 Notice. New forum software under development. It's going to miss a few functions and look a bit ugly for a while, but I'm working on it full time now as the old forum was too unstable. Couple days, all good. If you notice any issues, please contact me. |
Forum Index : Windmills : Testing the fibreglass blades.
| Author | Message | ||||
Gizmo Admin Group  Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5116 |
OK, this is continued on from Trev's diary. Trev dropped off a set of the new fibreglass blades on his way out of town on holiday. The blades were not finished, he didn't have the time to glue on the end cover plate or sand back the glue along the leading and trailing edges. So this weekend I sanded back the edges, drilled the 3 1/4 holes and covered the ends with tape as a temporary fix, we dont want the blades filling up with water! The blades are hollow, and weigh just over 1 kg each! 
Next I mounted the baldes onto one of Trevs cast hubs. The blades are designed to fit over the hubs 3 mounting brackets. 
Then out to the tower. This is my dual stator staggered connection windmill, it normally runs the 6 blade PVC turbine. 
And up in the air. 
I wanted to keep a large surface area around the root end of the bades to aid startup, and that has worked wonderfully. The dual stator is not decoged, but these blades had no problem starting the windmill in light winds. However... The blades could not make enough power to get over the staggered stators first cut in stage, about 40 RPM. If I open circuit the mill, the blades very quickly speed up, and then if I re-applied the load it would quickly slow down. But this makes sense, the dual stator windmill was built to run at low speed with a big grunty 6 blade windmill. The new fibreglass blades are designed to run at high speed. So I took the mill down again and swapped the dual stator for a 7 phase 2 pole mill, single stator mill. Back up in the air and straight away she got up to cut in speed, in the lightest of winds. The winds have been light all afternoon, but still the windmill is a blur with no load. There is some noise, but I would consider it to be quiet. Under load the windmill has been making a couple of amps, comparable to the dual stator 6 blade mill in these sort of winds. The true test will be tomorrow about lunch time when the winds pick up. Cant wait. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
||||
| adelaide Regular Member  Joined: 24/03/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 46 |
looks like nice blades for fp with bit of talk coool well done help to make progres or radio and vitamin b |
||||
| domwild Guru  Joined: 16/12/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 873 |
Glenn, Great job! Well done! And have a Merry Christmas with lots of wind and testing! Taxation as a means of achieving prosperity is like a man standing inside a bucket trying to lift himself up. Winston Churchill |
||||
| Gizmo Admin Group Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5116 |
Unfortunately today wasn't much better for wind. We had rain last night, about 4 inches, and today there was no wind, hot sun, very "tropical". Its what we call up in north Queensland a "stinker" of a day. Hopefully the winds will pick up in the next couple of days. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
||||
fillm Guru Joined: 10/02/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 730 |
Hi Glen and all , Merry Christmas and have a happy windy new year. Nice job on the blades , look forward to seeing the results .. Have had some good out put results on the piclog the other day 830 watts @ 301 rpm in a 38 klm wind put a smile on my dial . I am currently cutting a bigger set of blades 3.4 mt dia to improve the low wind start up and performance as the dual neos take a 15 k gust to start and keep running in 9 to 11 k at 100 to 130 rpm . Cut in happens at 125 and at 150 rpm is 150 watts and as you can see it is a very rapid rise in output as is the decrease rapid in wind speed and direction changes .. Anyway I shall keep all posted as the new blades go on .. Regards to all and have a Safe Happy Christmas and New Year ...  ..Phill...PhillM ...Oz Wind Engineering..Wind Turbine Kits 500W - 5000W ~ F&P Dual Kits ~ GOE222Blades- Voltage Control Parts ------- Tower kits |
||||
Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 676 |
Hey Glenn, Any update on this set of blades yet.... What's the go ! Trev @ drivebynature.com |
||||
| Gizmo Admin Group Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5116 |
Hey Trev Well they go round, thats about all I can tell you so far. As you know the winds have been coming from the south east the last couple of weeks, which means I get rubbish air flow most of the time. But I've seen several amps on occasion. I think they are working fine. They run quiet in clean wind, but make a slight, almost pleasant, noise when the wind changes direction and the tail is trying to catch up. You can also hear this noise when the winds drops off, and the blades are running too fast for the air speed, a dive as it were. I didn't shape the trailing edge down to a sharp point, its more of a rounded edge, about 4mm wide, I know bringing this down to 1mm or less would decrease noise and improve performance. I'm just waiting for the winds to return to normal and I'm around to see the results. I'll give it another week before I take them down if thats OK with you. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
||||
| Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 676 |
Glenn, OK with me, You may have those blades as long as you want. I don't need them back. Perhaps, as a second hand set, I could offer the complete setup to anybody who wants them for a special price of $400. Blades $300 ($60 off) + Hub $100 ($40 off). If anybody is interested, just email me. Trev @ drivebynature.com |
||||
| dwyer Guru Joined: 19/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 574 |
Hi Trev yes l will buy complete setup and would put deposit in the mail next week  . regard
dwyer the bushman |
||||
| Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 676 |
OK Dwyer, this set of blades and hub that Glenn is testing is yours, please send me a private email. Trev @ drivebynature.com |
||||
| dwyer Guru Joined: 19/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 574 |
Hi Tev i have send my e-mail address though your businees address regard ian |
||||
| Gizmo Admin Group Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5116 |
Well I finaly had some good wind this afternoon while I was around to watch the amp meter. There have been several storm fronts pass over during the day, nothing to strong, just enough to give the trees a good shake up. The windmill was coping a bit of a hideing, furling occasionally. The fibreglass blades are just a blur, I wish I knew the RPM. Amp meter peaked several times at 23 amps, battery voltage was up to 15, so thats 345 watts. The windmill starts to furl at 20 amps with these blades. Its a 7 phase 2 pole, 0.8mm wire. I'm running 7 core trailer wire down the mast to the bridge rectifier, and then 2 core wire to the shed. The 7 core is only 1.5mm dia copper, and the 2 core is only about 3mm diameter copper, so my line losses at 23 amps would be massive. So I'm happy with those blades. They do run bloody fast in strong winds, but I couldn't hear them over the wind. The 7 phase conversion stood up well too. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
||||
 Print this page |
 |
The Back Shed's forum code is written, and hosted, in Australia. | © JAQ Software 2025 |
