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Forum Index : Windmills : MacGyver Furler
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MacGyver Guru  Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
Chris Nice shed! I was very interested in the video about the furling device, but your back was to the camera and I couldn't understand what you were saying. How about doing another video sometime a little closer to the microphone or facing the camera? The microphone in my camera is in the front, I think and sometimes when I'm yaking and shooting at the same time, it's hard to understand on the replay. I find I have to almost shout to get any audio clarity sometimes. Thanks again; nice work. . . . . . 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 |
Crew Looks like my furling idea is way out there this time. For those who don't understand what furling is REALLY all about, Gizmo has provided me a Dandy Link. For the past 40+ years I've had no idea what actually constitutes furling. I think the key idea here is the fact that both the tail feathers and the turbine axis are off-center from the yaw axis (tower). This creates two little levers. Each axis being off center, combined with constant high-pressure air from the source (wind) and the low-pressure zone created on the back side of the turbine blades (lifting section foils) creates the leverage needed to make things happen. I have not experienced this myself, but have it on fairly good authority that unless the rotor is "loaded" it will not furl. My little test mill in my back yard just free-wheels and I'm told it will not furl unless I attach a load. I'll do that eventually and shoot another video and post it on YouTube. There's also a helpful YouTube link on that page linked above. . . . . . 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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isaiah Guru Joined: 25/12/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 303 |
Im new to furling also and I went and read the link. You have the tail on the pivot with a 90 deg stop and another stop at what deg.? The force of the wind lifts the tail vertically off the angled pivot stop. How long should the angle pivot mount be, or how much upward travel should it have? Dose it make any difference to which side the furl is on? Will it make a difference on blade rotation as to the side you put the furl? some blades are left handed and right handed. Dose the tail have to be on the horizontal centerline of the turbine or above the horizontal center line? URL=http://www.motherearthnews.com/Renewable-Energy/1973-11- 01/The-Plowboy-Interview.aspx>The Plowboy Interview[/URL> |
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| MacGyver Guru Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
isaiah Turns out my little contraption is merely a yard ornament. Actual furling is a result of forces induced during operation while under a load (doing actual work) and mine just free-wheels, so any actual "furling" is not going to happen in my case. As far as using a rudder like on one of my toy airplanes, it becomes virtually non-effective. When I built this, I had no understanding of furling as it exists in reality. The wind in my back yard, though strong at times, has yet to make this thing do anything at all. Read the link again and muse on it. There are also several videos on Youtube; enter "windmill furling" in the search box and you can see how it really works. As to your questions about which way to furl, it is my understanding that tail movement during furling should make the windmill go in the direction it would if the spinning blade were a wheel sitting on the ground. I mess around with windmills as a hobby, something to do. In reality, it can become something of a very serious engineering matter. If your goal is to manipulate nature into giving up something of value, nature charges a fee. That fee turns out to be knowledge and understanding, neither of which I possess. Like I said, I'm just messing around. . . . . . 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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| isaiah Guru Joined: 25/12/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 303 |
moved I have a 1931 Airmotor motor and the tail furl has a big spring and rod and also activates a band brake. the blade is 98 inches dia the offset between the tail and rotor is 5.5 inches the tail is 49 inches long and has 42 inches between the mill and tail fin. the fin at the widest point is 38 inch and tapers down to 20 inches.just some extra information. URL=http://www.motherearthnews.com/Renewable-Energy/1973-11- 01/The-Plowboy-Interview.aspx>The Plowboy Interview[/URL> |
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