Quote:
Originally Posted by Daox
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Daox,
Several years ago a friend of mine did some wonderful work with VAWTs (vertical access wind turbines). They have gotten a bad shake from guys like Hugh Piggot but they have some good points, especially for DIYers.
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Ed Lenz is a very knowledgeable guy, we were on Otherpower for awhile but, as nice, and knowledgeable as those guys are, the are in the business of selling magnets. Their design happens to use twice as many magnets as conventional designs.
I use conventional designs (hopefully I'll get one up here at some point) and what I do is go to motor repair shops and ask them to save me large fields of burnt out motors that i strip and convert to wind and water mills.
The other mistake people make is attempting to build a windmill with too large a span right off the bat. I suggest building a couple of small mills on short poles to learn about them first. The logistics and stresses of a 15 or 20 foot span mill is huge! Try starting with a 6 to 7 foot mill first or even Ed's design of a VAWT. Have some fun with it first, you'll build a much better mill your second or third time out.
Rob