Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Build Three of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) from Cedar Wood Siding
Unknown11:47 AM

This is the third version of the vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) made from cedar siding lumber. It’s very close to the Lenz style of VAWTs. These type of wind turbines are fun to build. Lots of room for improvements and coming up with new ideas.
For example:
- the hubs with bearings, came from my portable generator. Had a handy grease spout that could easily be greased with a grease gun
- the struts for the scoop (Lenz style) of blades were extended to clear the garage door style generator
- Used boiled linseed oil to seal the wood parts. The stain lasts forever and works great against the sun
- Did a quick test on top of our house, but, nothing really happened. (The motor garage door motor was not hooked up) The wind is quite poor in our residential area. Plus, without the aid of mirrors or a surveillance system, it’s difficult to see it spin when it’s right on top of your house
- The VAWT was designed to be mounted on top of a tree a off-the-grid cabin
- At the moment, the garage door motor on it, but, it does not turn well with the belt-pulley system. The wind really needs to be blowing. I thinking about going the magnet and coil route
- Had to take it down after 5 days of testing. A certain neighbours started to ask questions and I didn't want the bylaw officer give me a ticket for having a structure on the roof.