My Other projects...

[Bob]

Among my other projects I have going besides Hydroxy generators are many and veried in scope....
besides Moving back to the Ranch, which currently takes all my time and effort...
I have a Strap on the back Helicopter project...( hasn't flown yet )
Restoring a RL250 Suzuki Trials bike, My sister just gave me !
verious automobiles in need of repair... ( in my spare time type thing!)
Constant puttering with the Henry Furgison tractor...
and trying to get the Ranch back into respectable shape!
...
Bob.......

[Bob]

A project which I have been thinking about lately is a wind generator for the Ranch
I know Tink is useing one now and is happy with it, but I was thinking of a altenator driven by 6 or 8ft blades... 4 of them... and build it all myself...from "found Parts"
... the problem is the RPM of an altenator seams to work best at a auto's RPM of 2500 to 3000rpm... but that isn't the altenators RPM... because they usually have a 2:1 ratio to drive them.... that makes the Altenators RPM a whopping 5000 to 6000 RPM at the shaft ! which to me sounds extreamily fast!
....
a 8' bladed 4 blade prop stuck up in the wind should turn fairly well... but how fast ?
should I gear it up ...or down ?
I'ed think gearing it down would turn the altenator easier... small pully on the prop ,large one on the altenator ( just the oppisit of a car) but that means the prop has to turn very fast to do any charging at all ! so fast infact that I seriously doubt we have the wind for it!
....
any ideas ?
...
Bob........


 

[Manta]

Bob,

Be very careful of the tip-speed of the blade.  You may be better off using the Savonius Rotor method.  A few old 50 gallon drums cut down the middle and mounted on a vertical shaft will give lots of torque and wont turn as fast.  You won't need to worry which way the wind is blowing either.  Mind you,  you will need to gear it up a bit.
Do you have plenty of wind where you live ?

Manta

[Bob]

Yah I agree on the rotor idea as they are better in many ways....
I made a large "S" shaped rotor as a Kid  and was amazed at its power !
...actually the wind is about a constant 5mph at 200ft.... but that is the problem its way the heck up there!
 I might be better off to go solar in the long run... we do have LOTS of sun !
....
Blade tip speed is important if you want to keep the sound down... as the blade tips can go supersonic and make lots of noise....and when they do that they stop pulling as they sit in a vacume then.... but up to that point is allot of play room....
now that you made me think of it I think a rotor is a better idea because of the veri-able winds at the Ranch.... they do come from all angles down there in the box canyon !
....
 I saw a quick video in passing of a windmill in N.Aficra that was a long pole with sails on the end.... affixed to a pump laying horozonal  and it was spinning slowly and every time the sail would come around faceing the wind the sail would Luff and then slam out to be a small sail... fully ballooned..... it was neet....
looked like it had been there for hundreds of years too !
hehehehehe and it was still pumping water ...by raising a series of cans on a rope down the well.... quite ingenious actually !
...but my wind isn't that low.... but something like that on a tower using a automotive Rearend
driveing a drive shaft could work !
....I have a High  Hill above the pond that I could hook something like that up...
been considering it !
...
Bob.........

[Cowboy]

Now you're just fishing Bob!    You know what you're going to do, and you know that the foothill winds won't allow you to do anything else.  Make it happen and be happy.  So what if you have to use steel drums instead of plastic, that just means that you won't slow down as quick as the others.  You don't spin up as fast either,  but you pull through.  The same thing can be said of people that stick to heavy fly wheels instead of light ones.  Sure the folks with light flywheels spin up faster, but in the end, the folks that have more weight on the rotating assembly won.  Not true now, but it was then.  Now there's too much machining and not enough of making the best our of what you had.

[Bob]

but Fishing for ideas is a good thing cowboy ! HAHAHAHAHA
yah I know  WHAT I can do and get away with.... and a prop simply ain't it unless its 30ft long
and thats prone to breakage.... so I need a wind turbin.... 
...
heheheh
Bob........