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351
Coil winding / Re: How to determine the lmits of a coil / magnet configuration
« Last post by JW on February 25, 2024, 10:37:49 PM »
test post
352
Coil winding / Re: How to determine the lmits of a coil / magnet configuration
« Last post by JW on February 25, 2024, 09:17:53 PM »
I've been following your posts for sometime Branubie (if you spelled it like that it would be cool). you mentioned you would like to see a magnetic field. there's a way to do this its taught to all 6th graders in school.

Take your magnet set it on a wood table. put a piece of notebook paper over it (try to make it flat and level) then take some iron filings and sprinkle them on the paper. there you go, you will see the magnetic fieldlines.

JW               
353
Wind / Re: Block diagram for our turbine
« Last post by kitestrings on February 25, 2024, 12:38:40 PM »
Yes, although I suspect it is focused on more mainstream, net metering, and PV w/battery back-up systems.  It's doubtful that someone would step in and work these one-off off-grid systems.... although Neilho and I have worked on a few come to think of it.
354
Wind / Re: Block diagram for our turbine
« Last post by Mary B on February 25, 2024, 11:51:07 AM »
Solar/wind install and repair is being offered at more and more schools... so people to repair it are out there
355
Wind / Re: Block diagram for our turbine
« Last post by kitestrings on February 25, 2024, 09:18:03 AM »
I can surely relate to being the "only repair man".  Lately we've been having some discussions about how we might plan for the times ahead where I can't do, or remember  ???, how to do this stuff.  An electrician would; step one: tear it out all out, right.

Regarding your usage, 8,000 kWh is pretty much in line with our average residential member/consumer.  There are no free lunches.  While we survive comfortably on probably half that amount, we also consume some 700+ gallons of LPG annually.  I bet on a levelized MMBtu perspective we're on par (I assume here that you are not heating electrically).

I follow the complexity of adding *net metering for you.  I probably wouldn't do it as a retrofit either.  More likely I would continue, as I think you have, with some more modest isolated tasks for the turbine.  What the Classic might better allow, is the option of fetching some sort of "opportunity" load diversion.  In our case we preheat DHW using a feature called "Waste-Not".  I think you may be familiar, but this allows you to prioritize battery charging, but then divert excess power relative to a charging threshold (bulk, float or equalize).

This said, I find the objectives are interestingly different with net metering, then with off-grid; and particularly with wind.  With traditional net metering (PV) we want to maximize our output, sending as much unused credit to the utility for banking (the 'battery' of net metering if you will).  The banked excess being monetized and used to reduce costs in less sunny times.  For off-grid, and with wind maintenance in mind, we want to fill the batteries and serve our coincident needs, but then shut down to save wear and tear.

*Here in VT net metering has gotten quite (unnecessarily IMO) complicated.  It started with a simple approach, allowing the billing meter to run backwards.  Now, there are two meters for most systems, and there are REC and siting adjusters to the production.  There are also set up fees and "non-bypassible" charges (monthly and efficiency utility) that must be paid in all cases.
356
Coil winding / Re: How to determine the lmits of a coil / magnet configuration
« Last post by brandnewb on February 25, 2024, 03:14:33 AM »
I blundered again guys :(

While stacking coils, I failed to also take into account that opposite fields cancel out. So while some coils compound it are others that cancel out.

So if a factor is indeed the interaction between the coils and the magnets then I do not dare to go stacking.

If it is only about reaching a voltage then I would rather stack coils as it is easer to get there then.

{1}and now i think it is not a problem again :(. We will see with the upcoming torque tests. might take a while though as I have to wait for the steel{/1}
357
Coil winding / Re: How to determine the lmits of a coil / magnet configuration
« Last post by JW on February 25, 2024, 02:54:01 AM »
While were at it lets do those upgrades you were talking about. PM me if there is any sensitive info to this.
358
Coil winding / Re: How to determine the lmits of a coil / magnet configuration
« Last post by JW on February 25, 2024, 02:41:39 AM »
Yes your right it is 8+something. For some reason I cant find the cPanel link.
359
Coil winding / Re: How to determine the lmits of a coil / magnet configuration
« Last post by TechAdmin on February 24, 2024, 09:39:53 PM »
Host issue, more than likely updated PHP version without telling us and broke several things (there's more which I won't explain here). @JW please go to cPanel and change PHP version to PHP 7.4, it's most likely set to 8+ as of now.
360
Controls / Re: Noisy Inverters
« Last post by bigrockcandymountain on February 24, 2024, 06:42:57 PM »
How big a grid tie solar are you planning?

My off grid magnum inverter buzzes a bit.  It only gets noisy when the fan runs.  It's not unpleasant either, just a fan.  Comparable to a modern fridge or freezer i would think. 

Fyi i see you are looking at midnite classics.  They are somewhat noisy when the cooling fan kicks on too.  Ours is right below our bedroom and you know when it is making power.  It's not a bother, you can just hear it. 

I still can't help you on grid tie inverters.  I have an 8kw tentatively planned for my mom's house.  I think the fronius primo was my pick last i looked.  I think outback hybrid inverters would be my first instinct for grid / batteries.  I don't know the specs or competitors though. 
361
Controls / Re: Noisy Inverters
« Last post by DamonHD on February 24, 2024, 04:01:12 PM »
I think that breakfast among my herd of four inverters would be OK.  Probably no louder than the fridge, but again, I've not sat with them at the right/wrong times!

Rgds

Damon
362
Wind / Re: Block diagram for our turbine
« Last post by SparWeb on February 24, 2024, 03:05:13 PM »
I'm finding it difficult or near impossible to incorporate the wind turbine into the grid-tie design, unless it's absolutely stand-alone by itself and doesn't interact with the house in any way.  That precludes any self-consumption of WT electricity.

There are ways to re-arrange it, but it would require numerous trenches dug across the yard.  The layout is currently radial from the utility pole.  A system that prioritizes self-consumption must permit the grid-tie inverter to manage the load delivered to the grid and used by the consumers.  Pretty much impossible if the grid-tie inverter is on a sub-panel of a branch not connected to the source producing energy.

Oh, and getting back to why I mentioned the Classic - if the WT is purely for export it had better be optimized by MPPT. 
363
Wind / Re: Block diagram for our turbine
« Last post by SparWeb on February 24, 2024, 02:54:38 PM »
Quote
more than you asked for.
Sure, every system that evolves long enough develops prehensile things like gall bladders and wisdom teeth.

I was pretty sure you operated off-grid, but wondered if there was occasional support from an existing supply.

Thanks for the extra detail.

My house is already on grid, so I'm looking at an existing pump, stove, heating and other things that pull many thousands of kW each.  And it's trivially easy to turn them all on at the same time.  Replacing them all would be very invasive surgery.  While I could save energy that way, I also expect such changes would not increase the value of the house, nor have anything but a negative effect on reliability or ease of repair.  For all of the modifications I've already done, I'm the only repair man.  I've whittled our consumption down to less than 8000 kWhr per year.  Probably terrible to an off-gridder like you.

These considerations make choosing a grid-tie inverter pretty complicated.
364
Controls / Re: Noisy Inverters
« Last post by SparWeb on February 24, 2024, 02:16:01 PM »
I found that SolarEdge inverters 6kW or less have <25 dB noise.  Exactly as Mary said, it's because they don't need a cooling fan.
SolarEdge isn't exactly what I'm looking for, because they don't support batteries, but there's hope, so I'll keep looking.
365
Controls / Re: Noisy Inverters
« Last post by SparWeb on February 24, 2024, 02:14:20 PM »
Quote
I have not sat next to them at peak generation

Imagine sitting next to them while eating breakfast.  That's basically where I'd put such an inverter, unless I remodel the kitchen too.
366
Controls / Re: Noisy Inverters
« Last post by Mary B on February 24, 2024, 10:45:02 AM »
For a long time I had an old Xantrex SW4024 inverter, which was a great workhorse inverter until mice built a nest in it, and it had to be scrapped.  It worked well, but it was loud.  Immediately after installing it in my "battery shed" and switching it on, I thought, "well that's never going in the house".  Louder than a clothes dryer.

Fast-forward a couple of decades and I'm shopping for another inverter, which I would install in the house if it's quiet.  But I can't find one.  All this solid-state switching power supplies replacing coils of copper, but it's still just as noisy.  If an inverter has any noise rating at all (some don't) it's pretty loud, like 60dB.  That's actually quite loud, especially for a noise that is constantly humming away.  The layout of my house puts the systems (electrical, heat, water etc.) in the center and the rooms radiate outward.  That doesn't allow the inverter to be installed far away from bedrooms, the dining room, or the living room. 

Outback doesn't give any noise data, but the installation manual for the Radian says this, "Avoid large air gaps behind the Radian inverter/charger and its mounting plate. These can result in louder mechanical noise during heavy inverting or charging."  LOUDER?

Sunny Boy is 45 dB
SRNE is 60dB
Fronius is "<65dB"

These are all about as loud, or louder, than a clothes dryer.  I can choose to close the door of my laundry room, but the electrical panel, where I would locate an inverter, is not isolated like that.

The Sunny Boy is the quietest I have found.  Can anyone report their experience of the noise emitted by a SB inverter when it's inverting heavy loads?
Another solution is to use string inverters like Enphase, but that limits my options drastically. 

Does anyone know of a quiet grid-tie inverter?

Noise generation in newer units is going to be from the fans... and from using non-potted transformers that vibrate(and fail faster! Built in obsolescence!). Not much you can do for the first... the second you could get transformer varnish and dribble it in... but it won't reach in very well.
367
Wind / Re: Block diagram for our turbine
« Last post by kitestrings on February 24, 2024, 09:17:29 AM »
Nope.  We're off-grid.

I didn't show our PV (3.2 kW) system or any of the end-use side of things in the above diagram.  We have the two Classics for the turbine, and we have an older Outback MX60 that contributes the solar to the same battery bank.  For AC loads we have just an Outback VFX 3648 (48VDC, 3.6 kW, 120VAC), and our Onan (4.5 kW) for back-up.  I'd always thought that we'd add a second OB for 240VAC, but it just never seemed necessary, or worth the effort.

I suspect a connection to the grid would just be a limitation of the inverter used.

Here's where our system is a little weird -

We started with a very modest 12VDC system (circa 1985).  When we transitioned 48V we kept much of the existing 12V lighting.  I added a 60A, 12VDC breaker panel (Square D breakers are rated to 24VDC).  So, we have a 12V tap with a Solar Converter equalizer.

Our water system is a 24V Sunpump submersible to a cistern, then a 48V vintage F E Myers piston pump for pressurization.

We also have two small step-down converters: one 48/12VDC for the fridge, and one 48/24V that supplies our freezer and submersible.

I'm by no means suggesting anyone else should adopt this approach.  As I think you know though, things evolve differently over time than they might otherwise if one started from scratch with all future objectives known, or better predicted, and without the financial and resource constraints most of us start out with -

Sorry, more than you asked for.  Let me know if you have any questions about the Classic's.  I'd say they have worked well for us.

Best, ~ks

368
Coil winding / Re: How to determine the lmits of a coil / magnet configuration
« Last post by JW on February 24, 2024, 09:02:42 AM »
 were all having this issue currently. were getting ready to work it.

In the meantime we have a workaround.

ANY REMOTELY HOSTED IMAGE can be inserted in to you're post. This includes any previous images upload to the FL site. for now we can not upload.
369
Logged in diaries / Re: VAWT backyard experiements
« Last post by MattM on February 24, 2024, 08:34:15 AM »
A uniform pattern would be good.  Do you have something to use as a template?

May start with minor holes centerline.  But one vertically in the middle.  If any air is stagant anywhere, its going to be there.  Air will work itself from center to path of least total resistance.

How big of holes are you thinking?  Air going through holes can generate noise.  I was thinking around 10 mm could be quite noisy at a high pitch once air gets to above 30 mph.  Storm sirens use 25mm-ish or better holes and spin to generate air velocity above 100 mph, so you shouldn't ever hit that.  One line vertically down the center then new lines of holes offset 60 degree angles to one another.  Don't need to do the entire cup.  Three rows is pretty significant leakage.  Too much air leakage would not be the goal, so do not get too crazy with them.  If you do over due it you can simply add a liner (duct tape to the rescue) to the leading edge of the cup to patch over them.  The sides of your cup will direct the air to these holes.

Oops, saw the second idea.  I like your second idea better.  Cutting holes or lines are the options.  The holes are fast to cut one but could be significant time doing rows.  But horizontal cuts with a table saw or circular saw should be faster.
370
Coil winding / Re: How to determine the lmits of a coil / magnet configuration
« Last post by brandnewb on February 24, 2024, 07:40:23 AM »
I am so sorry gang and JW. I can no longer insert images "the path can not be empty is the error message"

But I assume that the back end logs all errors yes? whether client or server side.
371
Coil winding / Re: How to determine the lmits of a coil / magnet configuration
« Last post by brandnewb on February 24, 2024, 07:36:21 AM »
ugg!!

I made the mistake to just keep winding before I checked if the shape actually fits the template or not ;(

30 winds at 1mm diam. each coil times 6 of them stacked

But at least this tells me we have got an incredible amount of space left to either compress the coils more narrow or fill it up with a heat dissipation agent like this CU 150um iron powder (I think the CU means non electro conductive due to some coating the particles have gotten)

I am waiting for more steel, to serve as back plating, to arrive as my results without it seem to be subpar :(
372
Coil winding / Re: How to determine the lmits of a coil / magnet configuration
« Last post by brandnewb on February 24, 2024, 07:34:18 AM »
I have a washing machine currently on sale through a second hand market channel.

In case the final offer is not convincing then I will rip apart this machine. carefully though ;)
373
Controls / Re: Noisy Inverters
« Last post by DamonHD on February 24, 2024, 04:04:39 AM »
I have now relatively old Sunny Boys (1100s and a 1200) more than a decade old, in my loft.

I have not sat next to them at peak generation but I can't say that I've noticed any significant noise from them at all.

Rgds

Damon
374
Logged in diaries / Re: VAWT backyard experiements
« Last post by brandnewb on February 24, 2024, 03:43:17 AM »
@MattM,

I think I have an idea that might work.

What if I just cut the blades horizontally at lets say 30cm spacing. And then we can just space those segments apart at leisure. So we can see in practise what works or not.

If nothing seems to benefit us we can always put them back where they are now as to end up where we started.

But now the question is. How do we determine if a blade segment configuration benefits or not?

I guess it is by using this suitcase measuring device I use to measure how much KG is needed to stop blades from turning.
But the problem with that method is that the wind is always changing so it is rather hard to come up with consistent results like that.
375
Controls / Noisy Inverters
« Last post by SparWeb on February 24, 2024, 02:04:34 AM »
For a long time I had an old Xantrex SW4024 inverter, which was a great workhorse inverter until mice built a nest in it, and it had to be scrapped.  It worked well, but it was loud.  Immediately after installing it in my "battery shed" and switching it on, I thought, "well that's never going in the house".  Louder than a clothes dryer.

Fast-forward a couple of decades and I'm shopping for another inverter, which I would install in the house if it's quiet.  But I can't find one.  All this solid-state switching power supplies replacing coils of copper, but it's still just as noisy.  If an inverter has any noise rating at all (some don't) it's pretty loud, like 60dB.  That's actually quite loud, especially for a noise that is constantly humming away.  The layout of my house puts the systems (electrical, heat, water etc.) in the center and the rooms radiate outward.  That doesn't allow the inverter to be installed far away from bedrooms, the dining room, or the living room. 

Outback doesn't give any noise data, but the installation manual for the Radian says this, "Avoid large air gaps behind the Radian inverter/charger and its mounting plate. These can result in louder mechanical noise during heavy inverting or charging."  LOUDER?

Sunny Boy is 45 dB
SRNE is 60dB
Fronius is "<65dB"

These are all about as loud, or louder, than a clothes dryer.  I can choose to close the door of my laundry room, but the electrical panel, where I would locate an inverter, is not isolated like that.

The Sunny Boy is the quietest I have found.  Can anyone report their experience of the noise emitted by a SB inverter when it's inverting heavy loads?
Another solution is to use string inverters like Enphase, but that limits my options drastically. 

Does anyone know of a quiet grid-tie inverter?
376
Wind / Re: Block diagram for our turbine
« Last post by SparWeb on February 24, 2024, 01:20:47 AM »
Hi Kitestrings,
I find myself looking at the Classics again, which drew me back to this.

I'm curious: what do you do for grid connection, if any?
377
Wind / Re: Classical US multibladed metal wind rotor....?
« Last post by Adriaan Kragten on February 23, 2024, 04:44:56 PM »
I have watched the video of Topspeed. It is a nice explanation of how such a windmill works. However, there is one substantial mistake. It is said that the vane is in parallel to the wind if the rotor turns out op the wind but this isn't correct. As the rotor has a certain eccentricity e and as the rotor has a certain thrust Ft, the rotor moment Mr = Ft * e. This rotor moment must be in balance with the vane moment Mv around the tower axis. The vane moment is the product of the force on the vane blade Fv and the vane radius rv at the aeodynamic centre of the vane blade. So Mv = Fv * rv. Fv is about linear to the angle of attack alfa in between the vane blade and the wind direction. You only get a certain Fv if the vane blade makes a certain angle alfa with the wind direction. So the vane blade is never in parallel to the wind direction for stationairy conditions. The angle alfa depends on the vane geometry and the wind speed. The higher the wind speed, the smaller the angle. The vane moment due to the aerodynamic force on the vane blade around the vane axis must also be in balance with the spring moment Ms around the vane axis.

This safety system is called the ecliptic safety system and more information about it is given in my public report KD 409. I have used a torsion spring around the vane axis because the spring moment of a torsion spring increases only a little for an increasing angle of rotation around the vane axis. The moment of a tension spring varies a lot because the distance of the heart of the spring and the heart of the vane axis is very dependent of the angle of rotation of the vane arm. I have chosen that the tower axis coincides with the vane axis because this simplifies the moment equations a lot.
378
Storage / Re: Sand Batteries
« Last post by Bruce S on February 23, 2024, 04:00:29 PM »
Mary B
With the flash point of new motor oil being above 200C , I'm now inclined to give it a try :-) too.
I think I might take the dog out for a walk and give that an extra thought.
Any leak will certainly help in during the discovery part  ;D.

I'll keep moving forward on the sand stuff since I already have a little bit of working knowledge with it. AND I was smart enough to grab a decent pair of FF gloves!!
My other concern is insulating the external tin can. 

Bruce S





379
Newbies / Re: electronics learning kits
« Last post by Mary B on February 23, 2024, 11:08:30 AM »
I still have a bunch of those.
I was given my first Mims book (the very one in your picture) when I was 14 years old.  Learning to build little oscillators with 555's and other projects.
The 200-in-1 project kits came soon after.

Thanks for the memories, JW!  :)

I worked as a manager of a radio shack franchise when I was 16... sold a TOM of the Mims books!
380
Coil winding / Re: How to determine the lmits of a coil / magnet configuration
« Last post by Mary B on February 23, 2024, 11:05:33 AM »
@MaryB,

I just got refunded my purchase of the F&P :(

Randy tells me that shipping is an additional 102 USD :(

I would have loved to play around with something like that. And indeed the stacking suggestion you made really is attractive to me.

Anyhow let's look forwards!

I know you can find one in EU... heck go to an appliance store and ask if you can raid a bad washing machine for parts. They were widely used there before coming to the USA.

Another possible choice is an ECM motor from a heating/cooling system. Used to drive the big squirrel cage fan on forced air systems.
381
Storage / Re: Sand Batteries
« Last post by Mary B on February 23, 2024, 11:02:06 AM »
Tube in tube I would use oil as the heated medium... minimal expansion that could be handled by an expansion chamber keeping working pressure low to non existent...

Just a thought. Could even recycle used motor oil as the heated medium, filtered to get rid of particulates. Oil is a pretty decent heat exchange medium, better than air./sand would be. Downside is any leaks would make a mess...
382
Storage / Re: Sand Batteries
« Last post by Bruce S on February 23, 2024, 10:24:32 AM »
SparWeb;
He's pretty good at details and generally answers emails and posts.
Having played around with this tin can and using heat from a few different sources, I think I'm going to stay away from any liquid addition to the sand.
In fact I'm working on  cooking the sand as dry as possible, since I'm leaning towards as close to a closed loop system as possible, along with a pressure gauge & relief valve of some sort.

Back when I had my Mercedes 5cyl 300TD I got around to "remembering" how to build a tube-in-tube system and found that the cooling system worked great  to pre-heat the Bio-D. I of course added a few extra temp probes (Both digital and analog) Analog cause I'm nostalgic for swing needles  ;D as I was curious about the returning fuel's temps.
I also remember the disaster here when a steam boiler failed and launched itself killing two onsite and two people who had just started a new job 60+ meters away.
The video liked below gives a very good recreation of what happens.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Bs6W19cLcY
I know from reading a bunch of your posts and answers to other posts, you understand THE DANGERS when doing these sort of tests and I know JW is a steam guru, BUT anyone else reading these needs to watch the video so they are aware of how quickly things can get deadly  :-[.

I'm also remembering surface contact is vital to extracting the stored energy in an efficient way. OF course all this Mechanical engineering math gets my brain to hurting again and I need to take libation breaks often  8). I still have an old 1M satellite dish that I may setup as a sorta of heliostat to gain a few extra temps.
I've also done some of handed testing of capturing waste heat from our gas dryer by using a few soldered together tins to pump a little warmer air into the house , I borrowed a few surplussed air monitors to make sure there wasn't any nasty un-burned hydrocarbons trying to give me a headache.

I do like the use of tin cans, as they are free, can take a pretty high heat and solder together nicely too. Using the surface area of them I can do these trails pretty cheaply. Also when I ran out of solder I tested a few connections using the Flex-Tape, that worked surprisingly well for a short term test.

Sorry for the disjointed reply;
It's been a busy week  :o

Bruce S





383
Coil winding / Re: How to determine the lmits of a coil / magnet configuration
« Last post by brandnewb on February 23, 2024, 10:06:29 AM »
I am glad I made your weekend brother. Love is indeed the intend.

So I actually mean Hz in voltage waveform. Like on the oscope pictures I share from time to time.

Given there are 96 magnets on a single rotor disk that rotate fully every 12.something {1}closer to the 13 mark{/1} seconds that equates to around 4 RPM and around 3.7Hz of full voltage waveform.

I realize it is a bold goal. I think I can get there.

Now I am ok if we forget about magnets to watts. Let us focus on how to quantify things this early in the prototyping stage yes?

All I care about is to be able to say something that people will believe. And also not to just build and build only to find I missed something crucial ending up with an alternator that does next to nothing.

Also Ed, You know that I love you so that is why I have not send back the 16 magnets yet.

That's the second time that someone told me that they love me today. Cool, that's a good way to start my weekend.  :D

Hz is cycles per second. 3.7 cycles, or magnets passes over the coils in 1 second equals 222 RPM.

Is that how fast you want the turbine to spin?

I am sure that you mean 3.7 RPM and not 3.7 Hz. Right?

Ed
384
Coil winding / Re: How to determine the lmits of a coil / magnet configuration
« Last post by brandnewb on February 23, 2024, 09:57:57 AM »
@MaryB,

I just got refunded my purchase of the F&P :(

Randy tells me that shipping is an additional 102 USD :(

I would have loved to play around with something like that. And indeed the stacking suggestion you made really is attractive to me.

Anyhow let's look forwards!

385
Logged in diaries / Re: VAWT backyard experiements
« Last post by brandnewb on February 23, 2024, 09:31:04 AM »
also, please allow me to be perfectly clear.

I am complaining a lot about charlatans and snake oil.

None of the people that interact with me here are addressed. It is mostly the endless videos I can find online and also of course the cheap products sold as a gazzilion KW alternator from our friends in the east.

On top of that I have seen quite a few "start ups" selling/promoting their "new" design. It's out there and it's rampant.

I am mad because I fell victim once. Because back then I was just as clueless as I am to this very day. Hmm ok a bit less now than back then.

So hence my nagging about how to quantify things.
In essence it is not about me being able to show that I have something great. Of course that would be great if that results from all of this.
But the real goal is to be able to fend off or hold accountable the many many scams out there.

Wind has a bad reputation because it has been abused for far too long.

it is my mission in life to do something about that!.
386
Logged in diaries / Re: VAWT backyard experiements
« Last post by brandnewb on February 23, 2024, 09:10:37 AM »
@MattM,

So these original cups are holding on longer than I expected. I had expected them to be pulp by now.

So now is a good time to start punching holes in them.

Can you suggest some kind of pattern? Or how much surface area should stay intact. those kind of things.

And as always. Even if we do not get it optimal or even right the first try. It is the thought that counts!
387
How to work with images / Re: How to attach pictures
« Last post by JW on February 23, 2024, 07:09:43 AM »
Hopefully Flavio will see this. When we were finished with all work we did I took him off the PHP database. I did this so no one can get blamed if something bad happens. Also he wouldn't accept any ,payments for work being done, I don't like that. He is a professional sub contractor for us.
388
Coil winding / Re: How to determine the lmits of a coil / magnet configuration
« Last post by MagnetJuice on February 23, 2024, 02:36:24 AM »
Also Ed, You know that I love you so that is why I have not send back the 16 magnets yet.

That's the second time that someone told me that they love me today. Cool, that's a good way to start my weekend.  :D

Hz is cycles per second. 3.7 cycles, or magnets passes over the coils in 1 second equals 222 RPM.

Is that how fast you want the turbine to spin?

I am sure that you mean 3.7 RPM and not 3.7 Hz. Right?

Ed
389
How to work with images / Re: How to attach pictures
« Last post by SparWeb on February 22, 2024, 11:51:25 PM »
I'm unable to post pictures.

When I click submit, I get "path cannot be empty" error.  If I try to submit a second time (even if I delete the attach reference and clear the file from the upload) another error pops up: "you already submitted this post!".

It gets stuck there if I don't back out to the forum, re-open the thread, and try to post again, fresh.

For the same reasons I can't attach screen-shots of the problem, but I did take a couple. :/
390
Newbies / Re: electronics learning kits
« Last post by SparWeb on February 22, 2024, 11:35:27 PM »
I still have a bunch of those.
I was given my first Mims book (the very one in your picture) when I was 14 years old.  Learning to build little oscillators with 555's and other projects.
The 200-in-1 project kits came soon after.

Thanks for the memories, JW!  :)
391
Storage / Re: Sand Batteries
« Last post by SparWeb on February 22, 2024, 11:29:51 PM »
Hey, that's the same video I just saw, Bruce.  The Youtube algorithm knows we know each other now.

I've been mulling over the usefulness of water, just like Mary suggested.  I think the ability to heat the sand up above 300F, or higher than boiling water is an advantage that you can't use if you add water.  If it's a closed loop, some glycol in the water would help use higher temperatures.  The mixture of sand and water might also be a problem if it needs filtering, silt traps drains, etc., to work for a long period of time.

Tube-in-tube heat exchange is the standard, taught to every mechanical engineer in thermodynamics class.  If you build one, remember to include temperature sensors on inlets and outlets.  A simple feedback control makes a big difference in the efficiency, worth the effort.

To keep it as KISS as possible, what can be done with a simple tank of sand with an electric heater in it?  One thing is to just use it like an old-fashioned cottage stove - it heats the room by radiating its heat through the sides.  Careful not to touch it though.  For a small insulated building, this could make a big difference.

Another way is to pass the ductwork in your house through a sand tank.  This sounds like it would work, as long as the sand makes lots of surface contact with the duct, or else the air will blow by without picking up much heat.  Think of a basement air duct about 8 inches diameter and you fit a 12" duct around it, filled with sand and some lengths of nichrome wire encapsulated.  Wrap the outside of the 12" duct with insulation so that the sand doesn't just heat the basement.  When the central heating blows air from the furnace, it will be heated a second time by the sand heater.  The central thermostat will detect the house warming up faster, and will shut off the furnace sooner.  The furnace would not run as much, saving on heating.  If the sand heater is driven by PV, the electricity is free.  It would take some math to figure out if the amount of energy collected this way and the heat-exchange process would add up to a noticeable effect.
392
Wind / Re: Classical US multibladed metal wind rotor....?
« Last post by topspeed on February 22, 2024, 07:33:45 PM »
393
Logged in diaries / Re: VAWT backyard experiements
« Last post by brandnewb on February 22, 2024, 03:39:54 PM »
And please all you have got to see this!

It is about how difficult it is to back down to a statement one made early on.

Especially if it has gotten a lot of traction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6R9cIDjXH2k
(JW, you and I both know this is just and ID QS yes?)

Now I for one am just so blunt that it is rather easy for me to admit when I made a mistake.


Yet what if I had to back track after acclaim?

394
Logged in diaries / Re: VAWT backyard experiements
« Last post by brandnewb on February 22, 2024, 03:31:36 PM »
I am at the service of the greater good.
395
Logged in diaries / Re: VAWT backyard experiements
« Last post by brandnewb on February 22, 2024, 03:12:14 PM »
I am actually thankful JW. Now I have again in my playlist this song!!

And in some ways I think what you tried to tell me is that I am needed.

Thank you JW!


Reply

Here my obvious looking/.

For Me its ben posting videos

The system, login
396
Newbies / Re: electronics learning kits
« Last post by Mary B on February 22, 2024, 11:55:22 AM »
Many of the Radio Shack electronics books in PDF format for free download... the Mims books are about halfway down... TON of very valid info in here!

https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Technology/Radio-Shack/
397
Logged in diaries / Re: VAWT backyard experiements
« Last post by brandnewb on February 22, 2024, 11:53:19 AM »
nooooooo. even before the storm hit, yeah sure things are picking up already here, I already have to take her down.

It is the part that prevents the upper bearing from slipping down that is in serious need of redesign.

nooo. Now I have missed this window op opportunity to see thing horribly go wrong :(
398
Logged in diaries / Re: VAWT backyard experiements
« Last post by brandnewb on February 22, 2024, 10:34:15 AM »
ohh wow,

Now I am getting nervous!

I tried keeping the Phoenix on a diet. So far that has been working out rather nice.

But what If the guy wires decide to go on a strike?

Then the whole bird will actually fly!!


hmmm.

hmm.

I will reconsider going full steel or maybe even lead ;) who cares about the health impact of lead anyways ;)
399
Coil winding / Re: How to determine the lmits of a coil / magnet configuration
« Last post by brandnewb on February 22, 2024, 10:09:51 AM »
So I have some time again now.

I am back again at an IR (inner radius) of 600mm because that will roughly double the velocity at which the magnets spin over the coils and roughly double the area we get for the coil wires to play in.

But to my shock I was unable to measure/demonstrate the expected effect.
You see I tried using a 25 winds coil at the original (600mm IR, 3.75 interval, traditional, dual rotor, single stator) and got crap results. Not at all what I expected.

So now I need to figure out what it is I am doing wrong. And yes I did check the proper connection to the oscope  ;D

{1}I would love it if anyone would just blurp out any random thought of what can be going on here and/or how to zero in on a possible root cause.{/1}
{2}Also the most important revelation to me is that one should not be looking for a straight line in magnetic fields in between rotors. Some dispersion adjacent wise will actually help for the coil shapes I am considering.{/2}
400
Logged in diaries / Re: VAWT backyard experiements
« Last post by brandnewb on February 22, 2024, 09:49:23 AM »
brace for impact!!!

are going to be my infamous last words if storm Louis, that will be here tonight, has anything to say about that.

Now I am going to do something stupid. I am leaving the Phoenix errect. I did fortify the guywires though.

I just need to see what will happen so I can learn what to focus on next iteration.
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