Diy wind farm diagram. Do-it-yourself vertical wind turbines. Wind turbine protection from storm

Generator for wind turbine from car generator

Alternator from a car Advantages: cheap, easy to find, already assembled.

Disadvantages: Highest rotation speed required, gear or pulley required, low energy output, slip ring requires constant maintenance.

Wind farm suitability: low.

The main problem with application of auto generators for wind turbines - the fact that they are invented for very high speeds - to obtain wind power, you have to perform a lot of significant transformations. Even a small windmill working at a relatively rapid speed requires a speed of 600 rpm, which is not even close enough to be called sufficient for an auto generator. This means that it will be necessary to use gears or pulleys so that most of the energy is spent on rotation. Standard auto generator electromagnetic - then there is a part of the generated energy must be sent to the anchor through the brushes and collectors to create a magnetic field. The generator that uses electricity to create a field is the least efficient and most difficult. However, it is easier to verify, since the magnetic flux can exist altered by adjusting the field strength. In addition, brushes and collectors tend to trip, requiring constant maintenance. The generator can still be rewound to generate power at the lowest speeds. This can be a method of replacing the existing stator turns with the most frequent turns from the narrowest alloy steel.

Generator for wind turbine on magnet

Self-made generator with permanent magnets Advantages: low price per kilowatt-hour, high efficiency. it can be getting a lot of power, amazingly strong construction.

Disadvantages: Labor-intensive, complex project requiring finishing on a lathe.

Wind farm suitability: Excellent.

Numerous experiments have shown that a handmade generator with permanent magnets is a more massive and economical solution for a wind generator. It is capable of unrivaled performance at low rotational speeds, but at high speeds it practically produces amperes due to its own efficiency. Most often, hand-made generators are made from Volvo brake discs, as they are extremely sturdy and have integrated thrust bearings. Since such a generator produces an unstable current, a valve is required to convert it to a constant and next charge the battery. The best results are indicated by a three-phase generator, but it is more difficult to build than a monophase one, so when building a generator, you need to decide whether you can build a three-phase one or limit yourself to a single-phase one. A 7-foot-across wind turbine generator puts out over 60 amps into a 12-volt battery, which is over 700 watts. At the peak of power, it can deliver even 100 A. So far, this conclusion is more excellent.

Conversion asynchronous generator for wind turbine

Asynchroic Conversion Alternator Benefits: Cheap, easy to find, comparable easy to refit, excellent low RPM service.

Disadvantages: the resulting capacity is limited by internal resistance, ineffective at high speeds, requires finishing on a lathe.

Suitability for wind farm: Medium.

A conventional asynchronous electric motor that generates an unstable current can quite simply exist rebuilt into a generator with unchanging magnets. Experiments show that the resulting generator works great at extremely low speeds, but soon becomes ineffective at high speeds. The asynchronous engine does not own any wires in the core, only variable plates made of aluminum and steel (from the outside they look smooth). If you gouge grooves in the center of the core and insert permanent magnets there, the electric motor is a permanent magnet generator. In practice, such a generator produces about 10-20 A. It extremely soon becomes ineffective: with an increase in wind speed, the number of resulting amperes grows slightly, the rest of the capacity is spent on heating the generator itself. The asynchronous electric motor is wound with a very narrow wire and cannot be helped by a tremendous current of power. For a similar windmill with a diameter of 7 feet, the peak current is only equal to 25 A. If you are comfortable with low currents at high wind speeds, an asynchronous motor may be a good solution. It is recommended to select a three-phase motor. Since such a generator produces an unstable current, a valve is required to convert it to a constant and next charge the battery.

DC generator for wind turbine

DC generator Advantages: conventional and already organized, some work well at low rpm.

Generator for wind turbine

The price of electricity is constantly increasing and this forces the owners country houses look for new sources of it. It can be alternative. that is, renewable sources of electricity - wind farms, which are also called wind turbines. They generate electrical energy using moving air masses, that is, wind. Stationary wind turbines are capable of fully providing power to a residential building or even a small industrial facility and accumulating a resource to provide energy in a calm period.

Problems with purchasing generators

When building a wind turbine, many are faced with the problem of selecting a generator, but it is rather difficult to buy them, since they are very expensive, this is a rather specific thing and there are not so many of them produced. That is why you have to somehow get out of the situation and adapt to realities. Most often it is easier to make a generator for a wind turbine yourself.

What you can make a generator from

You can take permanent magnet motors, car generators, stepper motors or asynchronous, as well as generators from broken gas generators. That is, any electric motors can be used, since all of them, under certain conditions, can work as generators, but with different efficiency. Also, their alteration can be both serious and not very, and, sometimes, with the investment of some funds. Why remodel? Everything is simple to explain - all these motors are high-speed, except for stepper ones, at least 1000 rpm. If we talk about the parameters of the speed of a windmill, then when calculating it taking into account the wind speed and the size of the structure itself, it turns out that the speed of a windmill, even the fastest, is only from two hundred to four hundred revolutions per minute, despite the strong wind.

Of the low-speed generators, there are only, as already mentioned, stepper motors. In fact, this is a motor that turns you at a certain angle, that is, a step when a voltage pulse is applied to the windings. Such a motor has several windings, and there are a lot of magnets in the rotor. All these qualities make it possible to use a stepper motor as a generator for a wind turbine. If you give rotation to the shaft of such a motor from the outside, then it will begin to efficiently generate electricity.

To be sure that this motor is a stepper motor, you need to make sure that it spins in jerks and not smoothly, that is, an effect called "sticking" is created. When you try to short-circuit all the terminals of the motor, the shaft begins to rotate more difficult, then this motor has already begun to generate electricity. It should be noted that all DC motors are tested in this way. That is, in the case of checking any engine, to do the above operation and the shaft will become more difficult to rotate, then this electric motor is quite possible to use as a generator and therefore you need to carefully study its characteristics.

Homemade generator for a windmill

Some craftsmen make the generator themselves. Such homemade product is a single-phase generator with a magnetic system with so-called "claw" poles, similar to those used in automobile generators, but the "claws" in the former are located axially, not radially. The magnetic field is generated by eight N42 neodymium magnets attached to the rotor. When the rotor begins to rotate, the "claws" create a change in the magnetic field in the coil, at the output of which an alternating voltage is generated.

Generators for wind turbines

• Generator Energy wind 1 kW.

Generator for wind farm with a power of 1 kW.

Price: 32 500 rub.

Generator for wind farm with a power of 2 kW.

Price: 40,000 rubles.

Generator for a wind farm with a capacity of 3 kW.

Price: 68,000 rubles.

Generator for 4 kW.

Price: 85,000 rubles.

Generator for wind farm with a power of 5 kW.

Price: 130,000 rubles.

Generator for wind farm with a power of 6.5 kW.

Price: 200,000 rubles.

Generator for wind farm power of 8 kW.

Price: 240,000 rubles.

Generator for wind power plant 10 kW.

Wind power generator. How to make a wind turbine and an electric generator yourself.

Section... ECO power supply

So, the most popular option is to use wind turbines to generate electricity.

It would seem - what is easier, made a windmill, planted an electric generator on its axis and waul! Get electricity!

But it's not that simple. Let's see why.

All wind turbines or wind turbines are driven (rotated) by the force of the wind. We have already spoken about the power of the wind flow. And it is clear that we cannot get more energy from the generator in principle.

Another important characteristic of a wind turbine is the so-called. KIEV - wind energy utilization factor. In the best examples of wind turbines, it is only 40-45%! (Although one can come across assertions about almost 60-80% of KIEV. This is, to put it mildly, an exaggeration of the sellers of these wind turbines. Therefore, expect that the wind turbine will use the wind by hardly 25-30% and do not forget to divide the calculated power of the wind turbine by 3 4. This is what you can actually get from a wind turbine in the case of using the ideal generator.

By the way, about the power of the wind turbine. You may not believe it, and it really looks paradoxical, but the only thing that determines the power of a windmill (except for wind speed) is its area. It is sometimes called the "throwing area". You can give many formulas of mathematical proof and practical confirmation, but the power of a windmill with one blade (which sweeps - describes a circle with a diameter D), and a windmill with 6 blades of this diameter is the same! Believe it or not, it's true!

The fact is that the wind perceives the blades not as separate "plates" and presses on each one in turn, but as a circle, a disk. Therefore, only the area is important, not the number of blades. The wind, spinning the blades of the windmill, gives it speed. In addition to the angular speed of rotation, the blade also has a linear speed. And therefore, since it is not spinning in a vacuum, it begins to meet air resistance, which grows in proportion to the cube of speed. Moreover, the blade is not a flat plate, but a certain aerodynamic profile, which has a specific thickness and angle of rotation. And this profile, when rotating, "stumbles" on the air of the "inter-blade" space. And it turns out that the more power flow we are going to collect by increasing the number of blades, the more air resistance they experience during rotation. As a result - what is written above - the power of the wind turbine depends on the area of \u200b\u200bthe throwing, and not on the number of blades.

Thus, we come to another important characteristic of a windmill - speed. The speed of a windmill is a value that shows how much the linear speed of the blade is greater than the wind speed. If you find out, for example, that a windmill has a speed of 7, it means that the tip of its blade has a linear speed 7 times the wind speed. And with a wind of 10 m / s, the tip of the blade flies through the air at a speed of 70 m / s, i.e. 250 km / h! So I strongly discourage trying to stop the blade with your hands. They just cut them like a razor.

We will return to speed and its calculation later, but now let's see how it is important specifically for the process of generating electricity.

It has become so customary in Russia that electricity is produced here using special devices - generators. There are many designs of generators, but in terms of docking with a wind turbine, we are interested in electric generators that produce electricity as a result of rotation. Indeed, why should we seek from goodness. The wind turbine supplies us with rotation, and we must use it.

So, when building a windmill, you will definitely come across the fact that there are NO generators suitable for a windmill. Well, in general, they are in nature, they are even mass-produced. But buying them is quite problematic, both at the price and if possible. This is too specific a thing, which is why there are both expensive and few of them. Therefore, you have to either adapt what is, or make the generator yourself.

And what do we have to eat electricity? Ready-made. The choice of dishes is generally poor. These are permanent magnet motors, stepper motors, car generators, asynchronous motors, generators from dead gas generators. In general, almost any electric motors. We will conduct a detailed analysis of them later. According to all theories, every electrical machine is reversible. Those. any electric motor under appropriate conditions can work as a generator. With varying efficiency. With varying seriousness, degree and cost of rework.

Why can't you just use what you have? Because it's all fast! You can think of this exclamation mark as a sign of mourning. Well, except that except for stepper motors. They are by definition sluggish. The rest of all engines - generators are designed for 1000 rpm and above (i.e. 15-20 rps). They must be given the appropriate speed to obtain the opposite effect - the generation of an electric current. For example, it would seem that the most affordable and cheapest version of a decent 0.5 kW generator - an automobile one - stumbles upon a figure of 2-3 thousand rpm. The engine of the car, even at idle, keeps rotating at 800 rpm. Plus the animation of the motor and generator pulleys 1: 2 at least. The generator is already running at 1500 rpm. And if the gas is turned on and the motor is “unscrewed” up to 3-4 thousand (an ordinary case) - the generator then gives out its half a kilowatt. At 5-8 thousand rpm.

The same is with other motors. For whatever you grab onto - less than 1000 rpm and find nothing.

Returning to the speed parameter of the windmill and recalculating it taking into account the wind speed, the size of the windmill, you will be surprised to find that the rotational speed of the windmill shaft is not so high. 200-400 rpm for the fastest wind turbines and with a good strong wind!

Let's put a multiplier, you say, and increase the turnover 5-10 times! (By the way, what reduces the revs is the gearbox. And what increases is the multiplier). Well, in fairness I will say - so, in general, that's what is done. But only on very large and powerful windmills, in order to spin large and powerful generators. On wind turbines with a capacity of less than 500 watts, multipliers are a luxury. A reliable, high-quality, low-loss, maintenance-free multiplier is an expensive device in itself. And its price is accordingly transferred to the cost of the generated electricity. Therefore, the use of a multiplier in a small "home" windmill is unreasonable in any way. Unless he got it for free.

And of the low-speed generators, we only have stepper motors. What is a stepper motor? This is a motor that turns its shaft by a certain angle (step) when a voltage pulse is applied to its windings. Such motors usually have several windings, and the rotor is literally stuffed with magnets. This encouraging fact allows the use of stepper motors as a generator. When you give rotation to the shaft of the stepper motor from the outside, it begins to generate electricity, and very efficiently.

It's easy to "calculate" a stepper motor. When the shaft rotates, it does not rotate smoothly, but as if by jerks. This effect is called "sticking". If you short-circuit all of the motor leads, the shaft becomes much more difficult to rotate. This means that the stepper motor is already generating electricity... By the way, this general principle checking DC motors "for lice". If it became more difficult to rotate the motor shaft when shorting out the terminals, then the electric motor in terms of using it as an electric generator is not hopeless and it makes sense to remove its characteristics.

It is not difficult to get a low-power stepper motor. Any printer that can be bought at an online auction for 100-300 rubles contains at least 2 of them. One was "driving" the head, the other was paper. Scanner - 1, old 5.25-inch drives - 1. That's good news. The bad news is that only very low power stepper motors are readily available! 1-2-3 watts. Getting a 30-50 W stepper motor at least is a rare success, consider that you have an excellent generator in your pocket!

Where to apply a 2 Watt stepper? Yes, in general, charge the battery of a mobile phone, player, etc. This power is already enough. Do you need 10-20 watts? Well, put 10 such engines. They are cheaper than eggshell after Easter.

Well, if you want to get 200-300 watts from a windmill, and preferably cheaply (keep in mind the cost / benefit ratio), then most likely you will have to make the generator yourself. It is difficult, but absolutely real, if you still decide to make a wind power generator.

Generator for wind turbine 2m

I invite you to get acquainted with our development of a generator for a wind turbine, characterized in that the magnets and coils are located axially, along the axis of rotation of the generator

The generator itself is 4-phase (the ratio of the number of magnets to the number of coils is 3/4). This and the fact that the cores of the magnetic circuits are located at an angle to the magnets made it possible, in the last version of the generator, to achieve a small cog effect. I did not measure it, but since the assembled generator is driven by Lego with my left hand, I can assume that the moment is no more than 50 ... 60 grams per meter. Generator weight - 6.9 kg.

The second feature is magnetic cores - 22 micron nanocrystalline tape of our Ukrainian production. The core based on it works with several times lower losses at frequencies of tens of kHz.

The cores are relatively expensive.

Now we are designing an analogous 10 kW generator, a similar engine (though three-phase) and of course a windmill with an adjustable head (centrifugal blade angle adjuster).

Windmill Generator

Generator for a wind turbine from a car generator, from an induction motor, with permanent magnets and othersGenerator for a wind turbine from a car generatorAc ...

Wind turbine from a car generator without alteration

Each "Kulibin" has its own vision of how to make a simple wind turbine at home. After a long search on the Internet, I came up with some general idea. The idea is neither new nor unique, but it is easy to implement and relatively inexpensive.

At my local hardware store, I bought pipes, a reducing tee, a plug, and a few meters of 3 / 8-16 wires (some 3 / 8-16 all thread). For this creation, I found a GM 7127 alternator in my inventory. On the Internet, I found a company that sells high-voltage stator coils, another company sells transmissions, and from a third I bought an electronic controller for ease of monitoring the charging process of my battery ...

At my local hardware store, I bought pipes, a reducing tee, a plug, and a few meters of 3 / 8-16 wires (some 3 / 8-16 all thread). For this creation, I found a GM 7127 alternator in my stocks. On the Internet, I found a company that sells high-voltage stator coils, another company sells transmissions, and from a third I bought an electronic controller for ease of monitoring the process

charging my battery.

After painting, the whole mechanism looks much nicer. I installed a small diode on the top of the turbine stand and wired it to the coil. This is not a permanent magnet generator. The light will allow the coil to self-energize and will indicate when the alternator is not supplying charge and can be disconnected from the battery

The photo above shows how I have already installed the carbon fiber blades. I painted the hub and blade mounts in white color... It remains to wait for a windless day or an almost windless day to test my design “in the field”. I bought a 7127 generator from AutoZone, stator upgrade kit - MTM cientific, carbon fiber blades and hub - Picou Builders Supply, Co Inc., pipes and others small parts - in the nearest hardware store. In total, I spent $ 135.00. Once I install the mechanism on the top of the tower and plug it in, I can calculate the cost per watt.

When assembling on site, I decided to remove the blades to facilitate the installation process and not damage the blades when lifting and installing.

After more careful calculations, I found that with the current length of the flagpole, I could not get the mechanism in place correctly. I cut the 16 "pipe according to the new calculations, but somehow the new pipe section was 0.015" thicker than it needs to be. With a file and sandpaper, after 2 hours I got the desired diameter.

Thanks to the assistant, I lifted my turbine to the platform, but it turned out that on the platform I could not independently lift and correctly balance the turbine in order to fix it on the rack. I decided to stop there and tied the turbine to the platform so that in case of strong wind it would not fall down.

In the photo above, you can see three 10 'pieces of 3/4 ″ cable. You can buy at any hardware store at an affordable price.

Thanks to my engineering skills, I assembled a three-legged hoist for the convenience of self-lifting and installing the wind turbine.

The turbine is finally working. It remains only to connect it to the battery

The wind was strong enough last night, but the turbine was “at its best”. At times the gust of wind reached 35-40 mph. With such a wind, the turbine made noise, but the main thing is that it passed such a test. Due to a factory limitation, the car generator does not start producing current until the wind force reaches 12 mph. But for my needs this is a lot. The problem with a car generator is that at zero rpm it does not generate and does not show voltage, and at low rpm until the moment the current is generated, it consumes it. These voltage changes practically ruined my battery. I put off installing the turbine on the flagpole a bit and bought some little "bells and whistles" to make a permanent magnet alternator.

I rewound the stator winding that I bought on the net. Initially, the stator had 4 turns of wire # 14. I figured I could replace them with 10 turns of # 18 wire. (Several years ago I already changed the stator winding of a conventional car for a smaller number of turns with a larger wire diameter. In this case, the motor generates more current and has more power. I miscalculated and made a winding of 11 turns, instead of the planned 10. When laying the first layer (phase) everything went like clockwork, but laying additional 4 wires in the last layer turned out to be a difficult task.

I tried to press the indentations in the old stator, but to no avail. Desperate to get the press done, I dug out a finger-deep pocket for a new magnet.

My idea of \u200b\u200bmanually rewinding the stator failed. Some of the winding rings touched the metal core and created a short circuit. I had to buy a 38V DC Ametek tape motor. I marked the mouthguards and spread them out for convenience. The beveled groove rotor I bought gives a good starting torque. I connected a voltmeter and got a little over 9V using manual pull.

I machined a flange to attach the motor / generator to the same mount that I used for the car alternator.

The new stator is not as big as its predecessor, the automobile generator, but even with a slight breeze, the whole structure went into action. It was necessary from the very beginning to go this way, but as the saying goes: "We learn from mistakes!" The safety diode prevents the generator from going into motor mode. To generate more than 13 volts, a wind force of 7-8 mph is sufficient to overcome the resistance of the battery and start charging. It looks like it was worth the effort. I think we need to prepare documentation for such a successful model.

Above you see a photo of my old battery pack. As you can see, there is not enough clarity in it. I am currently working on a new gauge board that I plan to hang over the battery. The meter board will consist of a battery charge indicator, a load resistor, a cooling fan, a rectifier bridge, a charging regulator and a fuse terminal block. The next day, in a 10 mph wind, my battery was fully charged and the charge regulator switched the relay to mains. I connected the electricity meter and "Oh, marvel!" the arrow on it showed a little more than 16 V at 3 A and 8 ohms. (I've connected four 2 ohm 100W resistors in series.) Not a bad start!

Here's a photo of the rotating mechanism I'm working on right now. The Ametek generator mounts to the right, and the tail mounts to the curved pipe at the back. With very strong wind, the entire structure of the generator turns in the wind, raising and wrap the tail. As soon as the windless day falls, I will again start assembling the updated structure. With a wind speed of 40 mph, the blades rotate against the flagpole and make a sound like a helicopter trying to land on my roof. Neighbors began to complain and this served as an additional incentive for rework.

I connected a tape drive motor to a rotation mechanism. But it is too early to mount the whole structure, until I finished the motor. When I opened it, I decided to replace the bearings and cover it with a layer of protective paint to protect it from the elements.

It may not be visible in the picture, but the wind arrow has reached 13 mph, which is 10 A at a voltage of 20 V \u003d 200 W.

How to make a wind generator with your own hands from a car generator

Choosing a windmill design

Vertical rotors have to be installed at the bottom due to their high weight and dimensions, where the wind speed is 2 times lower, which reduces the power of the installation by 8 times. In some cases, they are used because of less noise, lack of orientation to the wind, low launch speed and ease of use.

The number of blades is most often chosen no more than three, due to the high speed of rotation and less noise. With a strong wind, they can collapse, but in industrial designs the angles of rotation of the blades change, which makes it possible to adjust the speed and reduce the hum.

Alteration of the autogenerator

Rotor manufacturing

Assembling the windmill

The wind generator is serviced as follows:

• checking and adjusting fasteners. An autogenerator without alteration for a wind generator is not suitable, because it requires a high rotation speed. The gearbox does not solve the problem as the rotation resistance increases. Without some experience, making an effective unit with your own hands is difficult. A well-made wind turbine will easily generate power up to 1 kW.

  How to make a wind generator with your own hands from a car generator

  
  How to make a wind generator with your own hands from a car generator School of repair. Contents 1 Selection

DIY generator from a car generator

One of the most effective sources alternative energy is a wind generator. Solar panels are becoming popular, but so far the electricity they generate is 3 times more expensive than that of a wind farm. In addition, the sun does not shine around the clock, cloudy weather reduces productivity by 5 times, and the efficiency of solar panels decreases by 5% annually.

What a wind generator looks like from a car generator

Choosing a windmill design

The wind generator can have two axle arrangements. Preference is given to the horizontal one due to lower costs and 2 times higher efficiency.

View of a wind turbine with a horizontal axis

Vertical rotors have to be installed at the bottom due to their high weight and dimensions, where the wind speed is 2 times lower, which reduces the power of the installation by 8 times. In some cases, they are used because of less noise, lack of orientation to the wind, dIY generator from a car generator low starting speed and ease of use.

If special guides are made for drum vertical units, productivity will increase, and separation from strong winds will be eliminated. The design is complex, but the result is worth it.

The number of blades is most often chosen no more than automotive three, thanks to the high rotation speed and less noise. With a strong wind, they can collapse, but in industrial designs the angles of rotation of the blades change, which makes it possible to adjust the speed and reduce the hum.

A wind turbine for 1 kW of industrial production together with a complete set costs about 50 thousand rubles. and higher. For most users, this amount is too large.

If you have the necessary skills and materials at hand, you can make a windmill with your own hands.

Alteration of the autogenerator

Currently, a wind turbine from a car generator is thoroughly designed for DIY manufacturing. For many car enthusiasts, it can lie idle in the garage. Even if it has some kind of malfunction, the parts can come in handy, since it will still require a thorough rework. The generator requires high speed that only strong winds can provide. With a predominance of weak wind, this device is not suitable as a wind generator, even with alteration to lower speeds.

Before you start making a wind generator with your own hands, you must keep in mind that it will additionally require a controller, a battery and an inverter, sequentially located one after another.

What a wind turbine looks like in a complete set

In general, the construction is not cheap. In addition, the batteries will have to be replaced from time to time.

Rotor manufacturing

The rotor of the autogenerator has an electromagnetic excitation winding, which requires additional control electronics and brushes with a collector.

If you make it yourself for permanent magnets, the design can be simplified by removing the collector. In addition, it is necessary to rewind the stator windings so that the device turns from high-speed to low-speed. You should also remake the iron rotor, which closes the magnetic lines to itself and as a result, no current will be generated in the stator coils. The figure below shows a disassembled autogenerator.

Disassembled autogenerator

A non-magnetic attachment for the old rotor shaft is machined from aluminum. Then a steel pipe bandage is put on it with an interference fit. Markings are made on it, and rectangular neodymium magnets with alternating poles are glued with superglue. Epoxy resin is poured between them, after which the surface is leveled.

DIY rotor with neodymium magnets

The generator generates enough power when rotating at about 6,000 rpm. To be effective at 600 rpm, the stator winding must be rewound, increasing the number of turns by 5 times. In this case, the wire cross-section must be reduced.

To get a powerful source of energy, you will need a homemade generator for a windmill with neodymium magnets.

The disadvantage of super magnet generators is magnetic sticking when it is difficult to move the shaft.

To reduce it, the magnets are glued with a slight bias. In addition, the blades should also be bigger size... The magnetic field will decrease if you go through all the stator plates, separating them with a knife and hammer. They are then flattened on the anvil with a rubber mallet. The stator is assembled on a special tooling with the plates tightening with clamps.

DIY wind wheel

The blades are made of plastic or duralumin pipes, the diameter of which is 20% of the footage. A meter pipe with a diameter of 20 cm is cut lengthwise into 4 equal parts. A wing is made from one part, and the next is made after it, using it as a template. The edges of the blades are rounded and sanded to remove burrs. The blades are attached to the old disc from circular sawby grinding off the teeth and drilling the holes for installation.

Segmented vanes are typically used for incompressible media. The air profile must have a complex shape to ensure high performance. The main work is performed by the outer ends of the blades. Craftsmen make them on hairpins, since the inner part near the rotor does not work. The picture below shows such a design where the blades are welded to round steel rods.

View of a four-bladed wind wheel

The wind wheel is installed horizontally on a tripod and balancing is carried out by grinding the blades to the balance of the structure. They should rotate in the same plane with a skew of no more than 2 mm.

Assembling the windmill

The diameter of the wind wheel shaft must be at least 20 mm. If the generator has a smaller one, the shafts should be installed coaxially, connected with a coupling. The wind wheel is mounted on a key and additionally secured with a nut screwed onto the axle.

The frame of the device is made of shaped pipe... The pivot axis is a pipe mounted in two bearings. It is attached to the top of the mast. The weather vane is cut out of galvanized sheet 40x60 cm and fastened with bolts. The length of the tail is 1.5 m. The distance from the blades to the mast is at least 25 cm so that they do not break when bending from a strong wind.

The generators work to recharge the battery, which should supply household appliances at 220V.

An inverter is needed to convert the voltage. If rotated quickly, the battery can be damaged due to the high charging current. To prevent this from happening, a voltage controller should be installed. You can buy it or make it yourself.

The wind generator is serviced as follows:

1. adjusting, cleaning and lubricating the current collector every 2 months;
2. vane repair in case of imbalance and vibration;
3. painting metal parts after 3 years;
4. checking and adjusting fasteners.

An auto-generator without alteration for a wind generator is not suitable, because it requires a high rotation speed. The gearbox does not solve the problem as the rotation resistance increases. Without some experience, it is difficult to make an effective unit with your own hands. A well-made wind turbine will easily generate power up to 1 kW.

DIY generator from a car generator

A generator from a car generator with your own hands Home\u003e Generators\u003e How to make a wind generator with your own hands from a car generator One of the most effective sources

With the rise in electricity prices, everywhere there is a search and development of its alternative sources. In most regions of the country, it is advisable to use wind turbines. To fully provide electricity private house, a rather powerful and expensive installation is required.

Wind generator for home

If you make a small wind generator, you can use an electric current to heat the water or use it for part of the lighting, for example, outbuildings, garden paths and the porch. Heating water for household needs or heating is the simplest option using wind energy without accumulating and transforming it. The question here is more of whether there will be enough power for heating.

Before making a generator, you first need to find out the features of the winds in the region.

A large wind generator, for many places in the Russian climate, is not suitable because of the frequent changes in the intensity and direction of air flows. With a power above 1 kW, it will be inertial and will not be able to fully spin when the wind changes. Inertia in the plane of rotation leads to overloads from the crosswind, leading to its failure.

With the advent of low-power energy consumers, it makes sense to use small homemade wind turbines no more than 12 volts to illuminate the dacha with LED lamps or charge telephone batteries in the absence of electricity in the house. When this is not necessary, the generator can be used to heat water.

Wind generator type

For a windless area, only a sailing wind generator is suitable. In order for the power supply to be constant, you will need a rechargeable battery of at least 12V, charger, inverter, stabilizer and rectifier.

For low-wind areas, you can independently make a vertical wind generator with a capacity of no more than 2-3 kW. There are many options and they are almost as good as industrial designs. It is advisable to buy windmills with a sailing rotor. Reliable models with a capacity of 1 to 100 kilowatts are produced in Taganrog.

In windy regions, you can make a vertical generator for your home with your own hands, if the required power is 0.5-1.5 kilowatts. The blades can be made from available tools, for example, from a barrel. It is advisable to buy more efficient devices. The cheapest are sailboats. A vertical wind turbine is more expensive, but it works more reliably in strong winds.

Low-power windmill with your own hands

It is not difficult to make a small homemade wind generator at home. To start working in the field of creating alternative energy sources and accumulating valuable experience in this on how to assemble a generator, you can make a simple device yourself by adapting a motor from a computer or printer.

12 V wind generator with horizontal axis

To make a low-power wind turbine with your own hands, you must first prepare drawings or sketches.

At a rotation speed of 200-300 rpm. the voltage can be raised to 12 volts, and the generated power will be about 3 watts. It can be used to charge a small battery. For other generators, the power must be increased to 1000 rpm. Only in this case will they be effective. But here you need a gearbox that creates significant resistance and also has a high cost.

Electrical part

To assemble an electric generator, you need components:

1. a small motor from an old printer, disk drive or scanner;
2. 8 diodes of type 1N4007 for two rectifier bridges;
3. capacitor with a capacity of 1000 microfarads;
4. pVC pipe and plastic parts;
5. aluminum plates.

The figure below shows the generator circuit.

Stepper motor: wiring diagram for rectifier and stabilizer

Diode bridges are connected to each motor winding, of which there are two. After the bridges, the LM7805 stabilizer is connected. The result is a voltage output that is normally supplied to a 12-volt battery.

Power generators based on neodymium magnets with extremely high adhesive strength have become very popular. They should be used carefully. With a strong impact or heating to a temperature of 80-250 0 С (depending on the type), neodymium magnets are demagnetized.

You can take the hub of a car as the basis for a generator made by yourself.

Rotor with neodymium magnets

Superglue is applied to the hub of neodymium magnets with a diameter of about 25 mm in about 20 pieces. Single-phase generators are made with equal number of poles and magnets.

The magnets located opposite each other must attract, that is, they are turned by opposite poles. After gluing neodymium magnets, they are filled epoxy resin.

The coils are wound round, and the total number of turns is 1000-1200. The power of the generator on neodymium magnets is selected so that it can be used as a direct current source, about 6A for charging a 12 V battery.

Mechanical part

The blades are made from a plastic pipe. Workpieces 10 cm wide and 50 cm long are drawn on it, and then cut out. A sleeve is made on the motor shaft with a flange, to which the blades are attached with screws. Their number can be from two to four. Plastic will not last long, but for the first time it will be enough. Quite wear-resistant materials have now appeared, for example, carbon and polypropylene. Then more durable aluminum alloy blades can be made.

The blades are balanced by cutting off excess parts at the ends, and the angle of inclination is created by heating them with a bend.

The generator is bolted to a piece of plastic pipe with a vertical axis welded to it. A weather vane made of aluminum alloy is also coaxially mounted on the pipe. The axle is inserted into the vertical pipe of the mast. A thrust bearing is installed between them. The whole structure can rotate freely in the horizontal plane.

The electrical board can be placed on the rotating part, and the voltage can be transmitted to the consumer through two slip rings with brushes. If the board with the rectifier is installed separately, then the number of rings will be equal to six, how many leads the stepper motor has.

The windmill is mounted at a height of 5-8 m.

If the device will generate energy efficiently, it can be improved by making it vertical-axis, for example, from a barrel. The design is less susceptible to lateral overload than horizontal design. The figure below shows a rotor with blades made from fragments of a barrel, mounted on an axle inside the frame and is not subject to overturning force.

Wind turbine with a vertical axis and a rotor from a barrel

The profiled surface of the barrel creates additional rigidity, due to which it is possible to use tin plate with a lower thickness.

Wind turbine with a capacity of more than 1 kilowatt

The device should bring tangible benefits and provide a voltage of 220 V so that some electrical appliances can be turned on. To do this, it must start independently and generate electricity in a wide range.

To make a wind generator with your own hands, you must first determine the design. It depends on how strong the wind is. If it is weak, then the only option may be the sail version of the rotor. More than 2-3 kilowatts of energy cannot be obtained here. In addition, it will need a gearbox and a powerful battery with a charger.

The price of all the equipment is high, so you should find out if it will be beneficial for the home.

In areas with strong winds, a home-made wind generator can get 1.5-5 kilowatts of power. Then it can be connected to a 220V home network. A device with more power is difficult to make on your own.

DC motor generator

As a generator, you can use a low-speed motor that generates an electric current at 400-500 rpm: PIK8-6 / 2.5 36V 0.3Nm 1600min-1. Body length 143 mm, diameter 80 mm, shaft diameter 12 mm.

What does a DC motor look like

It needs a multiplier with a gear ratio of 1:12. With one revolution of the wind turbine blades, the electric generator will make 12 revolutions. The figure below shows a diagram of the device.

Windmill device diagram

The gearbox creates additional load, but it is still less than for a car alternator or starter, which requires a gear ratio of at least 1:25.

It is advisable to make the blades of 60x12x2 aluminum sheet. If you install 6 of them on the motor, the device will not be as fast and will not be carried around by large gusts of wind. The possibility of balancing should be considered. To do this, the blades are soldered to the bushings with the possibility of being screwed onto the rotor so that they can be displaced further or closer from its center.

Generator power on permanent magnets from ferrite or steel does not exceed 0.5-0.7 kilowatts. It can be increased only with special neodymium magnets.

A generator with a non-magnetized stator is not suitable for work. With a slight wind, it stops, and then it cannot start on its own.

Constant heating in the cold season requires a lot of energy, and heating big house - This is problem. For a summer residence in this regard, it can be useful when you have to go there no more than 1 time per week. If everything is weighed correctly, the heating system in the country works for only a few hours. The rest of the time the owners are in nature. Using a windmill as a source of direct current to charge the battery, in 1-2 weeks you can accumulate electricity for heating the premises for such a period of time, and thus create sufficient comfort for yourself.

To make a generator from an AC motor or car starter requires a redesign. The motor can be upgraded for a generator, if the rotor is made on neodymium magnets, machined to their thickness. It is made with the number of poles, like that of the stator, alternating with each other. The rotor on neodymium magnets glued to its surface should not stick when rotating.

Rotor types

Rotor designs are varied. Common options are shown in the figure below, where the values \u200b\u200bof the wind energy utilization factor (KIEV) are indicated.

Types and designs of wind turbine rotors

For rotation, windmills are made with a vertical or horizontal axis. Vertical option has the advantage of serviceability when the main components are located at the bottom. The support bearing is self-aligning and has a long service life.

The two rotor blades of the Savonius create jerks, which is not very convenient. For this reason, it is made of two pairs of blades spaced 2 levels apart with one rotation relative to the other by 90 0. Barrels, buckets, pots can be used as blanks.

The Darrieus rotor, the blades of which are made of an elastic band, is easy to manufacture. To facilitate promotion, their number should be odd. The movement is jerky, due to which the mechanical part is quickly broken. In addition, the belt vibrates as it rotates, emitting a roar. For permanent use, this design is not very suitable, although the blades are sometimes made from sound-absorbing materials.
In an orthogonal rotor, the wings are profiled. The optimal number of blades is three. The device is high-speed, but it must be unwound at start-up.

The helicoidal rotor has a high efficiency due to the complex curvature of the blades, which reduces losses. It is used less often than other wind turbines due to its high cost.

The horizontal vane rotor design is the most efficient. But it requires a stable average wind and also needs hurricane protection. The blades can be made from propylene when their diameter is less than 1 m.

If you cut the blades from a thick-walled plastic pipe or barrel, you will not be able to achieve power above 200 watts. The segment profile is not suitable for compressible gaseous media. A complex profile is needed here.

The rotor diameter depends on how much power is required to be obtained, as well as on the number of blades. A 10 W two-bladed rotor needs a 1.16 m diameter rotor, and a 100 W one - 6.34 m.For a four- and six-blade rotor, the diameter will be 4.5 m and 3.68 m, respectively.

If you put the rotor directly on the generator shaft, its bearing will not last long, since the load on all the blades is uneven. The support bearing for the wind turbine shaft should be self-aligning, with two or three tiers. Then bends and displacements during rotation will not be terrible for the rotor shaft.

An important role in the operation of the wind turbine is played by the current collector, which must be regularly serviced: lubricated, cleaned, adjusted. The possibility of its prevention should be provided, although this is difficult to do.

Security

Wind turbines exceeding 100 watts are noisy devices. An industrial wind turbine can be installed in the courtyard of a private house, if it is certified. Its height should be higher than the nearest houses. Even a low-power wind turbine cannot be installed on the roof. Mechanical vibrations from its operation can create resonance and lead to the destruction of the structure.

High rotational speeds of a wind turbine require quality manufacturing. Otherwise, if the device is destroyed, there is a danger that its parts may fly off over long distances and cause injury to a person or pets. This should be especially taken into account when making a windmill with your own hands from scrap materials.

Video. DIY wind generator.

The use of wind generators is not advisable in all regions, since it depends on climatic characteristics. In addition, it makes no sense to make them with your own hands without some experience and knowledge. For starters, you can start creating a simple design with a power of several watts and a voltage of up to 12 volts with which you can charge your phone or light an energy-saving lamp. The use of neodymium magnets in the generator can significantly increase its power.

Powerful wind turbines that take over a significant part of the power supply at home, it is better to purchase industrial ones, to create a voltage of 220V, carefully weighing all the pros and cons. If combined with other types of alternative energy sources, electricity can be enough for everything household needs, including the home heating system.

Due to the constantly rising prices for electricity, an increasing number of owners of private houses and summer cottages are thinking about installing alternative power supplies. DIY windmills for home are excellent solution, both to generate additional electricity, which can reduce utility bills, and to provide uninterrupted power to country houses to which power grids are not connected

The territory of Russia, thanks to the predominantly flat terrain and vast area, all year round it is washed by a large number of winds, another thing is that the potential of the wind force leaves much to be desired, since the wind is most often slow and weak. Another thing is the uninhabited territories of Russia, where the winds are much stronger. In any case, the installation of a wind generator, even with weak winds, will be able to provide the home of its owner with uninterrupted, and most importantly, free energy.

What power to choose a wind generator?

The first thing to remember is that home wind turbines, like any other source of alternative electricity, will not be able to produce colossal amounts of electricity. Many novice designers are striving to create the most powerful wind generator that can provide electricity not only for lighting at a summer cottage or charge batteries, but will also support absolutely all power supplies at home, including heating the boiler and heating systems. In principle, this is quite possible if you build a wind generator with a capacity of more than 2 kilowatts, model W-HR2. The construction of such an industrial wind turbine requires a huge amount of money, effort and calculations. It is almost impossible for a non-professional to build it alone.

The optimal solution would be to install a wind generator with a capacity of up to 500 watts, this is quite enough to provide electricity to a small suburban area, and if you need more power, you can always build several more wind turbines and create a single power plant from them.

From the outside, it may seem that the indicators are somewhat overestimated, but do not forget that 4 m / s is the usual wind speed on a flat territory and most often it reaches gusts higher than this mark. And the higher the wind speed, the more energy a home-made wind turbine gives.

Choosing the type of wind wheel

It is the wind wheel that is the most important element of the entire structure, since due to its movement, wind energy is converted into mechanical energy.

The most popular types of wind turbines:

1. Sailing
2. Vane

The advantages of a sailing wind wheel are their low cost and ease of installation: it is enough to attach the sail material to the blades and place it at a slight angle to the wind, such a design will exactly repeat the old windmills. Its disadvantages include a large aerodynamic resistance to the air flow, which will increase with the wind going diagonally relative to the blades.

Vane-type blades are much more efficient, they are slightly more expensive and more difficult to manufacture, but they are resistant to frictional forces or aerodynamic losses. This is why the wings of planes have a similar shape. Additional advantages of vane blades include the low cost of materials for their manufacture; for comparison, a vertically axial type of blades can be cited, whose efficiency will be comparable to vane blades, but at the same time there will be a much higher consumption of materials.

The optimal number of blades on the wind wheel

When creating wind turbines for your home with your own hands, you can save on materials and get by with only 2-3 blades, but this solution will be fraught with several unpleasant moments:

• The smaller the blades, the faster they rotate and create an extra centrifugal load on the wind generator, which can lead to breakage of the mast and wind turbine attachment points
• At high rpm, the wind turbine has to resist a large force of air friction, which can lead to destruction of the blades. Therefore, the blades have to be made of strong and expensive materials.
• Loud operating noise

Based on all of the above, the most optimal number of blades will be 5 or 6. When you have decided on the number of blades, you need to decide on the diameter of the wind wheel based on the data in the table above. It should be borne in mind that the longer the length of the blades, the more massive the structure, therefore, you will have to additionally strengthen the windmill and carry out work to balance the propeller. The most optimal wind wheel diameter is 2 meters.

Of course, the more blades, the greater the efficiency of the wind generator, but at the same time the overall design of the wind turbine becomes more complicated and an additional gearbox will be required.

Choosing a generator

When choosing a generator, it is necessary to build on the speed of rotation of the wind wheel. The table below shows the number of turns depending on the wind speed for a 6-blade propeller.

Based on the data above, the best choice there will be a bicycle motor or an electric motor from a data tape drive. The advantage of such motors is that they have low operating speeds and will be able to spin a windmill without installing a gearbox.

We create wind generators for your home with your own hands

When making a wind generator, we will adhere to this table. Of course, the fastening methods and the location of the nodes can be slightly changed, but in general, to create an effective wind turbine, it is better not to deviate from the presented design.

Note: The distance between the mast and the blades must be at least 25 cm, if less, then there is a possibility that the blades, bending in the wind, will break on the mast.

Blade manufacturing

It is best to cut the wings for a windmill from a thick-walled PVC pipes... Of course, it is possible to make blades from wood, but this is much more labor-intensive, and wood can also deteriorate under the influence of moisture.

For the blades, pipes with a thickness of at least 4 mm should be used, otherwise they will bend without problems in the wind and quickly become unusable.

The calculation of the optimal shape of the blades is most often carried out empirically when cutting out several samples of different sizes. But this method is time consuming and leads to unnecessary translation of the material. Therefore, we provide you below the blade template for a pipe with a diameter of 16 cm and a length of 1 meter.

After you have cut 6 blades according to a template, you need to polish their surface as much as possible and grind off the edges so that they less resist the air flow.

Now we are making the head of the electric motor, to which the blades will be attached. To do this, we take a steel disc with a thickness of no more than 10 mm and weld several strips up to 30 cm long to it, on which we drill holes for attaching the blades.

To improve the performance of the wind turbine, the motor head must be balanced. For this, the head is mounted vertically in a windless room. Care must be taken to ensure that none of the sides of the head moves spontaneously and is stationary. If movement is noticeable, then the strips of the head are grinded until the movement stops at any position of the head in space.

We fix the generator to the frame

The generator receives rotational moment from the blades and is constantly under the pressure of large centrifugal and gyroscopic loads. To prevent the windmill from failing ahead of time, the generator should be tightly fixed to the frame. The frame itself is a metal plate on which the main components of the windmill are located, as well as a duralumin frame with a threaded hole. The generator shaft is screwed onto the bed, and for its better fastening, a nut with a lock washer should be used at the end of the connection.

Strengthening the wind turbine from storm winds

The wind turbine we are considering in this article does not have a high number of revolutions and is unlikely to reach such speeds that the components of the wind turbine begin to become unusable. But with frequent changes in wind direction, the tail of the windmill will turn sharply, which can lead to loosening of the structural fasteners. In addition, the blades of the wind turbine will resist turning in strong winds, which, together with the moving tail of the wind turbine, will create a high load at the junction of the frame and the generator.

To significantly increase the lifespan of a wind farm, it is necessary to install special protection against strong winds. A side blade acts as such protection - a simple device assembled from a minimum of materials, but has successfully proven itself in many wind turbines.

With the help of a side blade, the vertical inclination of the windmill is adjusted and, in a strong wind, sets the blades parallel to the wind. That is, with a moderate wind force, the windmill is in a standard position perpendicular to the ground, but with stormy air currents, the windmill folds 90 degrees relative to its working position, due to which its operation stops.

The side blade consists of a small shaped tube fastened to a thin metal plate, a spring and a brace located between the blade and the tail. Stretching is needed in order to control the folding angle of the windmill.

A strong carbon steel spring must be used in the blade, which at its extreme point can withstand a load of up to 12 kg. The stretcher is made from a thin bicycle cable.

The mast is a support for the wind turbine and at this stage it is by no means worth saving. It would be best to install the mast in an open area, where there will be no buildings within a radius of several tens of meters. The mast itself is made of a metal water pipe 7 meters long. If there are buildings or trees near the windmill, then the mast should be made at least one meter higher than their level. There should be no obstacles on the way to the blades of the wind generator, otherwise the efficiency of the wind turbine will be much less than expected.

A wind generator is a massive structure weighing several hundred kilograms, therefore, so that it does not sink in the soil, it must be installed on a strong concrete foundation... In addition to fixing the base of the mast in the foundation, the wind turbine is additionally fixed with several extensions made of assembly cables with a width of at least 5 mm. Stretchers are attached to the mast of the clamps, maximum length and are attached to pegs that are driven into the ground to a depth of at least one meter.

It is possible to install the mast with the generator either with the help of a truck crane or manually. For this, a counterweight made of heavy timber is used.

Batteries and electronic wind turbine system

To store the energy generated by the wind farm, small batteries are used, the capacity of which must be at least 120 Ah. It is also recommended to take a battery up to 300 a / h, and already during operation, determine how long it takes to charge it. The choice of the battery is also influenced by the scope of the battery: if the battery is used to provide electrical heating devices, then more capacious batteries should be preferred.

In order to power equipment operating at a voltage of 220 V with a battery, it is necessary to install a special voltage converter inverter. Inverters differ in the level of peak power at which they can power equipment. So, if you connect a computer with a monitor to the battery, then an inverter designed for 1000 W will be enough, if the battery will work building tools, such as a hammer drill, you will have to take a 2000 W inverter.

In the picture below you can see the simplest scheme for charging batteries with a wind turbine: there are three outputs from the generator, which are connected to three parallel diode half-bridges. The generator will generate a voltage equal to 26 V, so it will be enough to connect two 12 V batteries in series to the diode half-bridges.

The main advantage of such a scheme is its ease of assembly and a minimum of materials used. Its disadvantage is that in light winds the batteries will hardly be charged. The charging process will begin only with a wind of 7 m / s, which is not so often found on the flat territories of Russia.

How to care for a wind turbine

Wind turbines do not require switching on from external power sources, they are completely autonomous, so they start up on their own even in very weak winds. Do-it-yourself wind generators for home can last for decades, for this you should adhere to several rules:

1. To prevent the metal components of the wind farm from rotting under atmospheric precipitation, they should be painted every 2 years
2. Lubricate the bearings in the alternator and swivel head twice a year
3. The wind wheel is the most vulnerable part of the whole structure and can easily unbalance in strong winds. An example of imbalance is excessive shaking of the blades. If a defect in the wind wheel was found, then it should be immediately removed and repaired.

Perhaps not a single summer resident will argue with the fact that today it is necessary to have some kind of alternative source of electricity, because the light can be turned off at any minute. Self-made wind turbines are very popular today as a source of free energy. Various models of such devices are offered on the market, and on the Internet you can see diagrams, drawings and videos that allow you to assemble them yourself.

It is worth noting that a homemade wind generator will be very useful even with its low power. The mere fact that in the midst of pitch darkness the dacha will be lit up, and it will be possible to watch TV or charge a mobile device without any problems, will hedge against troubles and raise prestige in front of neighbors.

Three little secrets

The first secret is how high the homemade wind generator will be installed. It is clear that it is easier to mount it at a height of several meters from the ground, but then there will not be much sense from it. It should be borne in mind that the higher the wind generator, the stronger the wind, the faster its blades spin, and the more energy you can get from a self-made power plant.

The second secret is choosing a battery. On the Internet, it is advised not to be smart and put a car battery. Yes, it is easier and, at first glance, cheaper. But, you need to know that car batteries should be installed in a well-ventilated area, they require maintenance, and their service life does not exceed 3 years. It would be better to purchase a dedicated battery. Although it costs more, it will pay off.

The third secret, which wind turbine is better suited for making with your own hands - horizontal or vertical? Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages. We will consider vertical type wind generators, the principle of operation of which is shown in Fig. 2.

First, about the disadvantages: a vertical wind generator has a low efficiency compared to horizontal models, it takes more materials to assemble it, which, accordingly, leads to an increase in the cost of the structure. On the other hand, they can operate in weaker winds than their horizontal counterparts, which compensates for their low efficiency. They do not need to be lifted too high, they are easier and cheaper to install and install, which negates the difference in material costs.

An important factor is the fact that a vertical wind generator is more reliable in case of sudden gusts of wind and hurricanes, since its stability increases with increasing rotation speed. In addition, vertical structures are practically silent, which allows them to be installed anywhere, up to the roof of a residential building. All of the above leads to the fact that these installations are in increasing demand and are produced in various modifications, in relation to the required power and the winds prevailing in certain regions, which, by the way, can be found in the video below.

The simplest design

A low-power vertical wind generator is easy to assemble with your own hands from, without exaggeration, waste materials: a large plastic bottle or a tin can, a steel axle and an old electric motor. It is enough to cut a can or a bottle in half and fix these halves on the axis of rotation connected to the generator (Fig. 3). It is easy to make such a vertical windmill collapsible and take it with you on a fishing trip or on a hike, where it will not only illuminate the sleeping place, but also allow you to recharge your phone or other mobile device.

Own power plant for summer cottages

But making more will have to start with buying a bucket and this is not a joke. Yes, for starters, you have to buy a regular galvanized bucket. This, of course, is in the event that such a leaky bucket was not lying around somewhere in the barn. We mark it into four parts and make slots with scissors for metal, as shown in Fig. 4.

The bucket is attached to the bottom of the generator pulley. It should be fastened with four bolts, placing them strictly symmetrically and at the same distance from the axis of rotation, which will avoid unbalance.

So, almost everything is ready, it remains to perform the following steps:

1. Peel back the metal at the slots to get the blades. If a strong wind prevails most often, it is enough to slightly bend the sides. If the wind is weak, you can bend harder. In any case, the amount of bend can be adjusted later;
2. Connect all the necessary devices (except for the generator) as shown in Fig. 5;
3. Fix the generator with the wires coming from it to the mast;
4. Secure a mast;
5. Connect the wires from the generator to the controller.

All. A self-made wind generator is ready to go.

Electrical diagram

Let's take a closer look at the electrical circuit. It is clear that the wind can stop at any minute. Therefore, wind generators are not connected directly to household appliances, but first they are charged from batteries, to ensure the safety of which, a charge controller is used. Further, given that the batteries give d.C. low voltage, while almost all household appliances consume alternating current with a voltage of 220 volts, a voltage converter is installed, or, as it is also called, an inverter, and only then all consumers are connected.

In order for the wind generator to provide the operation of a personal computer, TV, alarm and several energy-saving lamps, it is enough to install a 75 amp / hour battery, a 1.0 kW voltage converter (inverter), plus a generator of the corresponding power. And what else do you need when you are relaxing in the country?

Let's sum up

A vertical wind turbine, which can be made according to the instructions above, can operate in fairly light winds and regardless of its direction. Its design is simplified due to the fact that it does not have a weather vane that turns the screw of a horizontal wind turbine in the wind.

The main disadvantage of vertical-axial wind turbines is low efficiency, but this is compensated for by a number of other advantages:

• Speed \u200b\u200band ease of assembly;
• Absence of ultrasonic vibration typical for horizontal wind generators;
• Low maintenance requirements;
• Quiet enough operation, allowing you to install a vertical wind turbine almost anywhere.

Of course, a self-made windmill may not withstand an unnecessarily strong wind, which will be able to rip off a bucket. But this is not a problem, you just have to buy a new one or save the old one that has served its life somewhere in the barn.

In the video below you can see how household appliances are powered in the country. True, the wind generator here is not made from a bucket, but also by hand.

Content:

It's not a secret for anyone that the cost of utilities in our country is constantly growing, although there seem to be no prerequisites for this. Well, along with this, the number of consumers who are trying to somehow reduce this column of expenses is increasing. Someone saves water, someone - gas, but still the most interesting are alternative light sources, such as solar battery or an electric generator that uses the wind for work.

Of course, savings in such cases are felt, but the main problem is that such installations are not cheap, and in order to feel real savings, should take more than one year. After all, the installation must first pay off.

It is because of the high cost that questions began to arise about how to make a wind generator with your own hands. After all, such installations were invented and created by a person, which means that it becomes possible to recreate it at home. Therefore, we will try to understand how realistic it is to make a generator for a windmill with our own hands from improvised means, whether any additional equipment is needed for its smooth operation and how much energy can be saved when using such a device for a house, apartment or summer cottage.

Possible limitations

The main thing when installing a wind generator is, of course, the attempts of our state, even in this area, to get any profit. In order not to certify a do-it-yourself installation, i.e. not to pay separate taxes, it is worth assembling a low-power wind generator that generates no more than 5 kW. Although it is quite problematic to make a home-made device of higher power at home.

You should also clarify the presence of regulations and documents on the height of buildings in the installation area, so as not to exceed it for better wind.

It is also worth remembering about the neighbors - they can be hampered by the noise that the blades make, and the gearbox with which homemade wind turbines are equipped. Of course, such installations make little noise, but no one has yet canceled envy, and in case of complaints, fines are possible, as well as a resolution on dismantling. The factory version has the advantage here, because it is quiet, but due to its high cost, such a device is not currently being considered.

Also, do not forget about protection against radio interference - when self-production wind turbine, it is necessary to provide for the installation of a filter. Well, when purchasing such a device, check its presence in the circuit.

Wind generator device

Regardless of the type of such a device, made by hand for 220 volts, its constituent parts will be the same. Any wind generators consist of the device itself generating electricity itself, blades, a battery, a mast and an electronic unit - an inverter.

In any case, the first thing to start with the manufacture of such a device is the choice of type, electrical circuit and project appearance... By type, wind generators are divided into sail and blade, or horizontal and vertical. For mid-latitudes, where there are no sharp gusts of wind, as well as in installations with a capacity of up to 5 kW, the best option will become such a wind generator as a "sailboat", and therefore we will try to understand it in more detail.

The very essence of the work of such devices is as follows: the blades, rotating with the help of the wind force, transmit the torque directly or through the gearbox to the generator rotor, as a result of which electricity is generated, which is fed through the electronic unit to the battery. Energy is accumulated in the battery and can later be used for household needs.

Let's try to figure out what types of wind generators can be made at home and what is needed for this.

Rotary installation

Such a hand-made wind generator is capable of generating an amount of electricity sufficient to illuminate a small garden house, outbuildings, as well as several lanterns in the courtyard. Such wind turbines are made from a car generator or starter, and therefore, in order not to purchase expensive equipment for its manufacture, we will consider a device that will generate up to one and a half kilowatts. To do this, you will need the following materials:

• 12 volt car generator;
• a helium or acid battery (you also need a 12-volt one);
• sealed switch;
• voltage converter from 12 to 220 V and 700-1500 watts;
• large capacity made of stainless steel or aluminum for the manufacture of blades. A plastic pipe with a diameter of 20–25 cm may also work;
• battery charging relay with voltmeter;
• mounting hardware, i.e. bolts and nuts;
• wires having a cross section of 4 and 2.5 sq. mm;
• two clamps for mounting on the device mast;
• metal pipe long enough to be used as a mast;
• and, of course, various tools: metal scissors, grinders, keys, screwdrivers and drills with a set of drills.

Algorithm of work on manufacturing

The first step is to make the fan blades of the future wind generator for a private house with your own hands. For this, an old large aluminum pan, but there are options. It is necessary to mark with a pencil, and then cut the container along the marked lines using a grinder or scissors for metal, leaving small sections uncut at the top and bottom, i.e. as shown in the figure. The blades should be the same, and their number depends only on the preferences of the master.

The cut out blades are bent in the right direction. It must be remembered that the direction of rotation depends on the direction in which the blades are turned, and the speed with which the propeller will rotate the generator depends on the angle of rotation and size. Cut them out more convenient grinder, but if the metal is thin, scissors for metal are fine.

The situation is a little more complicated with plastic pipe... It must be divided lengthwise into four parts, after which, for each of the semicircular segments, make “plugs from the top and bottom, and then assemble it into one screw to make it look like the first option.

Further, using a drill, fixing holes are made in the generator shaft and the finished propeller, after which the blades are fixed to the rotor shaft with bolts. You can perform a similar work with the help of a gearbox, increasing the rotational speed of the generator - this is at the discretion of the master himself.

After the work done, it remains only to fix the wind generator with clamps to the mast and stretch the wires along it.

Assembling equipment on the ground

Because the optimal length of the wind farm mast is 5–13 meters; its base must be filled with concrete for good stability. It also makes sense to think about options for how to lower a wind generator for your home or get to it in case of a breakdown.

The wires coming from the wind generator itself are connected via a charging relay to the battery. Further in the circuit there is a converter, from which a voltage of 220 volts will already be supplied to switchboard.

All equipment must be protected from atmospheric precipitation and direct access by children. The switch is installed on the mast, at an accessible height, and breaks the positive wire from the wind generator to the charging relay. Thus, in case of unnecessary or weak wind, the load can be removed by allowing the blades to rotate "idle".

It is very important to disconnect the load when the wind is too strong, which can damage both the generator itself and the battery charging relay.

But there is also a more powerful option for making a wind generator with your own hands at home. Of course, it is a little more complicated, but, nevertheless, observing the rules and order of work, it is quite possible to make such a device.

Axial wind turbine

A similar device (one might even say a do-it-yourself wind farm) is made on the basis of neodymium magnets that have recently appeared on our market. It is at their expense that a higher generator power is achieved. If we take a similar installation on ordinary, ferrite magnets, then it will not be possible to get more than one and a half kilowatts from it. Some time ago, when neodymium elements first appeared on the shelves, the price for them was quite high, but now there is a decrease in cost, and therefore such magnets have become more affordable.

So, in order to make an axial wind generator for a house with your own hands, you will need a hub with a brake disc from a car. Moreover, its wear is not important here, and therefore such a part can always be found in any car service. It will need to be thoroughly cleaned, greased on the bearings, in general, brought into good working condition. The optimal number of magnets is 20, with dimensions of 25 x 8 mm. They will be glued to the inside of the brake disc.

Having divided the disk into sectors, you should glue the magnets, alternating their poles - this is very important. For a stronger bond, the use of epoxy adhesive is recommended. Well, after the glue has dried, all the magnets are poured with the same epoxy resin, and so that the glue does not drip, you can make a small side around the disc of plasticine.

Coil winding

It is well known that before you start winding, you need to calculate required amount coil turns. Based on the fact that the wind generator must operate at low speed, it is necessary to charge the battery at 100–150 rpm. Therefore, the total number of turns in all winding coils should be 1200-1500, more is useless. Well, it is very simple to calculate the number of turns of one coil. With 20 coils and a total of 1400 turns, one should contain 70 turns.

The more the number of coils, the more power can be achieved at low speeds. Moreover, the larger the cross-section of the wire during winding, the lower the resistance, and therefore the greater the current.

Of course, the best option would be to use a special machine for winding coils, but if there is none, it is quite possible to perform such work by hand.

To check the output power, one winding is enough. When scrolling in the generator, it will already be possible to measure the parameters of the future device.

The stator itself can be made of plywood, reinforced with fiberglass and epoxy for reliability. But the connection of the coils is made according to one of two schemes, at the choice of the master. It can be either "triangle" or "star". Further, the coils are fixed, and the wires are brought out. To check the operability, a wind generator for a private house is manually scrolled at a stable speed and voltage readings are taken from the output wires.

Mast and propeller screw

As for the mast, there are no differences from the manufacture of a rotary wind turbine. The requirements for it are the same. But the propeller blades for such an installation are made in a different way. For this, a 16 mm polyvinyl chloride pipe is used. The shape of the blades is experimental, i.e. each one determines the optimal one, as they say, by trial and error.

At the same time, the length of the blade on the wind turbine with your own hands should be at least a meter, in order to be able to scroll the generator, and it is also necessary to balance the finished propeller to eliminate noise, beating and damage to the bearings during operation.

With a little thought, you can design the blades of a wind generator so that in very strong winds they can be folded, and then unfolded. This will save the device from failure in the event of storm warnings and sudden gusts.

Installation of equipment on the ground is carried out similarly to the previous version of the rotary wind turbine.

Service

Of course, an air generator, like any other equipment, requires attention, periodic revisions and, of course, sometimes repairs. The main thing that needs to be constantly checked, cleaned and coated with special graphite grease is the generator brushes. they tend to wear off during use.

At the slightest suspicion of imbalance, vibration, loosening of screw fasteners and connections, the generator should be lowered to the ground and adjusted or repaired.

The device should be painted about once every 2-3 years. And it is better if the paint is special, i.e. anti-corrosion. It is also necessary to regularly check the tension and fastening of the retaining cables.

Output

Some may argue that the price of electricity is not high enough to do the job of making homemade wind turbines. In addition, also for an inverter, etc. have to spend money. But if you think about it, with a well-done work, there will be enough electricity not only for heating the house, but also for buildings, heating a barn with animals in winter. In general, with the right approach to making such a homemade product, i.e. a wind generator, and electricity consumption can be completely abandoned from paid electricity, and this is a good saving.