Light Wind Heavy Weight Turbine Project - as I build it.

[Tritium]

((+_+))    (?_?)   >:[   >:/    <:-|   @>-->--

Don't know how to say it any clearer than that!

Thurmond

[fabricator]

What is that Mayan?

[Tritium]

What is that Mayan?

Emoticonish, both Eastern and Western.

Thurmond

[birdhouse]

SF-
i'd like to hear/see details of how you figured out the shed side guy line.  will it maintain slight tension on the tower during the entire raising process? 

adam

[Steadfast]

The shed guy is anchored 8ft up, around a 2ft thick tree; giving the guy just enough clearance to just slip past the front corner of the shed's roof as the mast goes up. And once up the guy (at its lowest point) floats about 2 ft above the shed roof's highest point.

Both right and left guys are anchored to thick trees.

To maintain tension on the right and left guys during the raise I am devising some sort of detachable cable with a handle that is long enough to attach to the guy, wrap around a tree, and slowly be walked out by a person on each guy as I crank the winch.

[tecker]

 I think that means if you need to pee your not shopping fast enough

[Frank S]

SF it would seem that you have worked out several issues.
 just one more word of advice which I feel would be backed by most everyone who has ever raised a tower or other device such as this.
 Do yourself a favor before you attach the bird find some heavy weight like a few sand bags at least as heavy as the bird but preferably 1 1/2 times as heavy raise the tower through the critical transition point at least 45 to 60 degrees,  higher if you note any unusual activity then lower and make any adjustments you need before raising the actual bird.
 it takes a little time but you know better than anyone else what it could cost you 

[fabricator]

if the side and back guys are attached and left just slightly loose you don't need to worry too much about them apart from keeping an eye on them during the raise to make sure they are not getting too loose or tight, the guy on the shed side however will take constant monitoring and adjusting as it is on a different plane.
Don't know if anybody's mentioned it but the side and back guys should all be a the exact same level.

[Steadfast]

GOOD ADVICE...THANKS

[fabricator]

Also if you put your side guy anchors about a foot (from the base) towards the tower when it is lying down and make your side guys relatively snug when it is raised to vertical they will automatically come into tension when the tower is perpendicular, so your gin guys will be already tensioned your side guys will be close to the right tension, all you'll need to do is tension your back guys.

[jlt]

I don't know why you are trying to raise your turbine parallel to the the back of your shed, when you have a shed to use as A free standing gin pole.

        The shed is quite a bit taller than the gin pole you are trying to use.
Turn the pole around 45 degrees and make two pulleys for the cable that fit on each end of the ridge of the shed.
   Mount the lifting winch in front of the shed. When lifting the cable will come clear of the shed when the pole get's high enough.
 
 Forget all that nonsense  that you need snatch blocks. Your 3000 lbs winch is plenty strong to do the job in single line pull.

[breezyears]

ON your mark.
Get set.
GO.

[just-doug]

on the shed side cable,dont end 8 feet up in the air.place a snatch block there.run the cable threw the block and down the tree too a second winch.much better control this way.

[fabricator]

So, how about a picture of the redelco?

[Steadfast]

I hear ya... but.... I Gotta take delivery first...
Perhaps today... 

When I do take those photos I will post them on the other thread...
this one is for the HBird...

Well.... today is the day we build the final tower.... wish me luck... or pray for me...
Ill post pictures tonight...

[tanner0441]

HI

I have no doubt the build will be uneventfull, and from seeing previous work the welding will be tidy and safe.

I hope the raising and tethering is as uneventfull, it is unlikely your going to bend this one.  If it comes down it will be as straight as when you made it. Can't say the same if it hits anything on the way.

Try a dry dummy run to sort out your guy lengths and the way to do it, then with a bag of sand the weight of the big turbine on the top, and if posible a few extra hands for the first live lift.

Good luck with it.

Brian

[Steadfast]

Today's Work

Today was HOT... as in 98F with 90% humidity hot.
we could have done twice the work but the Sun beat the crap out of us.
we spent half the time panting and trying not to pass out.

but here are the photos of what was done.

Setting up to slide the 2.5X2.5 square pipe inside the 3X3 square pipe to build the main shaft of my wind turbine mast.
The stupid internal weld bead made this an exhausting process.  But it also made things increadibly tight.


Anyone for massive pipe sledge hammer "Putt putt"?


The bolts I entend to use for the hinge. Notice the white hot sun bleaching out the photo...nice!


random guy wire parts.


The tip of the mast. look familiar? It was taken from the failed one.


Welds binding the two pipes together.


Pipe waiting to become a gin pole.


New steel hinge and base



And now for photos of the scap from the dead mast:
Removing the wreckage took ond third of the day... I could not beleive it:



And No... before you ask:
 I did not recieve the delivery of the glorious red PMA today...
.
.

[fabricator]

Take those non locking carabiners on the table and use em for a key chain, they have absolutely NO place on a guyed tower. for one thing they only have itty bitty pins in them and the locking ends dont have much surface area, under stress the pin will break or they will deform enough to open up and straighten out enough to come apart.

[Frank S]

Take those non locking carabiners on the table and use em for a key chain, they have absolutely NO place on a guyed tower. for one thing they only have itty bitty pins in them and the locking ends dont have much surface area, under stress the pin will break or they will deform enough to open up and straighten out enough to come apart.

I was going to say that I have one of those that I use to clip my keys to my  belt loop
about all they are good for unless he is planning to use them for hand held tag lines

[tanner0441]

Hi

That's better, the two pies are welded properly with holes drilled in the outer pipe and welded to reduce the chance of the weld at the joint being flexed. I told you several posts ago to scrap the carrabinas, and replace them with D links. They will only handle contant pressure not snatching like your going to get with a guy wire, once the pin fails or they start to straighten out they fail rapidly.  I would not even use screw gate carrabinas on a guy wire and they are stamped and rated at 5000lbs.

Get you hinge as low as you can on the mast and base and don't forget to load the mast with a sand bag or something of equal or greater weight than the heaviest turbine your going to put on it. As you start your lift keep your eye on the base to make sure there is no movement anywhere.

It's looking much better this time though and your only getting comments on some of the tethering kit not the build itself.

Brian

[Steadfast]

Take those non locking carabiners on the table and use em for a key chain, they have absolutely NO place on a guyed tower. for one thing they only have itty bitty pins in them and the locking ends dont have much surface area, under stress the pin will break or they will deform enough to open up and straighten out enough to come apart.

yes sir...
In fact, those are the ones I pulled out of the exsisting guy line array...
While savaging good parts from the wreckage of the failed tower.

I had to put them somewhere, they just ended up on the table.

[DamonHD]

B^>

[fabricator]

Take those non locking carabiners on the table and use em for a key chain, they have absolutely NO place on a guyed tower. for one thing they only have itty bitty pins in them and the locking ends dont have much surface area, under stress the pin will break or they will deform enough to open up and straighten out enough to come apart.

yes sir...
In fact, those are the ones I pulled out of the exsisting guy line array...
While savaging good parts from the wreckage of the failed tower.

I had to put them somewhere, they just ended up on the table.

Good answer.

[tecker]

One thing I noticed from your Pictures is the lack of glass in the stator . You can lay some gauze around the outside as thick as you want and some aluminum to carry the vibration at the bolt holes . I think they used filler and no gauze .

[Mary B]

They work well for clipping water bottles to your day pack... put weight on one? Friend tossed one on my dogs tie out chain. I told her it would not last. Took him 5 minutes to snap it 

Take those non locking carabiners on the table and use em for a key chain, they have absolutely NO place on a guyed tower. for one thing they only have itty bitty pins in them and the locking ends dont have much surface area, under stress the pin will break or they will deform enough to open up and straighten out enough to come apart.

I was going to say that I have one of those that I use to clip my keys to my  belt loop
about all they are good for unless he is planning to use them for hand held tag lines

[just-doug]

alot of hard work and good progress.how do you plan to attach the guy wires to the tower.bolts through the tower crowd the wires runing down the inside.i like to weld single links of chain to the tower and then run the cable thimbles through them

[Steadfast]

alot of hard work and good progress.how do you plan to attach the guy wires to the tower.bolts through the tower crowd the wires runing down the inside.i like to weld single links of chain to the tower and then run the cable thimbles through them

to answer your timely question...

Sunday's Work:

Sunday was SLOW...  not because of the heat, but because of the size and thickness of the steel.
We had to drill our 1" holes in the new base and the mast, and it took 3 hours just to drill 6 holes!
Easch hole had to be drilled out 5 times by ever larger bits


Some welders will do anything NOT to have their picture taken...


Look at the pretty welds!


new base and hinge


Now to answer that queestion:
Adding the guy line mast anchor plates


you can get these plates at agri supply




We even added a small pipe which my spinning wind meter attaches too.

.
.

[Frank S]

looking at the welds on the key hole pad eyes it looks like you are welding with either 6013 or 7014
 I don't see any gusseting on the backside of the hinge/ base angles . It is hard to see but the welds on the angles look better than the pad eyes

[fabricator]

Those angles don't need any gussets, they just keep the base in place while raising and and sliding around when it's up, the welds on the plates aint as pretty as the on the base angles but they look adequate.

[tanner0441]

Hi

Why do you have two of the guy brackets 180degs to each other, if your only having three guys the should be 120 degs. On square pipe you mount the brackets at an angle but when viewed from above should be at 120 degs.

Also do you not have a hole saw? I used to drill lots of holes that size and larger in cabinettes and through steelwork for cable glands.  Slow speed lots of coolant, light oil or parrafin, and press as hard as you can rocking the drill as you go to clear the swarf.

Brian

[Steadfast]

Tail Decor!!!

[Mastiffman]

bah, You Should have put the "Little" Chicken Hawk from the Fog Horn Leg Horn cartoon on the LBird and Fog Horn Leeg Horn himself on the HBird... 

[Steadfast]

We started working today around 5am to beat the heat alert put out for NC today
We busted tail and took names but around 12:30 the heat hit hard as the tempriture jumped to 105 degrees in 30 minutes.  I was going to document the work in pictures but the heat was so sudden and oppressive that I shot a video instead...

I would show it too you now... but... I am sitting in a burgerking waiting for my teen age daughter to get off work. I did however make sure it was activly uploading to you tube before I left the house... Soooooo, when I get home, you guys will see what we "got done"...