Make it yourself anemometer for under $30

Anyone remotely aware of wind generation systems and such knows how greatly all this equipment is overpriced. Commercially available anemometers cost way too much. So here is how to build one for under $30. List of parts needed:

 

1. Tachogenerator (or tacogenerator)

2. Flexible epoxy resin.

3. Baby toy or Christmas tree ball

4. Aluminum pipe

5. PVC pipe

6. Aluminum tape

7. Voltage meter

 

The following is how to make a hemispherical cup anemometer.

Step 1 Find hemispherical cups

1. Find hemispherical cups for the apparatus. Ideas: hollow plastic Christmas tree balls, baby rattle balls, ladles, hardshell plastic balls, round plastic bottles, old style hard shell beer cans, deodorants with hemispherical caps etc.

   The idea is to use something sturdy but lightweight. In my case I used a baby rattle. It was way cheaper and had three rattle balls on a string with yellow, red and green balls, which I cut in half to use as the hemispherical cups.

2. Make 3 identical size aluminum pipes (less then ¼ of an inch in diameter from hardware store). Also, find screws that will fit inside the aluminum tube.

3. Use flexible epoxy resin to make a rotor. I used a piece of plywood and drew a circle and three beams from the center at a 120 degrees each. Molded the resin into a pyramid like rotor and placed it in the center of the circle. Connected tree aluminum tubes to the semi-pyramid shaped rotor. My tachogenerator had a connector thingy that was detachable from its axis, so, I put that in the center of the rotor as well and let the rotor harden.

4. Drill wholes in the hemispherical cups close to the “equator”. Connect the hemispherical cups to aluminum tubes using screws. Also, use some the epoxy in between the screw and the cup order to make the cups stick to the pipe stay in their place without rotating.

Comments

[Madgophers]

Is a tachogenerator better to use than a Hall effect sensor? Or is it just more convenient?

[Bujholm]

I wish I knew a source of TGP-3 under 30$.. The ones Yandex offers are around 100$ apiece! ANy other suggestions for a cheap tachogenerator?

[pashanoid]

Due to popular demand I started selling the TGP-3 for under $20 read on at:
http://www.pashanoid.ru/anemometer.html  (in Russian) or http://www.pashanoid.ru/anemometer_en.html (in English)

[pashanoid]

Hello, I presume since you use Yandex that you speak Russian... Right? Here is my article in Russian: http://www.pashanoid.ru/anemometer.html
I got my TGP at Mitino. You can also look for a TGP on molotok.ru or ebay.com let me know if you are unable to find one, I'll look it up for you. Regards!

[agis68]

 i use ping pong balls....are lighter and relible