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This page is about an older project of ours. We keep ALL of our projects up on the internet for anyone that's interested...but we are no longer pursuing many of these older ideas. Before starting this project, please check our main Wind Power page to check for similar, more recent designs. These will be the top of the list and flagged with an "active project" tag. If you have any questions about what is current and what is not, or why we no longer work on certain designs, first check out our Wind Turbine Evolution page for a detailed history of how our designs have changed over the years. You can also Email us and we'll fill you in as our email volume permits...check the Evolution page first.
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Project Status:
While connecting the coils in series, we found that 2 of them had shorted out to the laminates. Drat! So, we simply took one of them out of the circuit, leaving 11 coils and 12 magnets. The other shorted coil was not a problem, since there was no where for the 'leaking' power to go. We don't even know which one it is yet... We tested the mill with both a plastic blade set and the wooden blade from the original Wood A-X. The plastic blades performed very well at low speed, spinning up with a very weak breeze. The wood blades were very hard to start, but gave much better performance at high speeds--peaks of 22 amps. We are not including numbers here yet since truck testing was done on a very breezy day, so any speed readings would be meaningless. More to come!
And, be sure to check out our book Homebrew Wind Power for more small wind power information!
NEWS FLASH!!! DanF was a complete space cadet before the truck testing, and
left the bad coil leads shorted! He intended to disconnect them but forgot! The result is shown below....
Can you see which coil was shorted? Yep, it was burnt to a crisp!
Removing the bad coil was much like doing dentistry with a hacksaw and chisel...OUCH!
Project To-Do List:
- Replace the bad coil
- Find and replace the OTHER bad coil
- Carve an ideal prop...it will be wider at the base with an aggressive pitch there for better low-wind startup. And thinner and less pitch at the tips. I'll keep the same size, 4 ft diameter. Again, it will be a 2-blader, since this alternator needs some speed to put out good power.
IN PROGRESS -- Updates to come soon!
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