Build a Wind Turbine from a Cordless Drill/Driver- v2.0 Unknown1:46 PM

Build a Wind Turbine from a Cordless Drill/Driver- v2.0

This video just covers the basics and like many of the Cedar Workshop videos, it's for learning and having fun. But, it could make a trickle battery charger, remote water pump or run some LED lights.

A neighbour gave me one of their 12 volt cordless drills. Eventually, the batteries lost their charge and  had to purchase a new battery from the hardware store. But, as usual, a newer model was on the shelves, this model of drill and battery was discontinued. After watching another video done be the Doug Daniels, I decided to take the drill apart and see if I could make a mini wind power generator. 

Started out removing the leads to the trigger, made a hub from a 4-1/2" v-belt pulley, attached blades, and ran some drill press tests. The factory gearing on the small DC motor presented some interesting results. To simulate a high speed wind turbine, the cordless drill was attached to a drill press running at 792 rpm. The results were interesting. The low (driver setting) produced 4+ amps and just over 18 volts, but was hard to turn. The high speed setting (for drilling) produced a low 6 volts and a dismal .8 amps. 

The next step is to mount it to a pole and get some real world feedback.

Enjoy!