My 1st and only attempt was back in high school, when I had built one using wooden blades and turning a bicycle generator.
So after getting hooked on Instructables .com and viewing other members wind mill projects, I've been on the lookout for DC motors and thinking of some ideas.
Then one night it hit me.... I had an old cordless drill that I was no longer using.
So after finding and disassembling the drill, is when the brainstorming began :)
Through the months I've added several steps about the 2 different wind generators and the modifications made to both of them as problems arose.
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blades will have to spin in a clockwise direction to keep the chuck tight.
I cut in half a section of pipe that is slightly larger than the outside diameter of the friction bearings that are between the hub and the chuck. I then used an water hose
repair connector to hold the cut pipe halves around the friction bearings which also will provide support.
I attached the assembly to a plastic peg board.
After getting the unit assemble/attached to the peg board, it fit perfectly inside an 10 oz coffee can
After attaching the blades and hooking up a voltage meter, I took it outside in a very light wind.
The completed unit spins freely and the small DC motor does create a small amount of DC current.
I can/could install a bigger motor using the "chuck".
The day I mounted it atop a pole, a thunderstorm came up with high winds and the wind turbine handle it just fine.
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how about this, a Gas powered Generator, One where the gas motor does not work,
why can you not take the generator and make a wind turbin out of it?
I mean come on, a drill is fine and dandy for a small school project, but lets get serious, we want to produce electricity, and there are alot of generators that dont work or need to have the gas motor repaired that would make a good
Wind Turbin Generator, I was also thinking what if you hooked up a solar powered battery with a super gear setup to power the generator at night. just an Idea.
I do not have any other information that I can give you.
Step 9 is about a furling mechanism that I made after the wind generator blades came loose after a day of high winds.
It will only operate small LED lights
Our area experienced high gusty winds, some at over 30 MPH for about 2days.
My four bladed wind generator made it through most of the high winds, then the blade assembly finally spun loose and then was spinning freely on the bolt that was being held by the chuck.
Then the blades wildly spinning wobbling and were striking the mast and ripped off the cover to the gearing and motor.
Only a minor chip on one of the blades.There was times I thought the mast was going to bend, as the generator was spinning wildly in the high gusts.
I should have the wind generator back up and spining in just a matter of days.
The gearing on the small 12 volt motor and the "hub" match.
Then it will be easy to experiment with different blade designs by using the "chuck" to hold the blades.
Brought #1 back to my house for future experiments.
It was time to take it out to my mom and dads farm house, where I have them a solar powered LED lighting system for the front porch.
I soldered a blocking diode to one of the leads running from the generator and just hooked it directly to one of the 12 volt dry cell batteries.
I have the cord about 8' high running from the pole, to their porch, then to the batteries.
I would love to rig a generator up to it's old water pump gearing.
1. http://www.mdpub.com/Wind_Turbine/
2. https://www.windbluepower.com/
Hope this helps
badvoodoo22
http://www.badvoodoo22.com/
Wow, that is a pricey motor.
I bought this motor for $18.
http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/DCM-517/12-VDC-MOTOR/1.html
I'm afraid it is to high of an RPM motor to generate much power.
But it will be worth a try.
Thanks again for your compliments and interest!
Still a great site for everyone to see!
I've added another step titled "prep work for the larger motor"
I hope to have that larger motor up in a few days.
Wouldn't the blades turn with the wind with out a fin?
The mill just spins on the larger rod. The inter rod could use some water proof front end lube.
I've got a 6 volt dry cell battery I'll hook up to the leads when I get the bigger motor up there.
This is pretty darn cool.
I'm kind of embarrassed to say... But in a light wind-gust, I'm lucky to get 1 volt out of it.
Also, about the only time there is a strong wind and it's spinning really fast is when a thunderstorm moves through.
I'm on the lookout for a better motor to replace the one currently being used.
Just dismantled and old Dewalt cordless drill, the chuck and bearing is awesome, but the motor is lacking out put.
Could easily use 2 of the "chuck" setups to gear up the speed a motor.
Here is another combination of the "chuck", motor and gearing that I am tinkering around with.
It only puts out a small amount of voltage. I guess could say it's more of a test model.
I really like the gearing that you did on your turbine.