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Forum Index : Windmills : MacGyver Cross
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MacGyver Guru  Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
I have long been a fan of vertical axis wind turbines. I am aware of their several drawbacks, nonetheless, I have kept at it, trying to overcome some of the bad features. I am intrigue by their simplicity, but they are known as “Drag“ machines. I have addressed those megative features in a new build, which I call the “MacGyver Cross”. I called it that because it is a blending of several disciplines and besides, I always liked the name Southern Cross, which is another kind of a windmill. This new design places a set of “sailwings” set on a long moment arm Central about a vertical axle. I will try to put some pictures on here, but it been along time since I’ve done that, so hide and watch, I guess. Basically, wingsails or sailwings are nothing more than a regular salil, except that the entire wing section ( symmetrical section, by the way) pivots on the mast, so it can be directed up-wind and there is a large Flap or elevator or rudder or whatever you want to call it, which can bend both directions allowing an airfoil to form on either side. For this reason, there is no stall and there is no luff. The wing is either on a tack or On a reach and moves inboard and outboard only about 15° shifting from one side to the other. Take a look at the small red one in the picture and you can see how moving that rudder from side to side will create a lifting surface on the opposite side and that’s how it works. It’s really simple and I like simple. I am currently building a mono-pole generator, which will be used on smaller builds, which will travel faster than the monster pictured in the video, which has a center-to-wingsail moment arm of 36 inches each. It turns slowly, but has tremendous Torque. My YouTube channel is named “Thebackshedmac”. Search for it and you will see I have posted a short video as a proof-of-concept on there, which will be followed by more videos as I build more windmills of a similar nature. I would try to put a link on here for it, but I just know I’ll botch it up.   . . . . . Mac Nothing difficult is ever easy! Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman, "Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!" Copeville, Texas |
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| Boppa Guru Joined: 08/11/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 814 |
Sailwing VAWT That should work  |
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| MacGyver Guru Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
Hey, thanks, Boppa. I used to know how to do all that fancy stuff, but these days, I’m not sure I understand all I know about it anymore. I see you are also a guru here. I haven’t been around much in the past several years, because I got divorced and moved to Texas only to be hit by a tornado and have been rebuilding my house for the past seven years. It is only of late that I have had time to build windmills and steam engines and airplanes and so on and so forth. Thanks again for the link. . . . . . Mac Nothing difficult is ever easy! Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman, "Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!" Copeville, Texas |
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| MacGyver Guru Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
OK, remember in another thread, which is titled “vertical axis windmill” and is a couple spots down on the page here? In that thread, I gave a little teaser about an upcoming build using plastic sign material. Well, that is now a reality. Use the link provided by BOPPA and go to my YouTube channel and see what I have done. This new one is called “MacGyver Cross Coroflute. All I did was take plastic sign material, cut it into the shape of a triangular sail, slip it over the steel rod using the forward hole created vertically by the flutes in the plastic sign material, tie off the sail’s outhaul with a piece of nylon shovk cord and that’s it. It works like a champ. Then wings or sails or whatever you want to call them can be built in about five minutes. . . . . . Mac Nothing difficult is ever easy! Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman, "Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!" Copeville, Texas |
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| MacGyver Guru Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
Oops! The link doesn’t work. Boppa — would you be so kind as to help me out again? Thanks. . . . . . Mac Nothing difficult is ever easy! Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman, "Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!" Copeville, Texas |
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| Boppa Guru Joined: 08/11/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 814 |
MacGyver Cross Coroflute tis pretty easy, I open the youtube in a new tab, rightclick/copy the video name eg MGCCF lol -don't close that tab yet yet though back here open reply and fourth button along in the post reply box is attach hyperlink (ball with chain link in front looking icon-between U and an envelope), press that and it comes up with text you want to appear on the screen, rightclick/paste the video name in or just type what you want to appear on the post as the link name.... Go back to the window with the youtube in, highlight and copy the web address back to the shed window and next box in the hyperlink box is web address- paste in Finish off and it posts all the magic web stuff in your reply box for you It should look something like the top line in this...  If you want to test it and see what it looks like, use the preview post button next to the post reply button... |
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| MacGyver Guru Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
Thank you for all the advice, however I don’t have a computer. All I have is an iPhone. This is as good a place as any to Update my situation: I have changed several things. First, I have made a smaller version, which is only 24 inches in diameter with each wing fully extended. Second, the new wings are not aerodynamic, because I found out flat wings work just as well and are a heck of a lot easier to build than aerodynamic ones. Also, instead of tethering the out-haul of the sail with a cord, I made two “stops “which limit the travel of the sale both inboard and outboard, as I figure sooner or later, A cord will untie it self somehow. My future plan is to have a windmill “tree” Consisting of 10 or more small vertical access the wind turbines each turning a small generator and then merely connecting them all electrically to charge a battery. I have seen this approach taken before by others and I think I will try it myself. . . . . . Mac Nothing difficult is ever easy! Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman, "Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!" Copeville, Texas |
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| sonny97301 Newbie  Joined: 10/08/2019 Location: United StatesPosts: 8 |
some late info. a vawt config has an inherent and unavoidable issue. the rotor RADIUS is Too small. |
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