Wind Turbine Manual

10-footAxialFl ux W ind
Turb ine
Use r’s M anual
w w w .oth e rpow e r.com

Page 2 © 2007 by Force fie ld w indturbine @ oth e rpow e r.com w w w .oth e rpow e r.com
© 2007 by Force fie l
d
2606 W e stVine D rive
FortColl
ins , CO 80521 USA
(877) 9 44-6247 (tol
lfre e in USA) or (9 70) 484-7257
w indturbine @ oth e rpow e r.com
w w w .O th e rpow e r.com
Th e Fort Collins addre s s and ph one num be rs are for our in-tow n s h ipping and
re ce iving office . O ur staff cannot give te ch nicals upport from th is l ocation. By far th e be st
w ay to contact us is via th e e m ailaddre s s above , s ince w e h ave s ate llite inte rne t at our w ind
turbine s h op.
Allrigh ts re s e rve d. No part of th is pu blication m ay be re produ ce d, s tore d in a

re trie vals ys te m , or trans m itte d, in any form , or by any m e ans , incl u ding e l e ctronic,
m e ch anical, ph otocopying, inte rne t, or any oth e r m e dia, w ith ou t prior pe rm is s ion of th e
copyrigh tow ne r.
Auth ors: D an Bartm ann and D an Fink

Copy e d itor: R ich Carlse n
Layout: D an Fink
Sh op fore m an: Ge orge Clous
Sh op d ogs: Flas h , M orw e n, Kodiak , Captain, M e rlin
All conte nts are provide d in good faith and be lie ve d to be corre ct at th e tim e of
w riting. H ow e ve r, no re s pons ibility is tak e n for any e rrors , om is s ions , or future ch ange s
and update s . Th is publication w ill be update d re gularly; ch e ck our w e bs ite at
w w w .O th e rpow e r.com for any ch ange s th ath ave be e n m ade .
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.
w w w .oth e rpow e r.com w indturbine @ oth e rpow e r.com © 2007 by Force fie ld Page 3
Tab l
e of Conte nts
Safe ty 5
Electricalh azards 5
M e ch anicalh azards 5
Tow e r h azards 6
Introd uction 7
W h atd id you justb uy or b uil

d? 8
H ow m uch pow e r w il
litm ak e ? 8
W h at’s incl
ud e d 9
W h at’s NO T incl
ud e d 10
W h atparts are w h ich , and w h y 10

Alte rnator 10
Blade s 11
Tailboom 11
Tailvane 12
Blade h ubs 13
W h atyou ne e d to d o b e fore your w ind turb ine is re ad y to fl

y 13
Le t’s ge tstarte d 13
As s e m ble th e tail 14
Re ctifie r as s e m bly 15
Stop s w itch 16
Bre ak e r and control l
er 17
Syste m w iring 20
Tow e r 21
Te strais e 28
Instal lth e tow e r on th e stub 29
Fitth e tail 30
As s e m ble th e rotor 30
Fitth e rotor to th e alte rnator 33
Bal ance th e bl ade s 34
R ais e th e w ind turbine 35
Troub l
e sh ooting 36
R e gul
ar m ainte nance 39
Source s 41
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 ibilility 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 can’t 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 y-
s 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 large 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 on’t eve r fly a w ind turbine on a tow e r th at’s 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 on’t do it! Th e m ach ine could ge t aw ay from you be fore you k now w h at’s
h appe ning (e s pe cial ly w ith no load 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
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 itcan’tpos 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 at’s 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 ls , 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 lpe 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 idly 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 installth 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 le 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 ly de s ign, anch or, rais e , and low e r a til ting tow e r.
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 r’s m anualis e s s e ntialre ading
w h e th e r you’ve 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 ply 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 ly ‘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 you’llne e d to do to pre pare for th e instal lation— m ost lik e ly m ore w ork
th an it took to build th e w ind turbine its e l f. Th at’s w h e re th is m anualcom e s in, and
h ope full y you’ve 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, off-
grid 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 your-
s 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 ctly
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 e’ve k now n— you’llprobabl y be pl e as antly s urpris e d at th e low nois e leve 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 you’l 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 for-
ge 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 e’llgo ove r th e as s e m bl y, installa-
tion 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 liable , 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 e’re h appy to offe r te ch nicals upport and an-
s 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 h atd id you justb uy or b uil
d?
You did not purch as e a ‘turn-k ey’ w ind pow e r s yste m along w ith a dancing troupe of
s m iley-face d ch im panze e s to installit. You’l lne e d to do s om e s ignificant pre paration to
eve n be gin to th ink about starting to pre pare to installyour new w ind turbine ! Th e tow e r is
a fairl y com plicate d, pote ntiall y dange rous and ve ry labor-inte ns ive proje ct allby its e l f, and
it’s not include d. M any fol k s are ve ry excite d w h e n th e w ind turbine proje ct is com plete or
th e as s e m bl
e d m ach ine arrive s via UPS, but th e n re al ity s e ts in— it can tak e m ore tim e ,
m oney and w ork to build th e #$^& !#$tow e r th an it took for th e w ind turbine its e l f. So th e ir
new w ind turbine e nds up m ol de ring in a clutte re d garage for a few ye ars w aiting for a
tow e r, and th e e ntire proje ct is forgotte n e ntire l y. Us ual ly a frustrate d s pous e th e n th row s
th e w ind turbine out w ith th e tras h w h ile th e builde r or buye r is out pl aying gol f or fis h ing,
th e h alf-com pl e te d tow e r is us e d for h anging w e t laundry be caus e th e drye r brok e , and th e
proud new w ind turbine ow ne rs can’t afford to fix th e drye r afte r paying for th e w ind tur-
bine . W e ll,not al w ays — but re m e m be r th at th e w ind turbine its e lf is just th e start of th e pro-
je ct!
Th is w ind turbine is inte nde d onl y for ch arging a 12, 24 or 48 volt batte ry bank . It can
be grid-tie d, but only th rough th e batte ry bank and a grid-tie inve rte r. W e (and m any oth e r
folks w h o h ave built th is turbine ) are curre ntly re s e arch ing th e de s ign ch ange s ne e de d to tie
th is w ind turbine to th e grid w ith out a batte ry bank , th rough a dire ct grid-tie inve rte r lik e
th e SM A W indyBoy. H ow e ve r, th is w illre q uire a com plete ly diffe re nt stator de s ign and is
not pos s ible at th is tim e . Also, you cannotconne ct th is w ind turbine dire ctly to air or w ate r
h e ating e lem e nts — you w ould ne e d to de s ign and build a s oph isticate d e lectronic controller
to adjustth e loading on th e alte rnator to accom plis h th at.
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 can’t pre dict
h ow m uch pow e r you’ll 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
d istrib ution atm ostl ocations. In s uch h igh w inds are ve ry rare in m ost l ocations — les s
pl ace s w ith h igh e r ave rage w ind th an 100 h ours pe r ye ar. M ost w ind com e s at us in th e
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
to th e le ft.
de s igne d to catch e fficie ntl
y. But, th e actualave rage
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 .
In a good w ind are a on a tal ltow e r, th is 10 foot
diam e te r turbine w illlik e l y produce be tw e e n 9 0 and
120 k ilow att h ours (k w h ) pe r m onth . Cons ide ring th at
th e ave rage US h om e us e s 750 k w h /m onth , th at’s not
a lot— but for a re m ote , off-grid h om e th at’s de s igne d
from th e ground up to be e fficie nt, it can be a h uge
h e lp and s ignificantl y re duce back up ge ne rator run
tim e . M any off-grid dw e l le rs com bine both s olar and
w ind into th e ir s yste m s , be caus e in m any locations
w h e n th e s un is n'ts h ining, th e w ind is blow ing. Figure 2 - Approxim ate w ind spe e d vs.
Th is w ind turbine is righ t up th e re w ith w h at pow e r outputcurve s of th is 10 foot
d iam e te r w ind turb ine .
m ost com m e rcialw ind turbine s of s im ilar s ize (9 -10
fe e t rotor diam e te r) can m ak e . Figure 2 s h ow s an e stim ate of th e pow e r curve of th is turbine at
diffe re nt w ind s pe e ds . Th e onl y w ay to ge t m ore is to installa tal ler tow e r, or ge t a w ind tur-
bine w ith a large r rotor diam e te r— th at’s just bas ic ph ys ics . But you can s e e th at th e turbine
w illgive exce ll e nt pe rform ance in th e 10-20 m ph range , w h ich is by far th e m ost com m on
w ind distribution in m ost l ocations . At a s ite w ith a h igh ave rage w ind s pe e d, th e graph of
w ind s pe e d distribution in Figure 1 w ould ‘s lide’ to th e righ t by a couple m ph ; at a s ite w ith
low e r ave rage w ind s pe e d it w oul d m ove to th e left. Th e diffe re nce in ave rage w ind s pe e d at a
m arginall ocation com pare d to th at at an exce ll e nt location w oul d onl y be at m ost 4– 5
m ph — butth e diffe re nce in pow e r production w ould be q uite s ignificant!
W h at’s 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 bly 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:
- Plyw ood bl ade h ubs (q ty 2)
- Ste e lblade 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 alte rnator.
* Yaw be aring bus h ing
* Le ad w e igh ts and w ood s crew s for blade balancing
W h at’s NO T incl
ud e d :
* An instal le 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 r’s draw ings and approvalfrom your favorite localgove rn-
m 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 bly
* 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)
W h atparts are w h ich , and w h y

Figure 3 - A w ind turb ine , w ith al
lth e
e sse ntialparts l
ab e l
ed:
A) Al
te rnator
B) Bl
ad e s
C) Tailb oom
D) Bl
ad e h ub s
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 Piggott’s
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
(NdFe B) rare -e arth m agne ts of extre m e l y h igh flux.
Th e stator contains 9 coil s w ound w ith coppe r w ire
and cast into plastic re s in, in line w ith and be tw e e n th e
path s of e ach m agne t. Th e output of th e alte rnator
com e s out on 3 w ire s or 3 bras s studs . Th is alte rnator
w illstart ch arging batte rie s at about 140 rpm and re ach
rate d output of 700 or 1,000 w atts at about 450 rpm .
Th e s pe cifics de pe nd on th e distance of w ire run, th e
gauge of w ire us e d, your batte ry bank s ize and your
batte ry bank voltage .
Th e fram e (#3 in Figure 4) s im pl y h ol ds
eve ryth ing toge th e r. Th e yaw be aring (#4 in Figure 4)
is th e point on w h ich th e turbine pivots to face th e
w ind, or to face its e lf out of th e w ind w h e n w ind Figure 4 - Al
te rnator w ith parts l
ab e l
ed:
s pe e ds ge t too h igh . Th e tailpivot (#5 in Figure 4) 1) Stator
h olds th e tail as s e m bl y, all
ow ing it to s w ing w h e n 2) M agne trotors
w ind s pe e ds ge t too h igh , w ith th e w ind turbine 3) Fram e
follow ing itby pivoting on th e yaw be aring.
4) Yaw b e aring
B) Blade s
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
it’s strong, l igh tw e igh t, re as onably 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 e’l 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 al-
low 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 a-
ch 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 don’t
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 tly re duce d w h ile it prote cts its e lf— but it s h ould stillproduce ne arly ful lpow e r unde r
th e s e conditions .
Figure 5 (l
e ft) - W ind turb ine in norm alope rating
position.
Figure 6 (righ t) - W ind turb ine ful ly furle d to
prote ctitse l
f from h igh w ind s (ove r 28 m ph ).
Th is prote ction s yste m (cal l

e d a “furl ing tail” and s h ow n in Figure s 5 and 6 above ) is
ve ry s im pl e in th at it w ork s s im pl y by th e ge om e try of th e m ach ine’s fram e , re q uire s no
m e ch anicalcom pone nts lik e s prings th at can bre ak or ice up, and s im pl y allow s gravity to
re turn th e w ind turbine back to norm alope rating pos ition w h e n th e w ind drops back to nor-
m all eve ls (be low 25 m ph ). Figure 5 above left s h ow s th e turbine in norm alope rating pos i-
tion, and Figure 6 above righ t s h ow s it ful ly furle d and prote cting its e lf, w h ile stillm ak ing
ne ar m axim um output. Furl ing tail s w e re inve nte d in th e m id-1800s , but w e re pe rfe cte d for
s m alle lectricity-ge ne rating w ind turbine s by Scottis h h om e brew w ind guru H ugh Piggott.
TailVane (Figu re 7, be low )

Th e tailvane is m ade from h igh q uality
1/4 inch th ick birch pl yw ood. Since it is
w oode n, it s h ould be tre ate d ge ne rous l y w ith
lins e e d oil , paint or stain to prote ct it from th e
el e m e nts . W e dis cus s th is in de tailin th e Fi-
nal As s e m bly s e ction late r in th is ow ne rs
m anual. Sh oul d th e tailvane eve r start to rot
it’s e as il y re place d! Ke e p in m ind
th ough — th e w e igh t of th e tailh e lps de te rm -
ine w h e n th e m ach ine w illstart to furland
prote ct its e l f, s o you m igh t be on ris k y
Figure 7 - Tailvane b ol
te d to th e tailb oom . ground if you re build th e tail w ith th ick e r
w ood or in a diffe re nt s ize or s h ape . W e us e
birch pl yw ood be caus e it’s strong, l igh t w e igh t and re s ists fatigue crack ing. As l ong as you
put finis h on th e tailvane be fore fl ying it on th e w ind turbine (and re -appl y finis h during
your ye arl y annualm ainte nance ), its h ould lastfor ye ars .
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 unfin-
is 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. You’lldo
itw h ilstfinis h ing allth e oth e r w ood parts on th e m ach ine , including blade s and tailvane .
W h atyou ne e d to d o b e fore your w ind

turb ine is re ad y to fl
y:
As you (h ope ful l
y) al re ady k now from re ading our lite rature and th is ow ne rs m anualbe -
fore purch as ing or building your w ind turbine , you first ne e d to h ave a re new able e ne rgy
pow e r s yste m in pl ace . Th e re m ust be s om e th ing to conne ct th e turbine output to! Th is w ind
turbine w illw ork only for ch arging th e batte ry bank of a re new able e ne rgy s yste m — you
cannot us e th e turbine’s output dire ctl y, run h e ating e lem e nts dire ctl
y, or tie th e output dire ctl y
to th e pow e r grid. Such dire ct grid-tie (no batte ry bank ) inve rte rs lik e th e SM A W indyBoy®
re q uire a s pe cial
ly-buil t stator to be installe d in th e w ind turbine , w h ich w e do not offe r at th is
tim e . You can e as ily us e th is w ind turbine for grid-tie d s yste m s w ith out is s ue s , but only if th e
w ind turbine is ch arging a 12, 24 or 48 voltbatte ry bank .
Th e w ind turbine’s stator m ust be built diffe re ntl y for diffe re nt s yste m voltage s . Be s ure
th at you h ave th e corre ct stator for your s yste m vol tage be fore install ing— it w illbe m ark e d for
e ith e r 12, 24 or 48 volt s yste m s . It’s no problem to add th is w ind turbine as an input to an exist-
ing grid-tie d, batte ry-bas e d pow e r s yste m , but th e grid-tie inve rte r, batte ry bank and balance
of s yste m com pone nts m ust alre ady be in place , ins pe cte d and approve d by th e pow e r com -
pany, and functionalbe fore you proce e d w ith adding th e w ind turbine . If you eve r ch ange th e
s yste m vol tage of your R E batte ry bank , you can s im pl y re place th e stator of th is w ind turbine
w ith one de s igne d for th e corre ct s yste m voltage — alloth e r com pone nts of th e al te rnator and
w ind turbine stay th e s am e .
Le t’s ge ts tarte d
Th e ste ps you’llne e d to com plete to ge t your new w ind turbine fl
ying are as follow s , and
be low w e’llcove 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 bly, 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 load, and installth e m into your R E
s yste m (optionalbutre com m e nde d)
5. Installth e w iring from th e tow e r bas e to your s yste m
6. Installa sturdy tow e r, and fabricate or purch as e a tow e r-top stub
7. Te strais e th e tow e r and adjustth e guy w ire s
8. Installth e turbine on th e tow e r-top stub
9 . Installth e tailvane on th e tailboom
10. As s e m ble th e blade s into a rotor and attach to th e alte rnator
11. Balance th e blade s
12. R ais e th e turbine and tow e r
13. Re lax, h ave a be e r, and w atch th e pow e r com e in! W ind turbine w atch ing is far
m ore e nte rtaining th an te levis ion.
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 . You’llas -
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
.
brack e t. Ins e rt th e bol ts th rough th e h oles ne ar th e e nds of th e th e ste e lbar stock . Fit th e tail
vane ove r th e bol ts . Th e n put a w as h e r, lock w as h e r and a nut on th e ‘w ood’ s ide and tigh t-
e n th e bolts (Figure 8).
Us e th e oth e r tw o 1-inch bol ts and bol t th e tailbrack e t/tailvane to th e tailboom as pic-
ture d above in Figure 9 . Again, th e w as h e rs , l ock w as h e rs and nuts s h ould be us e d against
th e w oode n s ide of tailvane . Us e th e tw o longe r bol ts to bol t th e w oode n tailvane to th e
tailboom . Th e w as h e r, l ock w as h e r and nuts s h ould again go on th e w ood s ide .
2) Re ctifie r As s e m bl
y
Th e w ind turbine’s output com e s as ‘w il d’ 3-
ph as e alte rnating curre nt (AC). It’s 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 cti-
fie 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 le s s th an h alf th e new price . Th e s e device s are nice be caus e no construc-
tion 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 tur-
bine ) 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 cti-
y m ust be large r th an th e m axim um
fie r as s e m bl
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 you’ll 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 cti-
fie 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: Figure 12 - 3-ph ase re ctifie r b uil
tfrom 3
stand ard full
-w ave b rid ge re ctifie rs.
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.
H e atsink
O nce you buy or build th e re ctifie r its e lf, you’ll
ne e d to bolt 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 at’s 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 don’t 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 on’t 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 ut-
dow n s w itch . W ith th is turbine , al lyou
ne e d to stop th e blade s q uick ly 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 cti-
fie r. You’ll 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
Figure 14 - H ow to
w inds , and in cas e s om e th ing goe s
w ire a w ind turb ine badl y w rong up th e re on th e tow e r or
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.
Such s w itch e s (Figure 15 at l e ft) are available inexpe ns ive l y at
any e lectronics s upplie r. Th ough th e s w itch s e e m s puny com pare d
Figure 15 - A typical30 to th e am ount of curre nt th at th e turbine can produce in h igh w inds
am p d oub l
e pole , singl
e
th row (DPST) sw itch . (e s pe cial
ly in a 12 volt s yste m ), re m e m be r th at th e s w itch onl
y sees
h igh curre nt for an instant, and afte r th at th e turbine is al m ost
stoppe d and is producing ve ry littl e pow e r. W h e n th e stop s w itch is
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 . It’s be st to stop th e m a-
ch ine during a lullin th e w ind w h e n it’s alre ady running s l ow ly, but th e s w itch s h ould e ffe ct-
ive ly stop th e m ach ine at any s pe e d. It’s 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 e’ve 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
it’s 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 . It’s 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 it’s ope rating, tak e th e tim e to fe e lyour re cti-
fie r’s 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 ly ne e d a large r h e at
s ink . Th e re’s no s uch th ing as a h e at s ink th at’s too big— and it s h oul d neve r ge t m uch m ore
th an ‘w arm to th e touch .’
4) Bre ak e r and controll

er
Figure 17 at righ t s h ow s it all. You ne e d to
bring 3-ph as e AC pow e r to your re ctifie rs
th rough th e s h utdow n s w itch . Th e n you’ll be
dow n to 2 w ire s , + and – D C, w h ich go th rough
th e input bre ak e r to your batte ry bank . Th e
controll e r th e n dive rts itfrom th e batte ry bank .
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. It’s 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 you’lleve 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 pin-
ning 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.
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 y, it’s not th e s am e as th e
e arl
stop s w itch ! It’s m ore lik e a ‘s e lf de struct s w itch ’ if accide ntal
ly 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 prob-
lem 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
ler
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 turbine’s al te rnat-
or— th ey cl am p th e w ind turbine’s ope n-circuit vol tage dow n to th e s yste m ’s leve 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 lectrolyte , producing ex-
plos 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 can’t 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 , it’s m uch s afe r to h ave an autom atic control-
ler. 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 ply 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 r-
s 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 r-
h 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 orning-
star/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
Figure 18 - A Xantrex C-se rie s again 12 volt s yste m s ge t trick y! At 12 vol ts th e m a-
d ive rsion load control le 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 — you’d
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 inex-
pe ns ive 40 am p control le r.
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 controll
er
24 vol
er
48 vol
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 -con-
troll e d s w itch on a standard inve rte r or controller can’t h andle m uch pow e r. You’l 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
controlle 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 al-
low 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 on’t 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 ctly, s ize th e w ire appropriate l y, and us e a m e rcury contactor or s olid-
state re lay— 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
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 r-
s 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 accord-
ing 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 n’t 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 tur-
bine 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
b ase . w ire for th e tow e r w iring. At th e tow e r
bottom , you’ll 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 at’s 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 , you’llonce 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 c-
tion to com e loos e accide ntal ly. It's als o h andy to buy an extra plug and w ire it s o it’s 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 you’llre ad l ate r in th e s e ction on turbine m ainte nance , eve ry couple w e e k s you’ll
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 , you’lls 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 you’llh 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.
From your s ock e t at th e tow e r bas e to your re ctifie r, you’l lm ost l ik e l
y h ave a long run of
w ire . Th e low e r your s yste m voltage , th e th ick e r th is w ire w il
lh ave to be , and th e l onge r your
w ire run, th e th ick e r your w ire w illh ave to be . And th e th ick e r th e w ire , th e m ore expe ns ive it
w illbe ! If you ran th e pos s ibl e m axim um output of th e w ind turbine (1500 w atts ) th rough th e
w ire s izing form ulas for s ol ar PV s yste m s (us uall y for onl y 5% l os s ), you’d be tol d to us e ex-
tre m e l
y th ick and expe ns ive w ire . Fortunate l y for your w ire budge t, th e turbine w il lproduce
1,000 w atts or ove r ve ry rare l y, s ince h igh w inds are s o rare . And during s uch w indy pe riods ,
you’l lh ave fullbatte rie s pre tty q uick l y. So you can s ize th e w ire for a l ow e r output, and acce pt
m ore l ine l os s ath igh e r w ind s pe e ds .
H ow eve r, th e re’s a lim it to h ow m uch los s you can acce pt. Th e m ore pow e r th at’s w aste d,
th e faste r th e w ind turbine w il lrun and th e les s e fficie nt th e s yste m w il lbe ove rall. If th e
w ind turbine runs too fast (too m uch pow e r w aste d in th e line ), th e bl ade s w il
lbe com e les s e f-
ficie nt. Th ey m ay also be com e nois y and th e m ach ine m ay not furlprope rl y. An ove rs pe e ding
w ind turbine is dange rous and one m ore re as on to m ak e s ure you s ize th e conductors appropri-
ate ly. So, th e w ire s ize re com m e ndations in th e ch art be l ow s h oul d be cons ide re d th e
m inim um th ick ne s s of w ire to us e . It w on’t h arm anyth ing to us e th ick e r w ire , but it w illbe
m ore expe ns ive .
Up to 100 ft 200ft 300ft 400ft 600ft 800ft 1000ft
12V 8 6 4 2 0 2/0 4/0
24V 10 8 6 4 2 0 2/0
48V 12 10 8 6 4 2 0
# AW G
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 on’t 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 ly 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 don’t 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.
Purch ase a tow e r, or d e sign and b uil

d your ow n?
In s h ort, w e re com m e nd th at for instal ling your first w ind turbine , you s h ould buy your
first tow e r k it inste ad of de s igning and buil ding it yours e lf. Such a k it w illcom e w ith allth e
ne e de d parts — s uch as coupl e rs be tw e e n th e tow e r s e ctions , guy w ire s , guy w ire e q ualize rs ,
th im bles , cabl e clam ps , tow e r bas e , h inge , gin pol e and approve d e ngine e r’s draw ings to m ak e
your frie ndl y localbuil ding ins pe ctor h appy. If it’s a tilt-up tube tow e r, you’l lm ost lik e ly h ave
to s uppl y th e ste e ltubing or pipe yours e lf. W e l ist m any s ource s of tow e r k its in th e Source s
s e ction of th is m anual . Eve n if you buy a tow e r k it, you’l lstillh ave to provide th e tow e r stub
and adapt it to fit th e tow e r top. And you’l lh ave to provide a sturdy foundation and sturdy guy
w ire anch ors .
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 you’l lgain inval uable
k now ledge for your ow n tow e r de s ign and instal lation.
H e igh t
Flying 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 ex-
pe 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 on’t
s k im p on tow e r h e igh t— it’s th e m ost im portant th ing you can do to as s ure good pow e r out-
putand long life of th e w ind turbine .
Gove rnm e ntord inance s

M any localgove rnm e nts h ave re strictions on tow e r h e igh ts . Above a ce rtain h e igh t,
you m ay ne e d a s pe cialpe rm it, w h ich w illofte n e ntails ubm itting ce rtifie d e ngine e r’s draw -
ings of th e tow e r. M ost l
ocalre gulations re q uire th at if th e tow e r s h ould fal l, allof it w ould
land e ntire l
y on your prope rty. If you live cl os e to an airport, you m ay h ave to ch e ck w ith
th e FAA for tow e r re strictions and ligh ting re q uire m e nts — h ow eve r, if you are m ore th an 4
m iles from an airport no s pe cialpe rm is s ion is re q uire d from th e FAA unl e s s th e tow e r is
200 fe e ttallor ove r.
In ge ne ral, th e m ore ruraland re m ote your are a is , th e few e r re gulatory h as s les you’ll
h ave to e ndure in ge tting pe rm is s ion to e re ct your tow e r. You s h oul d ch e ck into al
lof th is
be fore eve n cons ide ring buil ding or buying a w ind turbine . M any citie s w on’t all ow tall
tow e rs at all.Th is h as le d to th e prom otion of ‘rooftop w ind turbine s ,’ w h ich are a ve ry bad
ide a! Rooftop tow e rs are not ge ne ral ly h igh e nough to ge t above obstructions , th ey put ex-
tre m e force s on your h ous e th at it w as not de s igne d to tak e , and th e vibration from th e w ind
turbine w il ll y be ve ry irritating during a w ind storm . Eve n q uie t w ind turbine s lik e th is
ik e l
one trans m it vibration to th e tow e r w h e n th ey are ge ne rating pow e r, and you’l lbe able to
h e ar and fe e lth is vibration q uite cl e arly. W e strongly urge you to not eve n cons ide r a
rooftop w ind turbine tow e r. If you do build a rooftop m ount, don’t com e crying to us if your
w indm illm ak e s ve ry l ittle pow e r, k e e ps you aw ak e allnigh t, or caus e s your h ous e to fall
dow n!
Ne igh b or re l
ations
You’llw 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 ey’llbe 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 part-
m 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 rally not an is s ue w ith th is w ind turbine de s ign, it’s one of th e q uie te st w e 've
s e e n. W e ge ne rally 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 bi-
cycle, and us uall y th e w ind in th e ne arby tre e s is m uch loude r th at th e turbine its e lf. Tow e r vi-
brations 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 allw 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.
It’s not th e rotating bl ade s th at do th e dam age , it’s 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 ing’s 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 piñata 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 r’s ‘footprint’ on th e
ground— h ow m uch concre te is ne e de d and w h e re it
s h ould 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.
Figure 21 - Footprintof a fre e stand ing
tow e r. Th e d otte d line sh ow s th e are a th at
Fre e stand ing m ustb e cl e are d of tre e s and b rush , th e
h atch e d are a is th e concre te , and th e
Fre e standing tow e rs h ave th e big advantage s of bl ack are a is th e tow e r itse l
f.
ne e ding no guy w ire s and of h aving th e s m allest
‘footprint’ of any tow e r
type . Th is al s o m ak e s th e m
ve ry s uitable for rough or
h e avil y fore ste d s ite s .
H ow eve r, th e s e tow e rs do
ne e d an extre m e l y large
ch unk of concre te at th e
bas e to m ak e up for th e lack
of guy w ire s . Th ey also
ne e d to be ve ry robust, built
w ith lots of ste e l, and are
ge ne ral l
y ve ry expe ns ive .
Figure 22 - A b ig w ind
Th e footprint of a typical
turb ine on a fre e stand ing fre e standing tow e r is s h ow n
m onopol e tow e r. in Figure 21. Figure 23 - Fre e stand ing l
attice
tow e r w ith b oth w ind turb ine and
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 build-
ing at h om e , th ey m ust be purch as e d com m e rcially. And, a crane s e rvice is re q uire d for in-
stalling 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
Figure 24 - A 140 footguye d l attice tow e r are ofte n avail able us e d from h am radio ope rators
w ith 12 footd iam e te r w ind turb ine flying. at a bargain price . Lattice tow e rs also m ust be
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 c-
tion joins th e re st (us ual ly 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 .
W h ile h iring a crane s e rvice m ak e s e re cting a
guye d l attice tow e r into a one -day propos ition, it is
pos s ible for a s m al lcrew to e re ct one on a re m ote
s ite w ith out a crane . A pole w ith a davit and pul ley
on top is clam pe d to th e tow e r fram e , and th e next
tow e r s e ction is h aul e d up by a rope from th e
ground. Afte r th e s e ction is bolte d in, th e cl im be r
m ove s th e davit up to th e new s e ction, and h aul s up
th e next tow e r s e ction and bol ts it in. And s o on, un-
tilth e finalload h auled up on th e davit is th e w ind
turbine its e lf. Th is is not s om e th ing for th e inexpe ri-
Figure 25 - Th e footprintof a guye d l attice
e nce d tow e r clim be r to atte m pt! And if you don’t tow e r. Th e d otte d line s sh ow th e are a th at
k now w h at a ‘davit’ is , e ith e r do s om e h om ew ork or m ustb e cl e are d of tre e s and b rush , th e
proce e d dire ctl y to th e ‘tilt-up tube tow e r’ s e ction be - h atch e d line s are th e concre te th atm ustb e
low . poure d , and th e sol id partis th e tow e r
itse l
f.
Be s ure to do th orough re s e arch and contact th e
tow e r com pany be fore ch oos ing your tow e r— s om e s ource s of l attice tow e rs are cove re d in th e
Source s s e ction. Lattice tow e rs are avail able in a varie ty of s ize s (th e distance be tw e e n th e
th re e l e gs and th e s ize of th e pipe on e ach l e g), and
too narrow a tow e r can buck l e . D o your re s e arch in
advance , or h ire a q ual ifie d w ind turbine and tow e r
de al e r/installe r!
Til
t-up tub e tow e rs
Th e s e are th e only 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 ex-
tre 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
and e atyou w ith no w arning. tow e rs for th is re ason!
Tilt-up tow e rs give you th e h uge advantage

th at al lyour w ork on th e turbine (incl uding install-
ation and both s ch e duled and uns ch e duled m ain-
te nance ) are pe rform e d w h ile you are standing
s afe ly 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 .
w h ile it til
ts up and dow n. A tilt-up tube tow e r is s h ow n
h alfw 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
Figure 28 - up (Figure 28)— th e
Footprint e ntire are a w ith in th e
of a til t-up
tow e r.
dotte d line s m ust be
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.
Th e k ey to rais ing and low e ring a tilt-up tow e r is
th e ‘gin pole’— it provide s th e l eve rage ne e de d in th e
corre ct dire ction, and is s h ow n clearl y in Figure 27
(previous page ), on th e left s ide of th e tow e r. Th e gin
pole w il lofte n h ave a pull ey (Figure 29 , above ) in-
stall e d at th e top, to provide a m e ch anicaladvantage .
Th e gin pole length w illbe a pe rce ntage of th e total
tow e r h e igh t— us ual
ly at least 40%. You’llge t th e s pe cs
w h e n you buy your tow e r k it.
Figure 30 - A b ig w inch for raising
and l
ow e ring th e tow e r. A pe rm ane ntl y installed 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 don’t installa w inch , you’l lh ave to rais e and low e r th e tow e r w ith a ve ry s low -m ov-
ing 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
slante 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
you’llh ave to m odify th e yaw and tailbe arings s o th at th e w h ole m ach ine doe s n’t 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 e’ve starte d us ing 12 gage tubing in a large r diam e te r inste ad of pipe — a large r dia-
m 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 n’t
h urt to go l arge r, as it’s 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
large diam e te r ste e ltubing, in w h ich cas e pipe w illw ork
fine . For a 40 foot tow e r, w e h ave s ucce s s fully us e d a 20
foot s e ction of 3 inch pipe , w ith anoth e r s e ction of 2-1/2
inch pipe above , ne ste d ins ide th e 3 inch and ove rl ap-
ping by 2 fe e t. If you can find tubing, th ough , you
s h ould us e it. 4, 5 or 6 inch 12 gage tubing m ak e s a good
strong tow e r for th is 10 foot w ind turbine . Just k e e p in
m ind th at 6 inch tubing w il lcost onl y s ligh tl
y m ore th an
4 inch , but is m uch stronge r— buy th e bigge st you can
afford. Figure 31 - H om e -b uil tcoupl e r for til
t-
up tow e r tub ing se ctions. A se tof guy
Ne ve r us e th re ade d conne ctors anyw h e re on th e w ire s conne cts to e ach coupl e r.
tow e r, it’s a m ajor w e ak ne s s ! A th re ade d pipe (s ch e dule
40) h as l e s s th an 50% of its w allth ick ne s s at th e bottom of th e th re ads , and l
e s s th an 1/4 of its
originalstre ngth . It’s m uch be tte r to ne st th e pie ce s of pipe ins ide e ach oth e r, or to build
coupl e rs th at clam p th e pipe toge th e r from th e ins ide , around th e outs ide , or both . In fact,
th at’s th e big advantage of buying a com m e rcialtow e r k it— th e couplers for th e pipe s e ction
are incl ude d and w e ll -de s igne d. Th e couplers are th e
m ost com plicate d part of th e tow e r to fabricate . Figure 31
s h ow s th e couplers th at w e fabricate for joining tow e r
s e ctions . Each coupl e r is attach e d to a s e tof guy w ire s .
Tow e r b ase and h inge

W ith a til t-up tow e r, th e bas e tak e s th e least am ount
of abus e . Th e onl y large stre s s e s on th e bas e are during
rais ing and l ow e ring th e tow e r— th e re st of th e tim e , all
force on th e bas e is s im pl y th e w e igh t of th e tow e r and
turbine , pus h ing straigh t dow n. Som e com m e rcialtil t-up Figure 32 - A sim ple tow e r b ase and
tow e r k its actual ly don’t eve n s pe cify concre te for th e h inge .
tow e r bas e , th ey s im ply h ave a ve ry w ide , s pre ad-out bas e th at is s pik e d into th e ground w ith
long pie ce s of re bar. W e pre fe r to pour a concre te bas e and faste n th e tow e r bas e and h inge to
it w ith expans ion bol ts , w h ich give s a m ore stable h inge . A s im ple tow e r bas e and h inge for a
10 foot m ach ine on a 40 foot, 2-1/2 inch s ch e dul e 40
pipe tow e r is s h ow n in Figure 32.
Guy w ire anch ors

Afte r th e w ind turbine and tilt-up tow e r are e re cte d,
th e guy w ire s and th e ir anch ors tak e m ost of th e stre s s
during h igh w inds . Th e standard m e th od of instal ling
guy w ire anch ors us e d by utilitie s and m ost w ind turbine
tow e r k its is to auge r a 6 inch diam e te r h ole in th e dirt
and install“expanding e arth anch ors ” or s crew anch ors
(s e e th e Source s s e ction h e re ). H ow eve r, you m ust Figure 33 - Guy w ire anch or
e ns ure th at your s oiltype is corre ct or th e s e anch ors w ill e m b e d d e d in concre te .
not h ol d. Th ey are also rath e r expe ns ive , and you'l lne e d
pow e r e q uipm e nt to auge r th e h ol e de e p
e nough . Anoth e r option is to pour a w h ol e
bunch of concre te , and e m be d ste e lbars w ith
barbs s o th at th e e nds stick out a bit from th e
concre te . (Figure 33). Each of th e four guy an-
ch ors in a tilt-up tow e r conne cts w ith allth e
guy w ire s from e ach s ide of th e tow e r. Th e gin
pole is also guye d to th e s ide guy anch ors , to
k e e p th e tow e r from trying to flop ove r to th e
s ide (and bre ak ing th e bas e h inge ) during rais -
ing and low e ring.
Figure 34 - Dril l
ing outa rock form ation for
a guy w ire anch or. Som e tim e s it’s not pos s ible to dig large
h oles and pour sturdy concre te guy anch ors
w ith im be dde d ste e lplate s , or to auge r de e p h oles in th e dirt— th e re’s a re as on th ey call
th e m th e “Rock y M ountains ” up h e re w h e re w e live ! In s om e cas e s , if th e rock form ation is
large and strong e nough , it’s pos s ibl e to drillout s olid rock s (Figure 34) and pound in l arge
expans ion bolts for guy anch ors . A h om e brew option is to pound #6 or #8 re bar w ith loops
w e lde d to one e nd into th e h ol e s , afte r first inje cting e poxy into th e h ole— but expans ion
bolts are m uch pre fe rre d.
W ire rope and h e avy h ard w are

Allof your guy w ire s w illbe m ade of w ire rope , w ith a m inim um guy w ire s ize (for a
40 foot tow e r and th is 10 foot turbine ) of 1/4 inch w ire rope . Each guy w ire w illne e d
th im bles anyw h e re it conne cts to th e tow e r or th e guy anch ors , large turnbuck l e s (no h ook s
allow e d, s olid l
oops on th e e nds of th e turnbuck les onl y), and exactl y 3 prope rl y-orie nte d
cabl e cl am ps pe r conne ction. And re m e m be r, ‘neve r s addl e a de ad h ors e .’ D on’t k now w h at
any of th is talk about th im bl e s , turnbuck les and de ad h ors e s m e ans ?Th e n you ne e d to do
your h om ew ork on tow e rs and w ire rope rigging! Anoth e r re as on w e s ugge st th at you buy
your first w ind turbine tow e r rath e r th an de s ign and buil d it yours e lf. If you do de s ign your
ow n tow e r, ch e ck th e Source s s e ction at th e e nd of th is docum e nt for cable rigging
s upplie rs .
7) Te s trais e
W ith a til t-up tow e r it’s an extre m e ly 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 tur-
bine 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 ,
you’llh ave to s e q ue ntial ly 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 re’s 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 you’lltigh te n th e m dow n a bit w h e n it’s up, th e n l ow e r and rais e it again. Th e re’s
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 -
s ure s th at th ey loos e n w h e n th e tow e r is dow n, and tigh te n as it goe s up. Th e problem is th at
you can’t te llh ow m uch stre s s a w ire rope is unde r by l ook ing at it! It could h ave 30 pounds of
force on it or 3,000 pounds , and you’llneve r k now th e diffe re nce by just look ing. Th is is ye t
anoth e r re as on w h y w e re com m e nd th at you cons ult w ith an expe rie nce d w ind turbine in-
staller be fore you try your firsttow e r.
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 you’re doing or
find s om e body w h o doe s , if it com e s dow n to e ngin-
e 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 you’ll
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
cas e you are crazy e nough to build your ow n. Figure 35 - Th e tow e r stub th atyou'l
lh ave
to fab ricate outof 2 inch sch e d ul e 40 pipe .
Note th e b race s atth e b ottom ,
8) Ins tallth e tu rbine on th e stre ngth e ning th e conne ction b e tw e e n th e
stub and th e tow e r itse l
f.
tow e r-top s tu b
Th e tow e r top ne e ds to h ave a ‘stub’ at th e top
(Figure 35). It s h ould be at l e ast 13 inch e s long and
m ust be m ade from 2 inch diam e te r s ch e dule 40
pipe . W e us uall y w el d on re inforcing flange s to
conne ct th e stub to th e tow e r its e lf, th ey are vis ible
in Figure 35. At th e top of th e tow e r stub you ne e d
to w e ld on a flat m e taldis c w ith a 1-inch diam e te r
h ole in th e m iddl e for th e w ire s to pas s th rough . Be -
fore installing th e alte rnator you ne e d to pullth e
w ire s up th rough th e tow e r, th rough th e tow e r top
and l e ave a good bit of w ire stick ing out th e tow e r
FIgure 36 - Sl id e th e w ire s th rough th e
top. 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 .
Gre as e th e tow e r top libe ral ly w ith axle gre as e .
Th e n instal lth e yaw bus h ing, w h ich is a dis c of s e lf-
lubricate d bronze or plastic s ize d to fit on th e tow e r stub and
ins ide th e yaw be aring, also w ith a 1 inch diam e te r h ol e in it.
It com e s w ith our com pl e te d w ind turbine k its , and is
availabl e s e parate l
y from us al s o. Put s om e gre as e on th e
tow e r top and ‘stick ’ th e bus h ing on th e re (it s h oul d stick to
th e gre as e ). To guide th e th re e tow e r w ire s th rough th e h ole in
th e tow e r top and bus h ing, us e a stick or s om e th ing s im ilar, Figure 37 - A Ke l lum grip strain
re l
ie f for th e tow e r top.
and pok e th e w ire s th rough th e h ol e in th e yaw be aring and yaw bus h ing. Stick it th rough
th e s e h oles s o it com e s out th e bottom of th e w ind turbine yaw be aring, and s o you can tape
th e th re e w ire s to it. Th e n h ave one pe rs on pullth e w ire s th rough th e w ind turbine w h ile an-
oth e r pe rs on care full y s lide s th e e ntire turbine onto th e tow e r top (Figure 36). Th e obje ctive
h e re is to k e e p th e w ire s from crim ping up and binding ins ide th e tow e r top. Afte r m ount-
ing th e al te rnator, conne ctallth re e outputw ire s to th e outputstuds on th e stator.
You'llalso ne e d to provide a strain re lie f s yste m at th e h ole in th e top of th e yaw
be aring, s o th e pow e r w ire s don't ge t rippe d out from th e w e igh t of th e tow e r-to-ground
cabl e , or ge t abrade d th rough th e ins ulation untilth ey s h ort out. A Ke llum -type cabl e grip
w ork s gre at, and is avail able atany e lectricals upplie r. A Ke llum is s h ow n in Figure 37.
9 ) Fitth e tail
If it’s 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 e’ve 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 it’s 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 blade 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 ign-
ing and drilling th e various h ol e s and s uch ) w illh ave al re ady be e n com plete d. If you pur-
ch as e d just th e blade s e t from us or built th e bl ade s
yours e lf, you’llne e d to com plete al lof th e ste ps liste d be -
low .
Layoutand d ril
ling
D ivide th e h ubs into th re e parts and us e a com pas s to
ne atl y lay out w h e re th e s crew s w illbe locate d be fore you
drillth e h oles . D rillabout 15 h oles in e ach are a w h e re th e
Figure 38 - Dril loutth e h ub s for roots of th e blade s w illbe be tw e e n th e m , as s h ow n in Fig-
45 w ood screw s and a ce nte ring ure 38. It’s e as ie st to drillboth h ubs toge th e r. Th e n coun-
pin. te rs ink th e h oles s o th e s crew h e ads w il
lbe fl us h w ith th e
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
ign-
ing 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 ly w h e n fab-
ricating th e bl ade s , th ey s h ould fit toge th e r fairl
y tigh tly. Th e re
s h ould 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 floor.
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 ctly.
Figure 40 - Putonl y one screw

Ce nte r one of th e birch
into e ach b l
ad e for initial h ubs ove r th e blade s and line up
alignm e nt. 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 you’llus e th e s m alldrillbit m e ntione d above in th e ce nte r h ol
e . It’s 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 floor 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 old it alltoge th e r just tigh tly
e nough to al low you to m ak e m ore pre cis e adjust-
m e nts in alignm e nt.
Us e a tape m e as ure and m e as ure th e distance
from tip to tip be tw e e n
th e th re e blade s , as
de m onstrate d in Fig-
ure 42. You’l lbe abl e
Figure 42 - Al
igning th e b l
ad e s.
to m ak e s m all adjust-
m e nts be caus e th e re’s onl y one
s crew h ol ding e ach bl ade to th e
h ub. Ge t th e m fairly clos e (w ith -
in a q uarte r inch or s o) and th e n
Figure 43 - Fl
ip th e rotor ove r. put anoth e r s crew into e ach
blade to h old th e m in finalpos i-
tion.
Care fully turn th e rotor ove r as s h ow n in Figure 43.
M ount th e back pl yw ood h ub. Us e th e drillbit th rough th e ce n- Figure 44 - M ountth e b ack
te r and als o a s q uare to be s ure th e back h ub is both on ce nte r h ub .
and pe rfe ctly aligne d w ith th e fronth ub (Figure 44).
Rotate th e h ub s o th e s crew h oles are ce nte re d ove r
th e bl ade s , as s h ow n in Figure 45. Put a s crew th rough th e
back h ub into e ach bl ade . At th is point, if you neve r care to
dis as s e m ble th e rotor again be fore instal ling it on th e al-
te rnator you could put allth e s crew s in. W e pre fe r to ge t
eve ryth ing drilled out and re ady, th e n dis as s e m ble
eve ryth ing and put finis h onto e ach part s e parate l y. For
th at re as on w e onl y put tw o s crew s into e ach blade . An as -
Figure 45 - R otate and al
ign th e s e m bl e d bl ade s e t is al s o difficult to trans port, s o if you
screw h ol
e s. m ust drive th e blade s to your s ite it m igh t be w is e to do
th e finalas s e m bl y on s ite .
Us e th e front ste e lblade h ub (th e 6 inch diam e te r dis k cut
from 1/4 inch th ick ste e l, drilled out w ith four h oles on a 4
inch diam e te r to fit th e w h e e lh ub, s h ow n in Figure 46) as a
te m pl
ate for drilling out th e h oles in th e bl ade for m ounting.
You coul d also just lay th e h ol e s out care fully by h and, but it’s
m uch e as ie r to us e a te m plate th at you can ce nte r on th e
blade s . D rill th e h oles for th e alte rnator studs th rough th e
Figure 46 - Frontste e lh ub blade as s e m bly w ith a 9 /16 inch dril lbit.
use d as a d ril
ling te m pl
ate .
W ood s crew s alone w il l h old
th e bl ade s toge th e r fine , but w e al s o lik e to dril
ls ix 5/16 inch
h oles th rough th e as s e m bl y s o th at tw o 5/16 inch bolts can be in-
stalled th rough e ach bl ade , s q ue e zing th e “s andw ich ” toge th e r.
Th is w il lbe com e m ore cl e ar in l ate r im age s of th e as s e m bly. It
is s h ow n in Figure 47.
Turn th e blade s ove r and Figure 47 - Drilling h oles
e for extra carriage b olts.
us e a 2-1/2 inch diam e te r h ol
s aw to cut a h ole th rough th e
back h ub, and allth e w ay th rough th e blade s (Figure 48).
D on’tcutth rough into th e fronth ub!
Disasse m b l
y and finish ing
You don’t
ne e d to dis as -
Figure 48 - Cutting th e ce nte r
cavity w ith a h ol
e saw . s e m ble th e rotor
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 l-
coate 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 e’ve 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 .
w h ole as s e m bly 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 ap-
pl y about four th ick coats of lins e e d oil. Afte r th is , it s h ould 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 lin-
s 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 Figure 50 - Carriage
b ol
ts in th e fronth ub .
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. You’l 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 t-
te 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 rly.
Put a w as h e r and a lock 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 you’llpullth 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 you’l 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 you’ve done th at, th e rotor is full y
as s e m ble d and re ady to m ounton th e w ind turbine !
11) Fitth e rotor to th e alte rnator

O nce you’ve as s e m bled th e blade s into a rotor, you Figure 52 - R e -asse m b ling th e rotor for
instal
lation.
can fit it to th e al te rnator. It’s be st to do th is afte r th e
m ach ine is on th e tow e r and w ire d to th e s yste m . Good practice is to turn th e stop s w itch on
(s h ortth e alte rnator) s o th e w ind cannots pin th e blade s w h ile you installth e m .
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 t-
e ning. Th e w ood in th e blade s w il l‘crus h ’ s ligh tly, and it tak e s a few tim e s around to ge t
th ings re all y tigh t. W e don’t 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, it’s 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 arly turbine m ainte nance . Be s ure to re ad th ats e ction, be low .
12) Balance th e blade s

O nce th e blade s are faste ne d tigh tl y to th e al te rnator allyou h ave left to do is bal ance
th e m . W e do th is on th e tow e r stub in l ow e re d pos ition, and it m ust be done on a day
w ith out m uch w ind. To bal ance th e bl ade s you s h ould h ave s om e w ood s crew s , s om e lead
w e igh ts , s cis s ors (or tin s nips ) to cut th e lead if ne e de d, and a cordles s s crew drive r. W e us u-
all y us e ‘de coy w e igh ts’— th e s e are th e lead strips h unte rs us e to w e igh t dow n de coys (fak e
duck s and ge e s e us uall y), and th ey are available at s porting goods store s . O th e rw is e , l e ad
flas h ing or s h e e t of any k ind is fine . Som e tim e s w h e n w e
can’t find lead w e us e ste e lbar stock . It’s fine too, it’s just lar-
ge r for any give n w e igh t.
First m ak e s ure th e stop s w itch is ‘off’ (th e alte rnator
output w ire s are not s h orte d toge th e r) s o th at th e alte rnator
turns fre e ly. Th e blade s w il
lfind a re sting point s uch th at th e
h e avie st part com e s dow n to th e 6 o’cl ock pos ition (Figure
53). Tak e note of th e h e avy part and rais e it up to 3 o’clock ,
th e n us e one w ood s crew and ligh tl y attach a w e igh t at 9
o’clock , oppos ite th e h e avy s ide . Th e w e igh ts s h oul
d be loc-
ate d at or ne ar th e h ub. D o not add w e igh t too far out on th e
blade s . W e neve r put w e igh t on th e ‘carve d’ parts of th e
blade s , onl y th e face s or
e dge s ne ar th e h ub (Fig-
Figure 53 - Bal ancing th e ure 54).
blad 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 it’s 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 Figure 54 - Th e tw o re com m e nd e d
s e e m to h ave a h e avy s ide or a ‘pre fe rre d’ pos ition. positions for attach ing b alancing
w e igh ts to th e b l
ad e s.
13) R ais e th e w ind tu rbine
At th is point you s h oul d h ave it alltoge th e r! If you’ve gotte n th is far w e h ave to as s um e
you’ve gone th rough th e 12 ste ps above , built a good tow e r, te st rais e d it, adjuste d th e guy
w ire s , e tc...butgoing ove r itallone m ore tim e neve r h urts !
Be fore raising th e turb ine , it’s good practice to run th rough a finalch e ck l
ist:
1. Syste m w iring to control ler and batte ry bank com plete , bre ak e r turne d on.
2. Sh utdow n s w itch in on (s h orte d) pos ition to preve ntblade s from turning.
3. 3-ph as e plug attow e r bas e is plugge d in.
4. All3 ph as e w ire s conne cte d to stator.
5. Yaw be aring, tailbe aring, and m ain s h aftbe aring gre as e d.
6. Stator is ce nte re d be tw e e n th e m agne trotors and doe s n’trub w h e n rotors turn.
7. Al lnuts and bolts on turbine and rotor tigh te ne d.
8. Alltow e r h ardw are doubl e ch e ck e d (guy w ire cl
am ps , turnbuck les , e tc).
9 . 2– 3 h um an h e lpe rs rounde d up, s obe r and noth ung ove r too badl y.
If eve ryth ing l ook s tigh t, prope rl

y adjuste d, and bal ance d, it’s tim e to cl e ar pe ople and
dogs out of th e ‘fal lzone’— th at’s anyw h e re in th e circle around th e tow e r bas e at a radius of
th e tow e rs h e igh t. If you h ave gue sts th at are not active ly h e lping, k e e p th e m far aw ay from
th e fallzone w ith th e ir cam e ras . Th is is no tim e to be distracte d, by anyone . H ope ful l
y, you
alre ady k now exactl y h ow th is proce dure goe s be caus e you’ve first obs e rve d an expe rt rais e a
tow e r, and th e n te st rais e d your ow n and adjuste d th e guy w ire s . So th is proce dure s h ould go
lik e clock w ork for you and your crew , be caus e you’ve al re ady done it be fore in te st rais ing
your tow e r!
10. Sl ow l y and ge ntl y rais e th e tow e r w ith your

w inch , tractor or truck . Ch e ck al l guy w ire s ,
turnbuck le s , e tc. and tigh te n if ne e de d.
Turn iton!
Figure 55 - Pre paring to raise th e w ind
O nce you’ve e re cte d th e turb ine .
tow e r w ith th e w ind turbine
on it you can turn th e k ill
s w itch off and h ope for s om e bre e ze ! If you’ve done eve ryth ing cor-
re ctly it s h ould start up in ve ry l ow w inds and be producing us able
pow e r in 6 or 7 m ph w inds . Th e bl ade s s h ould be alm ost com plete l
y
s ilent, h ow eve r th e al
te rnator w illus ually m ak e a ‘h um m ing’ s ound
once curre ntstarts to fl ow .
Figure 56 - Al
m ostup!
Troub l
e sh ooting
In th is s e ction w e’llgo ove r s om e of th e problem s w e’ve
s e e n in th e past and th e ir pos s ible 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
don’t 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 ). It’s good to pay atte ntion! W ith a w ind
Figure 57 - Itfl
ie s! turbine , w h e n one th ing fails it can ofte n lead to oth e r failure s .
It’s 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.
I’ve 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 or-
te 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 (don’t 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 ly). If it turns th e n th e problem is l ik e l
y
th e re ctifie r. If it’s 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 ey’re not w e llfinis h e d and can abs orb w ate r.
Th e b lad e s spin re al
ly fast and m ak e a w h oosh ing sound and I’m 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 con-
ne 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 you’ve 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 I’m 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 le ad
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 r-
s 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 ly 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 sn’tstartup 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 ro-
tors ) w h e n you e re cte d th e m ach ine . It’s pos s ibl e th at s om e of th e h ardw are h olding 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 l‘w ork ing’ and m ak ing
pow e r, you m igh t be able to re -adjust it— but odds are you’llne 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 lp 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 ) could 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 als 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 t-
is 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 gu-
larly. W ind turbine s are nota ‘s e tand forge t’ device lik e s olar pane ls!
It’s b e e n col
d and w e’ve 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 n’t do it, try
s e nding it up anoth e r ph as e . D on’t leave pow e r applie d to any one ph as e for too long (you
don’t 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 ly
q uick and e as y. W e’ve 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 . It’s 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 ly 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 fly 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 !
It’s b e e n m ak ing sque ak y noise s l
ik e an irritate d h am ste r, and is not turning as w e l
l
into th e w ind as itsh oul d.
H ope full y you put a bus h ing be tw e e n th e tow e r top and th e turbine its e lf. If it’s m ak -
ing nois e or h ard to yaw you s h ould low e r th e tow e r, ch e ck th e bus h ing and appl y m ore
gre as e to th e tow e r stub.
I re al
ly d on’th ave tim e for al
lth is— I th ink I’d rath e r justgo fish ing.
Sorry! W ind turbine s tak e q uite a bit m ore w ork to installand m aintain th an do s olar
pane ls th at you can just s e t and forge t. W e are h oping th at our custom e rs w il
ldow nload and
re ad th is m anualbe fore purch as ing or buil ding a w ind turbine , to ge t an ide a of w h at th ey
are in for.
Th e al
te rnator m ak e s a ‘h um m ing sound ’ b utitse e m s to b e rath e r l
oud and itrattl
e s.
Som e tow e r de s igns m ay ‘am plify’ th e s ound of th e alte rnator, e s pe ciall
y if you us e
th in w alled tubing or h ave l oos e couplers be tw e e n pipe /tubing s e ctions . Anoth e r pos s ible
am plifie r for th e alte rnator is th e tailvane . If th e tailvane is loos e it m ay act as a ‘s ound
board’ for th e alte rnator. Ch e ck to m ak e s ure th e tailvane is bolte d on tigh tl y, and if you
w ant furth e r ins urance , you can appl y caul
k be tw e e n th e tailvane and allth e ste e lpipe /bar
stock th atitcom e s in contactw ith .
W h at's th e d iffe re nce b e tw e e n your “h e avy d uty” al
te rnator d e sign and th e re gul
ar
one ?
Th e H D m ach ine h as m ore m agne tic m ate rialin th e rotors (large r m agne ts ) and is
w ound w ith m uch low e r re s istance . Th is re duce s th e los s e s (h e at) in th e stator s ignificantl y
but in m any cas e s it w illstallth e blade s in h igh e r w inds unl e s s s om e re s istance is adde d to
th e line (us ual ly be tw e e n th e re ctifie r and th e batte ry). W e lik e to us e th is H D arrange m e nt
in place s th at ge t s ustaine d h igh w inds , as it re duce s th e ch ance of a stator burnout. Th e H D
m ach ine is also m ore s uitable in s ituations w h e re th e turbine m ust be a gre at distance from
th e batte ry, as long w ire runs ofte n add th e re s istance ne ce s s ary to m atch th e al te rnator to
th e blade s . Th e H D ve rs ion is also w h atw e re com m e nd for m ost12 voltpow e r s yste m s .
In l ow w ind s eve ryth ing se e m s
quite good , b ut in h igh e r w ind s th e
m ach ine te nd s not to spe e d up
m uch and it’s not prod ucing as
m uch pow e r as I’d h ope d .
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
Figure 58 - Efficie ncy d iffe re nce s b e tw e e n th e re gul
ar be tw e e n th e alte rnator and th e w ind
al te rnator d e sign (Al
te rnator 1) and th e h e avy d uty
d e sign (Alte rnator 2). turbine . Th is re s istance could s im pl y
be a long (or re lative l y th in) line be tw e e n th e turbine and th e batte rie s — s o th e s e m ach ine s are
m ore s uitable for pl acing s om e distance from th e batte ry bank . O r, you could add a re s istor
be tw e e n th e re ctifie r and th e batte rie s . Th e m inim um s ize re s istor s h ould be 500 w atts . You
could build th e re s istor from w ire , or purch as e it. For 48 volt s yste m s , if th ey are stalling
s ignificantl y— w e s ugge st you start w ith 1 oh m . For 24V s yste m s , 1/4 oh m is a good place to
start. In s om e cas e s , if th e l ine is ve ry s h ort and th e batte ry vol tage is ve ry l ow you m ay ne e d
tw ice as m uch re s istance in th e line . In m ost cas e s , les s is ne e de d. W e onl y build 12 vol t
m ach ine s w ith th e m ore e fficie nt alte rnator, and w e do not s ugge st you add re s istance to a 12
volt m ach ine . Us uall y th e incre as e d los s e s in th e re ctifie rs and th e re st of th e s yste m m ak e th e
h e avy duty al te rnator a good m atch at12V, as is .
If you’re uns ure and w ant to expe rim e nt, you m igh t try to ge t a 100 foot rollof #14-3
Rom ex® w ire (or an exte ns ion cord). 300 fe e t of 14 gage w ire is a bit l e s s th an 1 oh m , s o you
can buil d a ‘te st’ re s istor by h ook ing s ingle strands w ith in th e cord in e ith e r s e rie s or parallel
to com e up w ith ‘re s istors’ of about 1 oh m , 2/3 oh m or 1/3 oh m . Th is w ould be for te sting
onl y— if it's coiled up, it coul d ge t q uite h ot if it’s s itting in a tigh t coil. Again: a w ind turbine
th at stall y can be a good th ing. It w il
s s ligh tl lrun s low l y and q uie tl
y, and you’l llik e l
y not los e
allth at m uch e ne rgy ove ral l, be caus e th e problem m ostl y exists in h igh e r w inds . A pe rfe ctl y
tune d m ach ine w illrun faste r w ith a bit m ore nois e , s o th e re are pros and cons to letting
th ings run a bit too s low ve rs us ach ieving th e ‘pe rfe ction’ of a h ot rodde d w ind turbine ! You
could ge t l ots m ore pow e r, but it’llbe l oude r and it w on't l ast as l ong. For m ost fol ks
‘re as onabl e’ pe rform ance is good e nough — pe ace , q uie t, and re liabil ity are m ore th an
w e lcom e .
R e gul
ar m ainte nance
As w e’ve trie d to pound into your h e ad re pe ate dl y th rough out th is ow ne r’s 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 follow th e m ainte nance s ch e dul e outline 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 auto-
m atic control le 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 you’llne 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.
Six m onth s afte r you e re ctth e turb ine :
- Low e r th e tow e r (or clim b a non-tilting tow e r), and firm l y re -tigh te n allth e bolts and
nuts th ath old toge th e r th e blade s and alte rnator.
- If you us e d lins e e d oilto finis h th e blade s and tail,re -apply it in anoth e r th ick coat or
tw o.
- Ch e ck allguy w ire anch ors , turnbuck les and cable clam ps .
Ye arl
y or eve ry six m onth s:
- Low e r th e tow e r, (or cl im b a non-tilting tow e r), and ch e ck al lth e bol ts and nuts th at
h old toge th e r th e blade s and alte rnator. Re -tigh te n as ne e de d.
- Appl y m ore l ins e e d oilfinis h to th e blade s , w oode n h ubs , and tailvane .
- Ch e ck al lguy w ire anch ors , turnbuck les and cable clam ps .
- Re fre s h th e gre as e on th e yaw be aring and tailpivot be aring. Gre as e th e m ain
be aring if ne e de d. To do th is , re m ove th e cotte r pin on th e m ain be aring, re m ove th e
m ain be aring nut and w as h e r, and appl y axle gre as e libe rally to th e be arings . Put th e
nut back and ge t it re as onabl y tigh t, th e n back it off untilyou can ins e rt th e cotte r
pin. O nce th e cotte r pin is in, back th e nut off as m uch as th e cotte r pin all ow s . You
do notw antth is nuttigh t, th atw oul d m ak e th e alte rnator too h ard to turn.
Al
w ays:
- Re gularl y ch e ck your pe ndant cable for tw isting. If tw iste d, unplug it at th e tow e r
bas e w h e n th e w ind is not bl ow ing, untw ist, and pl ug it back in. You s h ould h ave an
indication of h ow ofte n th is is ne e de d by m onitoring it clos e l y for th e first m onth
th e w ind turbine is fl ying.
- Liste n for strange s ounds th at m igh t indicate a probl e m starting to h appe n. If you
catch and fix probl e m s righ t aw ay, no dam age is us uall y done to th e turbine . If you
let th e probl e m s ge t w ors e , th ey can caus e oth e r problem s — an ‘eve nt cas cade’ th at
can lead to totalfailure .
- M onitor your pow e r output— a big ch ange in itcould indicate a grow ing problem .
- W atch th e turbine — if s om e th ing s e e m s to run w obbl y or just doe s n’t s e e m ‘righ t,’
th e turbine probabl y ne e ds adjustm e nt. You can eve n us e binoculars to ch e ck for
loos e nuts and bolts and th e lik e .
- Enjoy th e fact th at you are m ak ing e lectricity for your pow e r s yste m us ing th e fre e
‘fue l’ of th e w ind!
Al
te rnator ad justm e nts:
M ost alte rnator adjustm e nts can be m ade by re -pos itioning th e stator be tw e e n th e
m agne t rotors . Th is m igh t be ne e de d if th e stator m ount loos e ns or ge ts out of
w h ack , or if th e m agne t rotors start s craping against th e stator. H ow eve r, in rare
cas e s you m ay ne e d to re m ove th e front m agne t rotor to re pl ace th e stator— for
exam pl e if you are upgrading your pow e r s yste m to a diffe re nt voltage , or if th e
stator be com e s dam age d. D o not try to re m ove th e front m agne t rotor w ith out first
contacting us for m ore inform ation! Th is proce dure re q uire s s pe cialtool s called
“jack ing s crew s ” to force th e m agne t rotors apart. It's also s om ew h at dange rous ,
your finge rs could be crus h e d be tw e e n th e m agne t rotors , w h ich w ill be ve ry
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 als 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 it’s true th at th is w ind turbine de s ign w il lautom atically 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 ly 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 gularly 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, it’s 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 at’s in any w ay
conne cte d to l ive e lectricalw ire s — it's us ually 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
Force fie ld
2606 W Vine D r
FortColl ins , CO 80521
(9 70) 484-7257 or (tollfre e in US) (877) 9 44-6247
"W ind Pow e r - R e new ab l e Ene rgy for H om e , Farm and Busine ss" by PaulGipe .
Th e bibl e of w ind pow e r, from s m alls yste m s to utility-s cale m ach ine s .
Ch e lse a Gre e n Publis h ing Co.
P.O . Box 428
W h ite R ive r Junction, VT 05001
(802) 29 5-6300
H om e Pow e r M agazine . Th e be sth om e -s cale re new abl

e e ne rgy m agazine outth e re .
w w w .h om e pow e r.com
H om e Pow e r m agazine
PO Box 520
As h land, O R 9 7520
541-512-0201 or (tollfre e ) 800-707-6585
Dive rsion l
oad control
le rs:
C-se rie s control le 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 available . 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
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
ls , 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 le ctronics suppl

ie rs:
w w w .am as ci.com /s uplie rs .h tm l
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
Cle an Ene rgy Products

Box 9 413
Be nd, O R 9 7708
(206) 9 53-4039
W ind turb ine tow e r k its:

Be rgey W indPow e r Co.
w w w .be rgey.com
2200 IndustrialBl vd.
Norm an, O k 73069
(405) 364-4212
South w e stW indpow e r

w w w .w inde ne rgy.com
1801 W . Route 66
Fl agstaff, AZ 86001 USA
9 28-779 -9 463
ID C Solar
w w w .idcs ol
ar.com
PO Box 630
Ch ino Valley, AZ 86323 USA
(9 28) 636-9 864
W e h igh l
y re com m e nd talking to th e folks in Sturge on Bay be low about tow e r k its !
Th ey can also fabricate tow e r-top stubs for you:
Lak e M ich igan W ind and Sun
w w w .w indands un.com
1015 County R d U
Sturge on Bay W I 54235-8353
9 20.743.0456
Inde pe nde ntPow e r Syste m s (IPS)

w w w .s olarips .com
1501 Le e H illR d #19
Boulde r, CO 80304
303-443-0115
Th e Ene rgy D e potInc.
w w w .e ne rgyde pot.ca
16650 Jane St.
Ke ttleby O N L0G-1J0 Canada
9 05-760-7511
AbundantRe new abl e Ene rgy LLC

w w w .abundantre .com /tow e rs .h tm
22700 NE M ountain Top Road
New be rg, O re gon 9 7132
(503) 538-829 8 or (503) 883-1003 (Sales )
Earth anch ors:

To s e e s om e typicalguy w ire anch ors , go to:
w w w .h ubbe ll
pow e rs yste m s .com /PO W ERTEST/ch ance /e arth _ anch ors .h tm l
To find a distributor ne ar you, go to:

w w w .abch ance .com /ch _ dist.h tm l
R igging (w ire rope , cab l

e cl
am ps, turnb uck l
e s, th im b l
e s, e tc.):
W e b R igging Suppl y, Inc
w w w .W e bR iggingSuppl y.com
27W 9 66 Com m e rcialAve .
Lak e Barrington, IL 60010
(877) 744-4461 or (847) 304-4550
Lattice tow e rs, b oth fre e stand ing and guye d :

w w w .critical
tow e rs .com /
Sandow n W ire l ess
P.O .Box 564
EastH am pste ad, NH 03826
866-379 -8437 or 603-9 74-0725
Inte rne td iscussion on b uil

d ing w ind turb ine s:
W e h igh l
y re com m e nd ch e ck ing outour h om e brew e ne rgy dis cus s ion board at:
w w w .fie l
dl ine s.com
H e re you'l lfind 10,000+ pe opl e from allove r th e w orld inte re ste d in do-it-yours e lf
re new abl e e ne rgy s yste m s . M any us e rs are active l
y building and fl
ying th e ir ow n w ind
turbine s — ranging from m ach ine s s im ilar to w h at w e build to giant one s , tiny one s ,
and s om e de s igns th at w e coul d onl y call'exotic!' W e llw orth ch e ck ing out, and a
gre atonline com m unity.

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10-footAxialFl ux W ind

w w w .oth e rpow e r.com

Allrigh ts re s e rve d. No part of th is pu blication m ay be re produ ce d, s tore d in a

Auth ors: D an Bartm ann and D an Fink

W h atd id you justb uy or b uil

W h atparts are w h ich , and w h y 10

W h atyou ne e d to d o b e fore your w ind turb ine is re ad y to fl

W h atparts are w h ich , and w h y

Th is prote ction s yste m (cal l

TailVane (Figu re 7, be low )

W h atyou ne e d to d o b e fore your w ind

Figure 11 - 3-ph ase re ctifie r b uil

4) Bre ak e r and controll

Purch ase a tow e r, or d e sign and b uil

Gove rnm e ntord inance s

Tilt-up tow e rs give you th e h uge advantage

Tow e r b ase and h inge

Guy w ire anch ors

W ire rope and h e avy h ard w are

Figure 40 - Putonl y one screw

11) Fitth e rotor to th e alte rnator

12) Balance th e blade s

If eve ryth ing l ook s tigh t, prope rl

10. Sl ow l y and ge ntl y rais e th e tow e r w ith your

I’ve 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

Ground ing and l

Both of th e s e book s are avail

H om e Pow e r M agazine . Th e be sth om e -s cale re new abl

M orningstar also m ak e s an exce ll e nt controller th at w ork s ve ry w e l

North w e stPow e r Co, LLC

Th e s e folks are al s o full-l

M ECI Liq uidation O utlet

A gre atd ire ctory of surpl us e le ctronics suppl

Cle an Ene rgy Products

W ind turb ine tow e r k its:

South w e stW indpow e r

Inde pe nde ntPow e r Syste m s (IPS)

AbundantRe new abl e Ene rgy LLC

Earth anch ors:

To find a distributor ne ar you, go to:

R igging (w ire rope , cab l

Lattice tow e rs, b oth fre e stand ing and guye d :

Inte rne td iscussion on b uil

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