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Forum Index : Windmills : Basic help on alternator
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| natman Newbie  Joined: 10/04/2010 Location: IrelandPosts: 2 |
Hi, I am new to this and would just like some very basic help. I have loads of enameled wire and 12 Neo magnets ( N35 i think ). I first copied this set up http://www.eskimo.com/~billb/amateur/coilgen.html and got some nice voltage out of it from hand turns. Next i tried winding a single coil ( about 200 turns small gauge ) into an oval shape the center hole was about 1 inch the same as the width of my disk magnets. I then gave a quick wave of the magnets past the coil ( coild laying flat down, magnet just above waved past ) and i recieve zero voltage, i glued all the magnets to a CD in an alternating pattern the turn the CD with a drill above the coil still no voltage. I check the coil was making a proper circuit and it was - can anyone tell me what im doing wrong otherwise i dont see how to make a small wind turbine at all. Thanks: Patrick |
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niall1 Senior Member  Joined: 20/11/2008 Location: IrelandPosts: 331 |
hi Patrick dont know whats wrong but looks like your having a lot of fun... 
how are you checking the voltage ?...it will be an ac reading on the meter you use maybe double check the n/s n/s pattern by holding a magnet and passing it over the magnet layout...it should feel like ripple effect...push /pull as long as one north pole passes one leg of the coil and one south pole over the other at the same time you should induce some voltage with the neos you should be able to induce a reasonable current...enough to pulse a led or small low voltage/ampage bulb ps...dont expect too much with just one coil niall |
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| natman Newbie Joined: 10/04/2010 Location: IrelandPosts: 2 |
Hi Niall, I am using a multimeter set to 0-200 volts AC scale. With the simple carboard set up thing it was giving about 1-2 v ac. you mentioned "as long as one north pole passes one leg of the coil and one south pole over the other at the same time you should induce some voltage " my current set up has only one magnet passing over the coil at any one time, and yes i checked the NSNS pattern. Does it matter how i wind my coils, neatly, thickness, width? |
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| niall1 Senior Member Joined: 20/11/2008 Location: IrelandPosts: 331 |
ok...the plot thickens.. the mags sound right ....now it might be best to rewind a new coil (probably much bigger) so as the different magnetic poles pass over the coil legs at the right time if each leg of the coil is roughly the same thickness (edit. width) as the mag passing above it ...things should start to happen dont worry too much about the coil neatness .but it helps if they are ...your experimenting ...a much much lower voltage scale on the meter would be better maybe 10v ac too much fun niall |
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Downwind Guru  Joined: 09/09/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2333 |
I would think your coils will need to have a steel plate behind them so as to give a return path for the magnet flux as it passes over the coils. Pete. Sometimes it just works |
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Greenbelt Guru Joined: 11/01/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 566 |
Time has proven that I am blind to the Obvious, some of the above may be True? |
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| niall1 Senior Member Joined: 20/11/2008 Location: IrelandPosts: 331 |
mmmm ...pete made a good point if you have a steel plate maybe you could use it as a magnet rotor...this will focus the magnet field much better than air , something similar to an air core alt...or use some kind of simple laminate steel at the back of the coil niall |
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MacGyver Guru Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
[Quote=Niall1]...or use some kind of simple laminate steel at the back of the coil I just built a generator doing this and it cogs like there's no tomorrow! A better method would be to use the ax-fx method of opposing strong magnets through an air space and rotate them about a fixed coil occupying that space. If you want to see pictures of what I built, look here. The pictures are near the end of this rather long post. It might not hurt to read the whole thing though, just to get an idea of where I've been so you don't have to travel over all that again yourself. . . . . . Mac Nothing difficult is ever easy! Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman, "Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!" Copeville, Texas |
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Tinker Guru Joined: 07/11/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1904 |
Mac, the idea is the coil remains stationary while the magnets *and* the steel back plate rotates on the same axle. Of course, it *will* cog if you have a fixed steel part with a magnet rotating past it. Klaus |
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