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Forum Index : Windmills : Suburban Situation?
| Author | Message | ||||
| petanque don Senior Member  Joined: 02/08/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 212 |
While in a perfect world all wind farms would be located in an area with 25 Km/H winds that blow constantly from one direction. Is a wind turbine likely to be worthwhile in the suburbs of Adelaide? Logically investing the time and effort to make a wind turbine is of little consequence if I don’t have a chance to use it. |
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Bryan1 Guru  Joined: 22/02/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1343 |
Hiya Don, Eh mate I know of a couple of people who have F&P windmills in the Adelaide suburbs. It all comes down to the height, the neighbours and of course the bloody council. Next thing to consider is your area good for wind?. |
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| brucedownunder2 Guru Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548 |
Don, Sounds like u are defeated before u start. Well, I've spent hundreds of hours building windmills and solar arrays and all the gismo's that control the things. It's a great hobby and even if the wind dosen't blow ,who cares? It is worthwhile if u gather the materials as second hand or recovered from free sources-even batteries can be got for free if you scout around,depends on how resourceful the builder is . Don't give up before you start,havagomate Bruce Bushboy |
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Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 640 |
Yeh, hav' a go, what have you got to lose. Hey Bruce, I even have some batteries I got from the dump, free. I hooked them up with a Megapulse and brought them back to useable life again. The Megapulse sorts out the suphation problem. Of course, if the battery is dead, then its dead. I keep the Megapulse on my batteries all the time. Its supposed to increase the life of the batteries, by keeping the suphation under control Trev @ drivebynature.com |
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| brucedownunder2 Guru Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548 |
Hi Trev. about the rotor , I'd think a bore hole with a suitable keyway to fit the F&P s/s shaft would be most adaptable(think it's 25mm,but needs to be a "firm push" fit. This way you could adapt it to either the direct drive off the f&P shaft or a "lay" shaft that is driven by a belt or gear-best of both worlds-As for the inside machining, you possibly would be best to wait til you get the persons magnet sample, because this is critical. The prop hub , I reckon bore it the same with a keyway, the spline machining would be difficult and not so adaptable in "other" situations. Batteries- I'm using Yuasa 60amp/12v , glass matt type- so far very good. Had some Hawker type die on me couple months ago. Have got 6 12v telecom acid wet cells-- can't kill em with a stick.must be nearly 18 years old. I'll see what I can do about measuring the inside measurement of the hub and outside of the stator so I can come up with what size and how many Neo's we can put in there- Have to be epoxy'ied in after they are positioned. So the machining has to be critical. all the best Bruce Bushboy |
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Gizmo Admin Group  Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
Hi petanque don, I'm often recieve emails from people wanting to build a windmill to save on their power bill, and my standard reply is to forget it. You would need to spend $100 to save $1. There are two reasons we build windmills. 1. Its a hobby, hands on, learning new skills, meeting interresting people, keeps you out of the kitchen. No hobby makes any economical sense, but thats the idea. 2. If you dont live near the grid, it can cost 10's of thousands of dollars to get connected. Windmills then make "good" economical sense. Only a few of us actually use our windmills for any serious power generation, but we all get great enjoyment from building them. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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