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    A Wind Turbine Recipe Book 2014 English Units Edtion
    A Wind Turbine Recipe Book 2014 English Units Edtion
    A Wind Turbine Recipe Book 2014 English Units Edtion
    Ebook289 pages2 hours

    A Wind Turbine Recipe Book 2014 English Units Edtion

    By Hugh Piggott

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    About this ebook

    This is the June 2014 ‘English’ units edition of my ‘Wind Turbine Recipe Book’. It describes in detail how to build a turbine in each of six sizes from four foot diameter to fourteen foot diameter. The Recipe Book has become a classic for small wind turbine builders worldwide and has been translated into six other languages since it was first published in 2008. Every detail of carving blades, winding coils and assembling complete turbines is covered. These are real wind turbines that actually stand up to real world use, charging batteries or even connected to the grid via suitable inverters.
    This edition is fully updated with numerous new ideas and refinements that did not appear in the older editions.
    There are several sections of general interest, but most of the book is very specific to the stages of construction, and has dimensions for each size of turbine tabulated alongside diagrams and text. At the end you will find a set of basic drawings of the four main types of head for the turbines.
    This ‘English’ units edition is for readers who prefer to work in inches rather than millimetres, and it is based on using a magnet block size 2” x 1” x 1/2” because this size is more readily available in North America. Do not use metric (46 x 30 x 10mm) magnets with the inches dimensions in this book, or inches-sized magnets with the mm dimensions in the other, metric edition.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHugh Piggott
    Release dateJun 30, 2014
    ISBN9781311654106
    A Wind Turbine Recipe Book 2014 English Units Edtion
    Author

    Hugh Piggott

    Born in 1952, educated in Edinburgh and Cambridge. I have lived off-grid on the remote Scoraig peninsula in the Scottish Highlands since the mid 1970s. I have designed and built a lot of wind turbines, and also teach courses and write books so that others can learn how.I am still very active building, installing and maintaining wind, hydro and solar systems for neighbours and other clients.A number of organisations around the world have adopted my designs and teach courses themselves or build wind turbines. (http://www.windmepowerment.org) I spend a lot of time helping people with their projects and answering questions over the internet. I rely on sales of my books for income but to a large extent my work has become "public domain" or "open source" which is great so long as I continue to make some kind of income.

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      Book preview

      A Wind Turbine Recipe Book 2014 English Units Edtion - Hugh Piggott

      A WIND TURBINE RECIPE BOOK

      2014 "ENGLISH UNITS" EDITION FOR NORTH AMERICA

      by Hugh Piggott

      THE AXIAL FLUX WINDMILL PLANS

      Copyright 2014 HUGH PIGGOTT

      WITH THANKS TO ALAN BUSH,

      DAN BARTMANN, LES VINCENT (Flux),

      AND COUNTLESS OTHERS WHO HAVE INSPIRED ME.

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      This Book

      Choosing what to do

      Tools

      Using the tools

      Blades

      Mechanics

      Electrics

      Installation

      Alternator design

      Glossary

      List of suppliers

      Materials you will need

      Views of the turbine heads

      THIS BOOK

      This is the June 2014 ‘English’ units edition of my ‘Wind Turbine Recipe Book’. It describes in detail how to build a turbine in each of six sizes from four foot diameter to fourteen foot diameter. This edition is fully updated with corrections and numerous new ideas that did not appear in the older editions.

      There are several sections of general interest, but most of the book is very specific to the stages of construction, and has dimensions for each size of turbine tabulated alongside diagrams and text. At the end you will find a set of basic drawings of the four main types of head for the turbines. The drawing show the metric turbines and so the magnet shape appears slightly different, but the dimensions listed in the tables are all in inches.

      This ‘English’ units edition is for readers who prefer to work in inches rather than millimetres, and it is based on a magnet block size 2 x 1 x 1/2" because this size is more readily available in North America. Do not use metric (46 x 30 x 10mm) magnets with the inches dimensions in this book, or inches-sized magnets with the mm dimensions in the other, metric edition.

      I recommend looking at my web sites http://www.scoraigwind.com (especially the diaries of the courses) http://www.scoraig.co.uk and also my YouTube videos for more ideas and visualisation of the designs.

      Have fun! Hugh

      hugh@scoraigwind.co.uk

      Choosing what to do

      Be safe!

      There is plenty of scope for hurting yourself or others when building and operating small wind turbines. You follow these guidelines at your own risk! I am not going to fill this manual with all the safety notices and disclaimers that make many manuals unreadable. But I will point out the main hazards up front.

      In my experience, most people hurt their fingers when handling magnets. In some cases I hear that they lose fingers. Treat the magnets with respect and never leave magnets or magnet rotors lying around loose.

      Wear protective clothing where it helps safety – for example when grinding metal you should always use eye protection. All workshop activities have a degree of danger if conducted carelessly or with ignorance. Take care to learn how to use your tools.

      Batteries are particularly hazardous items. They can deliver a lot of energy in the event of a short-circuit, causing burns or fires. They contain explosive gasses that can spatter acid in your eyes if ignited by a spark. They contain lead that is a persistent toxin and a backbreaking weight to lift.

      Erecting towers can be deceptively tricky and many people have dropped wind turbines from a height in the attempt. Needing a new set of blades would be a setback, but nothing compared to crushing a child. Keep everyone out of the fall zone, and pay attention all the time. Do not erect a wind turbine tower in a public area where people congregate beneath it.

      Battery-charging wind turbines do not generally create any risk of electric shock, but bear in mind that when they are running fast and not connected to a battery the voltage they produce is much higher than nominal battery voltage. Dangerous voltages can arise in exceptional conditions (especially with 48-volt systems), so it is best to keep junction boxes closed.

      How big?

      The amount of energy that you will get from the turbine depends mostly on two things: the diameter of the blade rotor, and the exposure to good winds. The power rating of the alternator in watts actually has very little influence for most of the time, because full rated power is only available in stronger winds. The rest of the time the power output is limited by the wind and by the size of the rotor.

      I have included a very rough estimate of the cost of materials in the table as well. Much will depend on how you buy things, what the shipping cost is, whether you can re-use some discarded materials such as steel pipes or timber. There is a list of useful suppliers at the end of this book. Also a glossary of terms.

      Cost is less significant than the time it takes to complete a project like this. You are likely to be at it for weeks rather than days. I recommend building a small one first so as to get experience and also so as to get a final result before you run out of enthusiasm. It is hard to describe the feeling you will get when it starts to produce power.

      Diagram of a small wind system

      3-phase AC power from the wind turbine is converted to DC power by a rectifier. (Only one DC wire is shown to simplify this diagram but you need two.) In most cases the DC is then made into single phase AC power (normal household electricity).

      What can the wind turbine do?

      Small wind turbines are a good way to produce electricity in a windy place. Wind energy is highly dependent on the wind speed, so it is a good idea to erect a tall tower to reach the best winds. The turbine needs to be well above surrounding trees and buildings - not just at rooftop level. If the location is not windier than average, then small wind is probably a waste of effort but there is no reason not to do it if you just want to do it. There is no reason to drive around town in a big four-wheel drive vehicle, but people do that. If you need to build or buy a small wind turbine, then that is fine too (even better!). But you need to understand that it will not save you any significant money (unless the site is really windy). It will be less environmentally damaging than a four wheel drive, but it will not immediately 'save the planet'

      The wind turbines in this book are primarily designed for charging batteries. They can provide electricity where there is none.

      It is good to connect solar photovoltaic (PV) panels that charge the battery when the wind is low, and it’s also easy to convert battery power into AC power for conventional household wiring and appliances. But the batteries and other items of equipment to do this are not cheap.

      If you already have utility grid power on site then there is not so much point in storing energy in batteries. The most effective use of wind energy is to feed it straight to the grid using a special ‘grid connect’ inverter. This set-up is cheaper than a stand-alone battery system, but the electricity will also be worth less in the end since you are competing with very cheaply produced grid power.

      Some prefer to use the wind for heating only. This saves the hassle of dealing with the utility, and avoids the issues of energy storage in batteries – it is much cheaper to store heat – but in the end the value of heat energy is often much lower than that of electricity.

      Load controllers

      It is not a great idea to simply connect a heater directly to the turbine because that will prevent it from starting up. The heater has to be turned on when the voltage is high enough. You need a ‘load controller’ that automatically turns on the heater(s).

      The wind turbine is rather like an engine whose throttle you cannot control. If there is no wind then it will not turn at all, but if the wind is strong then you have to give it something to do or it will overspeed and run wild. If the wires are disconnected from the turbine then the voltage will shoot up until it can damage lights and electronic equipment.

      Whether you want heat or not, you should use some sort of electronic load control that connects heaters to the turbine when the voltage rises above the desired level. Such controllers are easily available for battery charging systems and are becoming more widely available for grid connection applications as well. Be aware that load controllers that are designed to work with batteries cannot usually function without batteries, although in some cases you can use capacitors in place of batteries to stabilise the voltage if the operating frequency of the pulses is high enough.

      If you are keen on electronics then you can make your own load controller. Some of them work by switching multiple small loads on and off on a slow timescale while others work by very rapidly switching a single load. The amount of energy you dump depends on how long the load is pulsed on compared to the period between pulses.

      The energy that is diverted to heat can be used in a water heater and then diverted to lower priority uses once the water is hot. There is potentially no end to the complexity of the system if you wish to make the best use of your wind energy.

      A dedicated solar PV charge controller will not work for a wind turbine unless it has the option to be used in a load control mode. Most solar electric charge controllers regulate charge by disconnecting the solar panel, and this is not a good idea with a wind turbine. Xantrex C-40 and Morningstar TS-45 (see photo above) controllers are both optionally suitable for ‘diversion loads’ but the latter has a quicker response to gusts. The LDR controllers made by Solar Converters are cheaper and more suitable for direct heating without batteries.

      Choosing battery voltage

      12-volt batteries are only suitable for very small systems because the wires you need are very thick, expensive and clumsy. Unless you have a special reason to need 12 volts, then choose 24 volts or better still 48 volts. You would build a 48-volt battery using four 12-volt batteries. 48-volt power can be converted to mains voltage AC power with an inverter.

      Cheaper inverters are available for 12 or 24-volt battery systems, so if you cannot afford a high grade inverter then 24 volts may be the best choice.

      If you are feeding the mains grid without batteries then Power-one Aurora, Ginlong and Enasolar are good options for inverters. Take care that you protect the inverter from over-voltage with a protection box. These grid-tie inverters can also be used on some stand-alone inverter systems. This is called AC coupling of the wind turbine to the battery.

      In the electrics section about winding coils for the turbine I have presented a table of different options for different battery voltages and also for the grid-tied inverters. I offer a couple of options because there is some flexibility but you may need to enter a table of power/voltage data points into the inverter's program to suit the winding you have. email me for guidance if you wish.

      If you plan to use the turbine for heating then the voltage will depend on what sort of heaters

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