Depends on what you want to power, I would say.
For a 12V battery charging system (to supply regular solar/wind power inverter equipment), you could do a first attempt with a dc motor (i.e. RC model types), an appropriate gearbox (i.e. pulleys), a large fan blade (i.e. car type) and a simple switcher (i.e. step-up converter IC).
For a full featured installation to supply your household demand from an elevated generator nearby your house, you would need knowledge and equipment that even the large scale industry pays tens of thousands for...
So, what are you trying to power, what winds can you 'provide'
etc. ?
Cheers,
Sebastian.
For a 12V battery charging system (to supply regular solar/wind power inverter equipment), you could do a first attempt with a dc motor (i.e. RC model types), an appropriate gearbox (i.e. pulleys), a large fan blade (i.e. car type) and a simple switcher (i.e. step-up converter IC).
For a full featured installation to supply your household demand from an elevated generator nearby your house, you would need knowledge and equipment that even the large scale industry pays tens of thousands for...
So, what are you trying to power, what winds can you 'provide'
etc. ?Cheers,
Sebastian.
Gee, I'm building one right now!
Steen,
After several years of gathering the steel and other parts I've just begun building one this month. I hope to have it up and running this year. Biggest damned DIY project from the ground up from scratch that I have attempted in my entire life. I'm hoping to see 12-15 kW out of it. That is considered large for a domestic unit, DIY or otherwise. Three blade prop is 26 foot diameter. I should be able to power my 805 stereo SET amp in a light breeze!
There are tons of resources on the web. Do a google on "DIY windpower".
First off is you have to decide what it is you want power for, and how much you need. Then you have to evaluate the wind resource in your location. A successful wind power installation is an erection that takes careful planning. I have had a computerized weather station and annemometer by Davis Instruments on a 90 foot tower for the past year doing a study and know that I am in a great location, good enough to generate commercial power, but I knew that before the annemometer got put up.
Note that wind power is not *Free*. It is quite expensive energy, costing more that the utility charges. The benefit is it is completely environmentally clean and eventually gets inexpensive as the hardware is paid off. My DIY installation will have an equivalent value of about a $45-50K commercially available wind machine and tower. Thanx to being resourceful, being able to fabricate everything in house by myself including the design work and only having to build one, I hope to have this done for less than $5K in material costs. It can pay itself off in one year.
BTW, I am looking for able bodied interested volunteers in my area who might like to come over and help me build this beast in exchange for the experience. Once the weather warms up there will be plenty of outdoor welding and steel fitting to do. I am located near Shelburne, ON. Please PM me off list if interested.
Steen,
After several years of gathering the steel and other parts I've just begun building one this month. I hope to have it up and running this year. Biggest damned DIY project from the ground up from scratch that I have attempted in my entire life. I'm hoping to see 12-15 kW out of it. That is considered large for a domestic unit, DIY or otherwise. Three blade prop is 26 foot diameter. I should be able to power my 805 stereo SET amp in a light breeze!
There are tons of resources on the web. Do a google on "DIY windpower".
First off is you have to decide what it is you want power for, and how much you need. Then you have to evaluate the wind resource in your location. A successful wind power installation is an erection that takes careful planning. I have had a computerized weather station and annemometer by Davis Instruments on a 90 foot tower for the past year doing a study and know that I am in a great location, good enough to generate commercial power, but I knew that before the annemometer got put up.
Note that wind power is not *Free*. It is quite expensive energy, costing more that the utility charges. The benefit is it is completely environmentally clean and eventually gets inexpensive as the hardware is paid off. My DIY installation will have an equivalent value of about a $45-50K commercially available wind machine and tower. Thanx to being resourceful, being able to fabricate everything in house by myself including the design work and only having to build one, I hope to have this done for less than $5K in material costs. It can pay itself off in one year.
BTW, I am looking for able bodied interested volunteers in my area who might like to come over and help me build this beast in exchange for the experience. Once the weather warms up there will be plenty of outdoor welding and steel fitting to do. I am located near Shelburne, ON. Please PM me off list if interested.
davesaudio said:
Yes, I'm at 1620 feet on a flat elevated plateau. The DX here is awesome too. Regular off-air TV booms in from Bufallo, NY., about 100 miles away to the south. It is good enough to watch most of the time.
There is a large commercial windfarm going in just about a mile or two just north of me.
Good luck with your efforts, but please BE CAREFUL!
The amount of energy available from even a small turbine in a light breeze is a lot more than you might imagine.
A friend had just completed a 12" 'propeller' , and mounted it on a simple hand-held shaft to test it. As soon as he turned into the wind, which was minimal, the thing became uncontrollable, and he was very lucky to escape serious injury.
The amount of energy available from even a small turbine in a light breeze is a lot more than you might imagine.
A friend had just completed a 12" 'propeller' , and mounted it on a simple hand-held shaft to test it. As soon as he turned into the wind, which was minimal, the thing became uncontrollable, and he was very lucky to escape serious injury.
Mmm, sure you do not desire some cheese more ?
I have an article on vent designing if you like.
And loads of academic mumbo jumbo on turbine and ship screw design, which is basically the same as prop design criteria for windmill propellors.
there are lots of Tulip munchers who made windmills.
You can google dutch pages looking for : "windmolen"
This is diyaudio, why diy windmill, Steen ?
Shoot, my last name in english is "from the Mill"
I have an article on vent designing if you like.
And loads of academic mumbo jumbo on turbine and ship screw design, which is basically the same as prop design criteria for windmill propellors.
there are lots of Tulip munchers who made windmills.
You can google dutch pages looking for : "windmolen"
This is diyaudio, why diy windmill, Steen ?
Shoot, my last name in english is "from the Mill"
Big problem for Windfarms is that they tend to take out Raptors (birds) on a
regular basis. Actually a big problem for commercial windfarms in California
and such. Have you worked in any type of bird protection?
That's the problem with alternative electricity sources, very expensive
startup cost. Big oil, Utility Co's, and the Government love to keep it that way.
regular basis. Actually a big problem for commercial windfarms in California
and such. Have you worked in any type of bird protection?
That's the problem with alternative electricity sources, very expensive
startup cost. Big oil, Utility Co's, and the Government love to keep it that way.
Thanks a lot for all the replies, guys
I Googled a lot but didn't try Windpower!
Maybe its worth a shot
Steen.
I Googled a lot but didn't try Windpower!
It is actually a family member that needs to charge some 12v batteries, so I promised him to try and dig up some info on the subject. Ofcourse I turned to DIYaudio, knowing that with all these terrific guys in here, something had to come out of it.
Now you got me thinking, wouldn't it be possible to get a steady +/-22 volts from a windmill, that could power an Aleph-X 100 watt's
Maybe its worth a shot Steen.
RCAvictim is definately running ClassA amps all day
Re: Re: Gee, I'm building one right now!
My electric bill alone is between about $4-5K a year. Heating fuel add another $3-3.5 K. I have a 3,500 sq. ft. shop building to keep from freezing as well as my home, and power tools use electricity, especially the inneficient 3-phase rotary power converter in the machine shop. I am also providing the electricity to heat a radio observatory control room and the elctricity for the equipment as well since the Institute does not have the funds and the delicate equipment will be rendered useless scrap if allowed to freeze.
In the wintertime since propane and electricity cost about the same (it IS a conspiracy folks) the waste heat generated by my 805 amp actually helps heat the basement, making it practical. It is much more enjoyable listening to it than a 500 watt electric space heater!
So yes, if I can get off grid for a year as a result of my new wind turbine, that results in around $5K saved and that about covers my material costs. If I took a mortgage to buy the commercial equivalent I could see it pay itself off in about ten years. I have paid maybe ten cents on the dollar for most of my surplus and scrounged materials. I paid about fifteen cents a pound for most of the steel for the tower, and new steel is now about a dollar a pound. The all critical gearbox was just found recently after searching for years. New I could have just gone and bought it for several grand. I got it used for ten bucks! It takes a very long time to make something this way, and you can often only find enough precious bits to do it once, but it is a method that can save a lot of dough if one is resourceful and patient enough. The type of materials you find force your design. You cannot design something and then go buy the parts. This backwards route takes a bit more creativity I'm sure and I love the challenge DIY provides.
sek said:
My electric bill alone is between about $4-5K a year. Heating fuel add another $3-3.5 K. I have a 3,500 sq. ft. shop building to keep from freezing as well as my home, and power tools use electricity, especially the inneficient 3-phase rotary power converter in the machine shop. I am also providing the electricity to heat a radio observatory control room and the elctricity for the equipment as well since the Institute does not have the funds and the delicate equipment will be rendered useless scrap if allowed to freeze.
In the wintertime since propane and electricity cost about the same (it IS a conspiracy folks) the waste heat generated by my 805 amp actually helps heat the basement, making it practical. It is much more enjoyable listening to it than a 500 watt electric space heater!
So yes, if I can get off grid for a year as a result of my new wind turbine, that results in around $5K saved and that about covers my material costs. If I took a mortgage to buy the commercial equivalent I could see it pay itself off in about ten years. I have paid maybe ten cents on the dollar for most of my surplus and scrounged materials. I paid about fifteen cents a pound for most of the steel for the tower, and new steel is now about a dollar a pound. The all critical gearbox was just found recently after searching for years. New I could have just gone and bought it for several grand. I got it used for ten bucks! It takes a very long time to make something this way, and you can often only find enough precious bits to do it once, but it is a method that can save a lot of dough if one is resourceful and patient enough. The type of materials you find force your design. You cannot design something and then go buy the parts. This backwards route takes a bit more creativity I'm sure and I love the challenge DIY provides.
windmill? solar panels and batteries and a old ups works. but there no way to power that fridge or freezer.
http://www.mysolar.com/mysolar/pv/techbattery.asp
http://www.mysolar.com/mysolar/pv/techbattery.asp
Steen,
Fortunately a small wind turbine that will charge a 12 volt lead acid storage battery (car batteries work, deep cycle marine are much better suited) is relatively inexpensive and not hard to DIY. The power generated by a 3 or 4 foot blade can reach 100+ watts at practical windspeeds. That can recharge your battery at up to ten or more amps. A stereo or other 120 volt AC appliances can then be run from a small efficient inverter. Note that some appliances, especially motors do not like the square wave or modified sine wave that the cheap inverters produce. You could get a more expensive pure sinewave inverter to run say a refrigerator but a turbine with enough output to support a refrigerator is going to be bigger than the 3-4 foot job and more costly. 12 volt lighting can be powered directly as can 12 volt TV's and other devices made for motor home and camping situations.
For a generator there are a number of motors found in some equipment that lend themselves directly to the task of charging a 12 or 24 volt battery pack. One is just about any permanent magnet DC motor. The ones that drove the tape hubs in those old high speed reel-to-reel data tape drives in the old corporate computer rooms are IDEAL because they can run at the same (relatively slow) speed as the propeller. Most motors when used as generators or alternators will require a speed up gearbox, and that adds frictional losses which you cannot afford on a small turbine, plus complexity and extra cost.
You need to search the web as I suggested for "DIY windpower". There are tons of activity in this field now!
Fortunately a small wind turbine that will charge a 12 volt lead acid storage battery (car batteries work, deep cycle marine are much better suited) is relatively inexpensive and not hard to DIY. The power generated by a 3 or 4 foot blade can reach 100+ watts at practical windspeeds. That can recharge your battery at up to ten or more amps. A stereo or other 120 volt AC appliances can then be run from a small efficient inverter. Note that some appliances, especially motors do not like the square wave or modified sine wave that the cheap inverters produce. You could get a more expensive pure sinewave inverter to run say a refrigerator but a turbine with enough output to support a refrigerator is going to be bigger than the 3-4 foot job and more costly. 12 volt lighting can be powered directly as can 12 volt TV's and other devices made for motor home and camping situations.
For a generator there are a number of motors found in some equipment that lend themselves directly to the task of charging a 12 or 24 volt battery pack. One is just about any permanent magnet DC motor. The ones that drove the tape hubs in those old high speed reel-to-reel data tape drives in the old corporate computer rooms are IDEAL because they can run at the same (relatively slow) speed as the propeller. Most motors when used as generators or alternators will require a speed up gearbox, and that adds frictional losses which you cannot afford on a small turbine, plus complexity and extra cost.
You need to search the web as I suggested for "DIY windpower". There are tons of activity in this field now!
Re: Re: Re: Gee, I'm building one right now!
That's impressing. I'd say you actually needed an alternative energy source.
But think about it. If a year of successfull use of your construction covers it's cost, and the savings from then on could accumulate to a rough $5k a year, wouldn't this actually make you rich?
With $5k each year, a reasonable interest rate and the fact that you actually don't have to reduce your living standard by simply saving all of it, your'e a made man in a couple of years...
Doing mass production of the parts and thus decreasing their price rapidly is obviously not only a fear to the oil/energy industry, but a real catastrophy. I now understand why they would rather kill than progress...
Well that surely is a challenge. How far is your construction progress?
Cheers,
Sebastian.
rcavictim said:
That's impressing. I'd say you actually needed an alternative energy source.
But think about it. If a year of successfull use of your construction covers it's cost, and the savings from then on could accumulate to a rough $5k a year, wouldn't this actually make you rich?
With $5k each year, a reasonable interest rate and the fact that you actually don't have to reduce your living standard by simply saving all of it, your'e a made man in a couple of years...
Doing mass production of the parts and thus decreasing their price rapidly is obviously not only a fear to the oil/energy industry, but a real catastrophy. I now understand why they would rather kill than progress...
Well that surely is a challenge. How far is your construction progress?
Cheers,
Sebastian.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Gee, I'm building one right now!
First off, this turbine, if successful, will not put any actual money into my pocket. It will reduce the amount of money I am now borrowing in order to survive with a disability after being f**cked by the Guardian Insurance company after a not-my-fault highway head-on collision where I was a hapless passenger. I am pushing myself hard this year to accomplish this feat as I fear I will not be well enough next year to do it as my ability to work worsens.
How far have I gotten into the construction? Well it is pretty much all up in my head. I am only now configuring the layout of the power head and trying to figure out how to inspire my 20 HP, 575 volt 3-phase induction motor to operate as a power generator at lower than nameplate speed and not being hooked to the utility for excitation. If I had the money I'd go buy a real alternator right?!
I'm desperately trying to put survival systems in place on my residence which reduce operating costs while I am able. Gathering help from the wind and sun are two parts of my plan.
sek said:
That's impressing. I'd say you actually needed an alternative energy source.
But think about it. If a year of successfull use of your construction covers it's cost, and the savings from then on could accumulate to a rough $5k a year, wouldn't this actually make you rich?
With $5k each year, a reasonable interest rate and the fact that you actually don't have to reduce your living standard by simply saving all of it, your'e a made man in a couple of years...
Doing mass production of the parts and thus decreasing their price rapidly is obviously not only a fear to the oil/energy industry, but a real catastrophy. I now understand why they would rather kill than progress...
Well that surely is a challenge. How far is your construction progress?
Cheers,
Sebastian.
First off, this turbine, if successful, will not put any actual money into my pocket. It will reduce the amount of money I am now borrowing in order to survive with a disability after being f**cked by the Guardian Insurance company after a not-my-fault highway head-on collision where I was a hapless passenger. I am pushing myself hard this year to accomplish this feat as I fear I will not be well enough next year to do it as my ability to work worsens.
How far have I gotten into the construction? Well it is pretty much all up in my head.
I am only now configuring the layout of the power head and trying to figure out how to inspire my 20 HP, 575 volt 3-phase induction motor to operate as a power generator at lower than nameplate speed and not being hooked to the utility for excitation. If I had the money I'd go buy a real alternator right?! I'm desperately trying to put survival systems in place on my residence which reduce operating costs while I am able. Gathering help from the wind and sun are two parts of my plan.
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.