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DIY 1000 watt wind turbine

by sspence on June 2, 2006 Table of Contents License: Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intro: DIY 1000 watt wind turbine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 1: Build the magnet disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 2: Build the coil disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 3: Build the bearing assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 4: construct the blades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 5: Bolt it all together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 2 3 4 5 5 5 5 5

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-1000-watt-wind-turbine/

License: Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa) Intro: DIY 1000 watt wind turbine
We built a 1000 watt wind turbine to help charge the battery bank that powers our offgrid home. It's a permanent magnet alternator, generating 3 phase ac, rectified to dc, and fed to a charge controller. The magnets spin with the wind, the coils are fixed, so no brushes or slip rings necessary.

step 1: Build the magnet disks

We had 12" steel disks hydro cut. We cut a template for mounting the magnets. Then we mounted 12 grade n50 magnets around the outside edge. We then built a form, and poured the resin with hardner.

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-1000-watt-wind-turbine/

step 2: Build the coil disk

We wound the nine individual coils, soldered them in a 3 phase wye configuration, and encased them in resin. We used 35 turns of 2 parallel strands of 14 gauge enameled (magnet) wire for 12 volts. Use 70 turns of single strand for 24 volts. # 3 phase diagram shown here shows 3 stator coils. each of those coils is actually 3 coils in series. coils 1,4, and 7 are series together, 2,5, and 8 are series together, and 3,6, and 9 are series together. more details, see the following page 15 for the series star, 1-y diagram. http://www3.telus.net/faheydumas/Wind_Turbine/Forum/AXIAL_FLUX_HowItWorks.pdf

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-1000-watt-wind-turbine/

step 3: Build the bearing assembly

Two Harley Davidson wheel bearings are inserted into the pipe, with a smaller pipe locked between them to keep them in place.

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-1000-watt-wind-turbine/

step 4: construct the blades

The blades are 2" x 6" pine, cut at 10 degrees on a table saw, and sanded into a rough airfoil. Not perfect, but close enough. More can be found at http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/axialflux/ http://www.green-trust.org http://youtube.com/watch?v=o9EEHFKEckM

step 5: Bolt it all together

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Cardboard Savonius Wind Turbine by rhackenb

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Comments
50 comments Add Comment view all 1058 comments

iloveairsoftstuff says:
instead of coils and magnets could you just use an electric motor you have laying around to produce DC current?

Sep 23, 2010. 9:15 AM REPLY

sspence says:
you might be able to, if it's sized correctly.

Sep 23, 2010. 2:55 PM REPLY

ashbranmeg says:

May 5, 2010. 11:25 AM REPLY Did you alter the polarity of your magnets? If not, wouldnt the output of your generator be DC with no need for a rectifier? If there is no alternating of the field, there will be no reversing of the flow? That means DC not AC?

Seminumerical says:

May 16, 2010. 7:22 AM REPLY Coils can only generate electricity in an alternating magnetic field. Hence, you always get AC when using coils. I have never heard of anything generating DC using magnets, without a rectifier. But DC can be generated with solar PV-cells, peltier-elements or chemically with batteries. Another source for AC is piezo-elements which generates current when sqeezed.

ashbranmeg says:

May 16, 2010. 2:47 PM REPLY I dont wish to start a long drawn out discussion on electrical theory here, but you are incorrect. A coil will move electrons any time a magnetic fiel is passed across it. AC is generated when a magnet is spun with first the north pole moving electrons in one direction then the south pole in the opposite direction and so on. If you design a generator where only the north pole of your "field" passes through the coil you will generate dc. Granted it will be pulsating dc. You clean up the pulses by having enough coils to fill in any "gaps". Many homebuilt wind turbines use permanent magnet DC motors, because they are designed with rotataing magnets that operate in this very way. Most DC permanent magnet motors when spun will produce DC voltage that can be connected directly to your charge controller. To say that you can generate only DC with a coil is incorrect.

staida says:

Aug 5, 2010. 8:51 AM REPLY These "gaps" are a sawtooth wave. It's still a waveform, you haven't rectified that current thus you still require a rectifier. Calling it dc when it's still one side of an AC wave (in that pesky theory you wanted to avoid) doesn't earn you any points.

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-1000-watt-wind-turbine/

ashbranmeg says:

Aug 5, 2010. 11:34 AM REPLY "sawtooth wave"? I am assuming you mean pulsating DC. This wind generator would presumably be used to charge a bank of batteries that would be providing power for an inverter. What you dont seem to know is pulsating DC is used quite frequently to charge batteries. I called it Dc because that is exactly what it is, be it pulsating DC. I am not interested in "earning points", but rather am trying to point out that it is not necessary to rectify pulsating Dc to charge a battery. Most store bought automotive battery chargers use pulsating DC to charge batteries, I would recommend doing some research before claiming that pulsating DC is not useable in this application.

sspence says:

Aug 5, 2010. 12:08 PM REPLY This wind generator does not produce dc. it produces 3 phase ac. A rectifier (6 diodes) is necessary to convert it to dc for battery charging.

ashbranmeg says:

Aug 6, 2010. 2:45 PM REPLY Yes sir, I understand that you built this to generate 3 phase AC. This particular comment string started when I posed the idea of keeping the polarity of your magnets the same and producing pulse DC, which would negate the need for a rectifier. The easier we can do this, the more eliable things will be. If we dont need a rectifier, then we wont have a rectifier to fail later on.

sspence says:
Feel free to start a new instructable, please don't hijack mine.

Aug 6, 2010. 3:11 PM REPLY

sspence says:
Yes, the magnets alternate polarity. Trying to make a dc gen directly is an interesting concept. let me know how it works.

May 5, 2010. 2:58 PM REPLY

jetboy says:
what size are the coils how thick wide and tall

Aug 1, 2010. 6:01 PM REPLY

rapidprototyping says:

Jul 25, 2010. 5:07 PM REPLY the most important thing about prototyping is falling down and getting back up looking for better way to do it take lighting are led's any better then edisons incadesent light bulbs certainly not any cheaper. or maybe we took wrong turn way back then and should have been on low voltage all along our devices seem to be working fine on it. My 12 volt weed eater does lots work Jul 25, 2010. 4:52 PM REPLY right generator wrong rotor. try a savanious rotor and have that same cat cut your discs and cut 15 aluminum pipe in half so cat and weld it all in one unit then balance that whole thing like they do tires when you mount them. here is photo of the one i built in 1980 wish it been all aluminun and had magnets holding it up off its bearing also consider a saphire bearing on bottom center pivot point. love the build my own generator concept best atenpt so far i'd say the other guys power electronics weren't bad. one with tilt up tower

rapidprototyping says:

Geedigity says:
What about using the N52 magnets? They should be stronger than the N50, thus more power??

Jul 24, 2010. 3:36 PM REPLY

jetboy says:
about how many feet of wire was used total and what is the size of the magnets

Jul 7, 2010. 1:18 PM REPLY

sspence says:
This was already answered in the instructable and it's comments.

Jul 13, 2010. 3:08 AM REPLY

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-1000-watt-wind-turbine/

sinoneo says:
(removed by author or community request)

Jul 13, 2010. 12:23 AM

sspence says:

Jul 13, 2010. 3:08 AM REPLY And if you read the instructable, you's know that indeed it is using rare earth neodymium magnet. guess you were just using this opportunity to sell your own product?

napjax3000 says:

Jul 11, 2010. 5:53 PM REPLY I've been interested in using wind power for some time now. Just didn't want to spend a ton of money doing it. Thanks for the instructions and illustrations. This really helps. Jun 26, 2010. 4:44 PM REPLY Is there a way to substitute wind for magnets? If I built this I would not want to depend on wind but magnets to generate the power? And when you say 1000 watts. Is that making a 1000 watts per hour? or day?

cnbmnm says:

SwordmanJr says:

Jun 29, 2010. 7:11 PM REPLY Magnetism is not a form of energy. It's a property of ferrous metals. All those scams out there about allegedly harnessing the power or energy of magnets is pure bull. I'm an electrical engineer who has studied those scams, and found them to be nothing more than money-making schemes by rip-off artists fleecing unsuspecting people who don't know better. The 1000 watt rating is an instantaneous measure, not a time measure, such as killowatthours. Jun 26, 2010. 5:09 PM REPLY Wind spins the magnets. Magnets don't generate power, that have to be spun with a power source. 1000 watts is a instantaneous measurement. If the wind blows 30 mph for 6 hours, it generates 6000 watt hours per day.

sspence says:

ChuckP says:

Jun 4, 2009. 2:03 PM REPLY I am on the grid, and would prefer to develop a generator that connects directly to my panel so as to avoid the cost and maintenance of batteries and an inverter. It this possible with this system? Thanks for all the work you have put into this.

sspence says:
This unit is not appropriate for direct grid tie.

Jun 4, 2009. 2:16 PM REPLY

ChuckP says:

Jun 4, 2009. 2:25 PM REPLY What would it take to make it so? I am assuming that the magnets are placed with alternating poles facing the coils which will then generate AC. I also assume a voltage regulator would be needed. Is there something in the design of this system that makes it inherently incompatible with the grid? Sorry to bug you about this, but I don't have $500 for batteries and $1,900 for an inverter. Also, I read in a previous post that the steel plate was 1/4". Is that thickness essential, or can I use a piece of sheet metal that I can cut with tinsnips? Thanks again.

Jissan says:

Jun 26, 2010. 12:50 PM REPLY A voltage regulator is so named because it only controls the voltage. If you want to connect it to the grid, you not only need to have the correct voltage, you also have to match the incoming AC sine wave position and speed(we all know in North America we use 60Hz). 1)If you want to generate off grid, you can use a simple inverter that can be bought at some surplus stores or Canadian Tire has them as well. 2)For connecting to the grid, you need a "Grid Tie Inverter" it reads the incoming sine wave and matches it. I have seen them on e-bay for anywhere from $450 to $500. -For either of the inverters, you need to use a 12v or 24v battery for it to feed off of. **Note** depending where you live, you may NOT be allowed to use some Grid Tie Inverters. As some are NOT ESACSA approved, they can not be used in Ontario for example**

sspence says:
To make it grid tie, you would need regulated rpm, out of the range of most hobbyists.

Jul 29, 2009. 5:09 AM REPLY

Dr_Stupid says:

Sep 26, 2010. 12:42 AM REPLY That's not necessarily true to make it a grid tie-in system. It would just need to have a sine-wave inverter between the battery bank and the power company's side of things, then you'd be good to go. It's pretty common to do 'em like that in PV systems.

sspence says:

Sep 26, 2010. 4:13 AM REPLY No, you would need a battery bank and a grid tie inverter, like the Outback GTFX series, not just a sine wave inverter. The question was direct connection. That's not possible.

mynumber1 says:

Jun 16, 2009. 4:38 AM REPLY in terms of can you a thinner metal the answer is yes but it makes it more complex i work and design large scale generators and we dont normally use large single peices of metal if you used a thinner metal but layered it would work the same for but what we normally do is layer with appling insultive coating around each layer this allows for minimizing eddy current loses in your generator due to generator action occuring in the core

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-1000-watt-wind-turbine/

ChuckP says:

Jun 16, 2009. 12:01 PM REPLY Thanks for your comment. What would suffice for an insulative layer? Sheet metal has a thin coat of zinc over the steel; would that be enough? If not, would a coating of urethane work? And would the layers of sheet metal need to be 1/4 inch thick to have the same effect?

sspence says:

Jun 16, 2009. 12:19 PM REPLY No insulative layer is necessary, it's just a steel plate with magnets on it. There's no electricity flowing on it or through it. No layers are necessary either. Sheet metal will not work. It has to be iron/magnetic steel. It needs to be at least 1/4" thick.

mynumber1 says:

Jun 24, 2009. 5:10 AM REPLY no it does not have to be iron or magnetic steel it simply has to be a magneticly premable metal to allow the flux to directed more easly but i do agree that your basic sheet metal would not be a very good metal to use since most sheet metals have a high thermal expanssion rate but prefered coating would be a plastic coating to allow for a stronger bond and urethane gets weak as it heats up when i built my own turbine i used the magnetics to make a pgm exciter to ensure a consant rotor field then used coiled wire for my rotor the negitive side of this is needing slip rings but using gold wire instead of brushs still allows for high relyablity and low maintance but as my turbine produces 5k instead of one and operates in a wider range of wind speeds its far complexed and wouldnt suggest the design to anyone who doesnt have a back in power generation

robnsaab says:

Jul 20, 2009. 10:13 PM REPLY I am really interested in your 5kw generator. Is there any way that you could give me some info on your design. My email is robert.x.rivera@gmail.com it would really help me out. Thank You.

sspence says:

Jul 21, 2009. 7:15 AM REPLY I don't have a 5kw generator. See http://www.green-trust.org for our ebook on building the axial flux.

ChuckP says:

Jun 24, 2009. 10:34 AM REPLY Thanks for the comment. I am really interested in your 5kw generator. Would you be willing to give me more information about it? If so, my direct email address is candp5777@yahoo.com. I would appreciate it.

sspence says:

Jun 24, 2009. 9:42 AM REPLY incorrect. the steel plate completes the lines of flux. magnetic "permeable" would leave a weak field.

mynumber1 says:
(removed by author or community request)

Jun 25, 2009. 10:24 AM

sspence says:

Jun 25, 2009. 11:34 AM REPLY It appeared you were advocating something not iron or steel based. We don't use the term "magnetically permeable" in the alternator industry. Steel works best in this design, which we build and use. Please try to understand this particular design before offering "improvements" that will just make this design fail. If you don't like the design, go make your own, write about it, and stop hijacking the threads of others.

mynumber1 says:

Jun 25, 2009. 12:48 PM REPLY i understand your design prefectly you made a pmg (preminent magnet generator) we use these as exciters for generators all the time my comments are simply address because instead of offering alteritives to people asking questions you tring to sale them things which is completely pointless if you are just tring to help people

sspence says:

Jun 25, 2009. 2:01 PM REPLY it's a permanent magnet alternator, and there are no eddy currents in the core, or need for layered insulated metal. if you understand the design, why did you advise how to make coil cores? the questions that keep popping up have been answered multiple times. at some point you have to point them to a step by step book (which we don't make any money on) and a discussion group.

mynumber1 says:

Jun 29, 2009. 8:22 AM REPLY due to the fact that you are creating a voltage the coils of the stator cause a current and creating a maginetic field form the coils creates a generator effect in the plate which creates a large counter electromotive force lowering the effeictness of the generator limiting its power out put this issue could be can be minimized by layering but as long a its generating power there will be eddy current loses its impossible to prevent it and in fact and alternator is a generator in fact just not a standardly definded generator you seem to think you need to defend yourself with ever i say when in fact you dont im simply offering improvements which would make even this design more efficent i design these for a living and im not saying that your design doesnt work simplly helping because due to the company i work for i cant post and of my own designs cause all designs i make because corpate owned

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-1000-watt-wind-turbine/

sspence says:

Jun 16, 2009. 6:23 AM REPLY There is no core in a axial flux alternator, The steel backing plate is for the magnets, not the coils. You need to examine the design before giving advice.

ChuckP says:

Jun 16, 2009. 12:03 PM REPLY But isn't it all interrelated? The steel backing affects the magnetic field which affects the fields effect on the coils and subsequent power generation?

sspence says:

Jun 16, 2009. 12:20 PM REPLY yes, but cogging is caused by iron cores in the coils, and that doesn't exist in this design. It's an "air core" design.

sspence says:
it's wild ac, there's no way to synchronise to 60 cycle. thinner than 1/4 steel will not complete the lines of flux.

Jun 4, 2009. 3:20 PM REPLY

ChuckP says:
I understand. Thanks. BTW, what is the diameter of the steel plate?

Jun 4, 2009. 3:55 PM REPLY

sspence says:

Jun 4, 2009. 4:11 PM REPLY 12". I suggest you get the eBook at http://www.green-trust.org/wordpress/2009/05/07/the-woodhengeorg-green-trustorg-diy-wind-turbine/ It gives very detailed instructions on building the alternator and the blades.

seandogue says:

Aug 12, 2009. 8:43 AM REPLY Just wanted to say thank you. it seems like more and more of these instructables are little more than system packaging exercises, and yours, imo, stays true to the idea of DIY inventiveness. As to the on-grid/offgrid issue, seems that one *could add a tracking inverter on the downstream side of your battery packs to connect up? Am I off-target here? In any case,your post is what I would expect to see at instructables, rather than a cloaked attempt to direct someone to "How to buy my company's wind generator kit" or, uh-oh, another inventor is giving away the secret of our not really so secret obfuscated product." thanks for the detail and thought and low-level (closer to the basis) design. refeshing and illuminating.

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http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-1000-watt-wind-turbine/