Building a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine ( VAWT )

Step 11

As you can see on the little movies i connected some ropes to the turbine to hold it stable.
I used some old pins from a tent to connect the ropes to the ground and at the side of the turbine i used 3 eye screws. Works good.
When you put up your turbine make sure to have someone that can hold the turbine while you connect the wires to the ground.

Comments

[bgravina]

where is the generator suited? and how much electrical power generates.. i what to build one in my garden. really nice work.

[rikkiesix]

Hi
The plan was to mount the generator at the bottom
The turbine was not strong enough or i had to mount a really small one
I'm not using this turbine anymore
It was my first turbine
I'm working with my uncle on a new turbine
Greetings from Belgium
Erik

[bgravina]

thanks for your help

[The Badger]

This is fantastic. Does anyone know what size generator you would need for a domestic system supplying 240v. Its a four bedroom house. Many thanks.

[Goedjn]

Look at your electric bill. It should have kilowatt-hours used on it.
divide that by 30 days and again by 24 hours, and by 1000 watts/Kw.

That the average wattage you draw. I'd expect that to be between
1000 and 2000 watts. Since that's your average, you probably want
between 4 and 10 times that as your peak output, depending on how
regular your wind is.

[jj.inc]

 Depends on what you have (electric heating, electric water heater, electric stove, ext.) your house is all electric so it is over a kilowatt.  You might ask your electric company, volts don't matter you get all kinds of efficient inverters, you just need enough watts to supply a whole home without over using it, to much is good.

[Davedwin]

Well if you look at this other instructable (link below) there is a video of them building it that shows the system they have. You're going to be looking at a pretty big system if you want "full" power. Even if you want something just in case of an outage, it's a pretty big system.

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-1000-watt-wind-turbine/

[dabombmaker]

It's not turning, not because of lack of wind, but because the wind can't get to it. Raise it higher I suggest using a telescoping pole for easy access.

[thepaul1993]

aussie??

[rikkiesix]

Hi I'm not a aussie. I'm belgian. hehe Greetings Erik

[rikkiesix]

Hi Thx for your comment. I'm glad you like it. I think it depends on what you want to power, just lighting and some small electrical things or everything in the whole house. If its only lighting and you have some good wind all year around you might be ok with something you build yourself. Otherwise you will need a serious generator i think. You can have a system that charges 12 or 24 volt battery's and then work with a inverter to change it to 240 volts. You also have generators that give 240 right away. Exact data i don't have but its possible maybe also with some solar panels together. Greetings from Belgium Erik

[vanner40]

Hi guy, man I'm confused, I just built a wind turbine close to yours, and it won't spin, even during a storm. I've been researching these and finally built it, and it just won't spin. Any comments on why ?

[rikkiesix]

Hi On what does it spin? Did you see what i used for bearing? Can you get me some more close up pictures of your turbine? I'l look at them and hopefully i can help you in any way. Mine used to spin on the slightest breeze without a load ofcourse. Normaly if you connect a stepper motor from a scanner or printer you can charge a cellphone with it. It should have enough power for that. Hope to hear from you soon. Greetings Erik

[vanner40]

Hi Erik, heres some pictures and videos, http://s900.photobucket.com/albums/ac205/inventer1/ hope this link works, any thoughts ? think i'll go back to blades, just don't like the thought of going 25 feet in the air to fix if something breaks.

[vanner40]

At this time, no bearings, just a shaft to free spin. I can touch spin it with my finger, bearly touching it and it spins, but seems no amount of air will spin it. I'm thinking I might have to set the blades on a 30 degree or 45 degree angle to catch the air, but most instructions and videos I've seen, the blades are set straight. This is just a prototype mock up, top n bottom alum and sheet metal ductwork blades, so very light, less than an ounce in weight. I'm also thinking that I found the only spot in the yard that don't get the wind due to where the trees are setting, going to move it around the yard several times to try finding the wind flow. I'll post some more pics when I tear it down and also a movie clip or two if you want me to. Thanks for your help and thoughts so far. By the way, I'm trying to build this to run a 36 volt motor to store power to a battery bank, I know it'll have to be bigger than what it is now, just learning the jist of how it'll work and spin. Tony

[rikkiesix]

Hey I used to build my turbines at my mom cause i had a workplace there. Now i work in my garage underneat the appartment building where i live. I used to park my car there but i move that outside and turned it into my workplace. I had the same problem with trees all around the yard before too. What i did was i loaded my turbine in my car and drove to open space where i could test it well. Maybe you should try that too. Yes, i would love it if you would sent me some more pics and maybe a video or so. That would be great. Keep me updated. Im' not sure if you saw my video's on youtube. Type rikkiesix in youtube and you can some video's of other turbines. Enjoy building Hear from you soon and good luck Greetings from Belgium Erik

[charlie_ruizpr]

So what has happend to this vawt, did you get it to work well?

[rikkiesix]

 Hi
I'v been working on some other things for a while.
I'm working on the generator for my Lenz turbine.
it will be a axial flux generator.
I'm thinking of making a smaller one for this turbine too.
Greetings
Erik

[gramcraker]

(removed by author or community request)

[rikkiesix]

The connection i wanted to make is at the bottom. Did not have much time to work on them lately. I tried to connect it with a chain but i sort of over geared it. The turbine is not that big so i should have know it was to much. I'l try direct drive or 2 to 1 and see if that better. I'l keep you guys posted on it and when it works i'l update my instructable right away. Its nicer to see turbine work then have it as decoration as some guys posted. They are right, otherwise its pretty useless. Thx for your comment. Greetings Erik

[gramcraker]

oops, clicked the wrong button and deleted my own comment... Just paint some pretty pics on it and ppl everywhere will be wanting to buy it for decoration..

[rikkiesix]

If it does not work after the next adjustment i might do that. hahaha. Greetings and good luck on everything you build yourself. Greetings Erik

[paint3all]

Can you hook it up to a generator or anything or is it just decoration

[rikkiesix]

Hi Ty for your comment. For now its still decoration. I had it hooked up to a permanent magnet motor but i geared it up to much and it did not want to spin anymore. i'm going to try to connect it straight. Updates will follow. Greetings from Belgium Erik