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Forum Index : Windmills : help wanted american/australian windmill
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| dj44 Newbie  Joined: 05/10/2007 Location: BelgiumPosts: 4 |
hello erverybody, i'm from Belgium (europe) and here in our country we don't have that many windmills. Especially the american/australian windmills are very rare. My father and myself find these windmills very beautifull and we would like to make one. We don't want it to produce electricity or pump up water, we just like the look of it and have it in our backyard. We've searched the web for instructions but we can only find diy ready to buy windmills... Can anyone help us find a plan, handbook, building instructions, website, ... where we can "spy" on how to make an american/australian windmill. any help would be very welcome greetings from Belgium and thnx dj  |
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| Warpspeed Guru  Joined: 09/08/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 4406 |
Can you find a picture somewhere on the internet of the particular type of wind machine you are interested in? Some of us may be able to dig up some more information for you. Cheers, Tony. |
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| dj44 Newbie Joined: 05/10/2007 Location: BelgiumPosts: 4 |
the mills we are interested in are called american or australian windmills here in Belgium we usually see them on TV near farms, most likely to pump water they look like these on the images 
the tower is no problem, we arre especially looking for technical data on the mill itself and as told before, it only has a decorative function, no need to produce electricity or pump up water thnx |
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| Warpspeed Guru Joined: 09/08/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 4406 |
These are manufactured by an Australian company called "Southern Cross" and come in a range of sizes. Is this the type of thing? [IMG}http://www.activeenzymes.com.au/glenemu/pages/Southern%20Cross%20Wind%20Mill_tif.htm[/IMG] Cheers, Tony. |
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| Warpspeed Guru Joined: 09/08/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 4406 |
These are manufactured by an Australian company called "Southern Cross" and come in a range of sizes. Is this the type of thing? Cheers, Tony. |
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vasi Guru Joined: 23/03/2007 Location: RomaniaPosts: 1697 |
 Hobbit name: Togo Toadfoot of Frogmorton Elvish name: Mablung Miriel Beyound Arduino Lang |
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| Warpspeed Guru Joined: 09/08/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 4406 |
Thanks Vasi ! I should never try to post early in the morning until I have had at least one cup of coffee. Cheers, Tony. |
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| vasi Guru Joined: 23/03/2007 Location: RomaniaPosts: 1697 |
I need one too   Hobbit name: Togo Toadfoot of Frogmorton Elvish name: Mablung Miriel Beyound Arduino Lang |
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| dj44 Newbie Joined: 05/10/2007 Location: BelgiumPosts: 4 |
yep that's the one we like the lookof the thing and want a self-made one in our horse paddock all info is welcome especially techniques on how to protect the mill against heavy wind we've read somewhere that, in stormy wheather, the mill turns itself out of the wind, so it can not be damaged ... don't know if that is true and how to do it ... |
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| Warpspeed Guru Joined: 09/08/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 4406 |
Plenty of information on the internet, here is the company that makes them: http://www.southx.co.za/windmill.htm You may be able to buy just the bare wheel as a spare part, and build the rest yourself. Perhaps you could say the original wheel was damaged in a storm. Cheers, Tony. |
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Gill Senior Member  Joined: 11/11/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 669 |
Warpspeed has it right in that Southern Cross is perhaps the most well known, however there was/are many manufacturers of windmills. Comet was another big manufacturer, but many towns had foundries that made their own. A more comprehensive list can be found at this Historical Societies site See Here I see that they will provide parts diagrams via email where they are available. I'll let you check it out further. good luck. was working fine... til the smoke got out. Cheers Gill _Cairns, FNQ |
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| Warpspeed Guru Joined: 09/08/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 4406 |
This design of windmill has been around virtually unchanged for over a hundred years. Many different manufacturing companies have no doubt come and gone over that period. I had thought about finding a secondhand one, possibly on e-bay. But the ones I have seen working out in the country were mostly very old, with the bolts rusted solid. It would be extremely difficult to dismantle something in that condition, and probably not worth the effort anyway. A new replacement wheel should come well packaged in pieces with absolutely everything you need to assemble it. I am guessing that the gearbox would be the most expensive part of a complete head unit, but you don't really need that. Just a bare wheel may not be that expensive, they are fairly simple. Cheers, Tony. |
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| dwyer Guru Joined: 19/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 574 |
Hi dj44 and everyone let share a cup of coffee Anyway I am exemployer of Southern Cross Windmill and use to make some parts and also got Southern Cross Windmill on my land. Southern Cross use to manufacture lathe, milling machine,electric motor,water pumps,Electric genater, Petrol,Kero and deisel engine and water Tank, many years ago now no more only windmill water pump and irrigation equiment own by Tayco part of USA what ashame not own by Australian as l do belive Southern windmill still own family company but still manufacture by Tayco dwyer the bushman |
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| dj44 Newbie Joined: 05/10/2007 Location: BelgiumPosts: 4 |
thnx for all the in formation my friends but i still have'nt found what i'm looking for (quote bono and u2) we are really searching for a manual or techical information to build a mill of our own as i said, these windmills are not or almost not for sale in Belgium and actually, we don't want tobuy one, we want to build one thnx |
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wphfla Newbie Joined: 31/12/2006 Location: United StatesPosts: 3 |
Good evening Gentlemen, If you Google for "Chicago Aermotor" you should find what you are looking for. There are websites with dimensioned and scaled diagrams of this windmill. The phrase "Prairie Windmill" will also bring up some sites, but these are more historical types. The "Southern Cross" is a decendant of the "Chicago Aermotor" which was imported into Oz until the 1930's. Import tariffs became such that it was no longer economical to import the units and a production facility was built in Austrailia. G'day and keep up the good work. I really enjoy this forum. Kevin |
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| culbob Newbie Joined: 11/10/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2 |
Now just hold your horses there wphfla.javascript:AddSmileyIcon('  ')
The Griffiths bros, who founded the Toowoomba Foundry which manufactured and made famous the Southern Cross windmills, built their first windmills in 1876. That is 12 years before the first Aermotor !!!!! The USA is not really the centre of the universe and font of all knowledge. There have been many different models of Southern Cross mills. Some have shared traits with the aermotor others have not. The trade name Southern Cross first appeared in 1903 on a mill that was largely designed by a son of one of the original Griffiths brothers and which owed some parentage to some of their originals. No wonder people keep bombing yanks. |
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| culbob Newbie Joined: 11/10/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2 |
fella from Belgium maybe try http://members.westnet.com.au/caladenia/index.html they have manuals, instructions, brochures etc in their library that you can order on CD or request copies. It is a Special interest museum mostly about windmills. Don't know about automatic storm adjustment but our typical Southern Cross mill has a winch or lever at the bottom of the tower that you operate to change the angle of the tail. This causes the wheel to turn sideways to the wind. I was up a tower yesterday checking out a direct action R series with a 17 foot(5 metre) wheel. Quite "thrilling" in a 25 km wind !!! If you are not planning to pump or generate with your mill you should arrange some sort of dummy load or speed governor because a free-wheeling mill can exceed the limits of bearings and structures quite dramatically. |
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| dwyer Guru Joined: 19/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 574 |
Hi culbob Yes you are right that The Griffiths bros, who founded the Toowoomba Foundry as l forgot the names anyway anyone who come and visit Toowoomba there are numbers of windmills to see at close range to near Cobb&Co Museum at 27 Lindsay Street Toowoomba Ph 0746391971 and website  www.cobbandco.qm.gov.au  as l havent been inside yet as my kids been on school excursion sometimes ago and it worth sightseeing
Dwyer the bushman |
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| dwyer Guru Joined: 19/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 574 |
hi everyone for anyone who are intersting in this information New display honours Toowoomba's place in windmill history Toowoomba residents now have the opportunity to appreciate the history of the windmill on the Darling Downs. A display featuring six windmills has been erected along Lindsay and Campbell Streets to reflect the site's history. The display recognises the long association of Toowoomba and the showgrounds site with the design, manufacture and display of windmills where the Southern Queensland Institute of TAFE campus is now situated. Erected on a 55 foot tower, the Southern Cross windmill stands as a lasting monument to the fundamental role this simple but effective technology played in opening up Queensland to graziers. The 25 foot diameter windmill was restored to all its former glory and erected in the grounds of SQIT. The Southern Cross windmill however does not stand on its own. Rather, it is the largest of the six mills all of varying sizes and make refurbished by Russell Hall. Mr Hall said the display of windmills was made possible by the generous contributions of graziers and manufacturers. "Windmills that tell the evolution of their design were sought for this project to show the ingenuity and engineering skills of the past." Mr Hall said the display also holds significance for Toowoomba's history, as it was the birthplace of Southern Cross windmills and other well known windmill designs. The Southern Cross windmill grew out of the successful JA Griffiths of Griffiths and Co Toowoomba Foundry and was known as a world authority of windmill design from the 1870s. The first mill to bear the name Southern Cross came from the Toowoomba Foundry in 1903. "The design and fabrication of the windmills was an important industry in Toowoomba and the name Southern Cross became famous and known nationally and internationally," Mr Hall said. "The project's focus was to recapture the memory of the extensive displays of windmills that were a prominent feature of Toowoomba Shows and that dominated historic photographs of the Bridge Street site. "I hope that this windmill display will be embraced positively by the community and their desire to see it expanded to tell a more complete story of the windmill's place in Queensland history," he said. The Toowoomba TAFE site is adjacent to the Cobb and Co Museum and within close proximity to the Toowoomba botanical gardens. The historic windmill display is another attraction for the heritage precinct. The mills on display are: 8'0" diameter windwheel, (Alston - direct drive and Scotch and Yoke) 10'0" diameter windwheel, (Alston - double geared) 14'0" I.Z., (Southern Cross - double geared) 25'0" diameter windwheel, (R. Pattern 'Seneschal' - direct drive Southern Cross) 18'0" diameter windwheel, (D. Pattern - Comet) 10'0" diameter windwheel, (H. Pattern - Southern Cross) This public art component has been managed by the Public Art Advisory Group (PAAG), consisting of Southern Queensland Institute of TAFE, Department of Education, Training and the Arts, Project Services (architect from Project Services; procurement manager from Art Built-In Project Services; public art agency manager;), Toowoomba City Council member and Cobb and Co Museum who commissioned Russell Hall to build it 
l dont have any photos at the momest Dwyer the bushman |
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Gizmo Admin Group  Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5116 |
Building your own farm windmill from scratch may present a few problems. Most of the windmills I've seen use a cast iron nacel, containing the gear box and crank. And its heavy! My Southern Cross is only a small 6 foot, but it still takes two of us to lift the nacel and turbine. The gear box is what gives many windmills the grunt they need to lift water from deep wells. I think mine has a ratio like 4 to 1, so for every 4 turns of the turbine the shaft goes up and down once. And I can also adjust the stroke of the crank by moving a couple of pins. This gear box would be difficult to make. However some windmills just us a crank without the reduction gear box, meaning less lifting power, but a faster pump action. I would imagine this would be perfect for shallow wells where the windmill does not have to lift the water as high. I think this would be a lot easier to make, just a simple crank with a inch or so of stroke. I did find this PDF document, its shows the exploded view of a later model Southern Cross, but not in much detail I'm afraid. Still makes interresting reading. Easier to right click the link had "Save targer as" http://www.obrockwindmills.com/Data/SouthernCross/Documents/ SCBrochure.pdf Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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