13' Induction Motor Conversion

[bigrockcandymountain]

Ok so the windmill search works better as a Monitor WC.  You can look at the parts diagram and pictures that way. 

That is what i drew, the furling system from a Monitor WC.  Not my design at all, but a very successful one.

With the spring hooked to 2 spots via chain, when you pull one leg of the chain the other one goes slack and loses influence.  When you let the chain slack, the other leg pulls and furls the tail.  Those double links kind of knuckle into position agsinst a stop to lock the tail in fully furled position.  My drawing is a top down look at the mill.

[SparWeb]

OK now I can find this.



http://windmill-parts.com/id47.html

PS. you got a few hundred posts.  You are allowed to post links now

[kitestrings]

Ok, this is somewhat helpful:
http://www.windmill-parts.com/id37.html
I confess I was having some trouble following some your sketches.  I think I have components and configuration of your system.  What I'm not following is what is gained by the extra pivots, linkage and springs.  Is the idea to be able to vary the amount of tension on the furling, so as to better govern the rotor speed?

[bigrockcandymountain]

Ya sorry my sketches are quite bad.  I was hoping to get out today to the windmill that has this system and take some pictures to clarify things.  The extra 2 links help lock the tail fully furled with the spring pressure only.  It also actuates a brake, so the over center probably helps with mechanical advantage to push the brake rod harder.  I didn't draw that linkage. 

To be clear, this is a factory water pumping mill system, and I only half understand how exactly it works.  I only know that i have had these mills up for 30 years, and never seen one go to pieces in a storm.  It is a very good system. 

Hint taken sparweb.

[bigrockcandymountain]

And yes, both those links have very good pictures of the mechanism.  This company had been continually building windmills for at least 50 years when this one came out.  Fun fact, the gear box is all cast iron vs the tin top cover all the competing companies used.  The reason...people love shooting .22 cal rifles at windmills so they designed this one to be literally bullet proof. 

[SparWeb]

Oh there's a lot going on there...

Just so I'm not picturing the wrong thing because this system is different from mine, I could be starting with the wrong assumptions.  What I see with my turbine's weighted tail on an inclined hinge is a "proportional" furling.  It gradually kicks in as wind speed increases.  In practice, wind isn't steady so the tail rises and falls repeatedly in wind strong enough to start the transition, and in stronger wind it tucks in and stays there.  The transition however goes from 25kph to 40 kph so it spends a lot of time half-way furled.

Does yours run half-furled a lot of the time, or go from furled to unfurled without pausing between?
If your machine has a friction brake in it, then would the brake be partially applied for long periods, or does this mechanism brake the blades to a stop (or nearly stopped) and stay there when the wind gets strong enough?
I notice the pitman arm almost holding the tail out, but if it starts furling, allows the tail to stay furled.
I also notice the brake actuator, tight against the gearbox, pushing the brake only when the tail is mostly folded up.
Correct so far?

Thanks for showing me this - really interesting and exactly what I want to be thinking about right now.

[bigrockcandymountain]

This mill proportionally furls and unfurls as the wind speed changes.  It runs half furled a lot.  The friction brake never actuates unless manually furled.  Im pretty sure the 2 links are only active when manually furling it / letting go of the pull chain. 

When you have the chain pulled to the "on" position, the leg of chain that comes up and around the pulley is in tension to the spring.  The other leg if chain that goes to the 2 links is slack and does nothing. 

See how the pull direction of the spring changes, depending on which leg of chain pulls on the spring.  That is the magic i think. 

[SparWeb]

Yes I am starting to see.  Two mechanisms that share components but normally act independently.  I am impressed.

[kitestrings]

That is pretty clever.  I had to study it a bit more, but it makes sense now... and I learned a new word, "spasmodic".