Make: Noise — Discuss this article

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• I'm a bit confused...
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  It sounds like you use an 85-watt wind generator and a 100-watt solar panel for 185 watts total to power your entire home, including a tv, power tools, laptop computer, lights, etc. How is this possible?

  Posted by Curtster on May 24, 2006 at 20:23:35 Pacific Time

• I'm a bit confused...
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  We store the energy from the solar panel and wind generator into batteries in a 12 volt bank. Then, we use our appliances off of the battery bank. Each day we get about 800 watt-hours off of the solar panel (100 watts X 8 hours) and about half that with the wind generator. So, that gives us a daily total of about 1200 watt-hours.
  
  Our appliances are very conservative. Our lights are Compact Flourescent, 12 volt models. We use 12 volt where ever possible to save on inverter use and losses.
  
  

  Posted by velacreations on May 25, 2006 at 15:58:48 Pacific Time

• I'm a bit confused...
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  Posted by pensign on May 09, 2007 at 07:57:19 Pacific Time

• I'm a bit confused...
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  who the <bleep> are you?

  Posted by jklmn on November 16, 2007 at 23:06:33 Pacific Time

• Making bike power wiring question
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  I enjoyed the article very much and have modified the wind to bike power. Using the article I cannot figure out some important battery wiring questions. I have the positive wire from the generator with with diode and voltage regulator running to the + of the battery and - generator to - of battery. I want to run an inverter off the battery. I assume I run a parallel circuit with the + of the inverter to the + of the battery and - to -. Is this correct?
  

  Posted by myleg on April 27, 2006 at 09:34:00 Pacific Time

• Making bike power wiring question
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  Put a volt meter on your motor and spin it to make sure you have things wired up correctly. With the wind generator, you have to switch the motor wires around, so that the red is going to neg and the black is going to pos.
  
  With an inverter, yes just wire in parallel to the batt pos and neg and you should be ok. Remember to fuse everything. Good Luck!

  Posted by velacreations on April 27, 2006 at 09:43:01 Pacific Time

• IMPORTANT BLADE INFORMATION
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  NOTE: THE MAKE MAGAZINE ARTICLE SHOWS THE BLADES BEING CUT FOR A CW ROTATION. IF YOU ARE USING THE TREADMILL MOTOR MENTIONED IN THE ARTICLE PLEASE CUT THE BLADES PER THE WEBSITE INSTRUCTIONS LOCATED AT:
  http://www.velacreations.com/chispito.html
  
  Your wind generator should turn counter-clockwise looking at it from the front.

  Posted by velacreations on April 04, 2006 at 18:29:45 Pacific Time

• Photos and illustrations may be reversed
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  I cut my blades per the diagram and photos in Make, however the illustrations are for a clockwise rotation. (The authors website shows correct method for CCW.) If you are using a motor with a hub that unscrews CCW then you are OK in cutting as per article. If you purchased the same motor as in the article then the hub unscrews CW and you have to reverse the cuts shown in the article or your hub could unscrew.

  Posted by Make1 on April 04, 2006 at 07:22:30 Pacific Time

• Photos Reversed In Make?
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  It looks to me that the photos in the magazine, especially those that illustrate the blade assembly process, are mirrored. The pics on page 96 and 97 don't seem to make sense--you want the leading edge (the one with the angle) toward the right, not the left (if you're facing the hub from the front).

  Posted by RonNelsonII on April 03, 2006 at 08:28:58 Pacific Time

• Photos Reversed In Make?
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  The authors apparently didn't think it was important to send an errata to the magazine. There is a post on their forum about the Make article being wrong (depends on the motor you bought)If you reverse the cuts in fig. 2 to 20% form the bottom of the left side and 80% from the top left and vice versa on the right side then you should have CCW rotation blades. The treadmill motors in the article have a flywheel the unscrews CW so you indeed need to go opposite unless you want the wheel to fly off. oddly enough, the photo of the completed project on pg. 90 looks correct.

  Posted by Make1 on April 04, 2006 at 07:31:20 Pacific Time

• Chispito Wind Generator Kits
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  We now have a few of these little wind generators put together, and we are offering them for sale. They are basic 100 watt machines. They are easy to build, fix, and maintain. We are offering the assembled machine for $250, with free shipping, a multi-meter, stop switch, and fuse.
  
  http://www.velacreations.com/store.html
  
  We are also offering the bare-bones kit which comes with everything you need to get started, except for the mount and tail. These are being sold for $95, including shipping, multi-meter, stop switch, and fuse.
  http://www.velacreations.com/store.html
  
  We have the plans available for free, so if you can salvage the parts, make a Chispito Wind Generator: http://www.velacreations.com/chispito.html
  

  Posted by velacreations on March 18, 2006 at 07:02:05 Pacific Time

• Hazardous toy
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  This design makes no provision for shutting itself down in high winds. The blades will fly off at high speed and kill someone. I think it's irresponsible to publish this.

  Posted by JeffBarlow on February 28, 2006 at 10:00:08 Pacific Time

• Hazardous toy
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  We recommend you use a shunt type charge controller to brake the wind generator when your batteries are full. There are many of these types of controllers on the market, and you can even make one yourself with some basic MOSFET's or relays. The best controller for a wind generator is a dump-load controller that "dumps" the excess electricity when your batteries are full into a useful appliance, like a water heater. This type of controller will help keep a load on the generator and prevent over-spinning.
  
  We also recommend a stop switch, which is a single-pole, double-throw switch that disconnects the wind generator and shorts it out, to slow it down in case of emergencies or repair.
  
  Wind generators are definitely not toys, but with proper care and detail, they can be made safe to work with. Please refer to our safety guidlines at http://www.velacreations.com/safety.html
  for a general safety overview. Always use common sense.
  
  
  

  Posted by velacreations on February 28, 2006 at 17:43:06 Pacific Time

• lightning protection?
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  The article seems to ignore the universal problem with outdoor electrical equipment, especially mast-mounted: lightning.
  
  

  Posted by baker@fsu on February 28, 2006 at 04:03:07 Pacific Time

• Having Trouble Finding the Parts?
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  We have put together two kits for the Chispito Wind Generator featured in Make 5. One is a completely assembled model, the other is a bare-bones kit with the hard-to-find parts. Please visit our store for more information at http://www.velacreations.com/store.html
  
  We have also updated the Chispito Wind Generator Manual located at http://www.velacreations.com/chispito.html
  

  Posted by velacreations on February 27, 2006 at 09:55:21 Pacific Time

• Twisting Wires
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  We have found that for the most part, wind is usually coming out of one or two directions most of the time. Because of this, the wind generator rarely twists 360 degrees or more. It is a good idea to either wrap the wires around the square tubing or put in a cable clamp to hold the wires and prevent any sort of potential damage to the bridge rectifier. We have never had a problem with the wires twisting up, but you could also put a plug at the bottom of the pole and periodically check on the wires, and untwist them if necessary. For bigger machines, most people use fine-stranded welding cable as their wires running down the pole. This type of wire can prevent untwist the generator if it gets wound up too tight.
  
  As for the nipple and floor flange, this is just a swivel mechanism for the generator. The tower pole is actually supporting the square tubing, and the floor flange and 2" nipple keep the mount on top of the pole. The whole assembly slips over the top of the tower pole.
  
  For a better description of wire types, twisting issues, and mounts, see what many others have done at otherpower.com.

  Posted by velacreations on February 13, 2006 at 12:01:41 Pacific Time

• Twisting Wires
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  Sorry the URL didn't display all the way. Let me try again.
  Posted by MacGyver4 on April 11, 2006 at 06:18:37 Pacific Time

• Twisting Wires
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  Still nothing. 1 last try:
  
  
  Hope that works

  Posted by MacGyver4 on April 11, 2006 at 06:21:58 Pacific Time

• Twisting Wires
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  I would suggest building a scaled up version of a commutator.
  Like the design using brushes for this electric motor
  http://www.gearseds.com/curriculum/images/figures/web_met_armature_and_brushes.jpg
  
  The generator would be able to rotate 360 degrees all day long and never twist the cables.
  
  

  Posted by MacGyver4 on April 11, 2006 at 06:16:36 Pacific Time

• Wind Generator Article
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  Just a question about what prevents the wires from twisting to the breaking point or even the generator from unscrewing itself from the post as the generator turns to follow the wind? The pivot at the top of the post appears to be a threaded flange that could unscrew as the generator turned. This would also twist the wires that run down the post.

  Posted by Rogers on February 13, 2006 at 06:04:38 Pacific Time

• Wind Generator Article
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  The cables don't seem to be a problem 'winding' up inside the pipe. I haven't done this, but I had the same question that you did.
  
  See: http://www.otherpower.com/otherpower_wind_tips.html#slip
  
  Or search on slip rings / Pendant Cable.

  Posted by Kramerica on March 28, 2006 at 04:44:21 Pacific Time

• Wind Generator Article
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  I built a wind generator per
  the instructions in the article.
  
  I believe we were decieved by the
  authors regarding the overall price
  of the project and the performance
  of the motor as a generator.
  
  The only "mistake" that appeared
  to be corrected after the article
  was published was the rotation
  direction. But that was not the
  only mistake.
  
  In hindsight, it actually sounds
  like someone came across a pallet
  of useless treadmill motors and
  wanted to pedal them for $30-$50
  each on eBay.
  
  Such a task is difficult, unless
  you are clever. This is how they
  seemed to do it.
  
  I first speculate that the
  proud owner of that pallet
  of useless motors either by himself
  or with some help published an
  article in a popular magazine
  (which appeared to "legitimize" it)
  and on the internet (don't
  believe everything you read on
  the internet).
  
  That article explained that the
  motors were not only ideal for
  this wind-turbine applicaction,
  but were only $10 each!
  
  Enthusiastic hobbyists all over
  the world may have thought it
  sounded great!
  
  If fact, that article created
  an artificial "demand" for those
  motors.
  
  The only problem is that it doesn't
  work as advertised, and it costs
  a lot more than one might suspect.
  
  Here's my story.
  
  I went to the local hardware stores
  and tried to buy 2' of 8" PVC. They
  just laughed at me.
  
  The smallest amount I could buy was
  20', and it cost $160.
  
  OK, so I thought, I'd buy it and
  make a bunch of them. After all,
  the motors were only $10, right?
  With twenty feet of PVC, I could
  make 90 blades (as described in
  the article).
  
  So, I went to buy five of the
  "ideal" $10 motors on surplus
  something dot something. They
  accepted money, but only later
  did they realize they didn't
  have any more motors.
  They returned my money and said
  sorry.
  
  We then noticed that the same motors
  began appearing on eBay, selling for
  $30+ each.
  
  And they appeared to be selling
  with an "eBay" advertised use of
  building the wind turbine per the
  article, not treadmill replacement
  motors, or whatever. Clever.
  
  So, instead of five, we bought
  only two of these motors from
  the eBay seller, $85 (including
  shipping).
  
  So, we put it all together and placed
  it in the wind. When it wasn't
  windy, for testing, it went into
  the bed of the pickup and down
  the road at 30MPH.
  
  Even when spinning really fast,
  it generates barely enough electricity
  to power a small flashlight.
  
  Even when the leads are shorted
  together, there is no braking.
  
  When spinning as fast as it can go,
  it outputs just under 12 Volts
  with a short circuit current
  (0 Volts) of about 1A maximum. There
  is no electromagnetic braking
  apparent.
  
  The way I see it, they either sold me
  two bum motors (the ones that don't
  act as generators), or the application
  of the motor as a generator is not
  good. (They work great as motors, so
  I know they are functioning.)
  
  If I am wrong, please set me straight.
  
  I have hundreds of dollars into this
  project and a bit of frustration, whereas the owner of that now-empty pallet of motors smiles all the way to the bank.
  
  My only recourse is to seriously
  doubt the reputation of the
  authors of that article.
  
  

  Posted by RSJ100 on July 02, 2006 at 11:29:37 Pacific Time

• Wind Generator Article
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  I am the author of this article, and I can say this post is completely wrong. We never sold anything on ebay related to these wind generators. We found our motors exactly as illustrated in the article, and we know of several hundred wind turbines made according to these plans that did not cost more than $75. This poster is obviously upset with his experience with making the wind generator, but that is not reason to try and discredit this article or our efforts.

  Posted by velacreations on February 17, 2009 at 12:07:03 Pacific Time

• Wind Generator Article
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  Thanks for this article, i would like to know, what is the answer of this...

  Posted by jp_2009 on February 16, 2009 at 13:50:31 Pacific Time