DIY wind turbine....

[Jameshow]

Anyone built a wind turbine?

With the increased energy prices now seams a good time as any to think about wind power!!

Anyone built one?!

Fancy building one as a project!

My big question are is

1) type:- rotary or vertical axis.

Rotary is likely to be noisier but more efficient than a vertical axis.

2) motor permanant magnet or alternator?

PM seems more efficient as the alternator draws a current to get going.

But alternator would be cheaper to start with something like a VW 1.0 up one for £30.

My initial design for a vertical axis wind using 18mm plywood top and bottom plates 220 gallon barrel cut up for the rotors mounted using 48mm flange bearings on a scaffold pole axis. Gearing using a belt.

Thoughts!!

 

[mikej460]

Small wind turbines were all the rage 15 years ago until subsequent tests proved them to be ineffective. The biggest problem is squally winds, changing direction and speed very quickly, coupled with their inability to work in strong winds. This is especially true in urban areas with roof mounted turbines. By all means have a go but don't put your shirt on it ending well.

 

[dickm]

The guy I mentioned elsewhere with regard to roof integrated turbines also designed and tested a vertical-axis variable-geometry turbine some time in the 1980s. The test site was some 200m from my office, so watched its trials with interest. It was a single blade design, and pivoted about the axle so as to adapt to different wind speeds. Being vertical-axis meant it was insensitive to wind direction and didn't need a tower structure. One downer, it was incredibly noisy, a sort of very loud whoosh, whoosh, clearly audible in my double glazed office.
From the fact that it never seemed to reach commercial production, am guessing it wasn't a howling (!!) success. If anyone is seriously interested, message me and I'll give you his details.
Of course, if you are a classic tools guy, you might find an old Lucas Freelight mouldering in a barn somewhere, to restore and stick up in your garden. One of my relations had one in the 1950s and a big array of batteries.

 

[TomW]

I can only recall seeing them used either off grid or in semi-commercial farm settings away from anyone who'd get annoyed by them. Kris Harbour on youtube has one setup as part of an offgrid system but it's a bit rough and ready, not the kind of thing you'd have in a domestic setting.

 

[Sideways]

Power is a function of windspeed cubed.
2x the wind, 8x the power.
Strong steady winds are why they are all going offshore...

But, I get that it's appealing.
Fun as a project just don't expect useful power.
For domestic use I'd take inspiration from the little lightweight weather vane types they use on yachts to keep the battery topped up, or those elegant vertical axis slim aerofoil types as there's not so much mass to cause damage if it gets blown down. I would enjoy building one of those too.

This is interesting to read. Lessons learned from the rooftop wind lab of Boston Museum of Science.
https://irecusa.org/blog/irec/19769/

 

[Jameshow]

Not wanting to spend a fortune...
This looks a possibility?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20207362...tixoXeJTeO&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[johna.clements]

Power is a function of windspeed cubed.
2x the wind, 8x the power.
Strong steady winds are why they are all going offshore...

Whilst the offshore turbines will generate more power than onshore they are also more expensive to build and maintain; maybe twice as much.


The places where the onshore wind is built tend to be in leafy areas with wealthy well connected people.

 

[Spectric]

I would have thought that offshore has to be the way to go, you can build as large as you like and in huge quantities, the biggest problem is getting all the cables on shore and terminated. On shore you must have problems with the irregular land surface which has to effect the wind, at sea you have a flat unobstructed area. To get better efficiency from any windturbine I would have thought using variable pitch blades would be an advantage, you can now match the pitch to the prevailing wind conditions and so work at higher efficiency over a wider range of wind conditions.

As for the small domestic wind turbines I cannot see how you can make a decent one without upsetting your neighbours or needing planing permision because if you think how much power it takes to turn the alternator on a car then you are now wanting to get this energy from the wind which means large turbine blades at a reasonable height.

 

[Thingybob]

Anyone built a wind turbine?

With the increased energy prices now seams a good time as any to think about wind power!!

Anyone built one?!

Fancy building one as a project!

My big question are is

1) type:- rotary or vertical axis.

Rotary is likely to be noisier but more efficient than a vertical axis.

2) motor permanant magnet or alternator?

PM seems more efficient as the alternator draws a current to get going.

But alternator would be cheaper to start with something like a VW 1.0 up one for £30.

My initial design for a vertical axis wind using 18mm plywood top and bottom plates 220 gallon barrel cut up for the rotors mounted using 48mm flange bearings on a scaffold pole axis. Gearing using a belt.

Thoughts!!

James how great minds think alike i gave the same idea to my daughter a couple of months ago she had built a recycled art piece for the competition on Tignmouth Prom (Moths to a flame) and wanted to light it so i sugested two catering bb cans halved then soldered togeather opposing one another in a housing of ply with opposing openings on each side conected to a cycle dynamo to power a small lamp in her exhibit , Unfortunatly she didnt have the time to build it but when i have finished my house refurb i will build one and maybee upscale it to use for lighting in workshop

 

[Tris]

A good place to start would be Scoraig wind website, Hugh Piggott has been building them since the 70s

 

[johna.clements]

I would have thought that offshore has to be the way to go, you can build as large as you like and in huge quantities, the biggest problem is getting all the cables on shore and terminated. On shore you must have problems with the irregular land surface which has to effect the wind, at sea you have a flat unobstructed area. To get better efficiency from any windturbine I would have thought using variable pitch blades would be an advantage, you can now match the pitch to the prevailing wind conditions and so work at higher efficiency over a wider range of wind conditions.

As for the small domestic wind turbines I cannot see how you can make a decent one without upsetting your neighbours or needing planing permision because if you think how much power it takes to turn the alternator on a car then you are now wanting to get this energy from the wind which means large turbine blades at a reasonable height.

To build offshore requires specialist crane barges and the people who use them. Those people are coming free from the oil rigs but there are limited numbers. The bigger the wind turbine the more specialist the factory to make them will be.

On shore the bases are no different to a bridge and there are people who are experienced in erecting large steel framed structures.

There is a shortage of engineers, steel erectors, etc. Not many will be willing to go sit on a barge in the North Sea banging piles and erecting turbines on top. If there is work onshore where they can get home every night rather than once a month for a little less money many will take that.

If we want to build turbines quickly they have to be onshore.

 

[sploo]

This is one of those projects that I've wanted to do for years; not just for the potential power, but for the interest in taking it on. As MikeJ and Sideways have pointed out though; sadly the sort of small scale builds that would be realistic in a domestic setting just don't actually work that well.

If you have a field (wide open space with good wind speed), and can get something of a decent diameter (>2m blade span) a few meters in the air then you might get some decent returns. Otherwise they end up as white elephants; which is a shame as it sounds like they should be a great idea.

 

[Jameshow]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/13393390...tixoXeJTeO&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
I have a spare one of these, that I will cut up for 4 blades screw down to 3/4 ply with self tappers.

 

[Thingybob]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/13393390...tixoXeJTeO&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
I have a spare one of these, that I will cut up for 4 blades screw down to 3/4 ply with self tappers.

Thats the way to start try diferent ideas see what you get who knows even if it only lights the garden its free once materials are paid for if they cost anything (recycled) , Great egg race, Scrapheap Challenge mentality . Years ago our next door neighbour was always shouting at her husband down in the shed "James Dyson are you messing with my vac again your wasting your time again"lol
Or Cockcroft "now what can i codge up from this old ply wood, innertube and ceiling fan "

PS James we can look for a second hand oil rig tender in a couple of years maybe

 

[nickds1]

We looked in detail at this a few years back when doing our "eco" self-build...

I spent some time at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) during the design phase and they were adamant that, at that time, it was cheaper, greener and more practical to buy "green" electricity from someone doing it on an industrial scale. They did say that if I wanted to massage my ego and have bragging rights with our friends, then sure, go ahead and install a domestic wind turbine. The issue is adding up the true end-to-end cost of the system, including manufacturing the technology & batteries, then recycling them. On a domestic scale it just doesn't make sense, especially if you want to power something meaningful, like a heat pump.

At that time I was working for someone who owned one of the largest domestic wind turbine companies in the UK - he even had one on his rather lovely Queen Anne house on top of the North Downs. It never worked reliably and the who house hummed & shook. I could have had a system cheap, but didn't do it and am glad of that.

BTW, we live on top of one of the highest points in Kent with clear views to the South West where the prevailing winds come from. The DTI UK Average Wind Speed Database is a useful tool as it gives average wind speeds for a given post code at various heights above ground level: SolarInsiders.co.uk - Wind Energy, UK Wind Speeds & Feed-in-Tariff Information (I can't find the actual DTI web page but the page I've referenced uses the DTI database).

 

[Tris]

If you just want to have a play try to source a permanent magnet washing machine motor and an old bike. Cable tie your plastic vanes to the back wheel. Swap some cogs around to get a good drive ratio and use that to drive the motor. A tripod of scaffolding poles to raise it up and hook up a multimeter to see what it will produce

 

[GweithdyDU]

No knowledge of this kind of thing so this is just for interest: I made a 12v charger out of a Yugo coolant fan and housing bolted to a tripod of long thinnish pine trunks, with the wiring going through a diode and some other stuff on a small board in a film canister (that part done by a electronics wizard chap I knew). Throw a handful of grass into the air to determine wind direction, turn tripod around to catch the wind and off you go, Charged a car battery easily and worked for many years. Where I live overlooking the Irish sea and at high altitude, the wind will often blow the same direction for days and anyway, if it does change and stays changed, just turn the tripod around again for the different storm. Not a serious attempt at going off grid and more as a bit of fun with the kids. However, it'd be quite simple to make another to charge up small devices and operate LED house lights. If it doesn't kick out enough power to do more, make two?

On another related note, you'd think 'the powers that be' would encourage people to go off grid currently or at least generate and use the grid as a back up generator. We have a few acres of marginal land and could easily accommodate a small solar/wind/water hybrid system. Whilst a few hundred thousand others wouldn't solve the energy issues we're currently battling with, I'd like to see the figures to see if it was worth encouraging across Wales and the wider Dis-United Kingdom.

 

[Scruples]

Anyone built a wind turbine?

With the increased energy prices now seams a good time as any to think about wind power!!

Anyone built one?!

Fancy building one as a project!

My big question are is

1) type:- rotary or vertical axis.

Rotary is likely to be noisier but more efficient than a vertical axis.

2) motor permanant magnet or alternator?

PM seems more efficient as the alternator draws a current to get going.

But alternator would be cheaper to start with something like a VW 1.0 up one for £30.

My initial design for a vertical axis wind using 18mm plywood top and bottom plates 220 gallon barrel cut up for the rotors mounted using 48mm flange bearings on a scaffold pole axis. Gearing using a belt.

Thoughts!!

When home turbines were all the rage, briefly, my neighbour decided to have a chimney-mounted vertical turbine and got to the point where he was ready tosign up, However, I read a few articles about turbines and found out that, in urban areas especially, the turbulence negated the efficiency and the power production capability. My neighbour read the articles too, and didn't sign and instead, opted for solar panels with batteries and the sell-back option. He is still pleased he did.

 

[sawtooth-9]

Yep. Build a wind turbine and generate some power ( when the wind blows ).
Noisy, unreliable - but free, once you write off the cost of building.
Now, what are you going to do with the few "free" amps you produce ?
Will you use them at the same time as they are produced ?
If not, better get some battery storage - not cheap, not efficient and not an environmentally prudent way to go.
But I guess a few amps can warm someone.
If its a financial reason - I doubt it's worth it.
If not, what is the motive ?
Suggest this does not stack up, financially or environmentally

 

[Jameshow]

Yep. Build a wind turbine and generate some power ( when the wind blows ).
Noisy, unreliable - but free, once you write off the cost of building.
Now, what are you going to do with the few "free" amps you produce ?
Will you use them at the same time as they are produced ?
If not, better get some battery storage - not cheap, not efficient and not an environmentally prudent way to go.
But I guess a few amps can warm someone.
If its a financial reason - I doubt it's worth it.
If not, what is the motive ?
Suggest this does not stack up, financially or environmentally

I completely agree!

Why - just because I can!

Using the power in a sensible way is tricky tbh.

The supply isn't steady and uniform which means you really need battery storage and then an inverter. The cost of which would cost 10+yrs payback.