Homemade windmill with blades made of aluminum pipe with a homemade generator

Author: Burlaka Viktor Afanasievich.

I took a photo shoot of my little windmill or, as I call it, the current model. Since I built it unexpectedly for myself, I just decided to practice and find out what will turn out, then I did not take pictures at first, I did not think that they might be interested, the photo session turned out in the reverse order, i.e. Deduction - from the whole to parts.

And now a little history, and everything in order:

Building a windmill is my old dream, but there were many obstacles. He lived in a city apartment, but there was no dacha. That moves from one city to another, then to a third. I live in Svitlovodsk for the last 18 years. Here there are all conditions - a private cottage for two families, 5 acres of garden and the same garden. From the east and south the open terrain, from the north and west the relief is higher than mine. Winds do not spoil, i.e. Not very strong. Well, I think I'll build a windmill for my soul here.

But when I got down to it, it was not so simple. I did not find any suitable literature. For a long time I could not decide on the generator, I did not know how to properly manufacture blades, what gear to use, how to protect from a hurricane, etc. As they say, he cooked in his own juice. But I knew that if you really want, then everything will turn out. Nespedha was making a mast. On the wire, I selected suitable pieces of pipe starting from a diameter of 325 mm to 1.5 m in length (to fit in the trunk of my car). In return, he gave scrap metal. The mast was 12 m long. For the foundation brought the defective foundation block from the high-voltage support. He dug it 2 meters into the ground and 1m left above the ground. Then he scraped it with two belts from the corner, welded to them brackets. At the ends of the brackets to the anchor bolts welded "plates" of 16mm iron size of 50 x 50 cm, connected together by powerful loops. I bought soft 10 mm cables and lanyards on the market, all anodized, does not rust. He welded and dug an anchor under the demountable winch. The winch also had to do homemade, using a ready worm reducer. In addition, he installed a U-shaped support with a height of about 2 m, on which the mast should lie. Since there was nowhere to hurry - the mast was done without haste and so it turned out, in my opinion, beautiful and reliable.

And then God, seeing my works, blessed me to go to the forum http://forum.ixbt.com/topic.cgi?id=48:4219-74#1829 . I re-read it all, registered, and began to gain experience. Began to redo the autogenerator, and when translated from English "overseas" sites (Hugh Pigot and others) to build end generators without iron in the reels, I really wanted to try and do it myself, at least in miniature.

I decided to build a working reduced model to give up to 1 ampere per 12-volt battery.

For the manufacture of the rotor I bought 24 pcs. In Znamenka at the enterprise "Akustika". Disk neodymium magnet 20 * 5 mm. I found the hub from the wheel of the motor block, the turner, according to my drawings, carved two steel wheels with a diameter of 105mm and a thickness of 5mm, a spacer sleeve 15mm thick and a shaft. On the discs I pasted and half-filled with epoxy magnets of 12 pcs per each, alternating their polarity.

To make the stator wound 12 coils enamel wire 0.5 mm in diameter for 60 turns per coil (took the wire from the demagnetization loop of the old unfit color kinescope, there it is enough). Soldered coils consistently end with end, beginning with start, etc. One phase was obtained (I was afraid that there would not be enough tension). Cut from a 4 mm plywood shape, wiped it with wax.

It's a pity the whole form was not saved. He put waxed paper on the bottom base (he was put into his wife's kitchen in the kitchen, she makes baking on it), she was put on a mold with a round in the center. Then he cut out two mugs from the fiberglass. One laid on waxed paper of the lower base of the mold. He put the coils uncoated between them. Conclusions from a stranded insulated wire laid shallow grooves cut by a hacksaw. Filled it all with epoxy. I waited about an hour for the air bubbles to all come out, and the epoxy spread evenly over the whole form and soaked the coils, topped it where necessary, and covered it with a second glass-cloth mug. From above put the second sheet of waxed paper and pressed the top base (a piece of chipboard). The main thing is that both bases are strictly flat. In the morning he disconnected the form and took out a beautiful transparent stator 4 mm thick.

It is a pity that for a more powerful windmill, epoxy does not suit, because Afraid of high temperature.

In the hub, I inserted two bearings, in them a shaft with a key, a first rotor disk with a glued and half-filled epoxy magnet on the shaft, then a spacer sleeve 15 mm thick. Stator thickness with filled coils 4mm, thickness of magnets 5mm, total 5 + 4 + 5 = 14mm. On the rotor discs, the edges at the edges of 0.5 mm are left so that the magnets rest against the centrifugal force (just in case). Therefore, we take 1mm. It remains 13mm. The gaps remain 1mm. Therefore, the spacer is 15mm. Then the stator (a transparent disk with coils), which is attached to the hub by three copper 5 mm bolts, they can be seen in the photo. After the second rotor disc is placed, which rests against the spacer sleeve. It is necessary to beware, that the finger does not get under magnets - very painfully pinch. (Opposite magnets on disks should have different polarity, i.e. attracted.)

Clearances between magnets and stator are regulated by copper nuts, placed on copper bolts on both sides of the hub.

On the remaining protruding part of the shaft with a key is put on the propeller, which is through the washer (and if it is needed then the bushing) and the groover is pressed by the nut to the rotor. It is desirable to close the nut with a fairing (I never did it).

But he made a roof-visor over the rotor and stator, cutting an aluminum saucepan so as to capture part of the bottom and part of the side wall.

The propeller made from a meter piece of a duralumin water pipe with a diameter of 220 mm with a wall thickness of 2.5 mm.

Just on it I drew a two-bladed propeller and cut it with an electric jigsaw. (From the same piece, I also cut three blades 1m long for a windmill on an autogenerator, and still you see what's left). I rounded the leading edge of the blades "by eye" with a radius equal to half the thickness of the duralite, and I sharpened it with a chamfer about 1 cm at its ends and 3 cm toward the center.

At the center of the propeller, first drill a hole with a 1mm drill for balancing. You can balance directly on the drill, putting the drill on the table, or hang it on the thread to the ceiling. It is necessary to balance very carefully. I separately balanced the rotor disks and a separate propeller. After all, the revolutions reach 1500 rpm.

Since there is no magnetic sticking, the propeller gaily rotates from the slightest breeze, which you can not even feel on the ground. When the working wind develops high revs, I have an ammeter for 2A direct on, so it often rolls over a 12 volt old car battery. The truth in this case begins to fold and rise up the tail, i.e. Automatic protection against strong winds and excessive revolutions is triggered.

The protection is made on the basis of the inclined axis of rotation of the tail.

The deviation of the axis is 18-20 degrees from the vertical. Sorry for the drawing, I tried to copy it from an overseas site http://www.otherpower.com/otherpower_wind.html

I worked this windmill for 3 months. I removed it, I dismantled it - the bearings are in order, the stator is also intact. A little magnified magnets in those places where the paint did not hit. The cable goes directly without a current collector. I have it done, but I changed my mind about putting it. When the small windmill was dismantled, it was not twisted. So I made sure - it is not needed, just extra chores. It gave out up to 30 watts of power. The noise from the propeller with closed windows is not audible. And when open is not very audible, if a healthy dream, it will not wake up, especially against the backdrop of the wind itself.

There is a desire to make a big one according to the same scheme, though the stator needs to be done differently, not on an epoxy. Now I'm thinking about this.

Watch the same topic:
Wind generator with own hands.
A homemade wind generator from a bicycle wheel.
Windmill 1.6m with your hands.