"...bamboo. It's strong, it's light, it's beautiful and it's free!" -tdem
*** Hey! Instructables gave me a 3 month Pro membership for my ninja purse but I already won a pro membership so...
A FREE 3 MONTH PRO MEMBERSHIP GOES TO the first one to post their bamboo bladed turbine in the comments below. Yeah.
These are really easy and require pretty much no money, no skill, no precise measurements, nor attention to detail.
And they work nicely!
Seriously, try it out and see. This project is doable with almost entirely salvaged materials so it's a perfect first foray into mid sized wind projects.
*** Hey! Instructables gave me a 3 month Pro membership for my ninja purse but I already won a pro membership so...
A FREE 3 MONTH PRO MEMBERSHIP GOES TO the first one to post their bamboo bladed turbine in the comments below. Yeah.
These are really easy and require pretty much no money, no skill, no precise measurements, nor attention to detail.
And they work nicely!
Seriously, try it out and see. This project is doable with almost entirely salvaged materials so it's a perfect first foray into mid sized wind projects.
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1: What you need
-Big bamboo (about 4 inches wide and 4 feet long)
-Measuring tape
-Saw (circular saw recommended)
-Angle grinder with sanding disk (maybe you could use a sanding block)
-About 1 hour per blade.
-Measuring tape
-Saw (circular saw recommended)
-Angle grinder with sanding disk (maybe you could use a sanding block)
-About 1 hour per blade.
Visit Our Store »
Go Pro Today »
I intended for this instructable to focus on the bamboo blades so I glossed over everything else.
The hub is the front wheel of a motor scooter. I tore out the speedometer parts and bolted the axle to a 2x4. It's really that low-tech. The blades didn't attach very well because I had them temporarily mounted with a single bolt each so they all ended up wiggling loose.
This is because there is no generator yet. I want to use an axial flux alternator but I'm having a hard time sourcing the parts. Long story.
When I get the generator, I'll mount the blades properly.
The yaw bearing is the headset from a bicycle. The forks are drilled and bolted to a steel pole and the bike frame is drilled and screwed to the above mentioned 2x4. This works pretty well.
And the tail uses the standard Hugh Piggott furling system. Except I used a door hinge which seemed too weak and flimsy but it works fine thus far.
The real details are available on www.otherpower.com and www.scoraigwind.com
But warning, that horizontal wood board behind the turbine generatesturbulence. You should avoid it.
The horizontal board is too long on the left side. I will cut it offwhen I get around to it...
On the right side I will use the board as a brace to mount the statorfor an axial flux generator. That's what they use in this design(Spanish version for you) http://www.bajatec.net/manuales/manual_generador_eolico/hugh_piggott_2005.htm
I called bamboo this because it is:
-cheap/free, grows like a weed
-is light and strong
-is rot resistant (depending on who you listen to)
-non toxic, environmentally friendly
-looks cool
-naturally shaped in a variety of useful dimensions.
-is free around here (it's worth saying again)
Usually when I think think about composites other things come to mindlike carbon fiber plus epoxy, or fiber glass plus polyester resin. NowI'm no expert but some googling tells me that there are biologicalcomposite materials too. I'm pretty sure wood is one of them. Wood ismade up of cellulose fiber glued together with a plasticy materialcalled lignin. Bamboo is also made of cellulose fiber bound togetherwith lignin. These experts say so: http://api.ning.com/files/nQPHGlr1FmYBjgPC8hFnpzp3Bij9sL8762pKj64JNAiC7BcIxGwONHtOOboFf1z6*1zMB9etZQGwXUegOvxduiO4Z2YZWDNq/Bamboofunctionallygradescomposite.pdf