A wind turbine recipe book

Inches and AWG edition for North American readers.
cover

"Your book on Wind Turbine Recipe Book was in the mail box and as soon as it was in my hands was reading in on the way back into the house. 
Lot better info on how to make the blades. 
Your progress in how to make the frame work simple but yet strong shows in this book."

Sample page below

Buy it here
Cost to buy direct from me (including shipping anywhere in the world) is roughly US$ 23 including shipping.

A Wind Turbine Recipe Book

This is the latest edition of my 'axial flux windmill plans' as used in the courses I teach worldwide.  The Recipe Book replaces my older plans 'How to Build a Wind Turbine' (2005).  During 2008 the Recipe book was only available in metric units but now a new 'English Units' edition is available that is written specifically for North American readers who prefer to use Inches and AWG sizes for wire.  It is based on the use of neodymium magnets sized 2" x 1" x 1/2" as available widely in North America.  Since then I have been actively updating and improving the details so the latest edition at the time of writing is late 2010.

The Recipe Book is a much better structured document than the older 2005 plans.  Rather than evolving 'organically' it is carefully planned to include six different sizes of turbines.  Each section offers general advice combined with specific dimensions and diagrams for each of these six sizes and a range of operating voltages.

I anticipate that there will be demand for the metric version in many countries world wide, because metric units of measure are actually easier to use, and many people do understand fractions of inches and AWG wire sizes.   I expect that there will be some ongoing demand for my older 2005 plans which contain many interesting ideas that I now consider obsolete, and work in both systems of measure.  But the 2009 Recipe Books represent my latest ideas for the simplest and most effective way to produce small wind turbines.

CONTENTS


Choosing what to do    4
    Be safe!    4
    How big?    4
    Diagram of a small wind system    4
    What can the wind turbine do?    4
        Load controllers    5
        Choosing battery voltage    5
        Battery types    6
    Why some popular ideas are not good ideas    6
        Car alternators    6
        Steel cores in the stator coils    7
        Multiple rotors and stators    7
        Vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs)    7
        Multi blade rotors    8
        Rooftop mounting    8
        Saving money off the electricity bill    8
        Mounting a wind turbine on a car to charge the battery    8
        Using a centrifugal clutch or brake to limit speed    9
        Building a duct    9
    What goes wrong with homebuilt wind turbines?    9
    Useful web pages for more information:    9
Tools    10
        Safety etc    10
        All-purpose tools    10
        For marking and measuring    10
        Electrical    10
        Resin preparation    10
        Steelwork    10
        Woodworking tools    10
Using the tools    11
        Cordless drill    11
        Screwdriver bits    11
        Measurements    11
        Vernier calipers    11
        Levels    11
        Compasses    11
        Multimeters    12
        Soldering technique    12
        Electric Arc welding    12
        Cutting steel    13
        Drilling    13
        Tapping a thread    13
        Wood saws    13
        Other wood cutting tools    14
        Sandpaper    14
        Power tools    14
Blades    15
    Parts of the blade    15
    Selecting the wood    15
    The blank shapes    16
    The trailing edge line    17
        Mark out the shape of the blade at each of six stations along its length .    17
        Carve away wood above the trailing edge line to create a new face    18
    Blade thickness    18
    Airfoil shape    19
    Hub assembly    20
        Cutting the 120 degree angles at the roots    20
        The plywood pieces that sandwich the blades.    20
        Marking out the holes in the plywood    20
    Assembling the blades    21
    Balancing    22
        Balancing in situ    22
        Fine balancing    22
        Alternative ways to balance the blades    22
        Balancing on a spike    23
        Dynamic balance    23
    Painting and finishing    23
Mechanics    24
    The yaw bearing    24
    The alternator    24
        Choosing a hub    24
        The magnet rotor disks    25
        Alternator frame    26
        Mounting the alternator to the yaw bearing    27
        3600 and 4200 turbines    29
    The tail    30
        The inclined hinge    30
        Tail boom    31
        Tail stops    32
Electrics    34
       Energy conversion    34
        Choosing wire size and number of turns per coil    34
        Stator wiring connections    35
        Three-phase stators    35
        Battery charging with DC    36
    The coils    36
        12-volt stators marked *    36
        Making the coil winder    37
        Winding the coils    38
        Connecting the coils    38
        12-volt stators    39
    The moulds    39
        The stator mould    39
        The 1200 stator mould    41
        The magnet rotor mould    41
        The magnet positioning jig    42
    Resin casting    43
        Casting the stator    43
        Casting the magnet rotor(s)    45
    Alternator assembly and testing    46
        Rotor mounting options    46
        Rotor mounting studs    47
        Assembly    47
        12-volt turbine rectifiers    48
        Testing the alternator    48
    Installation    49
        Wiring the batteries    49
        The rectifier and brake    49
        Meters    50
        Controller    50
        Inverter    50
    Commissioning the turbine    50
Guyed towers    51
    Wiring the tower    51
    Guyed tower pipe sizes    51
    Guy anchors    52
    Lifting the tower    53
        Taller towers    53
        Adjusting the guys    53
Alternator design    54
    Matching the blades    54
        Tip speed ratio (lambda l)    54
        Calculating the blade rotor rpm    54
        Blade power    54
        Calculating the output voltage vs. speed    54
    Wire sizes and power losses    55
        Size of wire to use    55
        Coil resistance    56
        Stator resistance    56
        Current and power loss    57
    Rectifier loss    57
    Efficiency    57
    Windspeed    57
    Stator cooling    57
    Estimating the rpm    57
        Blade speed at full power    58
    Exploring some design factors    59
        Magnet spacing    59
        The effects of speed    59
        The effects of system voltage on efficiency    59
        Varying the voltage with the speed    59
        High voltage transmission    59
Glossary    60
LIST OF USEFUL SUPPLIERS    62
MATERIALS REQUIRED FOR BUILDING THE WIND TURBINES    63

 sample page


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