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Forum Index : Windmills : Another F&P windmill builder
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Gizmo Admin Group  Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
The F&P windmills are popping up everywhere. I recently contacted Trevor Richards of Kuttabul, just north of my home town Mackay. Trev has been building windmills for some time now and also plays around with the F&P motor. 
Trev tells me he wasn't aware others were also using the F&P on windmills, makes me wonder just how many F&P windmills there are out there. This photo shows the inside of one of his F&P windmills. 
A dual stator version. 
Trev owns a fibreglass and foundary business, and also deals in solar/wind systems. Notice his cast aluminium windmill parts. I'll post more information soon. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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| brucedownunder2 Guru  Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548 |
Hello Glenn and welcome to Trevor. Really was impressed with that cast hub,wonder if Trevor is willing to sell a copy ? By the way if you are around Brisbane give me a call ,I'm an hour south and would like to have fellow builders of these windmills visit. Bushboy |
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| Gizmo Admin Group Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
I had a talk to Trev tonight. I said there would be interrest in his blade hubs, and we also discussed the possibility of a replacement aluminium magnet hub. The hub would be a straight swap for the plastic unit, just add a steel backing band and neo magnets. This is Trev's business card, drop him a email.... 
Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 640 |
Thanks Glenn, for the inclusion in your website. As a Manual Arts teacher, I too enjoy seeing others acheive ( I only teach 1 day a week now though). This is a great website in promoting "Do It Yourself". However, for those tough jobs that you may not have the equipment to carry out, we are able to supply almost anything that windmill builders may want. Trev @ drivebynature.com |
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| Gizmo Admin Group Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
Hey Trev. I like that tower. I need to build a new tower for a Lenz style windmill, 2400 high by 2100 wide. As there will be a 1 inch drive shaft down the tower to the alternator at ground level, I thought a latice tower with guy wires would be the way to go. But I'm undecided on its design, or even the materials to make it from. I was thinking of 3 legs using 50mm Angle iron, but not sure of its load capabilities. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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| dwyer Guru Joined: 19/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 574 |
Hi Gizmo My old Southcross Windmill use 50mmx50mmx4mm L angle and approx 12metre high and and l can see why not use L angle steel however must use latice to give some strength and remmber windmill cast steel gearbox and windmill blade, shaft and tail are all very heavy nearly half of ton plus wind blowing still standing up well and some time ago l have made requiring about company who manufacture galvanising highway or street lamp post and the cost $900 including 2 or 3 metre steel gal footing with bolts can't remmber l think was 12 metre high as l am still thinking about buying one of the pole for my wind gen. anyway try contact SouthCross people if they do sell the frames without the windmill or not build your own if is cheaper . Dwyer the bushman |
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makourain Senior Member  Joined: 19/04/2006 Location: Posts: 111 |
we get those street light poles through where i work all the time (meneghello galvanising) and recently we got one of those towers that trev posted through there. but the crane broke and it got stuck LOL. |
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| Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 640 |
Hi Glenn, Yes, this lattice tower is just another of my creations,in fact everything I have, I made. As can be seen with the other single gal pipe, you need to have something to fix it to. (I really detest guy wires). This lattice tower is free standing. It is made from 50x50x4 duragal angle. I paid $74/6.5m length, some time ago. The height of the lattice tower consequently is 6.5m high, but there is no reason why it couldn't be joined to go higher. The lattice uses 25x3 gal flat. Then I use the gal pipe, also 6.5m, the same as the other machine is on. The idea was for easier lifting & lowering, we can use the car. (The single pole is lifted & Lowered with a front end loader.) And then the idea is for lifting directly up to gain extra height, but I havn't tried to do this yet. I possibly will need to use the shed to give extra support if I lift it up. The square of the lattice tower is 200mm. I really should have made it bigger. The foundation is 1m in the ground and the frame is bolted with 20mm 316 s/s thread out of the concrete.  Trev @ drivebynature.com |
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| Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 640 |
Glenn & Bruce (Downunder) Whats the purpose of the steel backing for the hubs?? Is it just to add strength to the plastic hub?? If we cast a hub in aluminium it will already be strong! Trev @ drivebynature.com |
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| brucedownunder2 Guru Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548 |
Hello Trevor, The purpose of the laminated steel banding on the inside of the plastic hub is to "direct" the magnetic field strength forward towards the stator "fingers". It's this steel banding that I syggested that you remove from an existing rotor and include in your Aluminium casting,if you can. Some form of steel "backing lamination" will have to be inserted anyhow,whether in the primary casting or glued in later . Without this iron or steel backing laminations there will be signifient loss of magnetic field . Someone may correct me if I'm incorrect ----- Your Tower, My 56 footer is the same principle , having a guyed 30 foot permanent standing "gin" pole. The tower(65 foot) is hinged at the base and 2 sets of lifting winch cables go through pulley blocks at the top and near the top of the gin pole.(this winch wire is configured through a set of equalizing blocks to evenly distribute the lifting and lowering load) The whole tower and gin pole is made of heavy 90mmx10mm gal angle ,in some cases back to back. It's structual duty tower steel off a TV/microwave tower(telecom). The winch is bolted into a concrete slab and the winch cable is 8mm gal. Cheers, Bruce PS- I'll want one of those rotors when they are ready. Bushboy |
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| Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 640 |
Hi Bruce, I did not know that about the steel banding in the hub. Just to clarify, Do I understand correctly that you want 1)a propellar hub & 2)a rotor hub. with steel in it if we can. Trev @ drivebynature.com |
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| Gizmo Admin Group Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
Yes those metal laminations behind the magnets are required. We played around with a aluminium hub on a F&P several years ago on a solar car. The car was built to race in the World Solar Challenge. We rewound the F&P stator with heavier wire, but eventually gave up on the motor, a lot of controller bugs to sort out and we were running out of time. 
The web site still exists, though no longer public http://www.thebackshed.com/mackaysolarcar. We found our new aluminium hub had only slightly more strength than a standard ceramic hub, and yep, we didnt have any metal laminations behind the magnets. One way to embed steel into the aluminium hub could be to use loops of steel wire instead of flat steel. Or maybe lengths of steel strapping. The steel would need to be close to the surface of the aluminium, and therefore close to the back of the magnets. This would need some thinking through and test hubs, Trev would have more knowledge on this sort of thing. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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| dwyer Guru Joined: 19/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 574 |
Hi Bruce 
I am just in the middle of building aluminuim magnet hubs and just tonight that you mention about steel lamination as l didnt know about and l am using 30x12x3mm rare magnets will be glue inside aluimimuim hubs without flat steel bar same magnets as l did on car 90 amp bosch alt so now l wonder what it will happen?? losing power nor will not work correctly and l am looking forward to finish my jobs on aluminuin hub next week depend how much spare time left . Dwyer the bushman  |
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| Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 640 |
Hi Bruce, Had another batch of aluminium casting recently & added the prop hub. It is made with marine grade, that is high corrosion resistance. Do you want it machined, what shaft size???? key (size)or spline???? Do you want to machine it yourself??? I will have a look at casting the motor magnet hub with the steel in it later. Trev @ drivebynature.com |
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| Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 640 |
Hi Bruce got the info about the shaft hole etc from the other line of chat. 25mm hole with a 6mm key slot. Trev @ drivebynature.com |
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