Starting a 1.8kW wind turbine project

mkhphillips · February 2010

I purchased a 200 volt DC motor (permanent magnet, 15" long by 7" around, 85 pounds, 1 3/8 diameter shaft, 2 3/4 long, 1800 watts, 10.5 amps) from eBay for $61. It was a lot bigger than I thought. I will attempt to build a wind turbine and I want to share the experience with all of you. Plus, I will need your help. After cleaning it up, I hooked my meter to it. With a quick spin by hand, I received up to 30 volts. Therefore, I would not need to have high RPMs to charge my camper batteries (two 6 volts).

I want to follow the plans at http://www.mdpub.com/Wind_Turbine/index.html

Hub:
I will need to get or build a hub. I’m not quite sure how to go about this. The shaft is 1 3/8” in diameter and 2 ¾” long. The shaft does not have any grooves in it and the end does not have a hole for a bolt. I’m thinking about some sort of small cap that will slip over top of the 1 3/8” shaft and then bolt an 8” round piece of steel to it.

Blades:
I also need to figure out the size of the blades in comparison to the generator size. I either want to build them out of PVC pipe or 2x4s. I’m thinking about 6 feet long for each blade. I also need to figure out which way to rotate the motor properly. I think it needs to turn clockwise.

Wires:
There are 6 wires coming from the motor (see pic). The red & white ones are thicker so I assume they are the positive & negative.

Mounting:
I was thinking about mounting it on top of a 2x6 at 5 feet long.

Tower:
I was thinking about 2” diameter piece of steel conduit. Not sure how tall yet.

Charge controller & bridge rectifier:
Don’t know yet. I may build or just buy.

I have a feeling this will be quite an adventure. I already built three 60 watt solar panels for the camper but we are not getting enough sun (Rochester, NY) to keep the batteries charged.

BB. · February 2010

Re: Starting a 1.8kW wind turbine project

www.OtherPower.com would be another good place for information on DYI wind turbines. They speciallize in home built wind turbines.

www.builditsolar.com might also be useful too...

-Bill

mkhphillips · February 2010

Re: Starting a 1.8kW wind turbine project

I started to build a hub today. When I connected a 12v car battery to it, it turned at 60 RPMs.

RCinFLA · February 2010

Re: Starting a 1.8kW wind turbine project

Don't be too quick to judge required rpm's by open circuit voltage.

On a PMA, the voltage drops significantly with load. The wire size limits the maximum current draw. 1800 watt @ 200v rating is going to limit it to about 10 amps. You do have a reference point of 1000 rpm's to calculate required torque.

Just be safe, there is so much that can go wrong structurally.

mkhphillips · February 2010

Re: Starting a 1.8kW wind turbine project

I finalized the hub and created blades (out of 2x4's) yesterday. I balanced the blades and tested them in the wind using a large nail in the center. Today or next weekend, I will put the blades on the hub.

mkhphillips · February 2010

Re: Starting a 1.8kW wind turbine project

Here are some more pics.

mkhphillips · February 2010

Re: Starting a 1.8kW wind turbine project

and some more pics.

niel · February 2010

Re: Starting a 1.8kW wind turbine project

good luck with your project. in general i think you may need something better for the blades and should consider buying the blades rather than make them. that may allow better balance and survivability with blades around 10ft in diameter. as to how high i think most would agree at least 30ft above surroundings.

audredger · February 2010

Re: Starting a 1.8kW wind turbine project

I would like to encourage a larger mast (tower) than 2" conduit, say 4 or 5" Sched 40 pipe. That too may need bigger and braceing too. you have a lotta weight and wind resistance for 2" conduit!
MIke

Solar Guppy · February 2010

Re: Starting a 1.8kW wind turbine project

As shown you might get 5-10 watts and in two weeks the 2x4 will warp and start rotting. If your goal is to learn by trial and error, or on the right path

mkhphillips · February 2010

Re: Starting a 1.8kW wind turbine project

Well, I could not wait until next weekend to test it. I mounted the hub and attached it to the generator. Since I did not have a pole setup yet, I used my backhoe and turned it into a mobile wind turbine. Pointed into the 15-20 MPH wind, I generated over 20 volts with no load. I quickly became discouraged with I hooked a load to it. I used a 12 volt headlight from a car. The blades quickly came to a stall. I’m not sure if this is what will happen when I connect it to a battery. If it is, then I will have to have larger & wider blades.

mkhphillips · February 2010

Re: Starting a 1.8kW wind turbine project

Here are some more pics.

AntronX · February 2010

Re: Starting a 1.8kW wind turbine project

You should connect that motor to something that can spin it at 100 - 300 rpm and connect some loads to it to see how much power it can generate. I think you will need to use transmission to step up generator rpm a lot higher than direct drive. You could make one out of bicycle's sprockets and chain. As long as you are having fun and not giving up after your first try, that's all good. Check out www.otherpower.com for their wind turbine projects.

RCinFLA · February 2010

Re: Starting a 1.8kW wind turbine project

You might want to look at otherpower.com for homemade windturbines.

http://www.fieldlines.com/section/wind

I have seen some folks make blades out of large diameter PCV pipe. Cutting a blade out of the pipe, using curved pipe diameter for the blade foil.

mkhphillips · February 2010

Re: Starting a 1.8kW wind turbine project

I managed to cut 4 blades out of some 6” PVC pipe that I had lying around. They are 5 foot in length. I did not shape or sand the edges yet. The performance is much better than the wood blades and I am finally producing some good power. The next step is to build something solid to put this monster on. I still need to buy or build a charge controller. I am currently disconnecting the batteries from the motor when they are fully charged. I am not sure if the motor will hurt itself when there is no load on it (spinning freely).

mike95490 · February 2010

Re: Starting a 1.8kW wind turbine project

mkhphillips wrote: »

I am currently disconnecting the batteries from the motor when they are fully charged. I am not sure if the motor will hurt itself when there is no load on it (spinning freely).

No load on free wheeling generator = BAD. It can overspeed in gusts, and it's a lot of extra wear on the bearings. Some can safely be SHORTED (just the motor output, not the battery) and that stalls the motor. Or you may just need a 500W load on the motor to keep it still.

GreenPowerManiac · February 2010

Re: Starting a 1.8kW wind turbine project

Wow! 85 pounds. 2" won't cut it, maybe rigid OK, however, not very tall without guy wires. Big project indeed. Blade size will depend on how easily the motor spins. PMA's have either a "Cogging" effect or smooth. I have both. The smooth effect spins more freely and can have a slightly smaller wing span.

Consider more reading with Hugh Piggott. Look him up on the net. There may be some downloadable PDF's.

peterako · February 2010

Re: Starting a 1.8kW wind turbine project

Sorry stepping in late.

First you have a 200 vdc 1000 rpm motor.
Your first problem is that a 1800 Watt is required to run the motor max. but the problem is that the axe power is way lower.

Not knowing more a good middle is 50% ( yes sorry but it is realistic).
Having a number for the AXE power we do the same to have it work as a generator.
So you have DC generator 400 Watt 200VDC 1000Rpm.

Try it hook it up to 1000 Rpm and measure the voltage and current.

You want to charge 12V battery ( 14V ) that is by 75Rpm you have 30 Watt:grr:cry:
or better hook it up to 75 Rpm and see 15V by 2A.

Second problem the barings are not made for the heavy abuse from wind power.

If you want to try wind power make the generator your self see the links you need a slow speed generator.

The setup needs to be as high up using quality steel cables to support.

Greetings from Greece8)

mkhphillips · March 2010

Re: Starting a 1.8kW wind turbine project

Well, I’m back. I have been hard at work the last month and figured out the behavior of the turbine. Since winter is over, I managed to put the 85 pound monster on a 14’ two inch pipe. I have 3 guide wires holding it down. I still need to find a bearing to put under the motor so it can rotate easily. It has been standing for a good 2 weeks so far. I bought a “dump load” controller kit online and put my soldering skills to the test. Take a look at the pics. I look forward to my next one and tweaking this one.

mkhphillips · March 2010

Re: Starting a 1.8kW wind turbine project

Here are some more pics.

System2 · January 2012

Re: Starting a 1.8kW wind turbine project

Keep up the good work and keep posting pictures and progress along the way.

Starting a 1.8kW wind turbine project

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