the end of the shed anchor. (I was mocked much for it here.) so we made an inovation change to it: here are the before and after picts:

Before


After

[Steadfast]

Next, we shored up the tree anchore with turnbuckles... They were temporarily just wrapped around the tres and clipped.




Did I mention I grounded my mast?  I am glad I did Because it was hit by lightning 2 days ago...

[Bruce S]

How badly did the mast get hit?

[Steadfast]

The picture just above your post is a "Post" lightning strike...

My nieghbor was sitting on his portch and saw it hit the tower and said "the BOOM about scared right out of his seat!"

[Bruce S]

The picture just above your post is a "Post" lightning strike...

My neighbor was sitting on his porch and saw it hit the tower and said "the BOOM about scared right out of his seat!"

Sorry, part of my thought did not make it to the post .
I was looking to see if you had a pic of the top part or where the lightning stuck.
Thanks
Bruce

[Steadfast]

According to the neihbor it the "bolt was a fork that grabbed mostly the post from the side..."  what difference that makes I don't know... The tail looks ok from the ground. No noticible burn marks that I could see...  when we lower the tower we will double check it...

[DamonHD]

You're really meant to wait until you have a turbine up before you get your first lightning strike: seems almost rude to get the strike first!

Keep an eye out for the corpses of bats and eagles next... B^>

Rgds

Damon