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brucedownunder2 Guru Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548
Posted: 11:27pm 20 May 2020
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I was browsing through my albums this morning (thanks to self-isolation,lol.) and came across a couple of hard worked parts that formed my windmill at the time...
Along came a big storm , and all that carving ,way back with Phil M and I came to an end !!.
It was good fun ,the slip-rings were bits and pieces of copper water pipe ,car alternator brushes , and epoxy resin .. I think this was way back in 2008 -sometime back then ??? /Users/bruce/Desktop/005.jpg/Users/bruce/Desktop/slip /U sers/bruce/Desktop/slip rings.jpgjavascript:openWin('UploadImage.php?AuthorID=15','images','toolbar=0,location=0,status=0,menubar=0,scrollbars=0,resizable=1,width=400,height=220')Bushboy
Warpspeed Guru Joined: 09/08/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 4406
Posted: 12:15am 21 May 2020
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That is a very fine piece of engineering Cheers, Tony.
brucedownunder2 Guru Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548
Posted: 12:32am 21 May 2020
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Thanks Tony,
The rotating part(hub) was a ford cortina(that should stir the oldies ?). I used a lot of bits and pieces from wrecking yards,-those were the days when thongs and no shirt were permitted ,today you have to be dressed like a spaceman !!!.
The plastic for the blades was a "ABS" tough plastic ,Phill M has a sharp eye for the right stuff !. You could hit it with a hammer ,no harm . But shaping was a hard job , we used "Carbotech" wood carving disc. Very dangerous in the inexperienced hands, so don't go there if you are a beginner.
Messy, plastic shavings everywhere, and they sort of stick ,probably through some sort of electrical build-up in the shaving process.
I noticed that one blade was sort of bent (twisted), and no matter what I did I could not un-twist or get it like the rest. So, maybe the plastic pipe(was a very big pipe, around 300mm) has some sort of "memory" ??.
I covered the slip-long assembly with an old aluminium saucepan ,kept all the crawlies out of the works Dept.
Damn! Sorry Bruce. Found the send button in Save Posts. Here goes again.
I have a Comet windmill, very old. I also have a a Fisher & Paykel motor that I would like to modify and use as the generator. I cant find anything on the required speed for this motor arrangement. Do you have anything on this? I realise that the windings need to be reconnected, but no point in doing this if the speeds are not correct. Output at rpm? Thanks Mike
brucedownunder2 Guru Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548
Posted: 01:32am 21 May 2020
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Hi Itchy,
Well, the washing machine motor ,as recovered from the old machine , is what we re-configured in the past to make our wind turbine.
So, maybe , you are on the right track to make a generator, just that yours would be powered by a petrol/diesel powered engine ?
So, to point you in the right direction ,sit down for a considerable time and start at the front of this forum 's posts and read, read and more read-.
It's all there, and very successful re-wiring could be achieved . I've been around many years, so have lots of forum guys ,and Gals . there are many drawings, questions and replies for you to sort through .
I remember the wife and I rewinding car alternators with us counting the turns with ball-bearings being taken out of a cup ,when it was empty , we had the correct number of turns-- stuff like that ,if you are new , will teach you quickly if you have the patience to do the windings.... I felt like chucking it all away many times... plus quite a few beers in between !!!.
So Mate, reading from the start first page,Glenn has done a monster job ,you benefit. Keep asking questions.. BruceBushboy
Wow. Thanks for the quick reply. I have been in gen sets for years, small and large. (now retired) No this time the challenge is in using a Comet windmill as the prime mover, hence the question about speed of the alternator, (generator) after I get the reconnections right Thanks for the heads up, I will find the first page, grab a coldie and work my way through both! Regards Mike
brucedownunder2 Guru Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548
Posted: 02:33am 21 May 2020
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Oh, the speed..
Gee, Got me on that one , ??.
I would guess too slow ,and therefore not enough power output, both in volts and amps ??
Too fast , dunno, never experienced that problem . suppose you would just cook it ???.
Anyhow , have a read , maybe you will find you don't have to do much in the re-winding Dept. Depends on what you want to power -- 240 v motor, 24 volt charger, 12 volt supply -- guess you tailor your F&P winding for your particular output-- it's all in the reading of the posts, betcha someone has done it before you ,lol.???? you just have to find it ..
If you are around the Gold Coast , let me know and I'll show you a few goodies I have ,might be able to set you up .
BruceBushboy
Warpspeed Guru Joined: 09/08/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 4406
Posted: 04:56am 22 May 2020
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There is no simple single answer to that. But its not that fast.
Basically the faster you turn it, the higher the voltage, and because it uses permanent magnets, voltage goes up proportionally with rpm.
But there are many different ways of connecting the multiple windings to produce different output voltages and currents. To further confuse things, different model motors (over the years) have had different numbers of turns on each pole.
Best way is probably to mount it in a drill press or a lathe, and see what you actually have, with some real world testing.
Work out the rpm at which you eventually plan to drive it, then wire up the various poles to get as close as possible to your planned dc system voltage.Cheers, Tony.
brucedownunder2 Guru Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548
Posted: 10:16pm 22 May 2020
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Thanks for tidying up my confusion ,Tony .
Sometimes,often nowadays, I get all messed up in my trying to explain things..
I did use my press drill stand for testing once ,way back, you get fairly good results ,mine is 1.5Hp ,so has a bit of grunt. I made up some dummy loads with home made electric elements from electric heaters , you have to get the resistive loads down to a few Ohms, and watch out ,they get red hot !!!.
There are a few examples on the forum of guys setting up FandP with petrol/Diesel engines, he will have to search .
Ok, Saturday, blowing a gale , fairly chilly ,so I'll hide in the warm workshop all day. Working on my solar controller panel and the new inverter set-up.
BruceBushboy
Warpspeed Guru Joined: 09/08/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 4406
Posted: 10:54pm 22 May 2020
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I bought one of those cheap Chinese electronic hand tachometers from flea-bay. Very handy unit to have around the workshop if you do much with rotating machinery, pulleys, motors, and so on.Cheers, Tony.
brucedownunder2 Guru Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548
Posted: 10:57pm 30 May 2020
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I have one of those hand held Tacho's ,
It has grown a creepy black mass over part of the display.. Question ,, I'm fairly handy with dismantling these sort of components,,, could I carefully remove that glass cover and clean this black "spider" web sort of fungus off the surface of whatever it's not supposed to be on ????? Any clues techs out there ??? Oh, I pulled it out yesterday and even after 15 years in my drawer , she's still working(battery wise) and not much more screen blackout has happened. Oh, I just remember , I bought this taco either in Darwin or Cairns ,during work all that time ago.. Could it be the tropical climate that caused the growth on the screen ?????
Bruce Edited 2020-05-31 09:01 by brucedownunder2Bushboy
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