vertical axis wind turbine

[crashdive123]

I just called the company that put them in. They each put out 1.2KW/HR and run approximately $15,000 each.

[Rick]

Wow! Based on that I'd break even in 9.398 years if I run 100% off of them.

[canid]

crash: that's a gyromill [a type of darreius rotor]. same concept i have in mind [though with different geometry of course] for my little darreius.

[canid]

doing your own fabrication, and doing it smart in your own time, you could build a gyromill of about that size and output for probably 10% of that cost.

[canid]

My magnets got here today.

I had a bit of trouble with my diode order. it seems if you don't have a credit card or checking account paypal won't let you use your ballance at all, even if there's money in your paypal account itself. I found this out after trying to buy a cheap 100 ct. package of diodes with plenty of money in my account for it, when paypal would not let me pay.

now i have to wait til i can get a visa prepay to re-verify my account with.

I'm darned happy with these magnets. Anybody who hasn't handled N42 or higher grade magnets might be fooled by the junk some compayies sell, but when you have the real deal in 1/2 cubic inch size or larger; you can't actually play with them without risk of breaking them.

[canid]

no dice on the windings from that old motor. they are cast into the core in such a way that it would be extremely difficult to liberate them, and i found out what had burned out the motor before it was given to me: a large wasp's nest caught fire and burnt the heck out o it.

i did score a nice reset relay and three large diodes from the deal: too large for the rectifier i'm building, but certainly large enough for a much larger project later.

i'm still on the prowl for materials, and i'm half way there.

[your_comforting_company]

Sounds like things are slowly coming together. Keep at it and I know you'll get it. might be a test of patience...

[canid]

the last 5 years of my life have been a test of my patience. it's ok; i'm not too bad at tests.

[canid]

no particular progress at the moment, but i have managed to hurt myself with these magnets a couple of times now.

[Rick]

Would you consider changing your avatar to

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I find it in much better taste and I'm less inclined to find a tall structure and start shooting after I look at it.

[crashdive123]

no particular progress at the moment, but i have managed to hurt myself with these magnets a couple of times now.

At least you didn't eat them.

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[canid]

oh, i made the mistake of sticking the whole stack to the fridge yesterday.

for perspective, it takes much of the strength in both hands to separate one from the stack without spacers in between them.

[Rick]

Odd, I feel that life is somehow in balance this morning and my eyes don't hurt.

[canid]

ok; i'm definitely going to have to go with a simpler rectifier in the smaller turbine/alternator designs. with the best cheap schottky diodes i think i'll be able to get my hands on the forward voltage loss will still be too high otherwise.

[canid]

soldering small thru-hole components to pcb with a 120watt weller is a huge PITA.

[your_comforting_company]

try swapping the standard tip with a short piece of wire clothes hanger. The smaller tip size helps me sometimes with little remote wires and such. I loves my 120W Weller.

[canid]

i'll try that, or something similar. i bed several strands of resistance wire twined together would do.

i'm still on this. i've made up a small 3phase diode bridge [though i think i may have gotten two of he diodes on the board backwards], so i just need to test that, check all the solder points and tie it to a 3phase brushless dc motor and spin it up.

i'm re-enforcing the coffee-can savonius rotor with some fine steel rod.

i've been dragging my feet on this project for a while, but i've also started a fair number of other projects which might be more immediately usefull [SMAW welder, battery charger for my bike, etc.]

[canid]

here's the small 3phase diode bridge:

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[canid]

careful with capacitors my friends. i was taking apart a junked camera just now, and i though to myself: what's the safest resistive medium to discharge a 330v, 80uF capacitor? and then it hit me: 'it' being 330 volts dc through my thumb.

not terribly dangerous, but it'll wake you up in a hurry. i may have invented a replacement for coffee.

[hunter63]

I have a "designated screwdriver" for that....Doesn't take long to "look" (pick it up)at it when that happened.

Guy got killed fixing a microwave a year or so back, trying to help out, or so the story goes.