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Forum Index : Windmills : building my first wind gen
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| zippy998 Newbie  Joined: 14/12/2009 Location: United KingdomPosts: 4 |
hi folks my first time in this forum so i hope i can get some good info on building my first wind generator i not to sure if you can browse into my profile but my background has always been around plant maintenance my trade is welder/fitter/fabricator.my intentions for the first build is purely experimental but do have plans to go self sufficient in time so my first port of call is where to get a compatible 12v dc generator from i can get all the other bits in time i just need a generator for now so any feedback is more than welcome. |
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Downwind Guru  Joined: 09/09/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2333 |
Think you should have a look at the front page section as most folks here build their own generators out of various forms of motors or start from scratch. One of the more popular motors to work with is the Fisher and Paykel washing machine motor. You sure sound as you have the engineering skills to build the rest. There if a few people on the 4m that will sell various parts for making a mill. Best to have a bit deeper look around the 4m. Pete. Sometimes it just works |
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KarlJ Guru Joined: 19/05/2008 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1178 |
I hope they sell F&P gear over there, just did a quote on ebay for a bloke in the USA, 8.5KG with shaft and bearings turns into $155AUD in shipping..... at that money a chinese mill is looking really good.. I've done some looking into those Proven turbine the Euro guys seem to have alot of.....wow expensive! Luck favours the well prepared |
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imsmooth Senior Member  Joined: 07/02/2008 Location: United StatesPosts: 214 |
Randy sells F&P parts in the USA here. If you are interested in my exploits with the F&P and an axial flux design check out my web diary here |
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| JimBo911 Senior Member Joined: 26/03/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 262 |
Welcome aboard Zip If your intent in the long run is to become self-sufficient (as I am) you may want to consider going to a higher voltage. I do believe that most of the mills that our members have are at least 24 volts, mine is 48. In the beginning I started at 12 volts and have now upgraded to 48v. Nice that you have fabricating skills it really helps. As Pete stated the F&P is a tried and true setup and all the info you need is right here. Jim |
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| zippy998 Newbie Joined: 14/12/2009 Location: United KingdomPosts: 4 |
thankyou for the welcome jimbo just out of interest even though i have basic knowledge of electrics i was wondering can i use an ac motor to generate power with rectifiers to change back to dc as i can get my hands on loads of ac motors of all sizes . |
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Bernie the Bolt Regular Member  Joined: 26/10/2006 Location: United KingdomPosts: 45 |
Hi Zip, my recommendation would be to try and find a scrapped LG smartdrive washing machine, which should be available in the uk (i was selling them in the 80's) so they should be available scrap now. Try talking to dealers who offer to collect old machines when customers buy a new one. The LG is similar to the FP so most of the stuff on this site will make sense. Whilst you may have access to ac motors most of them will be designed to work at high rpm so will make poor wind gennies. The Fp & LG are basically very large diameter stepper motors and hence will operate at lower rpm's. The other route is to build an axial flux from scratch - see Hugh Piggotts's site : www.scoraigwind.com/ he is regarded as the guru in this field. Bernie the Bolt I'd rather be sailing! |
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