Building a Wind Turbine from Scratch: A Step-by-Step Guide
Many do-it-yourself wind turbine experiments can be found online. High school students can complete this assignment.
Building your wind-powered generator from discarded materials may be an empowering and enjoyable experience. You can get most of what you need from a hardware store or a scrap yard. We highly recommend you check your local dump and junkyards for the supplies required. Try looking for used components in your area on freecycle.org if you live in a city. The engine for the wind turbine seen here was purchased on eBay for $10 plus shipping, and the PVC pipe used to construct the blades was salvaged from an old building. The tail is fashioned from a recycled paint roller pan.
Keep your safety in mind at all times. Working securely with electricity is more vital than risking human life.
The chispito design, which features a straightforward structure and straightforward construction, served as inspiration for this wind turbine.
SUPPLIES
A small wind turbine requires a Treadmill Motor with 260 VDC, 5 A continuous duty, and a 6-inch threaded hub. You can find these motors at any auto parts store or on eBay. In a wind speed of 30 mph, you can generate roughly seven amps. Put another way; it’s an essential, low-cost gadget for getting things rolling.
A 90 VDC 20 A motor for my treadmill cost me $10 plus shipping. This motor’s increased size and weight means that most of the standard Chispito instructions will need to be revised.
Any other primary permanent magnet DC motor with a return of at least 1 V per 25 rpm and a current rating of more than 10 amps can be used instead. In that case, you’ll need to adjust the materials list; for instance, you’ll need to locate a hub; a circular saw blade fitted with a 5/8″ shaft adaptor will do the trick. A metal slow-moving vehicle sign was mounted to a 3.5-inch pulley to reduce the gear for our larger motor. The triangle design was perfect, but we had to add extra support, or it would have bent in the wind. Tools
Bits and Drills
Steel-bladed jigsaw
Spanner Phillips Head Wrench
Crescent Torque wrench clamp or vise
Wire cutters
Marker for a measuring tape
It’s great to have a helping hand!
Mount
“L” or “square” tubing
Floor Flange, or a revolving wheel on a dolly with a central hole (like those on a grocery
4 inch Nipple
Self-Tapping Screws, Size 3 X 3/4
Keep in mind that the nipple and flange aren’t required because the Dolley wheel itself bolts to the tower.
Permanent magnet synchronous motor, 260 VDC, 5 A 6″-threaded-hub treadmill motor.
30 – 50 Amp Blocking Diode (one-way)
Two Motor Bolts, 5/16″ x 3/4″
Cover the motor with a PVC pipe.
Tail 1 square foot (about). lightweight material (metal) – old roller paint tray will work
2 – 3/4 Drill-less Screws
Blades 24″ length of 8″ PVC Pipe (if UV resistant, you won’t need to paint it).
6 – 1/4 X 20 Bolts
Washers, nine 1/4″
A4 paper, scissors, and tape
The blades can be cut into eight knives (or two or more sets of edges) and a slim waist strip.
Please take the time to read the directions thoroughly. Since this procedure for creating the blades is so intricate that it is nearly hard to understand without the visuals, I have devoted an entire page to it. For more information, check out the source listed below.
Set the square tubing (or another straight edge) next to the PVC pipe so that they are touching and the two are 24 inches apart. Put some pressure on the pipe until it feels the tube, and then draw a line there. Here we have Line A.
Put a mark 23 inches from both ends of Line A.
Using tape, join three A4 sheets together to create one long, straight sheet. You should now wind this around the pipe segment at each of the two markings you made. Check that the paper is aligned correctly along Line A and that the overlap is not crooked. Draw a line in the middle of the page and another at each end. Line B and Line C are the names of the two lines.
Take the point where Line A and Line B meet. Following Line B to the left, mark off intervals of 145 mm. About 115 mm is suitable for the final segment.
Get going at the point where Lines A and C meet. Make a mark every 145 mm along the path you take around Line C. About 115 mm is suitable for the final segment.
Put a mark on each line with a ruler.
Using the jigsaw, slice along these lines to create four 145 mm strips and one 115 mm strip.
Separate each strip and lay it with the pipes inside facing up.
Mark off 115 mm from the left edge at one end of each strip.
Make a mark at the other end of each strip 30 mm from the left edge.
Use the jigsaw to cut along these marks.
Arrange the blades so that the pipe’s interior is facing down.
Put a mark 3 inches from the broad end of the blade, following its angled line.
An inch away from the straight edge, mark the wide end of the blade again.
Join these two dots and slice along the resulting line. This keeps the wind from being diverted by one blade and directed by another.
Honing the Cutting Edges
You should sand the blades to achieve the proper airfoil. The blades’ efficiency will rise, and they’ll be less noisy. The leading (angled) and trailing (straight) edges want to be rounded. Noise can be reduced by rounding off any sharp edges.
The Tail-Cutting
It makes no difference what the exact length of the tail is. One square foot of lightweight material, ideally metal, is required. The seat can be fashioned into any form you like so long as it is rigid rather than floppy. Using a 5/16″ Drill Bit to Create Holes in Square Tubing
Mount the motor on the leading edge of the square tubing with the hub section hanging over the edge and the bolt holes facing down.
To locate the bolt holes, roll the motor backward to expose them, and then make a mark on the square tubing at that spot.
At each spot, drill a hole through the square tubing to a depth of 5/16″.
Blade Holes Drilled with a 1/4-Inch Bit.
Each of the three blades should have two holes marked, one near the wide end and one near the straight edge. Drill the first hole 3/8″ from the top and 1/2″ from the bottom of the straight edge. You should drill the second hole at 1 1/4″ from the base and 3/8″ from the straight edge.
Drill these six holes.
Hub Drilling and Tapping with 7/32″ Bit and 1/4″ Tap
WARNING: These guidelines could use some tweaking. Replace the hub with a used skill saw blade 7 1/4 inches long. There would be more room to secure the edges with screws or bolts on the more significant surface area. The larger the blades, the more critical this link becomes. We attached the PVC rotor blades to a metal “slow moving vehicle” sign reinforced with a wooden ring for our larger motor. You’ll have a lot of wiggle room with this. We utilized 1/4″ bolts instead of drilling and tapping holes. Old aluminum frying pans have also been seen used for this. They are lightweight and sturdy.
If the hub is already attached to your treadmill’s motor, remove it, clamp the end of the shaft (which passes through the intersection) with pliers, and turn the corner clockwise. Because the hub unscrews clockwise, the blades rotate in the opposite direction.
Using the compass and protractor, draw a template of the hub on a sheet of paper.
Draw three evenly spaced holes 2 3/8 inches from the circle’s epicenter.
Punch a beginning hole through the paper and into the hub at each hole marked on the template.
The 7/32″ drill bit should be used to create these openings.
Use the 1/4″ x 20″ tap to finish the holes.
Use the 1/4″ bolts to attach the blades to the hub. Outer holes have not been drilled yet.
Find out how far apart the blades’ straight edges are. Make sure they are all at the same distance from one another. Use the void in each blade to mark and punch the corresponding holes in the hub.
Identify which blade goes in which hub by labeling both.
First, remove the cutting edges, then drill and tap the three holes on the outside.
In heavy winds, a metal slow-moving vehicle sign will not hold up. We reinforced the character by screwing a wooden ring onto the back.
Everything you require is now at your disposal. Visit http://www.greenterrafirma.com/DIY_Wind_Turbine.html for detailed assembly instructions (including a review of the preceding instructions with many photographs).
It has an extra chapter on Towers and many new photos to help with the assembly. There is no cost for these strategies.
Enjoy!
For the website GreenTerraFirma.com, Bruce Knight serves as both editor and contributor. He is involved in solar power and other non-conventional sources of energy and products. You may find many more articles like this one on GreenTerraFirma.com. Take a look at GreenTerraFirma.com.
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