Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
ux W ind
Turb ine
Use rs M anual
Page 2
Ne ith e r th e auth ors nor Force fie ld tak e any re s pons ibility for pe rs onalinjury or de ath
caus e d by any of th e h azards of w ork ing w ith w ind turbine s . Safe ty is e ntire ly th e
re s pons ibility ofth e w ind turbine ow ne r and w ind turbine installer.
Page 3
Tab l
e of Conte nts
Safe ty
Electricalh azards
M e ch anicalh azards
Tow e r h azards
Introd uction
5
5
5
6
H ow m uch pow e r w il
litm ak e ?
W h ats incl
ud e d
W h ats NO T incl
ud e d
10
10
10
11
11
12
13
36
R e gul
ar m ainte nance
Source s
Page 4
13
39
41
2007 by Force fie ld
Safe ty
W ind turbine s can be dange rous ! And th ey are e s pe ciall
y dange rous w h e n you are
instal
ling or m aintaining th e m . H ow eve r, once your turbine is up and running on your tow e r,
it s h ould be a ve ry s afe and q uie t m ach ine if prope rl
y instal
led, w ire d and m aintaine d. It is
your re s pons ibilil
ity to cons ide r s afe ty at alltim e s w h e n installing, m aintaining and running
your w ind turbine . D o your h om ew ork , as w e cant pos s ibl
y cove r eve ry s afe ty pre caution
h e re . If you are in doubt about anyth ing, contact a profe s s ional! You can e m ailus for
te ch nicals upport, too.
El
e ctricalh azard s
* Sh ock : Th is w ind turbine de s ign puts out low voltage e lectricity, for s yste m voltage s
of 12, 24 or 48 vol
ts . Ge ne rall
y low voltage s are not a s h ock h azard. H ow eve r, w h e n
th e turbine is not conne cte d to th e batte ry bank , voltage s on th e output w ire s can be
m uch h igh e r th an th at, e nough to caus e a dange rous s h ock . Alw ays as s um e th at
eve ry w ire is e ne rgize d and can e l
e ctrocute you if you touch it! Sh ut dow n th e
turbine w ith th e stop s w itch be fore doing anyth ing w ith th e w iring. Us e e lectrical
e ncl
os ure s and conduitto k e e p curious finge rs outof your w iring.
* Fire : Be caus e of th e low voltage nature of th e w ind turbine alte rnator, im prope rl
ys ize d w ire s and poor e lectricalconne ctions can ge t ve ry h ot ve ry q uick l
y and start a
fire . Us e e lectricale nclos ure s and conduit, and s ize allw ire s appropriate l
y.
* H e ate rs: If you us e dum p l
oad h e ating e lem e nts for your w ind turbine , be s ure th ey
are m ounte d s afe l
y aw ay from flam m abl
e w alls and s uch , in a m e tale ncl
os ure . Th e
re ctifie r as s e m bl
y can also ge th ot, us e th e s am e pre cautions for m ounting it.
* Ground ing: If your e ntire pow e r s yste m is grounde d to NationalElectricalCode
rules , th at w ill m ost lik e l
y be all you ne e d. Se e th e Grounding and ligh tning
prote ction s e ction of th is m anual, page 41, for s pe cific inform ation about w ind
turbine grounding.
* Bal
ance of syste m : Electrical
l
y s pe ak ing, th is w ind turbine is onl
y as s afe as th e re st
of your s yste m . Your batte ry bank is particularl
y dange rous , due to th e l
arge am ount
of e ne rgy store d in a s m alls pace , and th e e m is s ion of explos ive h ydroge n gas during
ch arging. You s h ould alre ady be intim ate l
y fam iliar w ith eve ry s ingle s afe ty
pre caution invol
ve d w ith th e balance of your e ntire re new able e ne rgy s yste m ! It all
ne e ds to be install
e d s afe l
y, and m ost l
ik e l
y approve d by your frie ndl
y locale lectrical
ins pe ctor, be fore you eve n th ink of w iring your w ind turbine into th e w ork s .
M e ch anicalH azard s
* M oving b l
ad e s: D ont eve r fl
y a w ind turbine on a tow e r th ats s o s h ort th at
s om e th ing or s om e one on th e ground could touch it! Th is s e e m s lik e pl
ain com m on
s e ns e , but e nth us iastic new turbine ow ne rs m igh t be te m pte d to let th e m ach ine s pin
up in th e w ind on a s h ort te st tow e r be fore m ounting th e turbine on th e re alth ing.
D ont do it! Th e m ach ine could ge t aw ay from you be fore you k now w h ats
h appe ning (e s pe cial
l
y w ith no l
oad on it) and th e s pinning bl
ade s could k il
lor
s e rious l
y injure you, your gue sts , and your dogs . At th e ve ry l
e ast it w ould be
Page 5
incre dibl
y painful
, and it h as h appe ne d be fore to fol
k s w h o w e k now . Th e only place
you s h ould fl
y your turbine is on a talltow e r, out of re ach of anyone or anyth ing. If
you put it on a s h ort te st tow e r (to balance th e blade s , or to pre pare it for instal
lation)
s h ort al
lth e alte rnator te rm inals w ith jum pe r w ire s , and tie one bl
ade to th e tow e r
w ith a rope , s o itcantpos s ibl
y s pin, w h ateve r th e w ind s pe e d.
* Ice : If your turbine be com e s coate d w ith ice during a storm , s h ut it dow n w ith th e
stop s w itch . Re ad th e s e ction on icing, page 37, be fore turning it back on. Ch unk s of
ice could be l
aunch e d from th e turbine at h igh ve locity and for a gre at distance if you
al
low itrun w h ile ice d up.
* Inspe ct and m aintain: Pay atte ntion to your w ind turbine eve ry day! If it starts
m ak ing a strange s ound or unus ualm otion, you ne e d to s h ut it dow n and find out
w h ats going on be fore a s m al
lprobl
e m leads to an eve nt cas cade th at could re s ult
in totalfail
ure of th e turbine , tow e r, or both . Unlik e boring s ol
ar pane l
s , allw ind
turbine s ne e d re gular ins pe ction and m ainte nance .
* Pace m ak e rs and m e d icale quipm e nt: If you w e ar a pace m ak e r or oth e r on-board
m e dicale q uipm e nt, be cautious around th e turbine . Th e m agne ts us e d are extre m e l
y
pow e rful
! Th ough th e m agne tic fie lds are m ostl
y containe d w ith in, clos e contact
w ith th e alte rnator could dam age your pace m ak e r. You'l
lne e d to h ire a h e l
pe r to ge t
th e m ach ine as s e m bl
e d and e re cte d if th is is th e cas e .
* Al
te rnator d isasse m b l
y: If you ne e d to re place th e m ach ine 's stator for any re as on,
contact us be fore atte m pting to re m ove th e front m agne t rotor! Spe cialtools are
re q uire d to s afe l
y s e parate it from th e m ach ine , and if you don't us e th e s e tools and
th e prope r proce dure , your h ands could be crus h e d be tw e e n th e h igh l
y attractive pair
of m agne t rotors . If you built th e alte rnator yours e lf, you alre ady k now h ow to
as s e m ble and dis as s e m ble it, butyou s h ould stillus e caution.
Tow e r H azard s
* Sol
id construction: No m atte r if you ch oos e a tilt-up tow e r or one you h ave to clim b,
it m ust be s ol
idl
y constructe d and w e llanch ore d. Th e tow e r is no pl
ace to cut corne rs
and s ave cost! D o your h om ew ork and anch or your tow e r prope rl
y. W e re com m e nd
purch as ing a tow e r k it for your first atte m pt, unles s you can gain expe rie nce by
tagging al
ong w ith and h e l
ping a localw ind turbine instal
ler on a job s ite .
* Cl
im b ing: If you ch oos e a tow e r th at doe s n't tilt dow n to th e ground, you'l
lh ave to
cl
im b it to e re ct it, to instal
lth e w ind turbine , and th e n clim b it again at l
e ast once a
ye ar to m aintain th e m ach ine . O r, h ire a q ual
ifie d w ind turbine de aler to do th is for
you. You m ust be expe rie nce d in th e art and s afe ty of tow e r clim bing to eve n th ink
about atte m pting it, and m ust alw ays us e th e prope r fallprote ction s yste m s avail
able.
You m igh t cons ide r tak ing a cl
im bing and rigging cl
as s , or s pe nd s om e tim e on a job
s ite w ith a profe s s ionalw ind turbine install
e r to l
e arn th e rope s of tow e r cl
im bing.
* Til
ting tow e rs: M any w ind turbine profe s s ionals cons ide r tilt-up tow e rs to be m uch
m ore dange rous th an tow e rs you h ave to clim b! Th e stre s s e s on til
t-ups are extre m e l
y
h igh during rais ing and l
ow e ring one m istak e in your de s ign or your rigging and it
coul
d allcom e cras h ing to th e ground w h e n you first try to e re ct it. Th ink of yours e l
f
as th e fl
y and th e tow e r as th e fl
ys w atte r. Any structure s th at m igh t be in th e fall
zone are at ris k , too. Again, w e re com m e nd th at you tak e a cl
as s in w ind turbine
instal
lation or s pe nd s om e tim e on a job s ite w ith a profe s s ionalinstal
ler to learn
h ow to s afe l
y de s ign, anch or, rais e , and low e r a til
ting tow e r.
Page 6
Introd uction
(W h ath ave you gotte n yourse l
f into?)
Congratul
ations on your new w ind turbine ! Th is ow ne rs m anualis e s s e ntialre ading
w h e th e r youve buil
t th e m ach ine yours e lf from s cratch , bough t a parts k its from us and as s e m bl
e d it, or s im pl
y purch as e d a com plete d w ind turbine k it from us . Th e s e m ach ine s are
re al
l
y h om e buil
t w ind turbine s , eve n if yours cam e pre -as s e m bl
e d. And th e re is stilla
w h ole lot of w ork youllne e d to do to pre pare for th e instal
lation m ost lik e l
y m ore w ork
th an it took to build th e w ind turbine its e l
f. Th ats w h e re th is m anualcom e s in, and
h ope full
y youve re ad it be fore you bough t anyth ing! W e h ave no giant factory te e m ing w ith
te ch nicians and e ngine e rs , no ISO 9 000 ce rtification, and no room fullof offs h ore te leph one
ope rators standing by to te llyou re boot! re boot! in garbl
e d Engl
is h just a s m all, offgrid s h op h igh in th e Col
orado m ountains w h e re w e buil
d w ind turbine parts and k its , plus
th e occas ionalfinis h e d m ach ine for s ale. O ur m ach ine s h op is pow e re d e ntire l
y by w ind, s ol
ar, and firew ood th e ne are st e lectric l
ine is 12 m il
e s aw ay, th e re are no ph one line s , and
th e re is no ce llph one re ce ption.
Th e ide a be h ind th is h om e -built m ach ine is th at it s h ould pe rform as w e l
las expe ns ive com m e rcialm ach ine s of th e s am e s ize , be e as y to m aintain, and be e as y to re pair yours e lf w h e n ne e de d. Any part th at bre ak s is s im pl
e to fabricate yours e lf (or purch as e dire ctl
y
from us ), afte r you figure out w h at caus e d th e failure . Th is turbine starts producing pow e r in
7 m ph w inds , give s ste llar pe rform ance in low to m e dium w inds , and s ustaine d output of up
to 700 w atts in h igh e r w inds (about 25 m ph ), at w h ich point th e m ach ine autom aticall
y
turns out of th e w ind to prote ct its e lf w h ile m aintaining h igh output leve ls. You could e as il
y
s e e pe ak s of 1,000 w atts in w inds of 28 m ph or above . Th is is am ong th e q uie te st of w ind
turbine s w eve k now n youllprobabl
y be pl
e as antl
y s urpris e d at th e low nois e l
eve lduring
ope ration.
H ow eve r, th is is not th e low e st m ainte nance w ind turbine de s ign youl
lfind! Th e
blade s , blade h ubs and th e tailare w oode n and w il
lre q uire at least ye arl
y ins pe ction and
m ainte nance . Th e be arings are com m on tape re d roller be arings and m ay re q uire occas ional
gre as ing and adjustm e nt. Solar pane ls h ave no m oving parts , and are bas ical
l
y s e t and forge t units . Not s o w ith w ind turbine s any w ind turbine for th at m atte r! Re gular ins pe ction
and m ainte nance are e s s e ntial
. In th is ow ne rs m anualw ellgo ove r th e as s e m bl
y, installation and m ainte nance of th e s e m ach ine s . If install
e d and m aintaine d corre ctl
y, th is w il
lbe a
re l
iabl
e , q uie tand e as y-to-live -w ith w ind turbine .
O ur s h ipping office in tow n h as ph one s e rvice , but our w ind s h op doe s not w e are too
far off th e grid for eve n ce llph one s e rvice . W ere h appy to offe r te ch nicals upport and ans w e r any w ind turbine q ue stions via e m ail(w indturbine @ oth e rpow e r.com ), and if e m ailis
notan option for you w e can be contacte d via s nailm ailor ph one :
Force fie ld
2606 W Vine D r
FortCollins , CO , 80521
Le ave a m e s s age w ith a re alh um an: (9 70) 484-7257 and (tollfre e in U SA) 877-9 44-6247
w w w .oth e rpow e r.com
Page 7
H ow m uch pow e r w il
litm ak e ?
Th at de pe nds on th e ave rage w ind s pe e d in your
ge ograph ic are a, your tow e r s ite , and th e h e igh t of
your tow e r. Th e h igh e r th e tow e r, th e m ore w ind
fue l is availabl
e to th e turbine . You cant pre dict
h ow m uch pow e r youll ge t by com paring w ind
turbine s by th e ir rate d output th at num be r onl
y
te lls w h at th e turbine m ak e s in h igh w inds (us uall
y
28 m ph ), and you can s e e from Figure 1 at l
e ft th at
Figure 1 - Typicalw ind spe e d
s uch h igh w inds are ve ry rare in m ost l
ocations les s
d istrib ution atm ostl
ocations. In
th an 100 h ours pe r ye ar. M ost w ind com e s at us in th e
pl
ace s w ith h igh e r ave rage w ind
spe e d s, th e graph sl
id e s to th e righ t,
10-20 m ph range , and th at's w h at th is w ind turbine is
atl
ow e r ave rage w ind spe e d s itsl
id e s
de s igne d to catch e fficie ntl
y. But, th e actualave rage
to th e l
e ft.
w ind s pe e d at your l
ocation w il
l m ak e a big
diffe re nce in your m onth l
y pow e r production! You can l
ook up ave rage w inds pe e ds on a
m ap at w w w .NR EL.gov. Anoth e r option is to fl
y a logging ane m om e te r on a talltow e r for a
ye ar. Se e th e Source s s e ction h e re for inform ation on w h e re to buy one .
Page 8
W h ats incl
ud e d :
* Alte rnator, cons ists of:
- Fram e
- Spindle and be aring
- M agne trotors
- Stator
* Tailas s e m bl
y, cons ists of:
- Tailboom
- Tailvane
- Tailas s e m bl
y h ardw are :
5/16 inch 18 tpi bolts w ith w as h e rs , lock w as h e rs , and nuts (q ty 6 of e ach ). Four
of th e bol
ts are 1 inch long, tw o of th e m are 2 inch e s l
ong
* W oode n blade s , e ach 5 fe e tlong (q ty 3)
* Blade h ub s e t, cons ists of:
- Pl
yw ood bl
ade h ubs (q ty 2)
- Ste e lbl
ade h ubs (q ty 2)
- 1-1/4 inch long w ood s crew s (q ty 60) for attach ing blade s to h ubs
- 5/16 inch -18 tpi carriage bolts w ith w as h e rs , l
ock w as h e rs , and nuts (q ty 6 of
e ach ) for attach ing blade s to w oode n h ubs
- 1/2 inch -13 tpi nuts and l
ock w as h e rs (q ty 4) for attach ing rotor to al
te rnator.
* Yaw be aring bus h ing
* Le ad w e igh ts and w ood s crew s for blade balancing
w w w .oth e rpow e r.com
Page 9
W h ats NO T incl
ud e d :
* An instal
l
e d, functioning, batte ry-bas e d re new able e ne rgy s yste m , running at 12, 24
or 48 volts
* Blade finis h
* Tow e r and al
lits com pone nts , including:
- Pipe or tubing for tow e r and jin pol
e
- Coupl
e rs and guy w ire conne ctors for tow e r and gin pol
e pipe
- Turbine m ounting stub
- Guy w ire s , guy w ire anch ors , tow e r bas e , turnbuck les , th im bles , and cable
clam ps
- W inch s yste m , truck , pack of dogs , or tractor for rais ing and low e ring th e
tow e r and w ind turbine (or, tow e r clim bing ge ar, s afe ty e q uipm e nt, and ye ars
of training if you are planning to clim b your tow e r)
- Ins pe ction, e ngine e rs draw ings and approvalfrom your favorite localgove rnm e ntage ncy, if re q uire d
* W iring from tow e r top to pow e r s yste m
* Re ctifie r as s e m bl
y
* Sh ut-dow n s w itch
* Control
ler and dum p load (optionalbutre com m e nde d)
* M e te ring (optionalbutre com m e nde d)
A) Al
te rnator
Th e alte rnator (A in Figure 3,
above left) conve rts th e m e ch anicale ne rgy put into th e rotating s h aft by th e w ind pus h ing
th e blade s into w il
d 3-ph as e alte rnating curre nt (AC) e l
e ctricity th at varie s in fre q ue ncy.
It is a low -rpm , axialfl
ux pe rm ane nt m agne t unit, ve ry m uch ins pire d by H ugh Piggotts
de s igns . Th e alte rnator its e lf cons ists of tw o m agne t rotors th at turn toge th e r (Figure 4, #2,
facing page ), dire ctl
y coupled to th e bl
ade s . O ne m agne t rotor is on e ach s ide of th e stator
(Figure 4, #1, facing page ), and e ach m agne t rotor contains 12 Ne odym ium -Iron-Boron
Page 10
B) Blade s
Figure 4 - Al
te rnator w ith parts l
ab e l
ed:
1) Stator
2) M agne trotors
3) Fram e
4) Yaw b e aring
5) Tailpivot
Th e bl
ade s are fabricate d from lam inate d W e ste rn re d ce dar. W e us e th is w ood be caus e
its strong, l
igh tw e igh t, re as onabl
y inexpe ns ive and re s ists rot. W e norm all
y finis h th e blade s
w ith a few th ick coats of boiled lins e e d oil
. In h um id e nvironm e nts a good paint finis h w ould
probabl
y h old up be tte r. W el
ldis cus s blade finis h ing in th e FinalAs s e m bly s e ction h e re , as
th e blade s s h ip from our s h op unfinis h e d.
Th e blade s are tw iste d along th e ir length (in oth e r w ords , th e bl
ade pitch varie s from s h allow at th e tips to ste e p at th e roots ) to approxim ate th e corre ct angl
e of attack to th e
w ind th e tw ist is be caus e th e tips of th e blade s are m oving faste r th an th e roots . Th e s e
blade s are de s igne d to run at a tip s pe e d ratio (TSR ) be tw e e n 6 and 7, and are m atch e d to th e
alte rnator. For inform ation about th e blade de s ign w e us e , re fe r to our w e bs ite
w w w .oth e rpow e r.com .
C) TailBoom
Th e tailboom is a bit ove r 5 fe e t long, fabricate d from ste e lpipe and ste e lbar stock . It
fits ove r th e tailpivot (Figure 4, #5) on th e alte rnator. Th e alte rnator and tailw ork toge th e r s o
th at in h igh w inds th e th rust against th e blade s w illove rcom e th e w e igh t of th e tail th e m ach ine w illfold up and furl to re duce th e e ffe ctive s w e pt are a of th e bl
ade s . To furl m e ans
th at th e m ach ine turns out of th e w ind on its yaw be aring (Figure 4, #4), s o th e blade s dont
face s q uare to th e w ind. In h igh e r w inds you can expe ct th e pow e r of th e m ach ine to be
s ligh tl
y re duce d w h ile it prote cts its e lf but it s h ould stillproduce ne arl
y ful
lpow e r unde r
th e s e conditions .
Page 11
Figure 5 (l
e ft) - W ind turb ine in norm alope rating
position.
Figure 6 (righ t) - W ind turb ine ful
l
y furl
e d to
prote ctitse l
f from h igh w ind s (ove r 28 m ph ).
D) Blade h u bs
Th e w oode n blade h ubs (D in Figure 3, previous page ) provide a sturdy attach m e nt point
for trans fe rring pow e r from th e blade s to th e s h aft. Th e re are also tw o m e talbl
ade h ubs (one
in front of th e w oode n blade h ubs and one in back ) th at give a sturdy s urface to s andw ich th e
w h ole blade and h ub as s e m bl
y toge th e r w ith bolts . Th e w oode n blade h ubs are provide d unfinis h e d, and th e de tails on finis h ing th e m are provide d in th e FinalAs s e m bly s e ction. Youlldo
itw h ilstfinis h ing allth e oth e r w ood parts on th e m ach ine , including blade s and tailvane .
Le ts ge ts tarte d
Th e ste ps youllne e d to com plete to ge t your new w ind turbine fl
ying are as follow s , and
be low w ellcove r e ach ste p in de tail
:
1. As s e m ble th e tail
2. Build or purch as e th e re ctifie r as s e m bl
y, and installit into your batte ry-bas e d R E s ys te m
3. Purch as e and installth e s h ut-dow n s w itch
4. Purch as e or buil
d th e controll
e r, bre ak e r and dum p l
oad, and installth e m into your R E
s yste m (optionalbutre com m e nde d)
w w w .oth e rpow e r.com
Page 13
1) As s e m ble th e tail
If w e buil
t th e m ach ine and s h ippe d it to you, th e tailcons ists of th re e pie ce s . Th e tail
boom (th e long pie ce m ade from pipe th at fits onto th e al
te rnator ove r th e tails pindl
e ), th e
tailbrack e t (a 34 inch long pie ce of ste e lbar stock ) and th e w oode n tailvane . Youllas s e m ble th e tailas fol
low s . Th e h ardw are is s upplie d, and cons ists of 6 x 5/16-18 bol
ts w ith
w as h e rs , lock w as h e rs , and nuts . Four of th e m are 1 inch long, and tw o of th e m are 2 inch e s
long.
Us e tw o of th e 1 inch long 5/16 inch bolts to attach th e w oode n tailvane to th e tail
Figure 8 (l
e ft) and Figure 9 (righ t) - Asse m b l
ing th e tail
.
Page 14
2) Re ctifie r As s e m bl
y
Th e w ind turbines output com e s as w il
d 3ph as e alte rnating curre nt (AC). Its not us abl
e in
th is form be caus e th e fre q ue ncy varie s w ith th e
w ind s pe e d and rotor s pe e d. So, th e w ild AC m ust
be re ctifie d into D C for batte ry ch arging. Th e
e as ie st w ay is to buy a re ady-m ade 3-ph as e re ctifie r of s uitabl
e curre nt carrying capacity, m ount it Figure 10 - A pre -m ad e , 3-ph ase re ctifie r.
to a big h e at s ink , and add a stop s w itch and
(pos s ibl
y) an am m e te r. M any good e lectronics s upplie rs w illcarry 3-ph as e re ctifie rs but
th ey can be a bit expe ns ive ($50 - $150 de pe nding on th e curre nt rating). W e find th at th e s e
are alm ost al
w ays avail
abl
e as s urplus off of Ebay and from oth e r s urplus s upplie rs , and can
us uall
y be h ad for l
e s s th an h alf th e new price . Th e s e device s are nice be caus e no construction is re q uire d. Th ey h ave te rm inals for th re e w ire s com ing in (3-ph as e AC in from th e turbine ) and tw o w ire s out (pos itive and ne gative
D C). A typicalm ode lis s h ow n in Figure 10.
You can al
s o build a s uitable re ctifie r w ith
6 diode s (Figure 11) or w ith e as il
y availabl
e
s ingle ph as e bridge re ctifie rs (Figure 12). Th e s e
options m igh t be ch e ape r, but th ey tak e m ore
w ork for w iring and as s e m bl
y.
Figure 11 - 3-ph ase re ctifie r b uil
tfrom 6 d iod e s.
Sizing th e re ctifie r
Th e pow e r h andling capacity of your re ctifie r as s e m bl
y m ust be large r th an th e m axim um
output of th e w ind turbine . W e s ize ours for
1,500 w atts of turbine output, eve n th ough th e
m axim um youll lik e l
y eve r s e e is 1,000
w atts be tte r s afe th an s orry. Th e table be low
s h ow s th e am pe rage capacity ne e de d in th e re ctifie rs for th is turbine de pe nding on w h at s yste m
voltage your batte ry bank is w ire d for:
48v= 40 am ps
24v= 80 am ps
12v= 150 am ps
You can s e e w h y w e try to dis courage 12v pow e r s yste m s th e re ctifie rs to h andl
e th at
h uge 120 am ps from your turbine can be expe ns ive , al
lth e w iring from your turbine to your
batte ry bank w illh ave to be l
arge and expe ns ive (Se ctions 6 and 7 be low ), and your controll
er
(Se ction 3) w il
lh ave to be h uge and expe ns ive too.
Page 15
H e atsink
O nce you buy or build th e re ctifie r its e lf, youll
ne e d to bol
t it dow n to a nice big alum inum h e at s ink
(Figure 13). As you s aw from th e table above , th e l
ow e r
th e voltage of your s yste m , th e h igh e r th e curre nt w illbe
and th e large r your h e at s ink w illne e d to be . Us e a coat
of s pe ciall
y-form ul
ate d h e at s ink com pound (availabl
e
from m ost e l
e ctronics store s ) be tw e e n th e h e at s ink and
th e re ctifie r to as s ure good th e rm alcontact.
Any re ctifie r th ats not prope rl
y h e at s ink e d
w illburn out w ith in m inute s during h igh e r
w inds , s o dont s k im p th e h e at s ink and a
good th e rm alconne ction be tw e e n it and th e
re ctifie rs are e s s e ntial. Th ey w ont carry
Figure 13 - A nice , l
arge , and expe nsive
anyw h e re cl
os e to th e ir rate d curre nt
al
um inum h e atsink , sh ow n from ab ove (top) and
w ith out a h e at s ink . Nice large h e at s ink s
from th e sid e (ab ove ).
can ofte n be s al
vage d from old pow e r
inve rte rs or car ste re o am pl
ifie rs . Som e folks h ave eve n us e d finne d al
um inum cylinde r
h e ads from old e ngine s .
3) Stop Sw itch
All w ind turbine s ne e d a s h utdow n s w itch . W ith th is turbine , al
lyou
ne e d to stop th e blade s q uick l
y is a big
s w itch to s h ort all th re e incom ing
ph as e s to e ach oth e r, s om ew h e re
be tw e e n th e w ind turbine and th e re ctifie r. Youll us e th is s w itch to s h ut
eve ryth ing dow n during rais ing and
low e ring, for prote ction during extre m e
w inds , and in cas e s om e th ing goe s
Figure 14 - H ow to
y w rong up th e re on th e tow e r or
w ire a w ind turb ine badl
stop sw itch .
in your R E s yste m w iring w h ile th e
w ind is bl
ow ing. Th e s w itch s h oul
d be
a double pol
e , s ingle th row (D PST)
s w itch rate d 30 am ps or m ore , and th e s ch e m atic of h ow it s h ould
be w ire d is s h ow n in Figure 14 atleft.
Figure 15 - A typical30
am p d oub l
e pol
e , singl
e
th row (DPST) sw itch .
Page 16
e ngage d (s o th at th e alte rnator is s h orte d), it allbe com e s ve ry stiff to turn and th e m ach ine
w illstop or just bare l
y turn, no m atte r h ow h igh th e w ind s pe e d is . Its be st to stop th e m ach ine during a lullin th e w ind w h e n its alre ady running s l
ow l
y, but th e s w itch s h ould e ffe ctive l
y stop th e m ach ine at any s pe e d. Its h ard on th e stator
and th e blade s to be stoppe d q uick l
y in h igh w inds (you
m ay h e ar an audible cl
ang), but w eve neve r dam age d a
m ach ine h e re by doing it. Note th at s om e com m e rcial
w ind turbine s cannot be s h ut dow n during h igh
w inds th e s w itch is s im pl
y ine ffe ctive ! W e th ink th e
fact th at th is axial flux air gap alte rnator can be
pos itive l
y and firm l
y stoppe d during th e m ost h orrific
h igh w ind s ituations is a de finite advantage . H urricane s ,
tornados , cycl
one s , gales and nor'e aste rs can h appe n, and
its notw is e to run a w ind turbine during one .
Figure 16 at righ t s h ow s th e standard re ctifie r/stop
s w itch /am m e te r unit th at w e build h e re and us e for m ost Figure 16 - Th e com plete d re ctifie r /
of our w ind turbine s . Its h andy be caus e eve ryth ing is h e atsink /stop sw itch /am m e te r
righ t th e re in one box. W h e n you first rais e your w ind tur- asse m b ly th atw e usually b uild for
our w ind turb ine s.
bine and its ope rating, tak e th e tim e to fe e lyour re ctifie rs h e at s ink . O n w indy days , if th e unit is ge tting h ot th e n you lik e l
y ne e d a large r h e at
s ink . Th e res no s uch th ing as a h e at s ink th ats too big and it s h oul
d neve r ge t m uch m ore
th an w arm to th e touch .
Inputb re ak e r
From th e re ctifie rs you s h oul
d go th rough
an input fus e or bre ak e r. Its also re q uire d by th e
NEC e l
e ctricalcode . Th is s h ould be q uite a lot
large r th an th e m axim um curre nt youlleve r s e e
from th e w ind turbine if th e fus e blow s or th e
bre ak e r trips , th e w ind turbine w illbe fre e s pinning w ith no load on it, w h ich is a dange rous Figure 17 - W ind turb ine syste m w iring
condition. If th is eve r h appe ns (ve ry unlik e l
y) d iagram .
you s h ould stop th e w ind turbine w ith th e s h utdow n s w itch im m e diate l
y.
Page 17
W e s ugge st at least a 50 am p fus e or bre ak e r for a 48 volt m ach ine , 100 am ps for 24
volt, and 200 am ps for a 12 vol
t m ach ine . Labe lth e bre ak e r cl
e arl
y, its not th e s am e as th e
stop s w itch ! Its m ore lik e a s e lf de struct s w itch if accide ntal
l
y ope ne d by a h um an during
h igh w inds . Th e m ost lik e l
y re as on th is bre ak e r w ould eve r trip w oul
d be s e rious problem s a m ajor s h ort circuit in th e control
ler or batte ry s yste m w iring, w h ich is extre m e l
y
unlik e l
y.
Control
l
er
From th e re ctifie r, you are now running D C pow e r to your batte ry bank on tw o w ire s , a
large + and a l
arge w ire . Your batte rie s are an inte gralpart of th e w ind turbines al
te rnator th ey cl
am p th e w ind turbines ope n-circuit vol
tage dow n to th e s yste m s l
eve l, untilth e
batte rie s are full. At th at point s yste m vol
tage w illrapidl
y clim b to l
eve ls th at can dam age
your s yste m e q uipm e nt and bubbl
e aw ay th e w ate r in your batte ry e lectrol
yte , producing explos ive h ydroge n gas . To avoid th is condition, you ne e d to instal
ls om e s ortof controll
e r.
Th e s im pl
e st and least expe ns ive controller is m anual if your batte rie s are fulland
th e w ind turbine is stil
lproducing pow e r, s im pl
y turn on m ore loads , l
ik e ligh ts , ste re os ,
te levis ions , vacuum cl
e ane rs and dis h w as h e rs . If you cant cons um e e nough pow e r to k e e p
batte ry vol
tage dow n, juststop th e w ind turbine e ntire l
y w ith th e s h utdow n s w itch .
Unles s you are h om e al
lth e tim e , th ough , its m uch s afe r to h ave an autom atic controller. W ind turbine s ne e d to h ave a load on th e ir al
te rnator at alltim e s , unlik e s olar pane l
s
th at can s im pl
y be dis conne cte d from th e s yste m at any tim e . A w ind turbine w ith no load
on it is fre ew h e e ling and can ove rs pe e d, w h ich is a ve ry dange rous condition! Th e furl
ing
s yste m w illnot w ork prope rl
y if th e turbine is ove rs pe e ding, and th e m ach ine h as no w ay to
prote ct its e lf from h igh w inds . So, an autom atic dive rs ion load control
l
e r s h ould be install
e d to dive rt w ind
turbine pow e r to a dum p load w h e n your batte rie s are
full
us uall
y th e dum p load is an array of air- or w ate rh e ating e lem e nts .
Controllers th at do th is are re adil
y availabl
e . Th e
Xantrex C-s e rie s (Figure 18) or th e M orningstar/Tristar TS s e rie s are com m on ch oice s , and can be
conve rte d to run in dive rs ion m ode (inste ad of s olar
pane lm ode ) w ith th e fl
ip of a s w itch . H ow eve r, once
again 12 volt s yste m s ge t trick y! At 12 vol
ts th e m aFigure 18 - A Xantrex C-se rie s
d ive rsion l
oad control
l
e r. Ph oto
ch ine could e as il
y produce ove r 80 am ps , and ne ith e r
courte s y ofXantre x Te ch nology Inc.
of th os e dive rs ion controllers are up to th e tas k youd
h ave to us e m ultiple control
lers w ire d in paral
lel
,
w h ich is an expe ns ive propos ition. W ith a 48 volt s yste m , you coul
d ge t by w ith an inexpe ns ive 40 am p control
l
e r.
Page 18
Th e ch artbe l
ow s h ow s th e re com m e nde d controller capacity for e ach s yste m vol
tage :
12 vol
ts = 130 am p control
l
er
24 vol
ts = 60 am p control
l
er
48 vol
ts = 40 am p control
l
er
D e s igning and building your ow n dive rs ion l
oad h e ating e lem e nts can al
s o be trick y.
Th e s e dum p loads m ust be s ize d l
arge e nough to us e th e e ntire dive rs ion output of your
controll
e r, w h ich its e lf s h ould be able to dive rt th e e ntire w ind turbine ouput during h igh
w inds . So, w e re com m e nd th at you s ize th e m for 1,500 w atts of pote ntial output. Th e
re s istance m ust be exactl
y righ t also, to as s ure th at th ey draw th e corre ct am ount of pow e r. W e
also advis e th at you s im pl
y purch as e th e corre ct dum p l
oad h e ating e lem e nts from th e com pany th ats uppl
ie d you w ith your control
ler, inste ad of trying to de s ign and build your ow n.
A l
e s s expe ns ive alte rnative to a com m e rcialcontroll
e r is to us e a vol
tage -controlled
s w itch w ith h yste re s is . M any h igh -e nd inve rte rs and PV ch arge control
lers h ave th e s e built in,
ofte n l
abe ll
e d as auxilliary re l
ays (Aux). Inste ad of dive rting a diffe ring am ount of pow e r
from th e batte rie s to th e h e ating e lem e nts as th e w ind turbine m ak e s m ore or les s pow e r, th is
s im pl
ifie d s yste m just turns on th e h e ate rs fullblast untilth e batte ry voltage again drops to a
re as onabl
e leve l. Th e h e ate rs can be e ith e r 120 volts AC h ous e curre nt from th e inve rte r, or
D C e lem e nts conne cte d w ith ve ry th ick w ire dire ctl
y to th e batte ry bank . Th e vol
tage -controll
e d s w itch on a standard inve rte r or controller cant h andle m uch pow e r. Youl
lne e d to us e
it to turn a m uch large r re lay on or off to start and
stop th e h e ate rs , just l
ik e Figure 19 - Syste m control
h ow th e ignition s w itch configuration w h e n using
and starte r re lay in an th e Aux Controlcircuit
autom obil
e w ork th e ig- from an inve rte r or PV
control
l
e r.
nition s w itch you put your
car k ey into s w itch e s onl
y
a s m all am ount of pow e r
to drive a big re lay th at allow s a w h ole bunch of
pow e r from your batte ry
to fl
ow straigh t into your
starte r m otor. Th e re lay
s h oul
d be s ize d to m atch
If you h ave a l
arge
and h igh -te ch inve rte r or
PV ch arge control
ler, it
can be les s expe ns ive to us e th e Aux controller on th at e q uipm e nt to s w itch 120 volts AC
h ous e curre nt to a standard e l
e ctric h e ate r. But, re m e m be r th at th is dum p load s h ould draw up
to 1,500 w atts from your inve rte r! If th e inve rte r is too s m all
, you w ont h ave any pow e r left to
run norm alh ous e h ol
d loads , and th e inve rte r w il
ls h ut dow n or blow up. If you do run D C
h e ating e lem e nts dire ctl
y, s ize th e w ire appropriate l
y, and us e a m e rcury contactor or s olidstate re l
ay m ost norm al AC re lays bre ak dow n q uick l
y unde r th e h igh am pe rage load of a
w w w .oth e rpow e r.com
Page 19
low -voltage D C h e ating e lem e nt. D C w ate r h e ating e lem e nts are actuall
y q uite e as y to find
at re new able e ne rgy s upplie rs , s o you can e as il
y re place th e e l
e m e nt in a standard 120 vol
t
AC w ate r h e ate r w ith a D C ve rs ion for your dum p l
oad. You'llal
s o h ave to s e t th e corre ct
h yste re s is s e tting s o th at th e contactor doe s n't cycle on and off too q uick l
y th e s e tting w ill
de pe nd on th e s ize and condition of your batte ry bank . If you go w ith th e Aux re lay dive rs ion s yste m , your w ind s yste m diagram w ould l
ook lik e Figure 19 , above .
5 ) Sys te m W iring
Th e w ire from th e w ind turbine to th e re ctifie rs and batte ry ne e ds to be s ize d according to th e curre nt th at th e w ind turbine m igh t ge ne rate , and th e distance be tw e e n th e w ind
turbine and th e batte rie s . Th e l
ow e r th e vol
tage th e h igh e r th e curre nt th is is ye t anoth e r
re as on h igh e r vol
tage s yste m s are e as ie r to ge talong w ith and les s expe ns ive .
Th e w ire run from th e al
te rnator to
th e tow e r bas e is diffe re nt th an th e w ire
from th e tow e r bas e to th e re st of th e s ys te m . Th is turbine de s ign doe s nt us e s lip
rings to ge t pow e r from th e al
te rnator
dow n th e tow e r; inste ad w e us e a s im ple,
e as y to buil
d, and m ore re liable s yste m
call
e d a pe ndant cable. Th is w ire runs
dow n to th e ground ins ide th e tow e r
pipe , and actuall
y tw ists as th e w ind turbine yaw s to face th e w ind. You s h oul
d
s e lect th e be st grade avail
able of flexible,
strande d #8 or #10 AW G exte ns ion cord
Figure 20 - Lock ing pl
ug and sock e tatth e tow e r
w ire for th e tow e r w iring. At th e tow e r
b ase .
bottom , youll ne e d to install a h e avy
duty, lock ing 3-prong e lectricalpl
ug (Figure 20, at left) on th e 3 w ire s com ing dow n from
th e turbine , and a m atch ing s ock e t th ats conne cte d to th e w ire s . You ne e d to s ize th e pl
ug
and s ock e t for th e s am e am pe rage rating as your controll
e r. W h e n you price th e plug and
s ock e t at th e e lectricals uppl
y store , youllonce again s e e h ow h igh e r-voltage s yste m s s ave
m oney! W e h igh l
y re com m e nd a l
ock ing plug and s ock e t, as you do not w ant th is conne ction to com e loos e accide ntal
l
y. It's al
s o h andy to buy an extra plug and w ire it s o its a
de ad s h ort ins e rt th is into th e turbine output plug, and you can stop th e m ach ine
im m e diate l
y.
As youllre ad l
ate r in th e s e ction on turbine m ainte nance , eve ry couple w e e k s youll
ne e d to ch e ck th is pl
ug and s ock e t to s e e if th e pe ndant cable w ire s h ave tw iste d. If th ey
h ave , youlls im pl
y unpl
ug at th e bottom of th e tow e r, untw ist th e w ire , and plug it back in.
Ins e rt th e extra s h orting plug th at you m ade to stop th e turbine w h il
e you pe rform th is
untw isting ope ration. Th e m ore turbulent your tow e r s ite is , th e m ore ofte n youllh ave to
untw ist. Talltow e rs on exce l
lent w ind s ite s m igh t ne e d untw isting onl
y 3 4 tim e s a ye ar,
w h ile turbine s m ounte d on too-s h orttow e rs in bad locations coul
d ne e d th is w e e k l
y.
Page 20
Up to 100 ft
8
10
12
200ft 300ft
6
4
8
6
10
8
# AW G
400ft
2
4
6
600ft
0
2
4
800ft
2/0
0
2
1000ft
4/0
2/0
0
6) Tow e r
Th e tow e r m igh t e nd up be ing th e m ost difficult and m ost expe ns ive part of your e ntire
w ind turbine proje ct! D ont unde re stim ate h ow m uch tim e , labor and m oney th e tow e r proje ct
w illtak e . It w illlik e l
y cost m ore th an your w ind turbine did, and w il
ltak e l
onge r to build. A
sturdy tow e r is e s s e ntialto s ucce s s w ith a w ind turbine and you dont w ant to unde re stim ate
h ow m uch force w illbe pus h ing against th e tow e r top! Be tte r to pay a bit extra to ove rbuild
th an to unde rbuil
d and ris k h aving th e turbine and tow e r com e cras h ing to th e ground.
Page 21
If you do tack l
e th e probl
e m of de s igning your ow n tow e r, th e re are s om e re s ource s
availabl
e . M ost tow e r k it m anufacture rs let you dow nl
oad th e e ntire s pe cification s h e e ts for
th e ir tow e rs for fre e on th e inte rne t. Ge t allof th e s e th at you can, and re ad th e m th orough l
y.
A tow e r de s igne d for a com m e rcial10 foot rotor w ind turbine w il
lbe just w h at you ne e d for
a h om e brew 10 foot w ind turbine th e force s on th e tow e r w il
lbe ve ry s im ilar. If you h ave
a localre new able e ne rgy install
e r th at doe s w ind turbine s , as k if you can join th e m to h e lp
on a tow e r and turbine installs om e tim e . M ost w il
lbe grate fulto h ave extra eye s and h ands
during th e s om ew h at dange rous proce s s of e re cting a tow e r, and youl
lgain inval
uable
k now ledge for your ow n tow e r de s ign and instal
lation.
H e igh t
Fl
ying a w ind turbine on a s h ort tow e r ne ar obstructions is lik e m ounting a s olar pane l
in th e s h ade ! W ind s pe e ds are m uch s l
ow e r ne ar th e ground, and any obstructions ne arby
form a pool of s low -m oving air in al
ldire ctions from th e obstacle. In addition, both th e
ground and obstacl
e s caus e turbulence , w h ich l
ow e rs pow e r output and puts unne ce s s ary
stre s s on th e m ach ine . A good rul
e of th um b is th at any w ind turbine s h ould be flow n at
least 30 fe e t above any obstacl
e (in any dire ction) w ith in 300 fe e t. M any w ind pow e r expe rts re com m e nd eve n tall
e r tow e rs and m ore distance from obstructions th an th at. D ont
s k im p on tow e r h e igh t its th e m ost im portant th ing you can do to as s ure good pow e r outputand long life of th e w ind turbine .
Page 22
Ne igh b or re l
ations
Youllw ant to dis cus s your w ind turbine and tow e r proje ct in advance w ith any ne igh bors
w h o are ne ar e nough th at th eyllbe able to s e e your turbine . Th ey m ay be conce rne d about
nois e , vis ualae sth e tics , and bird and bat k il
ls. It m igh t pay off in th e ne igh bor re l
ations de partm e nt to paint your tow e r and w ind turbine w h ite or ligh t blue to les s e n th e ir vis ibility against
th e s k y. Strobing can be an is s ue , w h e re for a coupl
e w e e k s during ce rtain tim e s of ye ar, th e
s un w il
lbe dire ctl
y be h ind th e s pinning blade s for a few m inute s , casting a m oving, flick e ring
s h adow on th e ir h om e .
Nois e is ge ne rall
y not an is s ue w ith th is w ind turbine de s ign, its one of th e q uie te st w e 've
s e e n. W e ge ne rall
y de s cribe th e nois e as be ing s im il
ar to s om e one riding by outs ide on a bicycle, and us uall
y th e w ind in th e ne arby tre e s is m uch l
oude r th at th e turbine its e lf. Tow e r vibrations can al
s o caus e nois e , but th is can us uall
y be re m e die d by s m allm odifications to th e
tow e r structure to preve ntrattl
es.
Birds and bats are ge ne rall
y non-is s ue s w ith s m al
lw ind turbine s , th ough your ne igh bors
m ay be m is -inform e d and be l
ieve oth e rw is e . Allth e bad pre s s s urrounding w ind turbine bird
and bat k ills m is s e s th e m ost im portant fact alltall,m an-m ade structure s k illfl
ying anim als.
Its not th e rotating bl
ade s th at do th e dam age , its th e tow e r its e l
f and any guy w ire s attach e d!
Utility-s cal
e w ind turbine s on giant tow e rs are re s pons ible for al
lth e bad pre s s about bird
k ills, not s m all10 foote rs lik e th is one . Sm allw ind turbine s are rare l
y flow n on tow e rs h igh e r
th an 100 fe e t. W e h ave neve r h e ard of a cas e w h e re a s m all, h om e -s ize d w ind turbine h as
k illed an anim al
. (Exce ption! Re ad Rex and LaVonne Ew ings book Pow e r w ith Nature for
an exam ple, and find a w ay to k e e p your cats from clim bing your w ind turbine tow e r!)
Tow e r type s
Th e re are m any diffe re nt tow e r type s th at can be us e d for w ind turbine s . H ow eve r, w e
clas s th e m into tw o m ain groups th e k ind you h ave to cl
im b, and th e k ind th at tilts dow n to
th e ground. If you ch oos e a tow e r th at m ust be
clim be d, you m ust h ave th e prope r training, ph ys ical
conditioning, and s afe ty e q uipm e nt to fe e lconfide nt
h anging h igh in th e air l
ik e a piata w h il
e installing
and m aintaining your w ind turbine . Ke e p in m ind
th at th e turbine w ill ne e d re gular m ainte nance at
least once a ye ar! Th e ge ograph y of th e s ite you are
planning on m ay also dictate th e tow e r type ne e de d.
Each tow e r type de s cribe d be low al
s o include s a
draw ing of th e tow e rs footprint on th e
ground h ow m uch concre te is ne e de d and w h e re it
s h oul
d be locate d, and h ow m uch fre e s pace (cleare d
of allstructure s , tre e s and brus h ) is ne e de d.
Page 23
Figure 22 - A b ig w ind
turb ine on a fre e stand ing
m onopol
e tow e r.
Th e tw o prim ary type s of fre e standing tow e rs are solar pane ls m ounte d on it.
m onopole (Figure 22) and lattice (Figure 23). Ne ith e r type
of fre e standing tow e r is s uitable for de s igning and building at h om e , th ey m ust be purch as e d com m e rciall
y. And, a crane s e rvice is re q uire d for installing or re m oving th e tow e r and turbine . Fre e standing tow e rs m ust be cl
im be d, th e re are
no tilt-dow n ve rs ions . Som e pe opl
e h ave us e d old, fre e standing farm w indm illtow e rs for
th e ir new e lectricity-producing turbine s . Th is is
pos s ible but re m e m be r th at your l
ife de pe nds on
a ve ry care fulins pe ction of th e inte grity of th e ol
d
tow e r. Any rust, e ith e r up h igh or at grade or be low
grade , is an extre m e l
y dange rous s ituation, as th e
tow e r could q uite e as il
y buck le unde r you w h ile
you are clim bing it. Ch e ck th e Source s s e ction of
th is m anualfor inform ation on w h e re fre e standing
tow e rs can be purch as e d. Th e m anufacture r w ill
provide inform ation about h ow large th e crane
m ust be , th e s ize of th e crew ne e de d, th e s pe cs for
th e concre te bas e , e tc.
Guye d l
attice
Th e s e tow e rs are q uite com m on, and are ofte n
us e d for w ind turbine instal
lations (Figure 24 at
left). W h ile l
attice tow e rs are once again not
s om e th ing you can s ucce s s full
y build at h om e , th ey
are ofte n avail
able us e d from h am radio ope rators
Figure 24 - A 140 footguye d l
attice tow e r
at a bargain price . Lattice tow e rs also m ust be
w ith 12 footd iam e te r w ind turb ine fl
ying.
cl
im be d, and th ey re q uire th re e s e ts of guy w ire s
and th re e guy w ire anch ors . Ge ne rall
y, a s e t of guy w ire s is attach e d w h e re e ach tow e r s e ction joins th e re st (us ual
l
y eve ry 10 or 20 fe e t). Th e footprint of a guye d lattice tow e r is
s h ow n in Figure 25, facing page .
Page 24
Til
t-up tub e tow e rs
Th e s e are th e onl
y tow e rs w e us e up h e re for
our w ind turbine s , s ince none of us is w illing to
clim b a tal
ltow e r and h ang off of it in th e w ind
w h ile install
ing or m aintaining th e turbine . W h e n
h anging on a tow e r top, you al
s o ne e d to be extre m e l
y m indful of w atch ing th e s k ie s for giant Figure 26 - M aintaining a w ind turb ine w h ile
Pte rodactyls, w h ich can pluck you off th e tow e r top stand ing safe ly on th e ground . W e love tilt-up
tow e rs for th is re ason!
and e atyou w ith no w arning.
Til
t-up tow e rs give you th e h uge advantage
th at al
lyour w ork on th e turbine (incl
uding installation and both s ch e duled and uns ch e duled m ainte nance ) are pe rform e d w h ile you are standing
s afe l
y on th e ground (Figure 26). O nce th e tow e r is
instal
led and adjuste d, rais ing and low e ring is a
s im pl
e m atte r of s h utting dow n th e turbine and us ing a w inch or ve h icl
e to s low l
y rais e or low e r th e
tow e r and turbine . Tilt-up tow e rs us e four guy w ire
s e ts inste ad of th e th re e us e d in guye d lattice
tow e rs th is configuration k e e ps th e tow e r stabl
e
Figure 27 - A til
t-up tow e r h al
fw ay raise d .
Page 25
w h ile it til
ts up and dow n. A tilt-up tube tow e r is s h ow n
h al
fw ay up in Figure 27.
Th e dis advantage
of til
t-up tow e rs is th e
large footprint on th e
ground th at th ey tak e
up (Figure 28) th e
Figure 28 Footprint
e ntire are a w ith in th e
of a til
t-up
dotte d line s m ust be
tow e r.
com plete l
y cl
e are d of
any tre e s or brus h .
And, th e m ore uneve n Figure 29 - Pulley atth e e nd of
th e ground, th e m ore difficul
t th e tow e r w illbe to de s ign. th e gin pole, to give a m e ch anical
Th e ide als ite for a tilt-up tow e r w ould be a pre fe ctl
y flat ad vantage w h ile raising and
and leve lfie ld...w h ich is unfortunate l
y not s om e th ing w e low e ring.
h ave in abundance h e re in th e Rock y M ountains . Fortunate l
y, th e re are w ays to com pe ns ate
for difficultte rrain w ith a til
t-up tow e r talk to your localw ind turbine de aler/install
e r.
A pe rm ane ntl
y instal
led w inch (Figure 30) is th e
be st w ay to s low l
y and ge ntl
y m ove a tow e r up and
dow n. It can be drive n by its ow n e l
e ctric m otor, w ith a cordl
e s s drill,or w ith a h and crank .
If you dont installa w inch , youl
lh ave to rais e and low e r th e tow e r w ith a ve ry s low -m oving and pow e rfulve h icl
e . A tractor or a 4-w h e e l-drive truck w ith a low range trans fe r cas e
are pre fe rre d th is is not a floor it and pop th e clutch ope ration! Any bouncing or je rk ing
can ove rstre s s th e tow e r and caus e a dis aste r. And, if you m ust installyour tilt-up tow e r on
sl
ante d ground, be s ure th e turbine tilts dow n tow ards th e uph ills ide of th e s ite . O th e rw is e
youllh ave to m odify th e yaw and tailbe arings s o th at th e w h ole m ach ine doe s nt just s lide
off th e tow e r stub and cras h to th e ground w h e n low e re d!
Th e m inim um s ize of pipe to s afe l
y s upport th is w ind turbine is 2-1/2 inch s ch e dule 40
ste e l. W eve starte d us ing 12 gage tubing in a large r diam e te r inste ad of pipe a large r diam e te r give s a bigge r incre as e in stre ngth for les s cost th an a th ick e r pipe w al
l. Pipe
th ick ne s s is m e as ure d in Sch e dule and tubing th ick ne s s is m e as ure d in Gage . It doe s nt
h urt to go l
arge r, as its be tte r to ove rbuild your tow e r th an unde rbuild it. O fte ntim e s 25%
m ore cost can m e an tw ice th e stre ngth . Th e onl
y problem w ith us ing tubing inste ad of pipe
is availability if you are not ne ar a good ste e lde al
e r, you m ay h ave difficulty locating
Page 26
Figure 31 - H om e -b uil
tcoupl
e r for til
tup tow e r tub ing se ctions. A se tof guy
w ire s conne cts to e ach coupl
e r.
Page 27
Figure 34 - Dril
l
ing outa rock form ation for
a guy w ire anch or.
7) Te s trais e
W ith a til
t-up tow e r its an extre m e l
y good ide a to rais e and low e r your tow e r a few
tim e s be fore you eve n th ink about instal
ling th e w ind turbine on top of it. O nce you ge t
eve ryth ing going s m ooth l
y, your pe rs onalstre s s leve lduring th e actuale re ction of th e turbine w illbe m inim ize d. Th e turnbuck l
e s w illonl
y tak e up or re l
e as e a l
im ite d am ount of
s lack during th is proce s s if you ne e d to tak e up m ore s lack th an th e turnbuck l
e s allow ,
youllh ave to s e q ue ntial
l
y un-faste n and re -faste n allth e cable cl
am ps on e ach guy w ire to
re -adjust th e l
e ngth . Th is is m uch les s stre s s fulw h e n th e res noth ing valuable pe rch e d on
th e tow e r top. Th e guy w ire s s h ould be a bit s lack w h e n you rais e th e tow e r for th e first
tim e , th e n youl
ltigh te n th e m dow n a bit w h e n its up, th e n l
ow e r and rais e it again. Th e res
a w ay to align th e s ide guy w ire anch ors s ligh tl
y as k ew (tow ard th e tilt-dow n e nd) th at as Page 28
Th e b ottom l
ine ab outtow e rs
Tow e rs for w ind turbine s are big, h e avy, h igh
and dange rous . Eith e r k now w h at youre doing or
find s om e body w h o doe s , if it com e s dow n to e ngine e ring, fabricating and instal
ling your ow n tow e r!
O th e rw is e buy a prope rl
y e ngine e re d tow e r k it. A
tow e r th at you h ave to cl
im b adds an e ntire l
y new
s k ills e t of ph ys icaland s afe ty pre cautions youll
h ave to de alw ith . Ch e ck th e Source s s e ction of th is
m anualfor a l
ist of pl
ace s w h e re you can buy a
tow e r k it, and eve n dow nl
oad th e tow e r s pe cs in
Figure 35 - Th e tow e r stub th atyou'l
lh ave
cas e you are crazy e nough to build your ow n.
FIgure 36 - Sl
id e th e w ire s th rough th e
tow e r top, w h il
e a h el
pe r l
ifts th e w ind
turb ine into pl
ace on th e tow e r stub .
Figure 37 - A Ke l
l
um grip strain
re l
ie f for th e tow e r top.
Page 29
9 ) Fitth e tail
If its a til
t up tow e r, rais e th e tow e r up s o th e w ind turbine is about 5 fe e t off th e
ground. Th is w illm ak e it e as y to fit th e tailand th e blade s . Th e tailpivot is th e stub th at
stick s up out of th e alte rnator ove r w h ich th e tailfits . Gre as e th e tailpivot w ith axle gre as e
and th e n s lip th e tailboom ove r it.
10) As s e m bl
e th e rotor
To s ave production costs , w eve de cide d to outs ource th e next s e ction of th is ow ne rs
m anualto an offs h ore firm , s ince its both ve ry com pl
icate d and extre m e l
y im portant:
H e llo as s e m ble w ind turbine blade s now you do. M aybe not h ave h oles alldrilled, or
m aybe drillalre ady drilled. If drilled now , follow allinstruction alre ady drilled w ritte n is .
If not drillyou do, not allinstruction you follow ne e ds , but to follow if you do drillto ne e ds ,
allbe low you s h ould do. Th is m anualof ow ne rs now m ak e clear alldrillm ade to you and
notto you butto us alre ady done .
Um m m , w e ll
, s o m uch for th e outs ourcing ide a! W h at w e w e re trying to ge t acros s is
th at m any of th e ste ps liste d be low for drill
ing th e bl
ade s and h ubs m ay h ave al
re ady be e n
done . If you purch as e d a com plete d w ind turbine from us , m any of th e ste ps be low (al
igning and drilling th e various h ol
e s and s uch ) w il
lh ave al
re ady be e n com plete d. If you purch as e d just th e blade s e t from us or built th e bl
ade s
yours e lf, youllne e d to com plete al
lof th e ste ps liste d be low .
Layoutand d ril
l
ing
Figure 38 - Dril
loutth e h ub s for
45 w ood screw s and a ce nte ring
pin.
Page 30
top of th e pl
yw ood. D ril
la s m allh ole (about 3/16 inch is good)
in th e ce nte r of both h ubs th is w il
lm ak e ce nte ring and al
igning th e tw o h ubs e as y.
Lay out th e th re e blade s on th e floor w ith th e fl
at s ide s
(th e s ide s th at w il
lface into th e w ind) up, as s h ow n in Figure
39 . If you (w e ?) cut th e 120 de gre e angl
e s accurate l
y w h e n fabricating th e bl
ade s , th ey s h ould fit toge th e r fairl
y tigh tl
y. Th e re
s h oul
d be a tiny flat s pot on th e ce nte r of e ach blade root w h e re
th ey m e e t e ach oth e r. Th is is s o Figure 39 - Initialb lad e
l
ayouton th e fl
oor.
th at w h e n th ey com e toge th e r,
th e re is a h ole in th e ce nte r of it
al
lbig e nough for a s m al
ldrill
bit as an al
ignm e nt pin, to h e l
p
m ak e s ure you ge t eve ryth ing
(th e blade s and h ubs ) ce nte re d
pe rfe ctl
y.
Ce nte r one of th e birch
h ubs ove r th e blade s and line up
th e s crew h oles you dril
led ove r Figure 41 - H ub s and b lad e s.
th e blade s (Figure 41). Th is is
w h e re youllus e th e s m alldrillbit m e ntione d above in th e ce nte r h ol
e . Its h e lpfulif th is h ole
exte nds into your floor, too w e h ave a h ole dril
l
ed
in th e m iddl
e of our s h op fl
oor just for th is purpos e !
Put onl
y one s crew th rough th e h ub into e ach blade
(Figure 40). Th is w il
lh ol
d it alltoge th e r just tigh tl
y
e nough to al
l
ow you to m ak e m ore pre cis e adjustm e nts in alignm e nt.
Figure 40 - Putonl
y one screw
into e ach b l
ad e for initial
al
ignm e nt.
Page 31
Figure 46 - Frontste e lh ub
use d as a d ril
l
ing te m pl
ate .
Disasse m b l
y and finish ing
You
dont
ne e d to dis as Figure 48 - Cutting th e ce nte r
s e m bl
e th e rotor
cavity w ith a h ol
e saw .
again, but w e
pre fe r to s ince it m ak e s appl
ying finis h e as ie r, and
you can be as s ure d th at al
lw oode n parts are w e l
lcoate d w ith finis h . It al
s o m ak e s it m uch e as ie r to
trans port th e rotor to th e tow e r s ite . In Figure 49
w eve re m ove d th e front h ub. If you do th is , be
s ure to num be r or m ark eve ryth ing s o th at it goe s
back toge th e r th e s am e w ay in th e future . Th is Figure 49 - R otor d isasse m b led and
l
ab e l
e d for transportto th e tow e r site .
Page 32
w h ole as s e m bl
y onl
y fits toge th e r one w ay. W e us uall
y m ark e ach bl
ade w ith a num be r and
th e n num be r th e h ub.
Now is th e be st tim e to put finis h on th e bl
ade s ! W e ge ne rall
y us e lins e e d oil. It m ak e s
for a nice , durable finis h , but it re q uire s m ainte nance . Be fore rais ing th e w ind turbine w e appl
y about four th ick coats of lins e e d oil. Afte r th is , it s h oul
d be re -coate d once or (pre fe rabl
y)
tw ice a ye ar. Th e h ubs s h ould also be finis h e d on both s ide s . W e us uall
y stain th e m dark (for
appe arance onl
y) and th e n coat th e m w ith th e lins e e d oil
. If you are
in an extre m e l
y h um id or m aritim e e nvironm e nt, you m igh t cons ide r
us ing (expe ns ive ) autom otive prim e r and e nam e linste ad of just lins e e d oilto finis h and s e alth e blade s from m oisture .
Ins e rt th e s ix carriage bolts th rough th e front of th e front h ub
(th e front h ub face s th e w ind, and is th e one w ith out th e big h ole in
th e m iddle), as s h ow n in Figure 50.
Finalrotor asse m b l
y
You m ost l
ik e l
y trans porte d th e rotor to th e tow e r s ite dis as s e m bled. Youl
l ne e d to re as s e m ble th e rotor be fore
m ounting it on th e w ind turbine . Turn th e h ub ups ide
dow n (s o th e th re ads of th e 5/16 inch bolts are pok ing
up at you) and put th e w ind turbine bl
ade s on facing
dow n s o th at th e bol
ts go th rough th e ir h oles in th e
blade s (Figure 51). Th e fl
at s urface of e ach blade th at
face s th e w ind s h oul
d be facing dow n. Notice th e l
e tte rs on e ach bl
ade to as s ure th at you can ge t th e back
h ub al
igne d prope rl
y.
Figure 50 - Carriage
b ol
ts in th e fronth ub .
Put a w as h e r and a l
ock w as h e r on e ach bolt, and Figure 51 - R e -asse m b ling th e rotor for
tigh te n (Figure 52). You w ant to tigh te n th e s e ve ry installation.
w e ll, s o th at youllpullth e carriage bolt allth e w ay
dow n into th e front pl
yw ood h ub. O ve r tim e th e w ood
w illcrus h a bit, s o youl
lw ant to ch e ck and tigh te n
th e s e bolts at least once a ye ar. O nce th e bolts are tigh t,
put a w ood s crew into e ach and eve ry h ole on th e front
and back h ubs . Afte r youve done th at, th e rotor is full
y
as s e m bl
e d and re ady to m ounton th e w ind turbine !
Page 33
Th e re are tw o 6 inch diam e te r ste e lh ubs include d, and one h as a h ole in th e ce nte r s o
th at it can fit ove r th e gre as e cap on th e al
te rnator. Th e rotor w illbe clam pe d be tw e e n th e s e
tw o ste e lh ubs . M ount th e h ub w ith th e h ole on th e alte rnator. Th e n fit th e rotor to th e al
te rnator. You m ay h ave to us e a rubbe r m al
let (not a ste e lh am m e r!) to s e t th e rotor dow n
full
y. Put th e last ste e lh ub on ove r th e blade s . Each stud s h ould ge t one l
ock w as h e r and
one nut. Tigh te n th e nuts dow n allth e w ay. Rotate around to diffe re nt bolts and k e e p tigh te ning. Th e w ood in th e blade s w il
lcrus h s ligh tl
y, and it tak e s a few tim e s around to ge t
th ings re all
y tigh t. W e dont us e a torq ue w re nch , but th e bolts s h ould be re ally, re ally tigh t!
Afte r th e m ach ine is about one m onth old, its good practice to low e r th e tow e r and tigh te n
th e s e nuts again th ey w il
ll
oos e n. Ch e ck th e m again in s ix m onth s and at l
e ast once a ye ar
th e re afte r, during re gular ye arl
y turbine m ainte nance . Be s ure to re ad th ats e ction, be low .
Figure 53 - Bal
ancing th e
bl
ad e s w h il
e on th e tow e r
stub .
If th e w e igh t you
put on is not h e avy
e nough you can m ove it out furth e r, or add m ore
w e igh t as ne e de d. If its not a w indy day th is s h ould
go pre tty q uick l
y and e as il
y. Som e tim e s diffe re nt
w e igh ts are re q uire d in diffe re nt place s you just ne e d
to k e e p w ork ing w ith it until th e blade s no longe r
s e e m to h ave a h e avy s ide or a pre fe rre d pos ition.
Page 34
Figure 54 - Th e tw o re com m e nd e d
positions for attach ing b al
ancing
w e igh ts to th e b l
ad e s.
Turn iton!
Page 35
Troub l
e sh ooting
In th is s e ction w ellgo ove r s om e of th e problem s w eve
s e e n in th e past and th e ir pos s ibl
e caus e s and s olutions . W ind
turbine s are m e ch anicaldevice s w ith m oving parts . Th ey h ave
a h ars h life com pare d to m ost m ach ine s th ey live w ay up on
tow e rs , th ey are com plete l
y expos e d to th e w e ath e r, and th ey
dont ge t m uch re gul
ar ins pe ction or m ainte nance (s e e th e next
s e ction, M ainte nance ). Its good to pay atte ntion! W ith a w ind
turbine , w h e n one th ing fails it can ofte n lead to oth e r failure s .
Figure 57 - Itfl
ie s!
Its good to k e e p an eye on th ings and s h ut dow n / ins pe ct / re pair w h e neve r s om e th ing unus uals e e m s to be h appe ning.
Ive e re cte d th e w ind turb ine and th e b re e ze h as com e up, b ut it turns ve ry sl
ow l
y or
notatal
l
.
D id you turn th e stop s w itch off (s o th at th e 3 ph as e turbine output w ire s are not s h orte d toge th e r)?If s o, th e re is probabl
y a s h ort s om ew h e re e lse in th e s yste m . Th e m ost lik e l
y
place to find a s h ort is in th e 3 ph as e re ctifie r. You can dis conne ct th e re ctifie r (m ak e s ure
th e stop s w itch stil
lw ork s ) and s e e if it s pins fre e l
y th e n (dont let it s pin fast th ough , and
be s ure to turn it back off w ith th e k il
ls w itch q uick l
y). If it turns th e n th e problem is l
ik e l
y
th e re ctifie r. If its stil
lnot turning you can ch e ck th e re s istance be tw e e n e ach of th e 3 leads
w ith an oh m m e te r. If one ph as e h as s ignificantl
y les s re s istance th e n you k now you h ave a
s h orts om ew h e re be tw e e n th os e leads or (unl
ik e l
y) a de fe ctive stator.
Itse e m s to b e running w e l
lb utitw ob b l
e s b ack and forth a b it(or th e tow e r sh ak e s).
Sounds lik e you ne e d to balance th e blade s again. Blade s can s om e tim e s go out of bal
ance by th e m s e l
ve s w ith tim e e s pe ciall
y if th eyre not w e llfinis h e d and can abs orb w ate r.
Th e b l
ad e s spin re al
l
y fast and m ak e a w h oosh ing sound and Im not ge tting any
pow e r!
Yik e s ! Scary, s h ut it dow n im m e diate l
y (turn th e stop s w itch on)! Som e th ing is dis conne cte d and your turbine is fre ew h e e ling w ith no load on it, a dange rous condition. Som e
pos s ibil
itie s are : th e re ctifie r is dis conne cte d, th e re ctifie r h as failed, or youve not got th e
re ctifie r h ook e d to th e batte rie s . Anoth e r pos s ibil
ity, if you h ave a bre ak e r or a fus e
be tw e e n th e re ctifie r and th e batte ry, itcould h ave trippe d/bl
ow n.
Th e b l
ad e s spin k ind of fast, m ak e a w h oosh ing sound and Im not ge tting l
ots of
pow e r. Th e m ach ine al
so vib rate s m ore th an norm al
.
W e ll if it h as be e n doing th is from th e start you m igh t not k now w h at norm alis , but
if th e probl
e m com e s al
ong afte r tim e th is is a s ign th at one of th e th re e leads h as be com e
dis conne cte d, or your 3 ph as e re ctifie r is partiall
y blow n. If th e re ctifie r fails, or one l
e ad
Page 36
be com e s dis conne cte d, th e n th e alte rnator is running s ingle ph as e and th e blade s w illove rs pe e d. Th is w illalso l
ik e l
y caus e th e m ach ine not to furlprope rl
y (it m ay w ait for m uch h igh e r w inds be fore it furl
s ). In th is condition, part of th e stator is doing al
lth e w ork and it w il
l
lik e l
y ove rh e at and or burn out in h igh e r w inds , s o th e probl
e m m ust be addre s s e d. You can
ch e ck continuity in th e l
ine s w ith an oh m m e te r. If you h ave continuity and s im ilar re s istance
in all3 ph as e s th e n th e probl
e m is alm osts ure l
y a blow n re ctifie r.
Itm ak e s a scraping sound and d oe sntstartup w e l
lin l
ow w ind s.
Sounds lik e th e m agne t rotors are h itting th e stator. You s h ould s h ut dow n th e m ach ine
untilth is is fixe d. Th e stator m igh t h ave be e n out of adjustm e nt (not ce nte re d be tw e e n th e rotors ) w h e n you e re cte d th e m ach ine . Its pos s ibl
e th at s om e of th e h ardw are h ol
ding th e stator
on h as com e l
oos e or fal
len out. Th e roller be arings m igh t be w orn out, or ne e d adjustm e nt. If
th e be arings ge t l
oos e , th e n th e rotors could h it th e stator. W orst cas e s ce nario is th at your
stator ove rh e ate d and w arpe d. If th is is th e cas e and th e stator is stil
lw ork ing and m ak ing
pow e r, you m igh t be able to re -adjust it but odds are youllne e d to m ak e (or ge t us to m ak e )
a new stator. If th e stator ove rh e ate d you ne e d to tak e m e as ure s to preve nt th at in th e future . A
ligh te r tailw il
lh e l
p th e m ach ine to furlin low e r w inds and h e lp preve nt stator ove rh e ating. A
stator could also ove rh e at for oth e r re as ons an im prope r l
oad (w rong batte ry voltage or h ook ing th e w ind turbine dire ctl
y to h e ate rs ) coul
d caus e it. A burne d out re ctifie r (previous l
y dis cus s e d) or a dis conne cte d l
e ad th at all
ow s th e m ach ine to run s ingle ph as e coul
d al
s o ove rh e at
th e stator. If th is s ort of s ituation is allow e d to go on too long, th e m agne ts w illrub on th e
stator and th e friction m ay h e at th e m agne ts to th e point w h e re th ey los e s om e of th e ir m agne tis m . If th is h appe ns a new stator and new m agne t rotors are re q uire d. Th is s ort of th ing is
rare ...but it is ye t anoth e r good re as on to actuall
y w atch and liste n to your w ind turbine re gularl
y. W ind turbine s are nota s e tand forge t device lik e s olar pane ls!
Its b e e n col
d and w eve h ad a b it of an ice storm . Ice h as b uil
t up in th e al
te rnator and
th e m ach ine is se ize d .
Th is is rare . But s om e tim e s if it ge ts cold and th e re is no w ind (th e m ach ine is stoppe d
for a w h il
e ) and you h ave fre e zing rain or fog, th e alte rnator can ge t pack e d up w ith ice and
not run. You e ith e r h ave to w ait it out, or m e lt it off. A good w ay to do th is (and you could
build th is fe ature into your re ctifie r box) is to s e nd ful
lbatte ry voltage back up th e line to th e
alte rnator (bypas s th e re ctifie rs ). About 30 60 s e conds of th is w illw arm up th e stator and
start to m e lt th e ice . It also h as th e e ffe ct of m ak ing th e m ach ine w ant to turn. You m ay ge t it
m e lte d by just s e nding batte ry voltage up tw o leads for about 30 s e c. If th at doe s nt do it, try
s e nding it up anoth e r ph as e . D ont leave pow e r applie d to any one ph as e for too long (you
dont w ant to ove rh e at th e stator) but be pe rs iste nt. O ur expe rie nce s ugge sts th at th is is us ual
l
y
q uick and e as y. W eve onl
y h ad th is problem a coupl
e tim e s in m any ye ars it m ay be m ore
fre q ue nt in les s w indy, m ore h um id e nvironm e nts . Its re all
y m uch e as ie r to w ait it out and let
th e s un m e l
t th e ice . Be extre m e l
y care fulif your m ach ine is ice d up, and th e w ind starts to
blow and turn th e blade s ! Th is can be a dange rous condition! Ch unk s of ice coul
d fl
y off th e
turbine at h igh ve l
ocity and trave la long distance , and/or th e m ach ine coul
d try to s pin up and
run out-of-balance . If you s e e th e s e conditions deve lop, s h ut th e m ach ine dow n w ith th e stop
s w itch !
Page 37
Page 38
Sounds l
ik e th e blade s are
stalling. Low batte ry voltage is one
pos s ibl
e caus e . O n th e m ach ine s
w h e re w e us e th e m ore e fficie nt
h e avy duty al
te rnator, th e bl
ade s are
incl
ine d to stall in h igh e r w inds
unl
e s s th e re is a fair bit of re s istance
be tw e e n th e alte rnator and th e w ind
turbine . Th is re s istance could s im pl
y
R e gul
ar m ainte nance
As w eve trie d to pound into your h e ad re pe ate dl
y th rough out th is ow ne rs m anual
, w ind
turbine s (eve n expe ns ive com m e rcialone s ) are not s om e th ing you can instal
land forge t about!
W e re com m e nd th at you foll
ow th e m ainte nance s ch e dul
e outl
ine d be l
ow , or s om e re as onable
facs im il
e th e re of.
For th e firstm onth afte r you firste re ctth e turb ine :
- Sh ut it dow n w h il
e you are aw ay, unles s you are pos itive th at w inds w illbe ge ntle. Afte r
a m onth , you can leave it running w h ile you are aw ay (as l
ong as you install
e d an autom atic control
l
e r and dum p load).
- W atch itre gularl
y, including m onitoring pow e r output.
- Liste n for strange s ounds and w atch for odd be h avior.
- Ch e ck th e pe ndant cable from th e turbine to th e ground w e e k l
y to s e e h ow m uch it h as
tw iste d, unplug at th e tow e r bas e , untw ist th e w ire s , and plug it back in. Th is w illgive
you s om e indication of h ow fre q ue ntl
y youllne e d to ch e ck th is .
- O ne m onth afte r you instal
l th e turbine , low e r th e tow e r and ins pe ct e ve ryth ing,
including th e guy w ire anch ors , turnbuck les and cable cl
am ps . Ch e ck allbol
ts and re tigh te n if ne e de d.
Page 39
difficul
t and painfulto pry apart. Contact us first, and w e can provide you w ith jack ing
s crew s or te llyou h ow to m ak e th e m , and al
s o give you de tailed pictorialinstructions
for th e proce dure . If you buil
t th e alte rnator yours e lf, you alre ady k now h ow to install
and re m ove th e frontm agne trotor, butyou s h ould stil
lus e caution.
H igh w ind s:
W h ile its true th at th is w ind turbine de s ign w il
lautom aticall
y prote ct its e lf in h igh
w inds by furling to th e s ide , w e re com m e nd s h utting it dow n w ith th e stop s w itch
during extre m e w ind eve nts . Us ual
l
y 50 m ph and ove r is w h e n w e do th is h e re . If you
are aw ay at th e office and a w indstorm brew s up, eve ryth ing w illprobabl
y be just fine
and you don't h ave to w orry. But cons istantl
y running th e turbine in h igh w inds w il
l
m e an m ore w e ar on it and m ore re gul
ar m ainte nance from you. H igh w inds are us uall
y
accom panie d by l
ots of turbulence and q uick ch ange s in w ind dire ction, w h ich s lam
eve ryth ing around up on th e tow e r. Since th e turbine w on't produce any m ore pow e r in
60 m ph w inds th an it w illin 30 m ph w inds (be caus e of th e furling s yste m ), it doe s n't
m ak e s e ns e to re gul
arl
y expos e it to abus e . Again, if you are not h om e to s h ut it dow n
and th e w ind com e s up, its not a problem but you m igh t w ant to ins pe ct th e turbine
afte r s uch an eve nt, eve n if justw ith binocul
ars from th e ground.
Ground ing and l
igh tning prote ction:
W e didn't eve n m e ntion any s pe cialgrounding pre cautions for th e w ind turbine in th e
Syste m W iring s e ction. Th at's be caus e th e s ingl
e m ain pow e r s yste m e arth ground rod
(pounde d into th e ground 8 fe e t de e p) is th e onl
y one you w ant th ats in any w ay
conne cte d to l
ive e lectricalw ire s it's us uall
y conne cte d to th e m ain batte ry bank D C
ne gative te rm inal
. If you are in a ligh tning-prone are a, or ne e d to m e e t code
re q uire m e nts from th e e lectricalins pe ctor, you can ground th e tow e r s e parate l
y. D o
not us e a s e parate ground rod for any of th e w ind turbine e l
e ctricaloutput w ire s , or
ground any of th e al
te rnator pow e r te rm inal
s to th e w ind turbine fram e ! Th is can
caus e e l
e ctrol
ys is of th e tow e r its e lf, corroding and w e ak e ning th e ste e lat ground
leve l. Any extra ground rods s h ould be attach e d to th e tow e r onl
y. W ith ve ry tall
tow e rs , you can eve n us e s e parate ground rods at th e tow e r bas e and at e ach guy w ire
anch or, w ith e ach guy w ire on a s ide w ire d to its ne igh bor.
Source s
Furth e r re ad ing:
"W ind Pow e r W ork sh op" by H ugh Piggott. A m ust-h ave book th at cove rs eve ry as pe ct
of de s igning and buil
ding w ind turbine s ath om e .
"AxialFl
ux Al
te rnator W ind Turb ine Pl
ans" by H ugh Piggott. Sim ilar to our
m ach ine s , justa diffe re ntw ay to build th e m .
Both of th e s e book s are avail
able from us :
w w w .oth e rpow e r.com
Page 41
Dive rsion l
oad control
l
e rs:
C-se rie s control
l
e rs w ork ve ry w e llw ith our w ind turbine de s ign. W ide l
y avail
able.
To find a distributor or re tail
e r ne ar you, contact:
Xantrex Te ch nol
ogy Inc.
89 9 9 Ne lson W ay
Burnaby, BC Canada V5A 4B5
604-422-859 5
M orningstar also m ak e s an exce ll
e nt controller th at w ork s ve ry w e l
lw ith our w ind
turbine s . Al
s o w ide l
y availabl
e . To find a distributor or re tailer ne ar you, contact:
M orningstar Corporation
w w w .m orningstarcorp.com
109 8 W as h ington Cros s ing Road
W as h ington Cros s ing, PA 189 77
215-321-4457
Dum p l
oad h e ating e l
e m e nts:
North w e stPow e r Co, LLC
w w w .nw pw r.com
P.O . Box 271
Platteville, CO 80651
9 70-785-2707
Page 42
Th e s e folks are al
s o full-l
ine de alers in s olar pane ls, controll
e rs , batte rie s , and eve ryth ing
el
s e ne e de d for a re new able e ne rgy s yste m :
Th e Alte rnative Ene rgy Store
w w w .Al
tEne rgyStore .com
43 Broad Stre e t, Suite A408
H uds on, M A 01749
(877) 878 - 4060 or (9 78) 562-5858
Costa R ican office : + 506 29 7 14 04.
Th e s e folks are al
s o full-l
ine de alers in s olar pane ls, controll
e rs , batte rie s , and eve ryth ing
el
s e ne e de d for a re new able e ne rgy s yste m :
Back w oods Solar Electric Syste m s
w w w .back w oods s olar.com
1589 R apid Ligh tning Cre e k R d
Sandpoint, ID 83864
208-263-429 0
El
e ctronic com pone nts:
(re ctifie rs /sw itch e s /am m e te rs /h e atsink s /pl
ugs and sock e ts /re sistors)
AllElectronics Corp.
w w w .all
e lectronics .com
149 28 O xnard St.
Van Nuys , CA 9 1411-2610
818-9 04-0524 or 888-826-5432
D igik ey
w w w .digik ey.com
701 Brook s Ave nue South
Th ie f R ive r Fal
l
s , M N 56701
800-344-4539 or 218-681-6674
M ECI Liq uidation O utlet
w w w .m e ci.com
340 E. FirstSt.
D ayton, O H 45402
800-344-4465
A gre atd ire ctory of surpl
us e l
e ctronics suppl
ie rs:
w w w .am as ci.com /s uplie rs .h tm l
Page 43
Logging ane m om e te rs
NRG Syste m s Inc.
w w w .nrgs yste m s .com
PO Box 0509
H ine s burg, VT 05461
(802) 482-2255
Cl
e an Ene rgy Products
Box 9 413
Be nd, O R 9 7708
(206) 9 53-4039
Page 45