Chispito Wind Generator

Step 2 MATERIALS

MATERIALS - BUY THE HARD TO FIND PARTS HERE: http://www.velacreations.com/store.html

Mount

• 36" of 1" Square Tubing
• 2" Floor Flange
• 2" X 4" Nipple
• 3 X 3/4" Self-tapping Screws

NOTE: if you have access to a welder, you can weld a 4" section of 2" pipe onto your square tubing instead of using the flange, nipple and sheet metal screws.

Motor

• 260 VDC, 5 A continuous duty Treadmill Motor with a 6 inch threaded hub
• 30 - 50 Amp Blocking Diode (one-way)
• 2 x 5/16" x 1 3/4" Motor Bolts
• 3" X 11" PVC Pipe

Tail

• 1 sqft (approx) lightweight material (metal)
• 2 X 3/4" Self-tapping Screws

Blades

• 24" length of 8" PVC Pipe (if it is UV resistant, you will not need to paint it)
• 6 X 1/4" X 20 Bolts
• 9 x 1/4" washers
• 3 sheets A4 paper and tape

BUY THE HARD TO FIND PARTS HERE: http://www.velacreations.com/store.html

Comments

[Andruha1123]

can ac motor be used? i got one out of my old fridge. it has three wires white blue and orange.so can i use diode bridge and acheive the same result as with a dc motor? on the side it says : merkle-korff industries model 3424rp-420 115v. 60 hz. idle: 1.20 amps rated: 1.4a-17mfd on/off: 2/20 sec p/n-10114804 any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks

[velacreations]

turn the motor by hand and see if you can read a voltage above 1 volt. If not, it probably won't work without gears or pulleys, if at all. If you want a motor that works, go to http://www.velacreations.com/chispito.html and buy one from the recommended supplier.

[CrawdadMan]

How would you measure that one volt? I dont have any electricity measuring tools. Is there another way to possibly do it. If not how much would one of those cost?

[Andruha1123]

i got my multymeter for less than 3 dollars, menards sells them for about 5 dollars.

[Andruha1123]

acttualy it does have gears and it spins very fast, but when i connect it to my multimeter i get 0 volts. even when i use diode bridge still 0 volts, i tried every combination of the three wires, but no luck. does anyone know why? also i took it apart and noticed that it doesn't have any magnets(at least i could see any) in it, is this the reason?

[robbie7730]

The fridge motor is going to be an induction motor, so it wont work. Neither will a universal motor, as neither type has permanent magnets,

[thermoelectric]

Since it doesn't have magnets, It is probably an induction motor, I don't think you can use them to generate electricity, Just my 0.02

[velacreations]

yes, that is the reason. It would need to get up to speed before any output. You can take a look at the discussion board at otherpower.com for information on how to make a motor like this work.

[hjstudent916]

I will be building this wind generator for my senior project. I been searching where to buy a 30-50 amp blocking diode, but i have no luck. It would be greatly appreciated if someone tells me where i could buy this part.

[AndyGadget]

Any of THESE bridge rectifiers from Mouser would do the job.

[drbill]

mouserelectronics.com has a catalog 5" thick. You can get ANY SIZE ANYTHING electronic at Mouser Electronics

[anarchrisis]

I was just gonna suggest mouser. lol

[drbill]

He probably already got the part a long time ago anyway. But yeah mouser has a lot of stuff. I was just looking through the catalog a few minutes ago for a power MOSFET and I found it now I can buy 1000 of them.

[drbill]

You should get your Ham Radio License while your at it. No Morse Code required anymore.

[jimmyz91164]

Try here also.
http://www.ghurd.info/dc_buy.html
35 Amp 200 Volt
Jim-NY

[blackjack1958]

I`ve built 2 of these gen`s they work great!! I don`t understand you. you want some one to guess at what`s wrong! Take a 1156 auto tail light bulb , get some 18 gage wire solder 1 wire to the side of the bulb and the other to the positive one the bottom of the bulb. Remove wires from your bat, remove diode connect the bulb to the gen pos to pos neg to neg, the gen should blow the bulb our light it very very bright when spun up ! if it blow`s the bulb then the gen is FINE. Then I belive you have a wiring problem! I find it hard to belive the battery is bad!! althought you have not done it any justice . just my 02 but only you can ck these things you can`t just guess. or just buy another motor and battery and have the same problem!

[jimmyz91164]

I wont bother you with my stupidity and silly attempts again.Just thought it was interesting,not trying to annoy you or anyone else.It was fun for me however.I will keep my progress to my self.

[jimmyz91164]

Actually,NO,I am sick of people like you.If it were not for questions,know- it -alls like you would not need to exist.There seems to be a few of YOU kinds that are negative,bitter angry people who seem to thrive these forums looking to make yourselves out to be some big shots.Quite frankly,I believe YOU are from the OTHER forum anyhow who has a problem with me in general.If you can not read ANY of my progress from the beginning,do not bother to say anything.You have no clue on the many many things tested and tried already.You think I ask questions if they have not been already tried?Some which have not been even mentioned yet.I have noticed YOUR KIND and know already the reply,I could just copy paste some highlites and make it easy for you.When this is all resolved,we will see your comments and see just how much your help was for anybody.Tell me,have you ever NOT known something?OUCH!

[jimmyz91164]

I apologize to Vela creations and thank them for the help with this project.This is not the place for arguments.THIS IS>
http://www.freewebs.com/jimmzz91164/apps/forums/topics/show/53484-chispito-wind-turbine?set_sidebar=1

[velacreations]

Try this:
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=MB252DI-ND

15 amps is the minimum, really.

Or do a search on google for Bridge Rectifier. Radio shack and other parts places will have them.

[drbill]

Mouser Electronics Mo Bettah

[hjstudent916]

do i have to use a 8 inch pvc pipe for making the blades or can i use other pvc pipes smaller than the 8 inch?

[mnsales]

I used the 260vdc treadmill motor, same one as the pic, but the two inch flange is way too big for the bolt holes on the motor. Use a 1 1/4" flange and nipple, The flange holes line up perfectly with the motor, Also if you dont have a hub for your motor you can use a GM alternator pulley , Older GM alternators with a v belt and 5/8" shaft size. You can even use the alternators fan to assist with cooling and the blades can be bolted right to that !

[velacreations]

I would not recommend bolting the motor straight to the flange. It will be very hard to balance the machine that way, and it puts the blades very close to the pole. Better to mount the motor to the square tubing, then mount the flange to the square tubing.

[belgorod]

I'm having some trouble finding a place that sells 8" PVC by the foot. Any guesses on good sources for this stuff? Or can I get away with a smaller diameter? Plenty of 4" pipe out there. I thought about making these blades out of wood, but I really don't want to mess with that kind of thing. Too easy to screw it up. Got the hub off of the motor and my mechanic is drilling the holes.

[velacreations]

Check out your local water and waste water department. They usually have it. Also, irrigation suppliers, well drillers, and some hardware stores. Looks for scrap pieces. If you can't find 8", try 6". If you can't find 6", then do 4", but do 5 blades instead of three. Divide the pipe into 5 pieces, just like you would with an 8" pipe.

[belgorod]

After lurking around wind-power websites for many months now, I've decided to take the plunge and build something small like this. I've just now yanked the motor out of my old treadmill, and I'm reading the label, and I'm not sure if I have the right kind of motor or not. Or what to expect from it. Info is as follows: 21.4 amps. 1.5 hp continuous duty @ 95 VDC I know nothing (yet) about electric motors, but I'm guessing that this is about 1/3 the output of the motor called for in the plans. Is it worth it to continue with what I have? Or do I need to track down something else? Also, there are two blue wires that come out of the unit (besides the red and black wires). I'm thinking these blue wires are part of the speed sensing system, and I can safely coil them up and out of the way. Yes? No? Thanks.

[velacreations]

Well, rpms would be nice to you. First of all, it should be permanent magnet DC motor. Turn the shaft by hand, and put the black and red leads up to a volt meter and see what it reads. If you can get over 1 volt, it should work. If you have a lathe or access to one, that is even better, spin it at a set rpm (300-600) and see what the output is into a 12 volt battery. I am guessing it would work, but you never know until you test it out.

[belgorod]

Thanks for the reply. It is indeed a permanent magnet DC motor. I took it apart and I found out for sure (and disconnected the blue wires that seemed to be connected to nothing). Next step seems to be buying a volt meter. I'll probably need one anyway if I really want free electricity.

[DanLoney]

that 24" by 8" pipe, is that 8" diameter? its a really stupid question but this is a really cool way to make these blades, they look very proffesional and i would like to make a set of my own =D