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Forum Index : Windmills : Hi all, newbie here
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| BruceBanner Newbie  Joined: 03/02/2014 Location: United StatesPosts: 8 |
First off, thank you to all who have contributed on this forum. There is a great deal of information on here which I am attempting to absorb. Sorry if my questions are basic for the masters, but everyone has to start somewhere. I am located in the states. I live in an area of decent wind, the average is around 18mph mph, however, I live a top of a hill coming up from a large field. There is quite a bit of wind here that I would like to benefit from other than joy from flying a kite. After a bit of reading, I have found a HAWT is the best design for my application and I am trying to find a F&P motor for the build. I am not expecting to get a great deal of power <500w. I would like to see something though. I have a lot of time as i don't work so this is a hobby which I would like to pay for itself over time. I am trying to do this first one as inexpensively as possible but figure on some parts you get what you pay for. My questions are 1. I am planning to tie into the grid. Do I need a control box with over load or will a grid tie inverter that has a higher capacity than my max output be the only thing I would need? 2. In regard to the inverter, could any one recommend a brand? 3. Are there any other sources of motor that one could recommend if I can't find an F&P? Thank you in advance, much appreciated. |
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Greenbelt Guru  Joined: 11/01/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 566 |
Hi Bruce; Welcome to the Forum. Here is a link toRandys workshop A PDF that you may find interesting, I believe he is located in OHIO. Cheers-------------Roe Time has proven that I am blind to the Obvious, some of the above may be True? |
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| BruceBanner Newbie Joined: 03/02/2014 Location: United StatesPosts: 8 |
Great, thank you for the link. He's only about 2 hours from me too |
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Gizmo Admin Group  Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
Guys I deleted a couple of posts here. Its never a good idea to talk badly of a supplier. Instead, provide details of a better one. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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| kamdc Newbie Joined: 05/02/2014 Location: New ZealandPosts: 2 |
Hi Bruce I am in Auckland New Zealand and have just joind the group , came across your blog . Try this fellow , his name is Bryce and very helpfull , whitewarespecs@gmail.com I am sure he could help with what you need . it might help if you look at www.trademe.co.nz and do a serch for F&P phase2-4 stator washing machine motor Trust this will help you Kevin |
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| BruceBanner Newbie Joined: 03/02/2014 Location: United StatesPosts: 8 |
Thanks, prices look great but I'm afraid what shipping to the states will be. Either way thanks for the link. I think I've found the answers to my other questions. From what I've found there are GTI with built in dump load controllers. You just have to hook it to some kind of dump load. The problem is that they do not work when the power is out, they shut off and you have no sort of brake for your generator unless you make one, and all the energy is wasted. As for good brands, I'm not sure there are many options with a budget build as I am trying to do. I found good recommendations on the Sun G brand but there really aren't many others at this price point. |
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| BruceBanner Newbie Joined: 03/02/2014 Location: United StatesPosts: 8 |
Well here's a softball question I can't seem to find the answer to. Is the F&P motor AC and does rewiring produce AC or DC? I've found contradictory info on this. |
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| Greenbelt Guru Joined: 11/01/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 566 |
Bruce; The F&P output is AC. You will need to connect a diode bridge (Rectifier) to convert to DC. for charging the battery bank and then an Inverter for the Grid Tie, This provides a steady output to the Grid while the source is variable as the wind velocity changes. Cheers--------Roe Time has proven that I am blind to the Obvious, some of the above may be True? |
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| BruceBanner Newbie Joined: 03/02/2014 Location: United StatesPosts: 8 |
Thank you, that's what I thought but just wanted to be sure as some sites have it listed differently. Can't believe anything on you tube.. |
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| BruceBanner Newbie Joined: 03/02/2014 Location: United StatesPosts: 8 |
I was able to locate a washer with what appears to be a 36 coil stator. It was out of an LG front loader. I wasn't able to get the bearings out though so I'll have to come up with something. Greenbelt said Is it necessary to have a battery bank if using a grid tie? |
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yahoo2 Guru Joined: 05/04/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1166 |
you need to be sure that the power your turbine supplies meets the grid connect inverter input conditions or it will shut down or blow up. Here is an example of how latronics do it with their inverters latronics turbine controller A battery bank does the same job with some added complexity in managing voltages and charge levels (lot of tinkering involved) the bonus with batteries is that there is the opportunity to run remote from the grid when the power supply goes down. Ten years ago I would have gone with batteries as I was having 2 or three power interruptions per week now I have very few and am happy to run a generator on those days to keep my frozen food.....frozen. I'm confused, no wait... maybe I'm not... |
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Madness Guru Joined: 08/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2498 |
Latronics PV Edge grid tie inverters which are used for solar a lot and can be bought cheap second hand will also allow you to connect a single phase DC wind generator. I think you need 96 volts from memory, or at least the model I had did. Your LG motor could be configured to work with the voltage requirements of the inverter. Although as you are from USA it would be best to find a local inverter supplier that has a suitable product approved for use in your country. Have you investigated if you can do this legally with your electricity company? There are only 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary, and those who don't. |
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| BruceBanner Newbie Joined: 03/02/2014 Location: United StatesPosts: 8 |
A battery back up would be very nice but I'm not sure if I can afford enough at the moment to be useful, always smart to plan ahead though. As for the legalities of it, I haven't quite checked into it but I sure will once I build the generator, before I buy anything else. I don't expect to produce more energy than my home consumes just from things being plugged in, so I don't see it being a problem, they may have to come evaluate the system however. I have a very rural power co-op in northern ky, so I'm sure I'm not the first to want to tie into the grid. Thanks for the responses. Also, I have lost power one time in the past three years for 4 hours. I can hit a golf ball to the main power station in my county from my power company from my house, don't ask me how I know |
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| BruceBanner Newbie Joined: 03/02/2014 Location: United StatesPosts: 8 |
So upon further research I found another question. Simple grid ties with dump loads probably aren't the best route. What kind of charge controller would I need? I see they are based on amps input but most are DC input. I would need a rectifier to convert the AC to DC before the controller then an inverter from the controller to go from dc to ac? I might add that I'd like to add solar in the future so parts that support both simultaneously are desirable. |
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solarwind Regular Member  Joined: 03/02/2008 Location: South AfricaPosts: 51 |
Hi Bruce, I bought a stator and a magnetic rotor directly from an LG-supplier of washing machine spares here in South Africa. I then had a steel box made for me in which I mounted two plummer block bearings and fitted an engineered steel shaft for it. On the outside (rear) of the box, the stator with the 36 coils were fitted and the rotor was fitted on a flange that mounts on the rear of the shaft. The front part of the shaft houses another flange for mounting which ever blades you choose. I am still in the experimenting stage, as you can see on the photographs where I play the role of the tail! Can get scary!2014-02-21_120858_IMG_1415.zip 2014-02-21_120936_IMG_1422.zip You don't have success until you've tried it! |
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| brucedownunder2 Guru Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548 |
Hi Solarwind,,, Nice to see your post ,, I have the LG gear, but have not tested it yet ,because some forum people suggested it was not as good as the F@P gear. Could you let us know the output you are getting and the size of the blades you are running .. Also send us a picture of the shaft you had made and ends,please. Thanks Bruce Bushboy |
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| solarwind Regular Member Joined: 03/02/2008 Location: South AfricaPosts: 51 |
Hi Bruce, At this stage I am tied up on a 3 month contract in Somalia, will only return to South Africa on 7 th May 2014. I promise to send more details when I get the chance. I use 3 x PVC blades made out of 300mm dia PVC pipe and swept area is approximately 2 meters. The LG starts up easily (unloaded) in low wind conditions. I have as yet not done a proper load test due to constraints as can be seen on the photographs! (No tail and no mast!). Modifications done to the LG is splitting the 36 coils into two groups of 18, leaving the original STAR (wye) connection intact. The other half is then also connected in star, but at 180 degrees phase shift to the first group. This will give you a true SIX PULSE AC output on the two sets of 3-phase windings. Each output is then connected to one of two x 3-phase rectifier bridges salvaged from old AC motor drives (VFD). The very low ripple DC from the two rectifiers is then connected in parallel. When turned by hand at about two revolutions per second, I get 28 VDC while connected to a full-lit automobile headlight bulb(24V). On the test pole with a fresh breeze, I got over 80V (That was without the bulb!). I was thinking of using this turbine in conjunction with my existing 48V solar installation, but as you will probably know better than I do,I still need a lot of testing and recording before I can be sure of that! Regards, Johann. You don't have success until you've tried it! |
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