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How does my wind generator work?
Every wind generator, whether they produce enough energy to power a city or to power a small radio, works on these same basic principles...
1. The wind blows
2. The generator's vane (tail) causes it to turn into the wind
3. Blades attached to an alternator/generator experience the force of lift and begin to spin
4. The spinning creates electricity for us to use directly or to charge batteries
Sounds pretty simple eh? Well, then how the heck do I build one? Read on...
Tools Required
Surprisingly, building a simple wind generator only requires very basic hand tools, and if you are desperate you won't necessarily need all of them. I used... * Jigsaw (or a hacksaw and a lot of determination) * Drill * (2) Drill Bits (1/2", 7/32") * Tape Measure * Crescent Wrench * Pipe Wrench * Protractor (to measure angles for the hub) * Sandpaper (various grits)
Parts Required
I wanted to be as minimal as possible with my design (I'm poor), so I took the already simple designs from around the web and made them even simpler. All of the parts are available at any local home improvement or hardware store, and the entire setup can be constructed in as little as a weekend. Many of the parts you may already have lying around, and lots of substitutions can be made (instead of 1" steel pipe for the tower, you could use an antenna pole for instance). Here are the parts I used to build my generator... * 10" x 14" Steel Sheet * 10" x 1/4" Steel Nipple * 1-1/4" Floor Flange * 36" x 1" Square Tubing * 1/2" Bore Circular Sawblade (for hub) * 5/8" x 1/2" Arbor (to attach sawblade to motor shaft) * (2) Metal Straps * 8" x 4" PVC Pipe * 30" x 8" PVC Pipe (6" pipe works well too) * A DC Permanent Magnet Motor (preferably Ametek 30V or 260V 5A treadmill motor) * (8) 1/4" Bolts (with washers and nuts) * (2) 1/4" Sheet Metal Screws * 10-40 Amp Diode (the bigger the better)
Every wind generator, whether they produce enough energy to power a city or to power a small radio, works on these same basic principles...
1. The wind blows
2. The generator's vane (tail) causes it to turn into the wind
3. Blades attached to an alternator/generator experience the force of lift and begin to spin
4. The spinning creates electricity for us to use directly or to charge batteries
Sounds pretty simple eh? Well, then how the heck do I build one? Read on...
Tools Required
Surprisingly, building a simple wind generator only requires very basic hand tools, and if you are desperate you won't necessarily need all of them. I used... * Jigsaw (or a hacksaw and a lot of determination) * Drill * (2) Drill Bits (1/2", 7/32") * Tape Measure * Crescent Wrench * Pipe Wrench * Protractor (to measure angles for the hub) * Sandpaper (various grits)
Parts Required
I wanted to be as minimal as possible with my design (I'm poor), so I took the already simple designs from around the web and made them even simpler. All of the parts are available at any local home improvement or hardware store, and the entire setup can be constructed in as little as a weekend. Many of the parts you may already have lying around, and lots of substitutions can be made (instead of 1" steel pipe for the tower, you could use an antenna pole for instance). Here are the parts I used to build my generator... * 10" x 14" Steel Sheet * 10" x 1/4" Steel Nipple * 1-1/4" Floor Flange * 36" x 1" Square Tubing * 1/2" Bore Circular Sawblade (for hub) * 5/8" x 1/2" Arbor (to attach sawblade to motor shaft) * (2) Metal Straps * 8" x 4" PVC Pipe * 30" x 8" PVC Pipe (6" pipe works well too) * A DC Permanent Magnet Motor (preferably Ametek 30V or 260V 5A treadmill motor) * (8) 1/4" Bolts (with washers and nuts) * (2) 1/4" Sheet Metal Screws * 10-40 Amp Diode (the bigger the better)