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Forum Index : Windmills : Wind Tower is up
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imsmooth Senior Member  Joined: 07/02/2008 Location: United StatesPosts: 214 |
First, I want to thank those that have helped on this forum. I raised my 36' tower. Currently, I have to wait for the wind to change direction and the leaves to fall: this is what I have to work with where I live, and I'm not planning on building an 80-100' tower. The project so far has been fun. I have documented the whole project here At the end there is a link to a youtube video showing me raising the tower. Some of you might find it interesting that I test the emergency winch brake so you actually see the tower start to fall. I had tested the brake with just the tower. I had to know it worked, and it was done safely. I am thinking about changing the blades from 8.5' diameter to 10.5' diameter using fiberglass blades. It is just a thought. Anyway, I hope my documentation is helpful. |
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Gizmo Admin Group  Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5118 |
Very well put together imsmooth. Once its all finished I'll add a link to your project on the main site if thats OK. Its good to see a F&P based windmill with an American flag on its tail  Hopefully more F&P's will make their way into the USA, its a cheap way of getting into wind power.
Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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GWatPE Senior Member Joined: 01/09/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2127 |
Hi imsmooth, making the blades bigger will most likely reduce the optimum operating rpm. This will lower the maximum power output, and increase the low end power. The bigger blades will give an increased average power and a likely reduced maximum power. The best match will be determined by the wind exposure. Do you have any mill output power data so far? I have 550W from a std rotor at 430rpm. The Neo path mod is of interest to many, but not much performance data is available. Gordon. become more energy aware |
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Bryan1 Guru  Joined: 22/02/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1460 |
G'day Imsmooth, Great website of the building but in the very last pic I'd be tempted to take a chainsaw to those trees so you can capture the wind  and maybe make some Oztules blades 
On another note that ching chong mob you got the neo's from could you hand over some details like a name an addy as I'm shortly onto a 5hp or so motor from CMG for R&D work and a cheap source of custom made neo's would come in handy. If this motor works out it might be a new source to a DIY genny if I can source the neo mag's Cheers Bryan
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| imsmooth Senior Member Joined: 07/02/2008 Location: United StatesPosts: 214 |
If anyone is seriously interested in the neos they can email me and I will arrange for them to be delivered to your address. There was an initial setup charge to create the mold for making them, but overall they were cheap per magnet. I would consider cutting that wall of trees, but then my neighbors have trees beyond that section. You can't see it, but the area is clear enough out of the camera's field. Once the leaves come down it should be better. Then I will get an inverter and start logging data. I am hoping the neos work out well. Gordon, your comments are appreciated. I understand that a larger diameter rotor will give lower rpm, and this will reduce the top end power. The problem I am thinking about is how often will I have winds high enough to capture the upper rpm energy with the 8.5' rotor; if I use a larger rotor my average energy capture might be more. 10.5' blades are cheap enough on ebay for experimentation. I just need to see if I can easily attach them to the steel hub without going through the whole process again. |
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| KiwiJohn Guru Joined: 01/12/2005 Location: New ZealandPosts: 691 |
An excellent presentation and an excellent piece of work! If I may make one observation though I would not have connected the blade hub to the rotor in that way. It appears to me that wind pressure on the blade will flex the hub slightly which will be transmitted to the rotor which will not like it very much. |
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| imsmooth Senior Member Joined: 07/02/2008 Location: United StatesPosts: 214 |
KiwiJohn, I hope you are wrong about the hub warping from the wind pressure, but I will have to wait and see. The hub is 3/8" steel. Time will tell. I was concerned that the added torque from the neos at high rpm might cause the shaft spline to strip the plastic on the rotor. |
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