 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 : whisper or other
| Author | Message | ||||
| JW1111 Newbie  Joined: 19/06/2008 Location: Posts: 7 |
I have built two mills with purchased motors and have been looking for a motor that will produce more than 100 watts and I am basically giving up. I need power. I am about ready to purchase a whisper 100 and I am wondering if any one has experience with this machine, or if there is another of equal or better performance in the same output range that you would suggest instead. I would like to build my own and save money but so far I have been unable to find a good motor. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks. |
||||
| windlight Guru  Joined: 03/03/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 331 |
Er perhaps you could try a F&P! Or try a duel rotor, quite affordable, fun to build if you want to start from scratch. Output is variable, mine is a nominal 1 Kw 3m dia blades, want more, make it bigger. Much more cost effective than a comercial machine, and provided you build it well it will give you good service and since you built it you can fix it. allan "I like this place and willingly could waste my time in it" - (Act II, Scene IV). |
||||
oztules Guru Joined: 26/07/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1686 |
That whisper is only a 7 footer. For the money they are asking, I think a larger chinese one or a dual axial flux would give you better value for money. The figures on the whisper site are fanciful. 10 mph is only capable of 58watts at the shaft. 15mph is only good for 200watts at the shaft. 7foot is not lots of power if you Need Power (as you said). ........oztules Village idiot...or... just another hack out of his depth |
||||
| JW1111 Newbie Joined: 19/06/2008 Location: Posts: 7 |
Thanks, I am looking at the Bergey XL1 now. I am good with towers, blades, and wiring and would love to be able to build another one but I dont have the time or knowledge to build a motor, and I dont know what I am looking for in a prebuilt motor. There seems to be a gap in knowledge here about motors that if assisted, would help alot of people get into or expand with wind power. Is the F and P ready out of the box? Or does it need modification? Are there dual rotors available that I can buy, already built? Any experience with these? Commments? http://www.windbluepower.com/ |
||||
| oztules Guru Joined: 26/07/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1686 |
If your in the US, then the one I would look seriously at would be this one from Otherpower or if you want to build the blades and tail etc, you can buy just the magnet assemblies and the stator and build the rest. All the plans are available as well. But what ever you buy.... blade size says it all. If you want power, you need a cross section of air to get it from. No amount of snake-oil or gadgetry can get around this. The bigger the collecting area, the more power is available for whatever system you chose to harvest it with. I'm on the grid, (so don't have first hand at this) but from reading, it would seem that 10' is the minimum to start with to get enough daily power to make a real difference to off grid life. My friend has a 3.6m AWP which provides more power than he can use even with all electric appliances and hot water, but he is in an unusual location on a ridge. If he were down where I am, he would require a much larger machine to do anywhere near the same KWH/day. Out of the box wind generator motors of any reasonable size don't appear to be available. The closest would be again, Otherpower, but I haven't seen any commercial ones that took my imagination. Over here the chinese ones are so cheap, that a decent wind farm could be built for the price of the Bergy. $400 can get you a 2.5m chinese one with (free )tower. 4 of these 2.5m machines should generate almost the equivalent of a 5m machine, which would beat the pants off a single bergyXL1. Like everything to do with wind, it's all a messy compromise, and every site is different. But those are options worth considering ..........oztules Village idiot...or... just another hack out of his depth |
||||
| JW1111 Newbie Joined: 19/06/2008 Location: Posts: 7 |
The otherpower machine is too big and heavy. I wonder if there are any chinese manufacturers importing to the US, and how smoothly warranty issues would go. |
||||
 Print this page |
 |
The Back Shed's forum code is written, and hosted, in Australia. | © JAQ Software 2025 |
