Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Wind turbine to power compressors?

I've been seeing some pretty cool DIY wind turbines with the vanes made of PVC and motors from treadmills (motors for sale pretty cheap on EBay.) Of course there are other items needed but it sure is cheaper than buying one and more fun.

Anyway, for you electrical wizards how many watts would I need to charge on a battery during the day to run a diffuser compressor during the night as in one of the rotary vane compressors that is rated at 5 amps and 1/4th horsepower?

Yeah I know I can research this on the net but I'm feeling lazy. grin:

O.K. Did a little reading. 5 amps x 120 volts is 600 watts. Typical refrigerator is up to 800 watts and can be powered by a small wind turbine so maybe running a pond compressor only 8 hours is feasible? The size inverters for that kind of wattage are not expensive according to one article.

Of course it's not always windy enough...

Gonna have to order wind power for Dummies...

Cecil I ordered this DIY booklet for building this BREAKDRUM PERMANENT MAGNET ALTERNATOR WINDMILL with battery storage,from Hugh Piggott in Scotland, "Scoraig Wind Electric, Ross shire, Scotland, IV23 2RE" in the late 90s with the intentions of building it but never did. I figured this was one that really worked because Piggott serviced and installed these type of turbines in Scotland where this was the only electric they had in their houses.

John,

Interesting.

In retrospect the most impressive wind vanes I saw built out of PVC had to be cut out of piece of 8 inch PVC which isn't cheap as I have recently found out. I just purchased a 10 ft. Section of 6 inch at a local plumbing supply for a fluidized bed sand filter I'm building and it was over $75.00. 8 inch is much more. (I had to buy a minimum of 10 feet and the big box stores and local Ace don't carry anything bigger than 4 inches.)

For the cost and labor it's easier to purchase the vanes already made on eBay. In fact it appears with some homework and if you learn the concept and power requirements you can buy all the components and just assemble.

Cecil, I would imagine you have some pretty decent winds up there at times...be sure and allow for a design to furl the tail, and turn the vanes out of the wind.

I think one would work well at Cecil's place. There's little to block the wind (not many trees).

And I'm up on a hill!

I've noticed that seems to be standard even on components.

You can get wind speed maps of all the states. They generally start at 50 meters in elevation, and go up. These are for wind turbines. Ground wind is no where near what it is at a couple hundred feet up.





My property is in a pretty much dead zone at 50 meters, and my elevation is about 800 feet above sea level. I am also on a hill.

Totally understanding that this is a DIY thread on generating 600 watts. A 20Kw residential system, just for parts-n-pieces, is about 70K. Installation is an extra chunk!

Interesting map Phil. I've also see them where they divide areas of the country into zones of wind speeds.

Most likely one of my neighbors would whine if I put up a 20 Kw system even though I'm in a rural area. He whines about much less things than that, like the sound of one of my diaphragm compressors even though he is at least 400 feet away. There's probably some zoning restriction too.

There's a big push here in the next county to not allow wind farms. A French company wanted to come in and build one. I've seen them in other parts of Indiana and I personally think they're cool to look at (some say they're ugly), and couldn't even hear them even when I got out of my car within a couple hundred feet. (They are supposed to be noisy?) Maybe it's just a NIMBY thing or they do have good reasons.

You will not want to use PVC for your blades as you will get significant tip erosion and be replacing them at least annually. Coating them in fiberglass will make them last signifantly longer.

To generate 600-800 watts of power with a direct drive DC altinator in low to moderate wind you will want at least 6' blades giving you about a 12' rotor diameter. You will also need this to spin at least 25 rpm, this means your tip speed be traveling about 9 MPH almost continiously. Soft PVC does not hold up well to this. At higher RPMs I have seen PVC blades detach themselves and become missiles.

I have worked in the wind industry for several years and manage several large industrial wind farms. I have supervised and judged many technical college and university competitions for building small wind turbines. I have seen a lot (almost all) of the PVC blades fail.

That being said, if you have a school nearby with a renewable energy or electro-mechanical program you might be able to get students to do a project like this for the cost of the parts.