Yesterday we had some very high winds here and there were several times when it looked like the inch and quarter pipe that I was using as a tower was going to snap in half or bend.
Due to the fact that other homes are so close to mine I do not want to risk this so….I burried an old 4×4 into the ground beside the pipe to use for the base of the tower. I will then be able to mount a pole or pipe to the 4×4.
This I believe will be more stable and may prevent my wind generator from crashing to the ground and causing damage.
Its too late by the time I post this to take it outside and try them out but I finished them. Finally. The wife helped me with this tonite or I would not have finished it yet tonite. My only concern now is that I am afraid that the torque (is that spelled right?) may rip these apart. The force behind 6 blades will be awsome.
Someone said that mounting your wind generator towards the ground was like mounting your solar panels in the shade as the wind is almost nothing near the ground. This proves to be true as I try to test the different blades. I find that there is simply not enough wind in my location to make them spin.
So, I took the time to bury 1″ steel water pipe (black) into the ground and cement it in for a base so that I can get the generators more off the ground. They will be between 15 and 20 feet in the air when I am finsihed with them. I know this is not even as high as they recommend however its still alot better then having them less then 5 feet from the ground.
Look at the video and you will see more about this.
Update: Here is the generator up on about 15 foot plole. Its now using the long skinny blades but as you will see they are too thin for cut in speed. (start up speed) Once spinning they are like nothing I have seen to date as far as speed goes. They are very, very fast.
Watch the video below to see more about this.
Here are some pics of some hubs I have made from cheap cutting boards from Lowes Home Improvement in Michigan City. These hubs are 1/8 of an inch thick. Very thin yet seem to be very strong. However I guess when we are talking about all the power in the wind, nothing may end up being as strong.
Using the cutting board to make a hub circle. You can see from above this will make a perfect 6 blade hub.
Cant be seen very well but its 1/8 of an inch thick.
This one is very nice and works great. I think this is my favorite.
Showing the thickness.
A ravaged cutting board after ripping a couple of hubs out of it.
I cut some 3 foot pvc blades for the WindBlue Alternator today. They are in raw form as I have not sanded them on the edges or rounded the tips. I ordered the entire system along with the one piece blade system that acts as 2 blades but I want to try lighter pvc blades and see how they work…..or how they dont.
Dont forget if you guys want to see how I am doing other things with the wind gens please drop me a line and I will try to get it on video and get it posted for you. Chances are, if it interests you it will be of interest to others as well.
Below is an updated video. I got it outside waiting for the wind to blow but as some people say you have to wait 6 days for the wind to blow when you are waiting for it;-)
I will post another video when I can see it spinning. I may end up having to add more blades to this one but its really hard to tell as it might not want to spin when near to the ground but if I get it up onto a tower it could spin like hell. I read somewhere that having a wind generator near the ground is like putting your solar panels in the shade. But, This makes it alot easier for me to be able to test different blades, speeds, and power output….or lack thereof.
In this video I cut new blades for the new Amatek Wind Generator that I ordered from eBay. This motor spins counterclockwise so I had no choice but to make new blades that reflected the counterclockwise rotation of the shaft.
