DIY 1000 watt wind turbine

Step 1 Build the magnet disks

We had 12" steel disks hydro cut. We cut a template for mounting the magnets. Then we mounted 12 grade n50 magnets around the outside edge. We then built a form, and poured the resin with hardner.

Comments

[jetboy]

what size are the coils how thick wide and tall

[Geedigity]

What about using the N52 magnets? They should be stronger than the N50, thus more power??

[bertzie]

Why do you use 2 magnetic discs? Wouldn't one have been sufficient?

[sspence]

no, one is not sufficient. you need a N passing on top while a S passes underneath to complete the flux.

[bertzie]

Well that's disappointing.

[sspence]

Why is it disappointing?

[bertzie]

Because I said so.

[goodguyrye]

Does anybody know of a good magnet source in Canada?

Thanks,
Ryan

[unclejoe]

Found one. Prices are extremely competitive.
(I might order their Neopak 80.)

Jobmaster Magnets of Oakville, Ontario
www.jobmastermagnets.com

[Dude567]

 Thanks , I'm in Canada and need good magnets and magnet wire, so any sources help, note that wind turbine magnets are the kind I am looking for.

[wesley75]

hi sspence,

Considering the fact that high temperature would have an effect on the lost of magnetism.

It's a great idea to bond the magnet in place with resin, provided that the heat exposure from melting resin to magnet is keep minimum or avoidable.

Suggest to have alternate way to lock the magnet in place, by means of sandwich both side with an fasteners. It may have advantages of lighter weight and easy for replaceable of magnet. E.g. Maintenances works etc..

It's my two cents worth

[macrumpton]

I doubt that the temperatures of melted resin would be a problem. 
Different magnetic materials have different Curie Temperatures (the temp that destroys magnetism), but the average is about 600° to 800° Celsius, or 1112°f - 1472°f.  At those temps I suspect the resin would have to be on fire since a match flame is about 1500°f.

[elextr0n]

Not quite right ,Brushless RC motors with neo core begin to break down just above 150c. Recomended from factor not over 100c. Also many outhers Neo magnet like hardrives, Not a good iade to use over 300c, Then ou onl got youre self a fragile shining pice of material,

[macrumpton]

Are you sure that the breakdown occurs because of the magnets rather than the insulation on the windings disintegrating? 100c is just water boiling, and I can hardly imagine that affecting a magnet, although I am far from an expert on this...

[Dude567]

 A brushless motor runs on AC current and from my experience plastic breaks down above 100 Celsius 

[sspence]

 There is no thermal breakdown in a axial flux alternator. not in the winding, nor in the magnetic flux.

[sspence]

These units do not ever get to a temperature where magnets can lose magnetism, or resin can catch fire. Nice mental exercise, but not applicable.

[elextr0n]

I'm only talking from experience, in my younger years i used a heatblowing gun at aprox 400c to losen hardrive magnets, witch resulted in brokenmagnets, And from m experience in RC brushless is that over 150c is BAD , this is ofen stated on the manual that comes whith these engines, I no expert either, only a guy who  like to play with magnets and have done so for a couple of years,
Ps Excuse mu extremly bad english

[Dude567]

 400 Celsius is about 752 Fahrenheit which for a magnet the expansion could cause the bonding in neodymium to brake down and lose the magnetism. Plus, he resin is a very weighty material compared to epoxying on the magnets.

[sspence]

 Fortunately there's no heat blowing gun in the wind turbine.

[elextr0n]

My bad , what i ment was only as a refference, my argument was only that atleast some neomagnets breakdown well below 600c

[kingfish376]

Would it be ok to use square magnets instead of rectangular?

[dustyplans]

How thick were the magnets???

[sspence]

1.2" thick, 1" wide, 2" long.

[bertollini]

A couple of questions. And I will apologize in advance if there is any redundancy in asking. 1. Did you use rectangle magnets as a requirement, or will round ones work? 2. I noticed you used N50 magnets. Was the pulling force a precalculated factor, or would an N42 magnet suffice?

[sspence]

The round ones will not work as well with the shape of the coils we used. We used n50's for the extra power. N42's will work, but a little less power.

[solis365]

where'd you end up getting those magnets from? below you say the cost for the whole turbine is about $500, but the 1/2" x 1" x 2" N50 NdFeB magnets I can find are about $420 for 25... sound about right? those are the only expensive part anyway, the rest is trivial

[barge]

go to www.makesolarpanels.org on the right side of the page click on the how to make a wind generator and it will take you to a site that sells everything and they have the lowest prices on magnets with a low price guarantee

[dustyplans]

Another source for the magnets is ttp://www.kjmagnetics.com they are costly, but as you guessed they are the biggest expense of the project.

[sspence]

Check with the guys at http://www.wondermagnet.com. I got mine from a chinese factory. They have large minimum orders, but I plan on doing a bulk order again. Contact me if interested.

[PAKIS-RULEZ]

these guys sell the whole kit for under 300 $ lol

http://www.magnet4less.com/product_info.php?products_id=584&osCsid=a02d2adf7b3e36d0bee362506e988077

check with 25 n50 magnet

[dustyplans]

What would the cost be??

[PAKIS-RULEZ]

here u go bro it cost $ 294

check pictures from their site to see whats included

http://i41.tinypic.com/33uy748.jpg

http://i44.tinypic.com/30jnpkn.jpg

http://i40.tinypic.com/301cwhw.jpg

[PAKIS-RULEZ]

please let me know if this kit is gud enough because i really want to build my own turbine form fresh strat :D and i am just a beginner in this. i was googling for magnets and found this great site though i would share with u since some ppl here said the magnets r costing them around 400 to 500 USD.

[dustyplans]

So your magnets are producing a pull of 195 lbs?? Is that about correct??

[PAKIS-RULEZ]

no bro it says "Approximate pulling force: 75 lbs"  will it be ok?  also is it possible if you make a vid of the coiling the wire and which gauge i should use i mean the lower the gauge the better?  or more turns is better? on a lower gauge

[sspence]

Thicker wire (lower gauge number) enables you to handle more amps without over heating. More turns increases the voltage.

[sspence]

Could be. We didn't test that parameter. Sounds about right for a N50 of that size.

[PAKIS-RULEZ]

oh bro another quick question is it ok if i use 4 truck battries to store all the juice? or i need more something else?

[PAKIS-RULEZ]

Ok, I will order the kid by end of this month..kinda broke now days lol
thanks I will have more Q coming up when i buy the kit :D