Up cycle your PC fans into mini wind generators

Do you have stacks of old computer equipment gathering dust ? Now you can put some of it to use! This guide shows you how to use PC fans as mini wind generators for recharging solar lights and ni-cads !ou"ll need some #asic soldering skills$ #ut this is otherwise a very easy pro%ect &y little wind generator makes around ' ( - )* in a +mph wind$ a#out ),ma into a ni-cad This wasn"t a huge success$ -"d hoped to get a little more power out of it Thanks for reading! Please be sure to check
ScrapToPower regularly for updates, and new projects!

.ere"s what you will need /

Thick plastic bottle. Old PC fan, bigger the better! A few feet of small wire A piece of wood about .!" s#uare and around $%cm long Two lengths of steel tubing that slide inside of each other, about &$" ' (chottkey diodes, ) used *AT+! but any will do ,po-y (uper .lue. /ip ties An old C0

(tep 1 0ismantle the fan Normally these fans are held together #y a little circlip This is hidden under a seal on the #ack of the fan 0emove the sticker$ and prise the little ru##er seal off This should reveal the circlip$ you can prise this off with a little screw driver !ou should #e a#le to pull the #lades off now

(tep $1 (older on the wires 1ook at the copper coils on the fan$ there should #e two or three wire legs$ these are the connections to the coils 2ne of them will have two pieces of copper wire connected whilst two have only one piece of copper wire connected !ou want to solder two wires to the legs with only one copper wire There should #e %ust enough metal showing to solder onto Prepare two lengths of insulated wire #y tinning the ends 3older these onto the coil legs 4ith the wires soldered$ you can remove any electronic components from the #oard - %ust snipped the legs with some mini wire cutters (tep 21 *uilding the rectifier The rectifier turns the 5C output into useful DC power !ou need 6 diodes for this 3nip the legs on two of the to a#out 'cm on the side with the #lack line$ and three to a#out 'cm on the side without the #lack line 7end the long pieces over to connected them all together 8see photos9 3older them all together$ then solder the three wires to where the two diodes are connected together 4hen you"ve finished the rectifier together$ you can add the output wires used a#out a meter of #ell wire$ you can ad%ust this to suit your needs

3 (tep '1 Test the alternator

!ou can test to see if the alternator is working now$ fit the #lades #ack into the fan and connect an 1:D or multimeter to the output ;ive it a good spin and see if it works! 5fter you"ve tested it 8and it"s working!9 you can remove the outer plastic case and the #lades of the fan !ou can %ust snap the #lades off$ - cut the supporting parts of the #o< casing with wire cutters
(tep !1 Cut the blades

The #lades are cut from a thick plastic #ottle - normal plastic drinks #ottles won"t work here$ it needs to #e thick plastic like that found in #leach #ottles Cut the top and #ottom off the #ottle$ this - made a template on paper and traced this onto the plastic &ake sure that the #lades are all the same There was no particularly scientific design to the #lades$ - %ust made them as long as the plastic would allow$ and a rough =#lade= shape!

6 (tep 31 .lue the blades on The three #lades are glued to the plastic hu# of the alternator -f your wondering a#out the angle of the #lades$ - found that the natural curve from the plastic #ottle works fine$ it doesn"t need any angle adding

(tep 41 5ake the tail and alternator mount The motor is glued to a piece of wood which pivots on the steel pipes The tail is made from an old CD Drill a hole the same si>e as the steel tu#e all the way through$ if it"s a loose fit$ you can epo<y it in place Then - cut a slot in the other end for the tail$ this should fit the CD 4ith the CD in place$ - drilled two holes through the wood and through the CD$ these are for the screws &ake sure you drill through the CD as so it doesn"t shatter when you screw the screws in Now you can mi< up some epo<y to glue the alternator to the end of the wood 4hen it"s glued in place you can >ip tie the wires securely$ and thread the output wires through the tu#e >ip tied the rectifier to the underside of the windmill$ and sealed around the connections with some epo<y$ which should keep it corrosion free

5 (tep +1 .ere"s what - use for my tower$ it"s a garden =corkscrew= type thingy-ma-%ig - don"t really know what it"s called -t"s great for supporting small towers for mini wind gens$ only ?6 from lidl too The actual tower is a piece of thin wall tu#ing with the larger tu#e >ip tied to the top$ for the #earing point of the wind mill

Thanks for reading! Please #e sure to check 3crapToPower regularly for updates$ and new pro%ects!