LarryLawrenceJr.com

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.

See the video below:

Recorded April 22nd 2008:

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.

Here is the video:

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.

As promised I took some pics of the treadmill motor wind generator project I have been playing with. This treadmill motor was purchased at my local GoodWill store, a second hand shop and was attached to a TreadMill.

Above is a pic of the treadmill motor showing the hub that I used. I went to lowes and bought a plastic cutting board and used it. Traced a circle onto it, then cut a circle into it using my jigsaw. Cutting boards make perfect hubs as they are easy to cut and drill, are made of plastic and will not rust.

Above shows the back side of the motor as its laying on my test stand. Its not mounted to anything. Just sitting there for the picture.

Above is a closeup of the small bolts holding the plastic cutting board hub bolted to the cast steel one that came on the motor. I originally tried to remove the steel hub that came with this motor but it appears to be pressed onto the shaft.

Above is a pic of the back of this little motor. You can see there are only 2 wires. One black and one white. I hooked this motors wires up to a 12 volt light for a car and then spun the shaft by hand. That action alone allowed for the light to light up. So, I knew then that this would make a great wind generator when there are blades attached to it.

Above: Is a side view of the motor with the plastic hub attached. You cant see it from this pic but there was a large bracket attached to this motor originally that I removed as it was too large to make use if it.

above: are blades that I cut from 8″ sch 40 pcv pipe. Using a basic air foil template I was able to make them all uniform and almost identical in shape and size. At this time I didnt sand the edges or taper them in any way. I will before using them though.

above: A pic of the template that I used to make the ait foil blades. Its easier to take like 3 pieces of paper, tape then together and then trace or draw the basic shape onto it, then just it out using the jigsaw.

above: Top view of the plastic hub made from a cutting board bought from lowes. At the time I didnt check to see if the dollar store carried these. They probably do though.

Attached is the uncompressed images that you can download to your computer to view. These images are very large. DialUp users are advised NOT to try to download these.

http://rapidshare.com/files/104866867/04-04-2008.zip.html

http://msurl.com/uploads/user_uploads/freenetsharkad4c/04-04-2008.zip

I found a template that I could use to make the 3 blade design for a wind generator. It seems that to find such a template on the net is a task. At least it was for me spending over an hour googling it.

Anyway, I used the template to draw onto 3 sheets of paper and then cut the design out and taped the 3 pages together.

(The pipe size below is 6″ schedule 40 )

In the picture you can see what it looks like. Unlike some of the other paterns I have seen this patern or template you would place on the outside of a pipe (pvc pipe) and just just it out using a jigsaw.

(The Top pipe is 8″ schedule 40 pvc and the lower one in the pic is 6″ sch. 40)

The cut in speed or start speed will be quicker with the 8″ pipe only because with the 8″ pipe the curve of the blade will not be as long thus allowing for the wind to pass over it more quickly and without as much effort.

The wider curve using the same template on the 6″ pipe will allow for the blades or cut in speed to start spinning at a lower wind speed but the blades will not spin as fast once they are spinning due to the extra force the wind will be subject to.

I will try to get some type of a template together that you will be able to print out and then cut onto paper for your projects. As my time permits.

I will also try to get some type of a hub or rotor template posted here to make things easier for others to be able to print them out and then cut onto paper.

One of the most important parts of this is making sure that all the mounting holes are even. If they are not the blades will be off balance and the vibration will shake the machine into pieces very quickly.