Small Wind Powered Generator

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As far back as I can remember, I've all ways wanted to make a wind generators.
My 1st and only attempt was back in high school, when I had built one using wooden blades and turning a bicycle generator.

So after getting hooked on Instructables .com and viewing other members wind mill projects, I've been on the lookout for DC motors and thinking of some ideas.

Then one night it hit me.... I had an old cordless drill that I was no longer using.
So after finding and disassembling the drill, is when the brainstorming began :)

The chuck tightens down perfectly on the gear that is attached to the motor, which this in turn provides a "hub" for a larger disk for the blades to be attached too . The
blades will have to spin in a clockwise direction to keep the chuck tight.
I cut in half a section of pipe that is slightly larger than the outside diameter of the friction bearings that are between the hub and the chuck. I then used an water hose
repair connector to hold the cut pipe halves around the friction bearings which also will provide support.
I attached the assembly to a plastic peg board.
After attaching the blades and hooking up a voltage meter, I took it outside in a very light wind.

The completed unit spins freely and the small DC motor does create a small amount of DC current.
I can/could install a bigger motor using the "chuck".

The day I mounted it atop a pole, a thunderstorm came up with high winds and the wind turbine handle it just fine.

After this "intro", I'll show my progress in "steps".

Step 1Step(s) after intro.....

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After getting the unit assemble/attached to the peg board, it fit perfectly inside an 10 oz coffee can

Step 2Mounting the unit

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I found an adjustable closet rod that I'll mount the assembled unit on to.

Step 3Up and going

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The wire is fed down through the rod and tubing and comes out near the base of the tubing.
With the turbine being painted in a camo scene, it almost isn't noticeable against the tree line.
I live in a low wind area, but it does spin in very light breezes.

Step 4Prep work for the larger motor

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The larger motor fits perfectly into the 10.5 oz coffee can. I cut the bottom off of the can and shoved thick packing foam between the motor and can, then put the plastic top on the bottom of the can
I put silicone around the top of the can and the front plate of the motor.
This motor being an high RPM motor, I'm afraid that it won't produce much more power.
But for $18 and $7 shipping, it's worth a try.

September 2011....
This motor was a flop!
It worked great as for fitting in the can, mounting to the mill and the chuck / blade assembly. But I was lucky to get .5 volts in a steady wind.

Step 5Larger motor up and spinning

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My son and I got the larger motor up and spinning sooner than I had planned.
Like I had mentioned in the previous step, this motor put out very little voltage.

Step 6On the farm

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After 6 weeks of watching it spin and weather through high winds from thunderstorms, I figured it was time to put the generator to use.
I have a solar LED lighting system at my parents farm house.
So I drove a metal fence post into the ground and then attached the windmill mast to the post.
Ran a old phone cord about 8' high from the mast to their front porch.
I soldered a blocking diode to a lead and then hooked the leads straight to one of the 12 volt dry cell batteries.
With the small amount of power that the motor/generator puts out, I figured it was OK to bypass the charge controller.
I shoved lots of extra wire back into the mast, in hopes that it would take a long time before the wire would get too twisted from turning into the wind(s).

Step 7Test model # 2

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Here are images to some ideas that I'm working on for my 2nd test model.
The chuck is from an old Dewalt (R) cordless drill.
I used 2 blocks of wood to secure the motor/generator inside the "U"  bolt.
The bearing is resting on a block of wood with a "key hole" drilled through, then the assembled unit is mounted to the board using the "U" bolt that is holding the motor. (lost the image)

The 6 blades are made from 3" PVC pipe, 18" long, mounted on a small metal disk.
They spin fast!

Covered the assembly with 3" PVC pipe and end caps.

Bolted a floor flange to the bottom of the board with an 1/2" X 10" pipe screwed into the flange.
Then the 1/2" pipe was slide into a 1" X 10' conduit.

The fin is made from a piece of scrap metal.

8/28/11
It almost hit 6 volts during a gust on a fairly breezy day

9/11/2011
I took this unit and hooked it up to the charge controller on the solar set up at my mom and dad house.

Step 8Geared

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This unit is using the chuck and geared hub from #1, just reversed.
The gear on the motor matched the gearing from the chuck/hub.
I mounted the motor and chuck/hub to a thin metal plate, then bolted the plate to the windmill.
I used 4" PVC pipe and caps to enclose the motor and chuck/hub.
I'll experiment with blade designs for both speed and torque.

10/03/2011
I installed 4 larger blades made from 4" x 2' PVC pipe.