Anyone using wind turbines for power?

gypsymama · #1 05/05/06, 11:20 AM

I have a lot of questions :

how well do they work?

what kind you would recommend?

how difficult is it to change to one of these?

will one do or is it better to get two?

Is there a way to measure the wind?

Can you change it's direction depending on where the wind is coming from?

We get a pretty good breeze and have open space for one.

Thanks

wy_white_wolf · #2 05/05/06, 01:02 PM

Go to the Alternative energy forum. There are a couple there.

gypsymama · #3 05/05/06, 04:13 PM

Thanks, will do.

thedonkeyman · #4 05/05/06, 09:56 PM

Have wanted to play with a design I have for a Wind Mill and use an alternator of an old truck to see if I could figure out how to make 12 volts. I could use some thoughts on this. The type of Wind mill is one of those kind that uses sail sleaves and a cable that goes all the way round. I thought I would use four sails 10 foot long. The sails are like pant legs, with the smallest ends up.

wilderness1989 · #5 05/05/06, 10:33 PM

You might search the Mother Earth magazine it seems to me that I remember the hippies back in the 1970's using car/truck alternators and they said they wore very out quickly.

woodspirit · #6 05/05/06, 10:57 PM

I would also check into RV places too. I've seen them on boats and campers.

Dahc · #7 05/06/06, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thedonkeyman

Have wanted to play with a design I have for a Wind Mill and use an alternator of an old truck to see if I could figure out how to make 12 volts. I could use some thoughts on this. The type of Wind mill is one of those kind that uses sail sleaves and a cable that goes all the way round. I thought I would use four sails 10 foot long. The sails are like pant legs, with the smallest ends up.

The alternator will have to have a permanent magnet conversion if that's what you want to use. If you're handy with tools and have 100-300$ laying around, you could build your own alt that would be much better suited to producing power from wind.

I would suggest this site and their forum . Between these two sites, you can learn just about anything you want to know about producing your own power from wind.