SUPPORT IS NUMBER ONE AT KCK!
We launched this site April 30th, 2005, to address the problems
in many government agencies that discourage wind power; i.e. high
permit fees and requirements for licensed installers which dramatically
drives up the costs, when most folks with a basic electrical background
can very easily connect 2 wires to a battery and make a charge control circuit. Not a problem, especially
if you aren't trying to tie into the grid.
While the posts are looking rather naked as of the 'morning after' on May 1st,
over time she'll fill in nicely with your questions and answers.
Don't be shy; we look forward to your comments and posts
and thank you all for visiting.
Ay, twas good fate
that we set off to sea,
in search of fair wind for our sails.
And in those great battles
we grew to be men,
and they'll whisper our names
for all time immortal.
I beg 'Seize the Day!'
when the Earth needs us most,
whilst Governors bed down their Lass,
and speak from high thrones
mumbling great empty tones,
whilst wind power sits on her arse.
Now rustle ye a Genny!!
and carve ye a Prop!!!
Fear not those laws on the wind.
For the wind is thine mistress,
her golden hair blown!
Wind Pirates is dedicated to a growing body of knowledge
in the wind generator industry and a growing population
frustrated by the slow change of the politicians who
would prevent a family with a farm, a family with a plot or a
couple of renters in Toronto from erecting a wind
turbine and disconnecting from the utility grid at a price they
can afford and helping the environment along the way. Think about it: we all
need to chip in and what better way than to get all of your energy from wind?
Contrary to myths and scuttlebutt a family can do this for less than $5000.00 with just a few weekends of elbow grease and never pay a utility bill again.
Many communities encourage wind power through their government
agencies, permit, grants and rebate policies, but sadly, for most people
'large kit' wind generators are prohibitively expensive. Edu sites
like WindGenZen.com offer ways to make
it affordable, but often local governments discourage home built wind power
with laws that dramatically increase the expense of installing your own system.
If you ever wanted to deploy wind power and found the task, time
and money required to navigate big government a daunting prospect
indeed, fear not. As time passes we will add more information
to these pages until every politician is ready to sing from the
rafters:
WIND POWER IS WELCOME HERE
If you make, teach or install wind gen systems, or want info,
you are welcome here. You are all free to use the boards and chat and
get off the grid a.s.a.p.
While the online class at windgenzen.com
describes making blades using a power plane, I sometimes carve
them 'organic', without the use of fossil fuels, as Hugh is demonstrating
here with his use of a draw knife. There is magic to using a draw knife
and plane, scrapers and shapers to make a blade...pure magic; hence the
ZEN in WindGenZen's name.
The WindGenZen prop (left, tall mohogany 7 foot prop) are
simply gorgeous. For some folks, as long as it spins, it's
fine. For most people who make blades, we strive for functional art.
A man after my own heart.
(Hugh's mount on a 4 ft. turbine)
(Water Pipe mount and common PM DC motor)
(Got a bigger GEN? Use bigger pipe!)
WindGenZen blades (two at left) and larger motor/gen (above). TWO TO FOUR of these can easily make 500kWH/month
and take a family off the grid for as little as $3000.00.
The webpages and photos at
BlueEnery show the step by step process for making Hugh's system. The differences
in approach between Hugh and WindGenZen are:
Hugh's system usually uses a 3 blade rotor and plywood hub. Wind Gen Zen
carves a single plank, 2 tipped prop (that's how Jerry the NASA
Physicist taught us) and uses a purchased metal hub (drilled pulley or arbor).
For blades over 8 feet we also recommend a 3 blade prop to reduce vibration.
For blades under 8 feet, 2 tips are fine and somewhat
more efficient for high speed RPMs and max output; they accelerate nicely.
You must balance two blades with care, but that is pretty easy to do.
Hugh has mastered building alternators from scratch whereas being crunched for
time, we generally get a good PM DC motor and find the output is plenty
beefy enough. For folks on a tight budget who have lots of time,
Hugh's method is great and will certainly outperform lil ametek motors. For folks
with enough pocket change to get a PM DC motor and want to save time,
consider the already made solution and there are plenty of big DC motors
that can compete with Hugh's homemade alternator; just fly a bigger blade. We are also developing a mount for standard car
alternators which should work just fine, despite the requirement for
high RPMs to get useable power from these universally available components.
We know of a Kiwi sailor with one and he is very happy with it.
Hugh's system involves a very beefy mount (see photo on left) and a bit of welding. For
blades under 8 feet, the WindGenZen system simply uses a mount made
from 'water pipe' fittings (bronze is best) and the total time to fabricate is just under 5 minutes and no welding.
It boils down to time vs. money. Our system is a bit faster to make
the blade (only 2 airfoils) and mount a generator you buy. Hugh's system
is cheaper and more labor intensive, generally requires 3 blades, welding and working with epoxy and
magnets and copper windings, but provides great output for very low cost since the entire rig is made from scratch, except
the magnets, wire etc. and a few easy to find components.
Which system is best? The one that works for you,
your budget, your time constraints, your level of skill and that provides you with wind
power a.s.a.p. is the one you should employ.
If time allows, we strongly suggest you try them both, teach them both and then keep making the
one you like best until your need for fossil fuels is zero.
The one thing you probably DO NOT want to do is spend $1000.00
for a wind generator that makes 1/2 (or less) watts. There are
many units out there that cost an arm and a leg and simply don't put out
nearly as much power of either of these wood prop rigs; buyer beware.
SUPPORT IS NUMBER ONE AT KCK!
and plane, scrapers and shapers to make a blade...pure magic; hence the
ZEN in WindGenZen's name.
