A homemade wind generator is a great project to work on. Not only is it cheaper to build than buying a pre-made commercial version, but you also get to pick and choose the components that go into it. That gives you a high level of customization and you can build one that suits your needs.
The following are a series of videos by a company called Windy Nation (just click the link to see what they sell… it’s got good prices and excellent quality). The videos have terrible audio, but you’re definitely going to pick up a few tidbits here and there that will help you with building a wind generator.
*Note: I know the audio isn’t great, but the information is so try to ignore it
In the first video they talk about connecting the yaw bushing to the three phase slip ring. The yaw bushing is what allows your wind generator to circle around so that it can always be facing the wind and a slip ring prevents the wires from getting tangled up inside of the tower.
In the second video they talk about how to apply strain relief to your slip ring cabling. Many people don’t realize that fifty feet of wire that goes up a wind generator tower weighs a lot and it is constantly pulling down. Applying strain relief helps deal with this problem.
In the third video they discuss how to mount the slip ring and yaw bushing onto the wind generator tower. One of the nice things about the slip ring and yaw bushing that WindyNation has designed is the fact that the slip ring screws right into the yaw bushing and the yaw bushing fits snugly in schedule 80 pipe. That means no fiddling around trying to get things to fit.
Step four has the guys showing you how to mount the wind generator onto the tower. This step is recommended that you have a second person to help because you need to guide the wires from the slip ring up through the generator mount. A piece of string is extremely useful so you don’t have to do any fishing around.
Now it’s time to wire everything up and tighten everything up! In this video they show you how to tighten the strain relief up to make a watertight seal and than wire up the generator to the tower wiring.
In the next step the guys assemble the furling tail of the wind generator. This is what’s required in order for the wind generator to always point in the direction that the wind is blowing.
And now we come to the last step which is attaching the wind generator blades to the shaft of the generator. It’s a pretty simple process, but do make sure that you double check everything and ensure that it’s tight!
In a few short years the cost of building a homemade wind generator has dropped dramatically. No longer do you need to figure every single thing out yourself.
I personally recommend that you go check out everything that WindyNation offers (just click the link). For the most part they cater to wind generators, but recently they’ve started branching out into solar products as well.
The nice thing about the flood of DIY wind generator products that has hit the market in the past 2 years is the amount of flexibility that you have when choosing parts. It’s basically like a buffet and you figure out what you want and than go out and get all the parts.
I do need to make a note about the serious DIYer though. It has been common to use PVC blades in the past hooked up to an Ametek motor. While this does work whatever you do don’t use PVC blades. I’ve heard horror story after horror story about them snapping. If you’re looking to save money you can build everything yourself, but get a set of aluminum blades… you’ll be thankful that you did.
Building a homemade wind generator is well worth it considering that they’re so much cheaper than buying a commercial model.